A Godly Welcome
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Typical introduction stuff…
Hey All and welcome back if you’ve been around and if you’re new…welcome. My name is…if you need anything at all….
Normally in our time in the word we are going through a specific book. This last series we just went through the book of Jonah and right now I’m working on our next series that we will start in the fall…but for the summer I wanted to take an opportunity speak to some things that are relevant for us.
So, this summer we are going to be jumping around from passage to passage, still expository preaching, meaning verse by verse, so that’s not going to change…but what is going to change is the topic every week.
And this week…is a topic that is really relevant for tonight…because it’s about welcoming.
That is…how we welcome others.
Not welcoming the new…but welcoming each other.
You see…right from the beginning of this ministry we as leaders decided that we wanted to have culture of welcome. Meaning, we wanted a ministry that when outsiders looked upon it…they saw people who were really different from one another.
We wanted people to see grad students, undergrad students, full time workers, those in internships, new and young christians, people raised in christian households…those with money and those without…we wanted it all and we wanted a culture that spurred that on.
And overall…we’ve done really great at that. But…it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of why we do what we do.
AND…it doesn’t hurt to evaluate our perspective…and our culture…and see if there’s something more that we can do…something more that we can be adding.
And mixed in with this…I want to bring some clarity. Clarity on how you should welcome others…what expectations are on you.
Should everyone that comes into this ministry be your best friend?
Do you have to invite everyone over to a hangout anytime you invite anyone ever?
How much of the whole welcoming is on me? And how much of it is on them to put in a little effort?
These are all things that many of you have wondered…and these are things worth addressing as well.
So, with that said, let’s get into it.
God’s word has a lot to say about welcoming others…and one of the places that it is greatly summarized is in Romans. So turn there with me.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
So, a little bit of context…because what we see in verse 7 is the word “therefore”…
Paul here in chapter 15 is talking about the strong in Christ, coming alongside those that are weak and stumbling, and building them up. Paul calls “each of us” in verse 2, which would extend to us as Christians…to build our neighbor up for their good, not our own, because that’s what Christ did.
He then in verse 5 prays that all would have harmony with one another…and that through one united voice the church would glorify God. See it there in verse 6…
6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then Paul says “therefore” meaning…if you want that prayer to come true…if you want to have harmony with one another and thereby glorify God…then you need to welcome one another.
And the assumption Paul is making here is the same assumption we must have tonight of one another…and I need to have of you.
The assumption: You want to glorify God.
Because if you do want to glorify God…if you want the prayer of Paul of the romans to be true in your life as well…then you need to follow the command. and the command is…
The command: Welcome others as Christ has welcomed you.
And that’s it right?
Amen. Let’s pray and head out to our community event.
If only it was that easy…but it’s not…why?
Because we lose sight of what it means to welcome someone. And you all feel what I’m talking about…or at least you should…
You should, if you follow Christ, feel the weight of making sure to welcome others into fellowship….because he welcomed you. But..what does welcome mean? If we are going to make sure we are doing it right we better understand it…
So here’s what the rest of this message looks like…it looks like us asking questions in order to get a much better grasp on the text…and then getting the answer. So question and answer. Here’s the first one.
What does welcome mean?
To accept, to take alongside, to embrace.
Who are we to welcome?
One another.
The strong in Christ and the weak. The new and the old.
This is about how we as Christians welcome one another.
What do we welcome each other to?
Fellowship in and to the glory of God.
Where do I get this? From the verse itself and from the preceeding verses. You see at the end of this verse, our fellowship is for God’s glory. As in our fellowship is not to our own glory, or own comfort, but to his glory.
But our fellowship isn’t just something that causes glory to God, it’s something brings the glory of God to our lives.
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
It’s in line with Christ’s desire…his will. And anything, literally anything that lines up with Christ’s will lines up with what bring him glory.
So as an aside here I wanna ask…don’t you want that for others?
Don’t you want others to enjoy God? Or is that just for you?
Why do we welcome them?
Because Christ welcomed us.
The Epistle to the Romans (3. Christian Unity, 15:1–13)
Our attitude to others must flow from the transformation wrought in us by Christ.
How did he welcome us?
Unconditionally
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Proactively
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Unashamedly
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”
15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
How do we welcome others?
Unconditionally
not meeting the needs of our cliques with the caveat that close friends can exist while also being completely welcoming.
Proactively
not ever blaming them for not coming to us but rather to go to them. How arrogant to think we should be the recipient when Christ didn’t do that. He didn’t expect welcome, in fact he received the opposite (John 1 his own people did not receive him)
Unashamedly
Without concern for what others are doing or how they might react.
The Epistle to the Romans (3. Christian Unity, 15:1–13)
God’s glory was promoted when Christ received us sinners, and it is further advanced when we who are by nature sinners and wrapped up in our own concerns instead receive our brothers and sisters in Christ with warmth and love.