Worship Preparation - September 3, 2023

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Read the sermon text: Romans 16:1-16

Read the sermon summary: How many people go to your church? How much money is being taken up in the weekly offering? How many baptisms did you have last year? These are a few common questions church leaders might hear to evaluate a church's fruitfulness. “Nickels and noses,” we might say. We might also hear that numbers are important since they represent people. My usual response to that idea is that, no, actually names and faces represent people. We want to be nuanced, however, and recognize the Scripture speaks of people in terms of numbers (e.g. the feeding of the 5,000, the number of people saved in Acts). What sticks out to us in our passage for this Sunday is that Paul commends and greets people by name. Up to this point, we might have thought that Romans was a letter written to a general audience. However, here we see just how personal this letter is and how Paul takes the time to encourage specific people with specific descriptions of how they have served the Lord. In preparation for the sermon, consider the following questions: What sticks out to you about the list of names in this passage? How many churches are referred to in this list? What roles does it seem like Phoebe played in Paul’s mission?

Read the following song lyrics in relation to the sermon: 

Sons And Daughters

Before He spoke creation

The God of Heaven knew our names

Formed in His reflection

We are His glory on display

And His heart is good

He is always kind

With a cross He proved

He is on my side

Chorus

We are the sons we are the daughters of God

No matter where we go

We're close to the Father's heart

And though we stumble He will not let us fall

We are the Lord's and He will never forsake His own

We are the sons we are the daughters of God

His love He lavished on us

And called us children of the King

And in His loving kindness

He chose the lowly and the weak

When the lies speak louder than the truth

Remind me I belong to You

When I can't see past the dark of night

Remind me You're always by my side

CCLI Song # 7043067

Brett Stanfill

© 2015 Brett Stanfill Music; Music At North Point

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CCLI License # 11078052