December 9, 2007 -- "Hospitality"

Scripture: Romans 15:4-13

15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

15:5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus,

15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15:7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name";

15:10 and again he says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people"; 15:11 and again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him";

15:12 and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope."

15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One Voice
First Service Introduction:
[Mr. Goldblatt," announced little Joey, "there's somethin' I can't figger out." "What's that Joey?" asked Goldblatt.

"Well accordin' to the Bible, the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, right?"

"Right."

"An' the Children of Israel beat up the Phillistines, right?"

"Er--right."

"An' the Children of Israel built the Temple, right?"

"Again you're right."

"An' the Children of Israel fought the 'gyptians, an' the Children of Israel fought the Romans, an' the Children of Israel wuz always doin' somethin' important, right?"

"All that is right, too," agreed Goldblatt. "So what's your question?"

"What I wanna know is this," demanded Joey. "What wuz all the grown-ups doin?"

In this closing section of his letter to the Roman Church, Paul turned his attention to the children of Israel and the Old Testament.]

Second Service Introduction:
[A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody-or-other had printed it.

"Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector.

"Yes, that was it!"

"Are you crazy? You've thrown away one of the first books ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!"

"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth anything close to that much," replied the man. "It was scribbled all over in the margins by some guy named Martin Luther."

The Bible is valuable for more than the translation or the person who wrote in it. The Bible is the very word of God, and here, in this closing section of his letter to the church in Rome, Paul points to the Bible of his day - the Old Testament.]

Paul quotes 3 passages from the Old Testament right here in chapter 15 of Romans. One of the strongest proofs for the truth about Christianity is that there are over 300 references to the person of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, all of which are fulfilled and recorded in the New Testament. Prophecies that were made no less than 400 years before their fulfillment! That is absolutely incredible. We don’t have to wonder or doubt the legitimacy of Christianity. Right here we have concrete proof about our faith.

Let me also say that we need to appreciate both Old and New Testament. Again, the Bible of Paul’s day was the Old Testament. The New Testament writers, inspired by God, connected the two testaments. They validated the Old Testament by their constant referral to it. And they gave us the rest of the salvation story as God wished it to be written. I will say that the total Bible, both Old and New Testaments, will help to make us total Christians!

The great evangelist Charles Haddison Spurgeion said, “I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much.
John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress, testified, "Read the Bible, and read it again, and do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions; pray and read, and read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from man." (Daily Bread, August 12, 1992.)

Next, Paul points to the Savior. He encourages the Romans and us to live in harmony with one another under the headship – the leadership – of Christ. Let us not forget that our primary act in worship is to glorify God. People do that in different ways. I am so pleased that we have two services here. Some folks prefer to glorify the God with a band and upbeat music. Some prefer to glorify God more quietly and traditionally. Both are valid. Both are important. Any church that wishes to grow must provide both opportunities. And we are going to provide a third opportunity in the fairly near future. We will be exploring a third service in the evening.

The goal of worship, whether it is first service, or second service or a third service is to glorify God. When we can lay aside our differences (whether personality or doctrine or practice or even hurt) and worship out of love for God, we create one voice and bring a tremendous glory to God. Visitors will see it. We will see it. And we will be blessed for it.

I first noticed the great American landscape photographer Ansel Adams in a doctor’s office in Parkersburg. In his early years, Ansel studied piano and showed some talent. At one party, however, as Adams played Chopin's F Major Nocturne he recalled that "In some strange way my right had started off in F-sharp major while my left had behaved well in F-major. I could not bring them together. I went through the entire nocturne with the hands separated by a half-step."

The next day a fellow guest gave Adams a no-nonsense review of his performance: "You never missed a wrong note!" (Daily Walk, May 14, 1992.)

We never miss a wrong note when we fail to dwell in the harmony of the spirit of Christ.

Last, Paul points to the Church. We welcome one another as a sign of our one voice – our spiritual harmony. We also welcome because Christ has welcomed us. His very death was an invitation to eternal life. We must RSVP! When we do, he welcomes us into eternal life with the universes biggest choir – a countless chorus of angels.

Because Christ welcomes us so lavishly, we must welcome others into our fold here. This hospitality that Christ shows must be showed among us. This is why hospitality ministry is so important. We must express hospitality in such a way that no one else receives guests better. The church should be the best welcoming agent on the planet. I have been welcomed better at funeral homes than I have at some churches! We are getting on the ball here. We are endeavoring to roll out the red carpet: greeting, beverages, smiling faces; these are all just a beginning. We want to create an atmosphere of welcome. We want folks to know how important they are to us. I know, some of you, like me, were not raised with the freedom to have a cup of coffee in the sanctuary. Guess what? New and growing churches have whole coffee shops with everything from tea to coffee to cappuccinos in their churches!

My first church experience as pastor was a good one, but not without struggle. I got a call one day from the D.S. asking me why we did not want kids at church. He told me that he received a phone call from a visitor who was confronted at the door and asked why she had come. She had her two children with her. Evidently, my parishioner told her that we didn’t have many kids here and that she would be happier somewhere else. I never did discover who at the church did the deed. The message was sent loud and clear: “You are not welcome.”

Arnold Glasow once said, “Some folks make you feel at home. Others make you wish you were.” Let’s never send a message that we wish someone didn’t come. Sometimes that means that you and I need to break out of our groups and never let a stranger or a regular leave unnoticed. WalMart, in its early days, used to practice the 10 foot rule. If you come within 10 feet of me, I will ask you if you need anything. Let’s go one step better than WalMart. Let’s cut it to 5 feet!

At the end of this passage, Paul makes up a bit for getting on the Jews in the congregation. Remember last week I mentioned how he can down pretty hard on the Jews because they were enforcing their customs upon their non-Jewish brothers and sisters in the church. Paul let them have it. Here, he gives them their due. Paul affirms the place of the Jews in salvation history. He tells the church that it was God who chose to use the Jews as a vehicle for his salvation plan. Paul makes it clear that Jesus became part of the circumcised – the Jewish community – in order to fulfill the promises of the patriarchs – the Jewish ancestors – so that even the gentiles could be included amongst those who believe. It was all part of the plan. You know, the next time that we thing negatively of a Jew or the Jewish people, let us remember that it was God’s pleasure to choose them in order to choose us!!!

Let’s put an end to all prejudism, because all races are God’s doing. At the foot of the cross, we are all equal!