(News, December 11, 2022)
“Walking Out the Truth”
Beginning on January 8, 2023 we will continue our study of the book of Romans. The second half of the book, especially chapters 12 to 16 are about living out the truth that we learned in the first half of the book. Here are the details:
January 8, 2023
Title: The Mystery of God’s Sovereign Choice
Text: Romans 9:1-13
Worship: Sovereign Over Us
Key Sentence: God doesn’t pick us based on our merit, but looks on our hearts
Outline:
I. Paul’s heart cry (Romans 9:1-5)
II. God chooses the children of the Promise (Romans 9:6-9)
III. God does not choose based on works (Romans 9:10-13)
Romans 9:1–13 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”
10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
January 15, 2023
Title: Is God Unjust?
Text: Romans 9:14-29
Worship: His Mercy and Compassion
Key Sentence: God doesn’t condemn all, but in his mercy saves some.
Outline:
I. Is there injustice on God’s part? No, it’s mercy. (Romans 9:14-18)
II. Why does he still find fault? To show his mercy. (Romans 9:19-23)
III. To whom does he show mercy? To both Jews and Gentiles. (Romans 9:24-29)
Romans 9:14–29 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” 26“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” 27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
January 22, 2023
Title: The Peril of Works Righteousness
Text: Romans 9:30-10:4
Worship: By Faith Alone
Key Sentence: Don’t fall into the righteousness-by-works trap.
Outline:
I. The Gentiles received righteousness. The Jews did not (Romans 9:30-31)
II. Why? Because they pursued it by works. (Romans 9:32-33)
III. Christ is righteousness for all who believe. (Romans 10:1-4)
Romans 9:30–10:4 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
10:1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
January 29, 2023
Title: Salvation to All
Text: Romans 10:5-21
Worship: I Will Call Upon the Lord
Key Sentence: Salvation is heart-trust in the truth you have heard.
Outline:
I. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:5-13)
II. This faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:14-17)
III. God promised this word to both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 10:18-21)
Romans 10:5–21 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. / / 18But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
February 5, 2023 (Guest Preacher, Bob to MN)
February 12, 2023
Title: The Remnant of Israel
Text: Romans 11:1-10
Worship: Dwell
Key Sentence: Even when it seems all have turned away, there is a remnant.
Outline:
I. Has God rejected his people? (Romans 11:1-2)
II. There is a remnant, chosen by grace (Romans 11:2-6)
III. But the remnant may be a small number (Romans 11:7-10)
Romans 11:1–10 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
February 19, 2023
Title: Grafted In!
Text: Romans 11:11-24
Worship: Abiding
Key Sentence: We are grafted in to God’ provision and plan for Israel
Outline:
I. Israel’s rejection: strategic and temporary (Romans 11:11-12)
II. Israel’s acceptance will mark a new era of life (Romans 11:13-16)
III. The Gentiles are grafted in, but don’t be arrogant (Romans 11:17-21)
IV. Israel will be grafted in again (Romans 11:22-24)
Romans 11:11–24 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! / / 13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
22Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
February 26, 2023
Title: Mercy for All
Text: Romans 11:25-36
Worship: O the Depths!
Key Sentence: The depths of God’s riches lead to mercy for all.
Outline:
I. All Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25-29)
II. There will be mercy for all (Romans 11:30-32)
III. O the depths of the riches of God (Romans 11:33-36)
Romans 11:25–36 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27“and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
March 5, 2023
Title: Living as Transformed Sacrifices
Text: Romans 12:1-2
Worship: Thy Will be Done!
Key Sentence: As we offer ourselves to God we are transformed to do his will.
Outline:
I. Living sacrifices (Romans 12:1
II Transformed minds (Romans 12:2)
III. Doing his perfect will (Romans 12:2)
Romans 12:1–2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
March 12, 2023
Title: Gifts of Grace
Text: Romans 12:3-8
Worship: The Grace Given Us
Key Sentence: In humility use the gifts you’ve been given to serve the body.
Outline:
I. Sober self-esteem (Romans 12:3)
II. One member of the body (Romans 12:4-5)
III. Having gifts of grace (Romans 12:6-8)
Romans 12:3–8 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
4For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
March 19, 2023
Title: The Christian Life
Text: Romans 12:9-21
Worship: Love One Another
Key Sentence: Here are eighteen ways the Spirit can make us more like Jesus.
Romans 12:9–21 Let love be genuine.
Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor.
11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12Rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer.
