A Church on the Same Page

11 killed gunman attacked Hanukkah event on Sydney beach orthodox Jewish group

Rhode Island shooting yesterday

Sermonic Idea

Title:

“A Church on the Same Page” (Romans 15)

Main Idea (MIT):

Because of Christ’s saving work, believers must live as a gospel-centered people—considerate in unity, confident in hope, commissioned in service, and cooperative in mission.

INTRO

Potlucks and a coordinator.

1. Be considerate in your unity.

Romans 15:1–7 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For 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. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Bear with the weak.

Build up others.

Copy Christ’s example

Call on God for unity.

Illustration

To illustrate the obligation of the "strong" to bear with the "weak" rather than pleasing themselves.

The Illustration: The "No-Drop" RideIn professional and serious amateur cycling clubs, they often have what is called a "no-drop" policy on long training rides.

A cycling peloton is a mix of abilities. You have the incredibly strong riders who can sprint up hills, and you have newer riders who struggle to keep the pace. In a "drop ride," the strong riders just blast off; if you can’t keep up, you get "dropped" and left behind to ride alone. It’s survival of the fittest.

But in a "no-drop" ride, the goal changes. The goal isn't speed; the goal is arriving together. The strongest riders don't ride off the front to show how fast they are. Instead, they drift to the back. They ride alongside the struggling cyclist, blocking the wind for them, offering encouragement, sometimes literally putting a hand on their back to help push them up a steep hill. They sacrifice their own desire for speed to ensure the weaker rider makes it home.

Paul says to the church: Stop doing "drop rides." The church isn't a competition for the spiritually elite. We have a "no-drop" policy. If you are strong in faith, your obligation isn't to race ahead; it’s to block the wind for the brother or sister struggling behind you until we all cross the finish line together.

2. Be confident in your hope.

Romans 15:8–13 ESV

8 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, 9 and 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.” 10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 May 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.

Christ confirms God’s promises

Nations celebrate God’s mercy

The Spirit creates abounding hope.

Illustration

The Imperial War Museum archives, which house the letters of soldiers who recall:

The Christmas Truce of 1914

In the middle of World War I, one of the most brutal conflicts in human history, something miraculous happened on Christmas Eve in 1914 along the Western Front. German soldiers in their trenches began singing "Silent Night" (Stille Nacht). Across the frozen area of No Man’s Land, British soldiers heard it and began singing back in English.

These men were sworn enemies. They were separated by language, nationality, politics, and machine guns. Yet, for a few hours, those defining barriers collapsed under the weight of a greater reality: the hope of the incarnation of Christ. Men climbed out of trenches, shook hands, exchanged small gifts, and even played soccer together.

The hope of Jesus is powerful. We should do everything we can to cherish and hold onto it.

3. Be commissioned in your service.

Romans 15:14–21 ESV

14 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. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to 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. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For 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, 19 by 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; 20 and 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, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

Remember the grace you’ve received.

Recognize the gift you’ve been given.

Rely on God’s power, not your own.

Reach those who do not know Jesus.

Illustration The Smokejumpers

In the world of firefighting, there is an elite group known as smokejumpers. There is only about 400-450 of them in the USA. These aren't the firefighters who wait for the alarm to ring at the station in the city. Smokejumpers are loaded onto aircraft and flown over remote, rugged wilderness where a wildfire has just started and is threatening to rage out of control.

They parachute into areas where there are no roads, no hydrants, and no backup nearby. Their job is to attack the fire at its most dangerous point, relying on their intensive training and the supplies dropped to them from the sky. They go where no one else is willing to go to stop the destruction.

Paul describes his ministry here like a spiritual smokejumper. He says, "I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named..." He doesn't want to just polish the pews in Jerusalem; he wants to parachute into Illyricum, into the darkest places of paganism, armed with the power of the Holy Spirit, to establish a beachhead for the Kingdom of God. We are commissioned with that same pioneering spirit.

4. Be Cooperative in the mission.

Romans 15:22–33 ESV

22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But 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, 24 I 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. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For 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. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. 30 I 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, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Cooperate through going

Cooperate through giving

Cooperate through serving

Cooperate through prayer

Mission ControlWhen humanity first went to the moon during the Apollo missions, the world saw Neil Armstrong take that famous step. But Neil Armstrong didn't get there alone.

If you look at photos of Mission Control in Houston during those flights, you see hundreds of people at consoles. You have the trajectory specialist making sure the math is right. You have the medical officer monitoring the astronauts' heart rates. You have logistics experts managing fuel consumption. You have people who built the rockets and people who funded the program.

If the guy managing the oxygen supply decides his job isn’t important and takes a nap, the mission fails and people die.

Paul is sketching out the Mission Control for the early church in these verses. Macedonia is supplying the funds. The Roman church is supplying the prayers for protection. Paul is being the astronaut going to Spain. Jerusalem is receiving the relief aid. Paul is saying, "We cannot complete this mission alone. We need the givers, the goers, and the prayers all synchronized, or the gospel doesn't move forward."

CLOSING

The Illustration: The Human Chain of Panama City Beach

In July 2017, The Panama City News Herald broke the story, about a human chain on the beach in Panama City Florida, a woman saw her two young sons screaming for help from the water. They had been swept out by a brutal rip current. Several family members dove in to save them, but the current was too strong. Within minutes, nine people—including the boys, their mother, and their grandmother—were trapped in deep water.

The lifeguards had already left for the day. Police on the shore told people not to swim out because it was too dangerous; anyone who tried to be a "hero" alone would likely die.

But then, people on the beach began to act. They didn't act as individuals; they acted as a body. Jessica Simmons, a bystander, started waving people over. "Form a line!" she yelled.

Complete strangers—people of different races, ages, and physical abilities—locked arms. They formed a human chain that stretched over 100 yards from the dry sand out into the crushing waves.

The "Weak" played a part: Those who couldn't swim stayed in the shallow water, digging their heels into the sand to create an anchor.

The "Strong" played a part: The strongest swimmers went to the very end of the chain, battling the waves to reach the drowning family.

The "Connection" was key: The people in the middle simply held on. They "bore the burden" of the person next to them.

One by one, they passed the drowning family members down the line, from the strong swimmers, to the holders, to the anchor on the shore. All nine people were saved. Not a single life was lost.

This is the picture of Romans 15. We are that chain. Some of you are the strong swimmers right now—you are out in the deep, doing the hard ministry. Some of you are the anchors—you are grounded in prayer and giving, holding the rest of us steady. But we only save the lost if we don't let go of each other.

If we break the unity, the mission fails. But if we stay "on the same page," linking our strength to someone else's weakness, we can pull people out of the hopelessness of this world and bring them to the safety of Christ.

Let’s be that chain. Let’s be that church.