11/1/2026 | Romans - Part 25 (Romans 16)

2:02 Mhm.

4:25 >> Good morning, church. How we doing this morning? Good. so excited that you are here to worship with us. We are excited that God brought you here this morning. Um we're just happy to see you. We're happy to have this opportunity to praise the Lord. Please join us. >> Who am I that the highest king would welcome me? I was lost, but he brought me in. Oh, his love for me. Oh, his love for me.

5:12 Who the son sets free oh, is free indeed. I'm a child of God. Yes I Free at last, he has ransomed me. His grace runs deep. While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me. Yes, he died for me. Who the son

5:57 sets free oh, is free indeed. and redeemed. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me,

6:43 not against me. I am who you say I am. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. Whom the Son sets free, oh, is free indeed. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am.

7:30 In my Father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. Amen.

8:31 >> I know who I am. Cuz I know who you are. The cross of salvation was only the start. Now I am chosen. I'm free and forgiven. And I have a future. And it's worth the living. Cuz I wasn't made to be tended a grave.

9:18 I was called by name. Born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours. I was made for more. I know who I am. Cuz I know who you are. The cross of salvation

10:07 was only the start. in the Now I am chosen. I'm free and forgiven. And I have a future. And it's worth the living. Cuz I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name. Born and raised back to life again. I was made for more.

10:53 So why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours. And I was made for more. >> Hallelujah. You called out my name. I'll sing out your praise. Hallelujah. You buried my past. I'm not going back. Hallelujah. You called out my name. I'll sing out

11:40 your praise. Hallelujah. You buried my past. I'm not going back. >> Cuz I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name. Born and raised back to life again. And I was made for more. So why would I make So, why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I

12:25 am yours. I was made for more. Cuz I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name. Born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So, why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours. I was made for more.

13:12 Amen. For I called you answered. And you came to my rescue and I

14:02 want to be with you are. I call, you answer. And you came to my rescue. You are Falling on my knees

14:47 in worship, giving all I am to seek your face. Lord all I am is yours. My whole life I place in your hands. God of mercy, humble, I bow down in your presence at your throne.

15:37 Oh, when I call, you answer. And you came to my rescue. You are I call, you answer. And you came to my rescue.

16:22 Oh how I love you. You are My whole life I place in your hands. God of mercy, humble I bow down. In your presence at your throne. My whole life I place in your hands.

17:08 God of mercy, humble I bow down. In your presence at your throne. Let's declare this this morning. Let's lift you high

17:53 as we sing this. In my life Be lifted high in our love. Be lifted high in our love. Be lifted high. >> In my life be lifted high. Be lifted high.

18:44 Oh, we lift you high. In my life be lifted high. Be lifted high. In my life be lifted high. Be lifted high.

19:40 In my life you answered. And you came to my rescue and died. I want to be where you are. And I call you answered. And you came to my rescue and died. I want to be where

20:40 >> You may be seated for communion. >> The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper, he took the cup saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

21:29 Today, we are reminded of the sacrifice of our savior. His body broken, his blood spilled, the weight of our sin crushing his shoulders. Today, we confess our unrighteousness. We lay down our arrogance. We surrender in obedience at the foot of the cross. Today, we remember.

24:28 >> Oh, oh, oh. >> Good morning. If you haven't noticed, we're in the

25:14 process of a little remodeling out here. There'll be a little inconvenience. You should have gotten an emails, BYOC. Bring your own coffee. Uh so, it'll be a little different for a little while, but I'll trust me, when we're done, it's going to be beautiful. And uh we needed to upgrade the rest of the building to match this one. So, uh we're on a journey, but I appreciate your patience and uh the hard work going on behind the scenes. They do not want me to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway. Josh and Jen Marufo have been just working really hard uh to get this area. Let's give them a little little love today. Several years ago, I was invited to and I've shared this with you before, but uh I it has a point. I was invited to be a guest

