Romans___16
Scripture - What stood out?Romans 16
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[b] to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[c] my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,[d] 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. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers[e] 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. Observation - What does it say?This is such an exciting time in the history of the bible. The apostle Paul continues to establish the church among the gentile nations. In this conclusion of his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul exhorts the believers to be wise in what is good and innocent of evil. Understanding - What does it mean?We are getting ready to reopen the doors of our church beginning April. edit **I had written end of this month earlier in error. My apologies! ** end edit As part of the ushers we are now tasked with figuring out first impressions in the midst of the new post pandemic landscape we live in. At the heart of what our team does however is greet people. Whether you are new to our church or have been attending forever our goal is to greet you. That is part of the first impression that our ushers hope to imprint on people as they see us. In Romans 16:3-16, the apostle Paul uses the word greet 18 times in reference to a fellow believer in Christ. Something tells me Paul was the consummate usher! Thousands of years ago when the church first started it was important to the apostle Paul to greet his fellow laborers and believers. Isn’t this just as important today as we look to rebuild our universal church post-pandemic? Life Application - How can I apply this to my life today? I felt convicted after reading that portion of scripture to try harder to imitate Paul. It is now easier than ever to reach out. For my life application today I am going to text one person I normally wouldn’t. And I would like to let them know they are a believer in Christ like I am, they are loved by God, that I am grateful to be friends with another Christian, and that I wanted to say- hello. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. -kenneth lee