‘friends, Romans, Countrymen’

SERMON OUTLINE:

• Principle #1: We need people.

• Principle #2: We need people to do things.

• Principle #3: We need to serve people.

SERMON BODY:

‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’

• Our title for this talk is, ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen,’

• Question: Can anyone finish the quote?

• Answer: “…lend me your ears.”

• These words were penned by William Shakespeare.

• And they are the first line of a speech,

• In which Mark Antony,

• Addresses the crowd at Julius Caesar’s funeral.

• The phrase essentially means,

• "Fellow Romans, people of this land, I ask for your attention."

• Today he would probably say,

• “Fellow Romans, people of this land, switch off your phones & listen."

• TRANSITION:

• Well, Pasul the apostle is not dead,

• And we are not at a funeral,

• Although we are at the end, the conclusion of this letter.

• These verses require our attention,

• On the surface it appears to be just a list on names & greetings,

• But…they also contain some good principles.

Principle #1: We need people.

• We know for certain,

• That the apostle Paul wrote at least thirteen letters,

• That are included in the New Testament.

• If Paul also wrote Hebrews (debatable),

• That would take his contribution to fourteen books.

• Now in only two of his 13/14 letters.

• Does the apostle Paul include such a large list of names?

• Here is Colossian’s chapter 4,

• And the other list is in Romans chapter 16.

Question: Anyone know what else these two letters have in common?

Answer: They were letters written to churches he had never visited.

• The apostle Paul knows,

• That he can’t visit the Church in person,

• And he wants to do more than just send a letter.

• So along with the letter he is going to send people,

• Godly people,

• Who will show up in his place to spend time with them.

At the time of writing, the apostle is in prison,

• He is in prison for his faith.

• Even today of course,

• Many Christians face imprisonment for their faith.

• Or for sharing the gospel with other people.

Ill:

• Open Doors website - each year.

• (https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/)

• 4,476 Christians murdered.

• 7,679 Churches and Christian properties attacked.

• 4,744 Christians imprisoned.

• 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide.

• 1 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Africa.

• 2 in 5 Christians are persecuted in Asia.

• TRANSITION:

• Persecution happens today and it also happened then.

• Remember that for the first 300 years of Christianity,

• The Church experienced waves of persecution.

The apostle Paul is aware that,

• His life was in danger and could soon be over,

• He is deeply concerned for the other Churches,

• Even those he has never visited.

• And wants to send help to strengthen them.

The apostle is aware that a letter is good but limiting,

• i.e. You can only say so much before you run out of space.

• i.e. A letter is one dimensional, you cannot ask it questions etc.

• No letter can take the place of a real person,

• Who is present in the room,

• Who can convey what can’t be conveyed from a distance.

Ill:

• Every Sunday we have a preacher teach the Word of God.

• We could just ask preachers to send us the text of their sermon,

• And we could read that out,

• But you and I both know,

• That would be a totally different and inferior experience.

• To having a live person,

• (always the best type to have – lol),

• Communicate and interact and share with us.

• TRANSITION:

• We live in a very tech world.

• i.e. We all can livestream a Church service,

• From Churches all around the world.

• During the week, many of us do just that,

• We listen to our favourite speakers.

• But Paul reminds us of something very, very important.

• We STILL need people, real people in the same room.

• For that, there is no substitute.

Ill:

• Do you remember just over 5 years ago,

• The COVID-19 lockdowns years?

• When we were forced to stay in our homes,

• And we recorded this service in the week,

• And you could watch it broadcast each Sunday on YouTube?

• Question: Was it the same?

• Answer: Obviously it wasn’t!

Quote: Jay Kim writes:

“In the digital age, one of the most upside down things the church can offer is the invitation to be analog, to come out of hiding from behind our digital walls, to bridge our technological divides, and to be human with one another in the truest sense—gathering together to be changed and transformed in real time, in real space, in real ways.”