26:00 chaplain for Congress in Washington D.C. It was 2002. And so impressive that my prayer I had to submit the prayer ahead of time. The prayer is actually part of the congressional record. And Wes Al Lou Watkins, he was the congressman invi- invited me to do that. He actually got me this plaque that has it's the congressional record from 2002 uh and has my my prayer included in there. And so, it was kind of a like a kind of a heady thing, you know, like uh here I am just a boy from small community, Webb City, Missouri, and I'm there. I had floor privileges. I mean, the spouses of congressmen don't get to go on the floor, but I had floor privileges. And before I prayed, a guy come took me

26:46 aside, explained there's a whole lot of protocol in Washington D.C. By the way, the most important thing in Washington D.C. is not love, it's you can imagine, it's power. Everybody's impressed with everybody's title. It's not about love, it's about power. But I got pulled me aside, he goes, "Okay, uh you know, he's I don't know what his title was, but he said, 'There's only three people who would get to who ever stand at this this lectern that you're going to deliver your prayer from. One is the Speaker of the House. The second is the President of the United States when he gives his uh State of the Union address. And the third is the chaplain. So, I mean, this is like I'm on holy ground. I get to stand where the

27:33 President stands to deliver the State of the Union address. And uh I was kind of feeling a little full of myself, I guess, cuz that night like I'm I'm just like, "Lord, I can't believe I got this kind of opportunity that only the President, the Speaker of the House, and and the chaplain and myself, we get to stand in that same spot." And it's like the Lord spoke to me and said, "There's one other person who's there on a regular basis. And that's the lady who dusts it." And so I That's not an I That's an AI picture, but like Okay. Wow. You kind of put it in perspective. I have a feeling the Lord looks down on me pretty often and calls

28:18 the angels aside and goes, "Okay, we're not finished yet. This guy's a he's got a lot of work to do yet. Uh but what it what it reminded me of when I thought of that story is it really Oh, it's it's just the bright bright light is the picture. It's a spotlight on me. What what really reminded me of is that what's really important is not power. As I get older, what's really important to me is people. It's you. It's my family. And we come to the close of the book of Romans and we see this list of people that meant something to Paul. I think of those people in my life that

29:05 are VIPs. I don't mean very important people. I mean very inspiring people. And that's some of you. You know, I I see you working and how God has worked through, you know, your faith and and growing you and and loving you and you loving me and to me that's what it's really all about. It's about people. I think back through my course of my ministry, I think about a a guy named I I I'm just going to call him Kurt the Custodian. He was a school janitor. And when he died, the funeral was the gymnasium at the school was packed because he had he had influenced that many kids just by caring, by listening,

29:50 by calling them by name. That's very inspiring people. These are people that have met that make a difference on a day. They're not powerful. They're loving. I think about Jim the fireman, Jim Seibert that was here. His faith inspired me. I think about Frank the biker. I think about Kyle the roofer. I think about through the course of my ministry, I think about Joe Bob who was a builder and then he became a surgeon. That's a whole 'nother story. And then Wes Watkins, I mentioned the congressman. Wes grew up as a single mom at a single mom and he paid his way through Oklahoma State University living in a chicken coop. I mean, these are the people that have inspired me. Women like Lou and Nell and Francis and Grace and Pat. All those people I thought about as

30:37 I worked on my message this week that I am grateful for and many of them are you. Unsung heroes, nobody knows their name but heaven. And that's why I thought this week uh the big idea is this. Unsung heroes on earth are making headlines in heaven. You may not think what you do makes a difference. But I mean, think about well, Kurt the custodian, just loving people as he went on a day-to-day basis, impacted them forever. I want you to think about the people that have made a difference in your life. I want to summarize the big idea in a little easier way to remember and here it is. God is the god of the

31:24 underdog. How many of you cheer for underdogs? You know, when you're cheering for a team. Me too. By the way, I always cheer against the Dallas Cowboys. Don't hate me for that, but I I don't I don't know. I mean, they shouldn't be able to say they're America's team. That always bothered me. So anyway um uh you we wind up rooting for the underdog. Many of you have felt like the underdog and we're going to learn about underdogs that matter not only to God, they matter to the Apostle Paul, the great Apostle Paul, writing this beautiful letter of theology, ends it with listing people and how people had impacted his life in

