Romans 16 ~ To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that 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.

3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 

5 Greet also the church in their house.

 Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.

6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 

7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 

8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 

9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 

10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 

11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 

12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 

13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. (Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross?)

14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 

15 Greet Philologus, 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.

17 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. 18 For 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. 19 For 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. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

25 Now 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 26 but 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— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Have you stopped lately to think about Christianity from the 1970s and today?

A gentle time. People made a lot of handcrafts. Housing was pretty affordable - Congress had not yet passed legislation that two incomes could apply for a house - then housing sky-rocketed. Our Dallas home increased in value by doubling. This is forty years after the idea of mortgages came to being in the world - before this people paid cash for affordable homes they owned for generations. 1930s - Started out innocently enough - oh no - sheer horrors a 2% note...

Ok, back to the 1970s, it was a gentle time. The Vietnam War was ending - people held love ins and sat holding hands. Mostly the USA was married. TV was gentle. Laugh tracks were loud.

Christianity? That's nice. We all should love the Lord. Not get too pushy with that - all you need to do to understand where that person stood was the perfectly acceptable, "What denomination are you?" Then mostly all your questions were answered because people were generally going to throw out how many times they went.

There were definite perks to this - if you watch the movies from the 1950 Academy Award Winners - you are seeing some of the finest movies - and send someone to view those movies - Like "Marty" and "Mrs. Miniver" "Roman Holiday" - they return seriously impressed with good cinema.

Yes, I'm staying in this era - by saying - the entertainment had "topics" but usually we were warned of the consequences of being not so nice. TV was not so entertaining us that the agenda needed babysitting.

And now we have none of the peace and quiet PTA meetings of post era - gum chewing, talking, homework loss of the past eras. We face far more significant situations now.



HOWEVER, we are not going to do the waaa waaas. Just as Roman influenced housing has swept in and in - we see we have a parallel to the Roman Empire again.

And how are we handling this new world? The Acts of the Apostles really had people seeing love given. Two cloaks? No, we are not talking about donating to someone through The Salvation Army. We are talking about a cloak is given to someone in need that we know their name and their father drinks. Or the heat isn't afforded. The World changed for believing Christians offering Love and Prayer and not judgments. People who put themselves out to help others.

All of Life is a Balance God tells Joshua - Weep with those who Weep, Rejoice with those who Rejoice.
But in as much as is it up to you get along with others. I.E. Don't lead the band wagon on why the world is sooo awful.

What do we do with this at  Church ?

For one thing - we have people - Who have made themselves Encouragers = Barnabas. They go forth to smile, to hug and to ENCOURAGE. Just like this very passage. Kirk, Cindy, Disala, Sharon, Justina, Hillary, Jack, and the multitude of people we all have named Lewis - like Dee. Our hallways and Atrium are as friendly as Romans 16.

 This is the Exact Look Cindy Beaumont is going to wear when she Goes Home, Years from Now, To her HOME with Jesus! If you see Cindy weep during the Service - that's the Holy Spirit - Touching her Heart.

So how is Church reacting to the World at Large? 

We have events like the Apartment Outreach.

Our rather - on the smaller side Congregation - is one of the largest Volunteer bases at PACN - where parents are helped to parent their kids in really effective outreach.

We have people involved in Redeemed Ministries - because Houston is the 4th Largest City in the USA and one of the USA's largest provider of the sex trades, about 20 minutes from our Church. Slavery still exists.

We have people who go to the schools to find children who need tutoring and Speech Therapy. Donating their time to the Public School System we feel is really a good System due to wonderful Dr. Don Stockton and Principals who stay up all night to look for missing students - Dr. Mark Murrell. Unsung, but highly appreciated for what doesn't show up in the day to day knowledge. We have Hometown Heroes.

We have people who go to shopping malls to pray for people. We have huge groups of people who show up to move single moms with hurt children. We helped feed the Katrina Refugees for 2 months.

This is not the typical busy - this is useful.



Keys to a Useful Life
By Ward Williams


· Illustration: Thomas Huxley said, “A feeling of uselessness is the severest shock that a human system can endure.”

· The secret to a happy life is not in keeping busy, but in being useful.

· The Good Samaritan is a good representation of what it means to be a useful, caring person.

· Big Idea: The ultimate standard of a useful life is not what you think and expect of yourself as much as what you are willing to do for those around you.

Transition: Applying this story to our lives requires concentration on three keys to a useful life.

Avoid the danger of generalities.

· Christianity is not a philosophy; its approach to life is concrete.

· The gospel calls us to test our belief by acting upon it.

- Illustration: A cemetery headstone in England reads, “Here lies Thomas Cobb, who mended shoes in this village for 40 years to the glory of God.”

· Neighborliness is not a generality; it is serving the needs of individuals.

Be aware of what is important.

· Jesus implied that all the religious rituals in the world were not as important as the fellow who lay bleeding beside the road.

· Jesus’ choices were always made in terms of people and their needs.

· The Samaritan did not act out of an expectation for reward or thanks. The Good Samaritan was motivated by a good conscience, a sense of satisfaction, and a desire to be able to say he had led a useful life.

Help others help themselves.

· The Samaritan’s intentions were to get the wounded man on his feet, not to make him dependent upon charity.

· Illustration: Williams works with a nonprofit organization that finances cottage industries in Venezuela to teach skills leading to financial independence.

Conclusion

· Jesus lived the model of usefulness.

- Philippians 2:7;
but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

- Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

· A useful life is not defined by knowing who our neighbors are, but in demonstrating neighborliness. An Example of this is Sharon. No program at Church asked her to have an Open House  for her very quiet street, but she did and the neighbors were a little stunned. And Grateful.

And Lorraine and Henry who brought "Alpha"  to their neighborhood and 6 peoples showed up. They were very disappointed. Three people only remained. And two learned Jesus is their Savior.  In the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" - Henry and Lorraine get to ring the bell - they earned their wings.

  

He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Luke 10:37

Help, us Father God to prepare the way to Your Plan of a Hope and Future You have given us. Where our talents and gifts making us the unique people we are further the High Path for Jesus Christ the Lord. 

We will weep with those in the valley and encourage them toward better seasons.  We put aside the ideas bringing God's Path of Wonderous Love to a baser knowledge.  We put aside barriers to the real Joy of Jesus proclaiming Jesus is Love, Joy, Truth, Comfort, Peace.  To know Jesus is to know Peace. Where reality is acknowledged and not glossed over - the good fight is fought to real Truth. Where Joy and Love call for Fruitfulness and Kindness blesses those we love, to open all eyes to see the Salvation,

 Such A Great Salvation, We Shall Not Overlook! Jesus Has Won Us the Greatest Victory and We Blaze the Light of Jesus Christ Forth! 

Lord Jesus Only In Your High Name. AMEN!




 ♔ Lord Jesus Saves †