13Contribute to the needs of the saints
and seek to show hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
March 26, 2023
Title: Submission to Authorities
Text: Romans 13:1-7
Worship: Sovereign God
Key Sentence: Submission is always for our own good
Outline:
I. Submit to God’s appointed authorities (Romans 13:1-2)
II. Authority is intended to promote good conduct (Romans 13:3-5)
III. This is part of a larger principle: civic duty (Romans 13:6-7)
Romans 13:1–7 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
April 2, 2016 – Palm Sunday
April 6, 2016 – Maundy Thursday
April 9, 2016 – Easter Sunday
April 16, 2023
Title: Two Reasons For Right Living
Text: Romans 13:8-14
Worship: Walking in the Light
Key Sentence: Love and anticipation call us to right living.
Outline:
I. Love for neighbor fulfills the law (Romans 13:8-10)
II. Anticipation of the day calls us from deeds of darkness (Romans 13:11-13)
Romans 13:8–14 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
April 23, 2023
Title: Don’t Quarrel Over Opinions
Text: Romans 14:1-12
Worship: God the Righteous Judge
Key Sentence: Don’t quarrel over opinions
Outline:
Principle: Don’t quarrel over opinions (Romans 14:1)
I. Don’t despise or judge others on matters of opinion. (Romans 14:1-4)
II. Do what you are fully convinced honors the Lord. (Romans 14:5-9)
III. Your accountability is to God (Romans 14:10-12)
Romans 14:1–12 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
April 30, 2023
Title: Pursuing Peace, Not Opinions
Text: Romans 14:13-23
Worship: Walking in Faith
Key Sentence: Are you focused on being right or building up?
Outline:
I. Don’t be a stumbling block to what others pursue (Romans 14:13-16)
II. Do pursue peace and edification (Romans 14:17-21)
III. Pursue what comes out of your faith in God (Romans 14:22-23)
Romans 14:13–23 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy (tear down) the one for whom Christ died. 16So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. (because you flaunt it to the detriment of the weak)
17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
22The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
May 7, 2023 – Guest Preacher (Bob to Alabama)
May 14, 2023
Title: How to Detoxify Your Opinions
Text: Romans 15:1-7
Worship: The God of Endurance and Encouragement
Key Sentence: Here are three more insights to help detoxify your opinions
Outline:
Insight 1: Jesus did not please himself (Romans 15:1-3)
Insight 2: Scripture offers us instruction and hope (Romans 15:4)
Insight 3: Our God-given unity glorifies God (Romans 15:5-7)
Romans 15:1–7 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
May 21, 2023
Title: Christ Our Hope
Text: Romans 15:8-13
Worship: Abounding in Hope
Key Sentence: The mercy of God in Christ is our hope, joy, and peace
Outline:
I. Christ fulfills the promises to Israel (Romans 15:8)
II. The Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. (Romans 15:9-12)
III. The God of Hope gives us joy, peace and hope.
Romans 15:8–13 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
May 28, 2023
Title: Our Attitude Toward Ministry
Text: Romans 15:14-21
Worship: Build Your Kingdom Here
Key Sentence: We don’t need to be shy about working for Jesus
Outline:
I. We can minister boldly (Romans 15:14-16)
II. We can be proud of what Christ accomplishes (Romans 15:17-19)
III. We can be ambitious on Christ’s behalf (Romans 15:20-21)
Romans 15:14–21 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
20and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
June 4, 2023
Title: Ministry Planning and Praying
Text: Romans 15:22-33
Worship: By God’s Will
Key Sentence: We plan and we pray – for God’s provision and God’s will.
Outline:
I. Future plans (Romans 15:22-24)
II. Present plans (Romans 15:25-27)
III. Praying for the plans (Romans 15:28-33)
Romans 15:22–33 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.
25At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
28When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 30I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
33May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
June 11, 2023
Title: Band of Brothers (and Sisters)
Text: Romans 16:1-16
Worship: The Church
Key Sentence: Those who serve with us, all over the world, make up a beloved band of brothers and sisters.
Romans 16:1–16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5Greet also the church in their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.
6Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
8Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
10Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.
Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.
11Greet my kinsman Herodion.
Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus.
12Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.
Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.
13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.
14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
15Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
June 18, 2023
Title: Last Words
Text: Romans 16:17-27
Worship: To God be the Glory
Key Sentence: We plan and we pray – for God’s provision and God’s will.
Outline:
I. Watch out! (Romans 16:17-20)
II. Further greetings (Romans 16:21-23)
III. To God be the glory (Romans 16:25-27)
Romans 16:17–27 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
25Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