32:10 Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16, out of 29 names that we're going to cover. We're going to cover quickly today. 20 22 of those are Gentile names. Now, I think you've probably picked up on one of the reasons Paul wrote the book of Romans is because you had Gentiles and Jews coming together and he was trying to make out of these two groups one. So, you had people who were extremely strict and very legalistic from the Old Testament. Then you have these Gentile believers who come in, they were wild hard partiers, and he's bringing them together as one church. So, of this list, 22 were Gentiles. They would have been voted the least likely to become a Christian probably by their senior class. 18 of them were

32:57 slaves or at least slave names. 10 of them women. We're going to see that as we go down through these. There were the rich, the poor, the married, the single, all kinds of sister, brother, servant, saint, patron, fellow worker, kinsman, fellow prisoner, and beloved. This you watch a movie and you see the closing credits. You all know the stars that were in there, but then they have the closing credits, the unsung heroes, nobody knows. You never hear their name except maybe the Academy Awards. Nobody pays attention. And the first time or several times I've read through Romans 16, I've just seen it as kind of the closing credits. Like these are people that don't really matter. And so I dug into it this week. And I started seeing this beautiful list. This is not the closing credits of

33:44 Paul's life where Paul is the star. This is the who's who in the kingdom of God in Rome. These people were revolutionaries. These people were radical risk-takers. These were like the signers of the Declaration of Independence. These were the pioneers that started the church in Rome that impacted the world. That's why their names are important. That's why they were important to Paul. True confession, it it's taken me a while to get to this point where I see you as the most important thing in my life. My family, the family of God. I used to be really like it used to be

34:29 really important how many of you there were in the church that I served. See, I was more caught up on statistics. Yeah, you kind of begin to you can kind of begin to see it like some business, some enterprise, and your ego is inflated by how many people come to your enterprise. And I'm telling you, God took all that out of me. He He brought me to a point of brokenness to the point that I say, "Lord, if there's three people, as long as I love them and they love me who come when I teach, that's okay with me." That's why what we have is special. I do love you. I don't know all of your names. I wish I did. I want to, but Paul calls these people by name.

35:15 People who felt like underdogs, people who may have felt like nobody's in the Roman world, but they were making headlines in heaven in Paul's book. Here it is. Romans 16:1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church of Cenchrea. Cenchrea Cenchrea, I'm not sure. I'm going to mispronounce a few things, but you probably won't know or care anyway. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Now, to understand why this is so

36:00 important, so impressive, that Paul begins his list of people that are very impressive or very important or very inspiring people, he begins it with a woman. The reason that's important is because the world, the people he was writing to in that particular time, did not think highly of women at all. In the Greek and the and the and the Jewish and the Roman mind, women were absolutely less than. In fact, they were viewed as perpetual minors. I mean, they had no real right. They In fact, Aristotle said they lacked capacity for rational thought. Women could not sign contracts. They were viewed as somebody always perpetually under the age of 18. They

36:45 couldn't make financial decisions in that day in Rome if it was a female baby and there are actually some letters that instruct if it's a wife was a woman was having a baby, if it's a female, dispose of it. If it's a male, keep it. That's how they thought of women at that particular time and many times these abandoned babies, these girls would either wind up become slaves or prostitutes. That is how demeaning the Roman and the Jewish and the and the Greek world felt toward women. So, listen, this is important. For Paul to begin this letter, begin his gratitude by thanking a woman. It sets the tone. I've heard my entire life, you know, that people don't

37:31 Paul must have been some kind of chauvinist, misogynistic. He was not he was not pro-female. You don't really understand the Apostle Paul. You go, "Well, yeah, but Pastor, wouldn't it Paul have said, 'Let women keep silent in the church?'" All he's saying is, "You all you men can't handle the fact a woman knows more than you do, so they got to be quiet when they come into the church." Come on now, give it up for that. I think that the Apostle Paul, I don't have any doubt that he thought highly of women and here he is putting Phoebe on a pedestal. How many of you know anything about Phoebe? I didn't. But I'm reading through this going, "Man, she was important to him." He calls her a sister. He calls her a deacon. He calls

