A RIGHTEOUS, LOVING CHURCH
Walking the Roman Road • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; 2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a benefactor of many, and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5 also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has labored much for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding to the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who labored much in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Ask your group members to rank on a scale of 1 to 10 the importance of the following:
1. People accept me as I am.
2. I feel loved and wanted.
3. I can share with those close to me.
4. When I make mistakes, others don’t condemn or reject me.
5. I don’t have to be just like everyone else to be welcome.
6. I am valued and make a real contribution to others.
7. I don’t have to compete but can cooperate with others.
Discuss the rankings, encouraging your group members to share why the high importance items are significant to them.
Then move into the text, explaining that each item describes what the church of Christ is to be like—and these passages show us how to build just this kind of vital Christian fellowship.
Far more than a list of names.
Ecclesiology : theology as applied to the nature and structure of the Christian Church.
Lord, Christ, Jesus, Sister, saint, gentile, church, brother, saint, first-fruit, apostle, elect, holy, loved, proved in Christ… Loaded words filled with Christ.
Time for reaching out, embracing and loving the members of the church.
Notice the number of names
27 names, a lot more listed, just not named
b. 26 are in Rome already - Phoebe is coming,
c. You may not know every believers name, every believer may not know your name, but there is one who does.
3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
c. At least one, the only one who matters knows your name.
d. Paul must have worked at learning their names.
2. The relationships and partnerships are amazing when listed
a. Sister, brother, servant, saint, patron, fellow workers, mother to me, church, kinsmen, fellow prisoners, beloved in Christ, elect,
b. The more you connect with Christians, the more different kinds of blessings flow into your life, and the more different kinds of blessing flow out of your life.
We should be more like an orchestra: each part making its own unique contribution to the symphonic harmony.
D. A. Carson
3. Notice how Christ saturated this chapter is
a. 2 receive her in the Lord,
3 my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
5 Epaenetus first convert to Christ,
7 Apostles who also were in Christ,
8 Ampliatus my beloved in the Lord,
9 Urbanus our fellow worker in Christ,
10 Apelles the approved in Christ,
11 Household of Narcissus who are in the Lord,
12 Tryphaena and Tryphosa laborers in the Lord,
13 Rufus a choice man in the Lord,
16 All the churches in Christ greet you.
b. Paul is completely saturated with Jesus
c. When you speak to friends, send a letter, write an email, speak to friends, is Jesus there? Is he there?
Paul can’t get two verses without mentioning Jesus.
“I show Jesus through my actions, not words.”
Matthew 12:34 (NKJV)
34 For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Is he in the heart if he is not coming out the mouth?
This is a heart issue... according to Jesus.
Do you love him? Is he your treasure?
4. There are more than one church in Rome
5, 14, 15 at least three
We need more churches, not less since we see population vs. churches declining.
5. Look at the command to greet.
a. 16 verses Paul gives that command 13 times
b. Who is he talking to?
7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
c. In every church there are representatives, leaders. I think Paul is speaking to those who were to read and teach the rest of the church to obey and live out the teachings of Paul.
6. Notice how love saturated this chapter is.
a. Four times he uses the word loved, or beloved
5 - Epaenetus my beloved
8 - Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord
9 - Stachys my beloved
12 - Greet Persis the beloved
b. Greet Mary who has worked hard for you 6
c. Greet Prisca and Aquila who risked their necks for me 4
Are you in a group where you can love, and be loved like what Paul is describing in this chapter?
Now, lets pick a few people to talk about from this chapter.
16 is richer than you’d ever imagine. It is much more than a list of names.
1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; 2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a benefactor of many, and of myself as well.
Why is she singled out for such recognition?
Phoebe is the only one not there. She is most likely the one being commissioned by Paul to carry this letter to Rome.
She is from Cenchrea - She is from the place where Paul wrote the letter.
Phoebe is probably a woman who had wealth. She was a lot like Lydia, the woman who was in the business of selling expensive cloth.
Paul and others have benefited from this woman’s generosity.
She seemed to have the means to travel
1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea;
Paul calls her a sister
OUR sister.
Some crazies say, “it is not right for men to marry Christian women because they are their sisters and that would be incest.”
1 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
Older and younger men - Sexual misconduct with a Christian woman by a Christian man is not just fornication or just adultery it is also incest.
Every young woman in that church that comes under your care - you must deal with her has a sister in all purity.
Be careful how you deal with Christian women you christian men.
2. Phoebe was a deacon, a servant in the church
a. Feeding the hungry, taking in the refugees, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison.
There are more, but this is a secure list of the deacon ministry.
Phoebe was a helper of many. She met needs.
WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
3. Women have played a critical role in ministry since the beginning of the church.
a. 7 Named are women, not one of them is on the sideline in ministry.
b. In the history of missions is incredible.
c. Christian women flourish in the church when good, Godly men support and lead well in their role in the church.
EVERY WOMAN IN THE FELLOWSHIP MUST NEVER STOP SEEKING GOD TO BE ALL HE DESIRES THEM TO BE IN THE CHURCH.
PRISCA
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
They are Movers
everywhere they went they had a church
They had a christ drenched life
They are Workers
Everywhere they went they did business
tent makers
wherever the business took them they were Christ drenched doing the work of the Lord.
Are you Christ drenched in your workplace?
They are Riskers
No matter what was going on they promoted Christ.
Coach Fraze and his testimony of Jesus to students.
Do you care more about promoting Jesus than your job? Your friends?
The real mark of a saint is that he makes it easier for others to believe in God.
Anonymous
A RIGHTEOUS, LOVING CHURCH