38:18 her a benefactor. That means she supported him. He says that in his work and she lived she was a part of the church of Cenchrea. Cenchrea was a suburb of Corinth. Paul, we believe, wrote the letter of Romans in Corinth and she lived in a port city there, had a church that met in her house. Why is that significant? I think because this dear sister of God, in fact, he says commend He commends Phoebe. I think that's important because I believe, and most people that I've read that have really researched this, believe that it was Phoebe, a woman, that Paul handed his scroll. Listen, the

39:03 most important theological treatise, more in Romans about the the theology of God than any other book, he handed that after they were done, he handed it to a woman, and we believe it was Phoebe who got on a boat there in her hometown, a ship, and she took that letter around to the church of Rome, and when she got there, according to tradition, it was Phoebe, the bearer of that scroll, that letter of Romans, that we get to hold in our hand. It was Phoebe that opened that scroll, and she read it publicly to that church. Now, folks, that's exciting to me. That's saying, male, female, Jesus doesn't see that. He sees you as equally

39:49 important in the body of Christ. Why in the church do we say, well, you're just a woman? I understand. I think the same reasons are existing today is because the pride of man. If women take over the church, men leave. So, I think it's the same problem. But, the Apostle Paul had no problem saying Phoebe. Where would we be without Phoebe? I look at at my sisters in Christ that are sitting here right now. It hurts my heart that you would ever be made to feel less than because you're female. Phoebe was his sister, she was a deacon, she was a benefactor, and we're holding

40:35 a copy of the book that she carried by hand to the church of Rome. How did Jesus feel about women? Well, it's might shock you that it was it was Jesus who was actually in Luke chapter 8 verse 3, it lists women in Luke 8:3, you can see it in your digging deeper sheet. By the way, those are at the welcome center today that you it was women who supported Jesus. The Bible says out of their own means. How did Jesus live? How did he do this itinerant He he was supported by women. How did Jesus feel about women? The same way Paul did. They may be in the eyes of the world they may be underdogs, but in their eyes they were heroes. Jesus, wherever he

41:22 went, he always elevated the underdogs. The women, the children, the poor, the outcast, the marginalized. Jesus said, "I am the God of the underdogs. There's no unimportant people to me." Next section verse 3 chapter 16, "Greet Priscilla." Oh, the first two names are female, Phoebe and Priscilla. "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house." Aquila and Priscilla, how many of you have heard those names? That that

42:07 those names go together. Aquila and Priscilla, they kind of rhyme. They must have been the cutest couple in the early church, but they moved about as much as I've moved in my life. I've lived from one coast to the other and almost a lot of places in between, but you can see from the references in the New Testament in Paul's letter, you see this they're literally movers and shakers. These are all the places these this couple lived. And oftentimes they went with Paul or Paul went with them, so they were coworkers on the mission field together. Their names always appear together. It's always Aquila and Priscilla or Priscilla and Aquila. Most of the time it's Priscilla and Aquila.

42:52 They put the the name of the female first. They were co-worker co-workers. They were tent makers. Most of you may know probably know that the Apostle Paul, he didn't want to be a burden to any any of the churches. So, he didn't take he didn't take a a salary. He actually worked as a tent maker, at least part of the time. How on earth did he meet Aquila and Priscilla? And and why did they move so much? Well, they were on a quest to share the gospel. And the tent making was just a a means to an end. But, I think and this is pure conjecture on my part that the way the Apostle Paul met Aquila is he met him in church. You know, some of the best connections I I met my wife in church. She came and tapped me on the shoulder. Some of the

43:38 best connections and friendships we form are in church. I think what happened is the women and men sat in separate sections in the synagogue. The Apostle Paul still being a Jew, still went to synagogue. When he went to the synagogue, he ran into other Jewish people there and he made connections with them. So, the women are sitting here, the men are sitting here, and not only did they sit together as men, but they sit together according to their trade or their profession. So, I think because Paul was a tent maker and Aquila was a a tent maker, they probably sat next to each other one day and they're just talking about their Paul is sharing with him his faith in Jesus. I think that's how it started, but nobody knows for

44:23 sure. All we know is this couple, they were really good friends with Paul. They risked their life for Paul. He was grateful for them. We think Paul probably lived with them at some points. They were lifelong friends. He talked about a church that met in their house. It was Aquila and Priscilla that instructed Apollos in the greater way, the way of Jesus, not the way of John the Baptist. So, they were lifelong friends. Maybe you people in your life right now that you've known since you were young. Lifelong friends. Me, too. Now, those are getting a little fewer as as the years go on. But, I have three buddies that I see at least once a year. I just got back from Tampa, Florida. I

45:10 did a funeral for a Bible college friend of mine, and we've maintained connection. The thing about this this guy is he was a he was a not just a man's man, he was a networker of network. He was a friend's friend. And Tim would call me on a regular basis. I remember about a year ago he called me up and said, "I want you to do my funeral." I was like, "We're not even going to talk about that." He said, "Yep, we are." Those kinds of connections that go back to our childhood, they're rare. They're unique. They're deep. And do everything you can to maintain those connections. See, Paul called them these were these were people who risked their life for him. These were dear, dear friends to

45:55 the Apostle Paul, Aquila, Priscilla. Romans chapter 16, verse 5, "Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia." Can you imagine being the first Christian not just in your school or in the entire region? The bravest people are the first people to do something. We don't think anything about like getting on a plane now and flying like I just did to Tampa. But, think about the first person to fly. I don't mean Orville and Wilbur. I remember the guys before that that that crashed. You know, that's the bravest people on Earth. It's the first people to do something. Think

46:41 about the the first person to parachute. I jumped out of a plane one time with a parachute, but thousands of people have done it before me. Think about the first guy to do it. You're like, "Really? You're really going to jump out of that plane?" The first person to bungee jump. Our comedian talked about that. It's a funny concept. Who's the first one that's going to test it out? And you're trusting your life to this giant rubber band. So, this is the first converts to Christianity. Wow, we I never heard of his name. I didn't know anything about this guy. But he was the first convert in the province of Asia. Just this little underdog, this little no-name nobody that reached people for Jesus.

47:26 In fact, 10 years later, we believe there were at least hundreds of followers in the province of Asia because of this one that witnessed. Verse 6, "Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you." That's a Jewish name. It's a short name for Miriam. She worked very hard. We don't know anything else about her other than she's a Jewish lady who worked very hard. Verse 7, "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me." We believe Junia is a female name. He goes on to say they are outstanding among the apostles. Now, there's a difference in apostles with a capital A. There are only 12 capital A. There's only 12 of those. But being an apostle meant being a sent one, being a messenger. It was like being a missionary. So, here is a female

48:13 who's commended as someone who carried the gospel, was a messenger. He said they did this when I was before they were in Christ before I was. Paul's like, "They knew Jesus before I did." These people, their faith goes way back. Verse 6 or verse 8, "Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord." This was a common slave name. Can you imagine as this letter is written and the people are sitting there in church? I mean, I want you to imagine right now if if I was, you know, someone was reading a letter that I wrote to this church commending and all of a sudden it comes to your name. You're like, "Wow." You sit a little taller. So, here's this guy who has a common slave name,

48:59 Ampliatus. How many of you heard of him before I just read it to you? I'm sure I have read it, but nobody pays attention. But guess what? He has his own verse in the Bible. I don't have my own verse in the Bible. He has a whole verse in the Bible about him, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus. This is a Latin word from which we get Urban. And his name literally means city slicker. And if that wasn't weird enough, funny enough, his friend is listed with him, my dear friend Stachys. Stachys means an ear of corn. What kind of weird sense of humor did his parents have to name him? Maybe it must have been farmers. Then so one of

49:44 them is city slicker and the other's ear of corn. All Paul goes is, "They're my friends, my my dear friends. I love them." Verse 10. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa. We think these were female twins, and their names are kind of wealthy Greek aristocrats. So I just picture these wealthy twin girls who are part of the church there. Those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the

50:30 Lord. Three times Paul commends those who worked hard. All three times, I'm sorry guys, all three times it's women. Cuz we all know women do all the work. Amen. I figured I'd get a response out of that. Something, you know. Guys are afraid to say anything right now. I think that's pretty cool. Ministry is the easiest job in the world if you don't have a heart, if you care, if you really get engaged in people's lives, you feel their pain, it's actually the hardest job. That's probably why women, he's saying

51:16 they work hard because they care, they invest, they care, they they they're more connected with what's happening. Men, sometimes sometimes we can do work without a heart. Here, he commends these women for their hard work three times. Verse 13. Greet Rufus. I don't know about you, Rufus doesn't sound like a guy I'd want to run into in a dark alley. He just sounds like a tough guy. Rufus. Hey, Rufus. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. I had to do a little bit of digging into Rufus. I didn't even know anything about Rufus from the Bible. I didn't either. I just I started in. Rufus is

52:02 mentioned in another place in Mark chapter 15 verse 21. Says a certain man from Cyrene, that's modern-day Libya, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. We have this guy, when Jesus was crucified, he's in Jerusalem, just so happens to be in Jerusalem in the very place that Jesus, the son of God, is being led through to be crucified, Jesus falls under the weight of the cross, and he is conscripted, he's forced to carry the cross for Jesus, and his two sons' name,

52:48 that was Simon of Cyrene, which is modern-day Libya, his two sons' names are Alexander and Rufus. Do you see what God is doing there? Paul refers to him as chosen because there are no accidents in the kingdom of God. This man with his two sons just happened to be there on that day. Rufus happens to be with him. They happen to be part of the crowd. They happen to stand at the foot of Jesus and see how the son of God died, and it changed everything. And Alexander and Rufus went on to become leaders in the early church. Black men who were leaders in the early church. Chosen by God. Tell me God is not the God of the

53:34 underdogs. There it is. And his mother, Paul says, "His mother was like a mother to me." Now, you got to get a mental picture of this. This is an African family. They're from Libya. They're black. They're from Libya. She is hit like a mother to him. I see this black mom taking Paul in and loving him. She said, "Child, sit down here and talk to me." Because Paul went through so so much. She helped nurture him and nurse him back to health. And she loved him like only a mama can love. That was Rufus's mother.

54:20 And it was Paul's mother, too. It's a beautiful picture of how God chose a family to advance the gospel. Romans 16:14. This is a tough one. In fact, it's I'm going to ask somebody else to come and read these names cuz if I'm going to butcher it. I'll try. "Greet As- Asyncritus, Phlegon Hermes Patrobas, Hermas, and the other brothers and sisters with them. Greet Philol- Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the Lord's people who are with them." If you know any young couple getting

55:05 ready to have a baby, and they're trying to find a good name for that child, can point them right there to Romans 16:14-15. They may be the first parents to name their child Philologus after this person that we can't even pronounce their name. You know what's pretty cool to me? Paul knew their name. Paul remembered their name because they were important to him. I'm struggling right now. I'm struggling sometimes to remember my own kids and grandkids' names, let alone the whole church's names. So, I have you still you struggle a little bit as you get older and kind of I got other people from other worlds and but I will tell you right now, I really want to learn

55:50 your name. But I really more than want to just learn your name, I want to learn about you. I want to hear your story. To me, that's what it's about. It's about As I get older, it's about people. I I I'd rather have at my funeral rather than a building full of people. I'd rather have as somebody said, "I'd rather have 10 people at my funeral that don't check their clock watch one time." That's to me, it's love. As we get older, loving and being loved is the most important thing and that's what Paul did and that's why he ends this section, verse 16, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." Now, in the in the Roman Jewish world, you've probably seen that that Middle Eastern thing where they do this, you

56:37 know, on both sides. That's the holy kiss that he's talking about. But what he's saying was so unusual because in the Greek and Roman world, you didn't greet anybody that was not in your same socioeconomic class. You did not, if you were a Jew, have anything to do. You didn't touch a Gentile. If you were a male, you didn't touch a female. If you were rich, you didn't touch somebody who was poor. If you were a slave, you didn't touch somebody who was free. You didn't You didn't come in close contact and Paul's going, "No, no, no. This is is OF CHRIST. WE'RE GOING TO love everybody here in the body of Christ. Not because of their color of their skin, their political preferences, not because of their gender. What Paul is describing here, this

57:24 intimate greeting, it shatters prejudice. It's radical equality. What's he saying? Our God is a God of the underdogs. There are no unimportant people in the body of Christ. What Paul is saying here is everyone matters. You are not a nobody. You are not unimportant. John Donne said no man is an island to himself. I love that little poem. He says, "Any man's death diminishes me. Never send to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee." When one part of our body hurts, we all hurt. That's the beauty of being in the body of Christ. I am so

58:09 thankful that we In our small group, if somebody has a hurt or need, they send it out in prayer and people pray for them. I cannot imagine going through life not knowing that someone was praying for me. Amen? How lonely it would be. The loneliest I have ever felt in my life was in church. Felt sort of like, you know, Kevin in Home Alone. Walking along the streets and he looks in. You remember that? And he he sees all these people inside with family. He doesn't have one. There's nothing more lonely than going to church and feeling like you're alone. That's why it's so important to me and to us that we love each other. Every person who walks through that

58:55 door, we love them like Jesus loved us. There's no unimportant people in the body of Christ. Underdogs matter. Underdogs belong. Underdogs can be forgiven. Do you know one of the best analogies I've heard is, you know, the movie the TV show Cheers. You know why that was so important or so popular? Because everybody knows you're what? Yeah, everybody knows your name. You guys watched that show about a bar. That's That's just kind of disappointing. Someone once said the neighborhood bar is the biggest counterfeit for what true Christian fellowship should be. It's dispensing liquor instead of grace.

59:41 But that neighborhood bar is inclusive. Everybody's welcome. They don't care what you where you've been or what you've been doing. They're welcome there. And that is exactly what the body of Christ should be. And I love what Billy Graham says. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. There are no underdogs in God's mind. Some of you can't imagine that God could ever forgive you, let alone use you. And I'm telling you what matters. It's not whether your name appears on a rap sheet someplace. Really matters is does your name appear in the Lamb's Book of Life?

1:00:28 I really want to find that lady who dusts or maybe it's a guy who dusts that lectern in the halls of Congress when I get to heaven. I really like to find him and say thank you. Thank you for reminding me that there are no unimportant people in God's eyes. Let's pray together. Father, I pray as we leave here today that we would leave with the sense of purpose and destiny. We would leave standing taller not because of us, not because of anything we do or have done

1:01:14 or how much money we have, or any of the accomplishments of our life, but because of what you've done and are doing. Every person has value because you give us value. Every person has meaning and purpose. And God help us learn to love better, and love bigger, and love more. Love is that thing that more you give it away, the more you have. It's weird, but it's true. Help us love more. And pour it out as you poured it out for us. Thank you, Lord. In your sweet name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship.

1:02:16 >> is for me. Your ear listening. I'm safe in your love. Your army of angels watch over me. You're always present. You're always with me. For all of my life, your favor has followed. You're my

1:03:05 covering. I have never walked alone. I've never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield, and I have confidence. You go before me. You're my deliverer. I know I'll never walk alone. You're always

1:03:54 faithful. You're strong and able. Lifting my head, in you I find help. You're my providence. I have never walked alone. I've never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield, and I have confidence. You go before me.

1:04:41 You're my deliverer. I know I'll never walk alone. In every hour, every minute, you have always been there. You are faithful, and you always will be. In every trial, every failure, you are loyal to me.

1:05:29 You are faithful, and you always will be. In every hour, every minute, you have always been there. You are faithful, and you always will be. In every trial, every failure, you are loyal to me. You are faithful, and you always will be. >> You always will be. >> You are faithful, and you always will be. I have never walked alone.

1:06:15 I've never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield, and I have confidence. You go before me. You're my deliverer. I know I'll never walk alone. I've never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield, and I have confidence.

1:07:01 You go before me. You're my deliverer. I know I'll never walk alone. In every hour, every minute, you have always been there. You are faithful, and you always will be. In every trial, every failure, you are loyal to me. You are faithful and you always will be. You are faithful

1:07:46 and you always will be. He is faithful and he always will be. >> God bless you all. Don't forget on Tuesday to vote and go be the church. God bless.