INTRODUCTION
This week I want to try to answer the question: how do I bring God with me into work, or as the title suggests, how do I take God to work?
This is a very practical question for those of us who do not want to separate who we are from what we do, who do not want to compartmentalize our lives, keeping our faith in one compartment and our job in another.
For many years there has been a growing movement in workplaces to keep religion out of the workplace. Thankfully this never was everywhere and recently it has been changing.
In a recent article on a web site that HR directors might turn to I would the following:
“When thinking about the plurality of identities that people are bringing to work, it’s important to remember that religion or lack of religion is one of those things,” said Elaine Howard Ecklund, professor of sociology at Rice University, director of Rice’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, and co-author of Religion in a Changing Workplace (Oxford University Press, 2024). “This is not some side thing. Embracing it affects the bottom line and makes people better workers and more committed to the organization.”
“[P]art of bringing their whole selves to work includes bringing their religious selves to work,” she said. “It’s important to allow a certain amount of authenticity at work. Our religious selves overlap with other parts of our identities, such as our gender and our ethnicity. When workplace leaders tamp down religious selves, they’re tamping down other parts of selves too.”
Other research shows that greater restrictions on religion from either government or society tends to harm economic growth, said Brian Grim, a former Pew researcher and founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. “When you’re in business and there’s a restriction on religion, that dampens morale and productivity,” he said. “When companies allow people to bring their whole selves to work, people have more buy-in.”
Because most belief systems include a moral code of ethics, embracing workers’ religious selves at work encourages people to also bring their ethics and morals with them to work. That makes them better employees who are more likely to consider how their actions affect others, Grim said.
https://www.shrm.org/enterprise-solutions/insights/future-of-religion-workplace
In addition, a recent Supreme Court ruling enhanced the protections religious workers have for avoiding discrimination in the workplace.
“Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers had to provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs or practices, such as scheduling changes, dress code exceptions, or prayer time, unless it causes “undue hardship”. In the Supreme Court 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling, undue hardship is defined as a “substantial increased cost” in relation to business operations, a higher standard than mere, minor inconvenience.”
So, it seems there is recognition at least in some places that allowing open religious diversity in the workplace is beneficial, and that employers are required to make greater efforts at accommodating religious practices, customs, and beliefs than they previously were.
But where does this leave us? The work environment is still a challenging environment to bring our Christian faith into. Sure, a private, personal, silent prayer at our lunch break may not offend anyone, but for some people any sort of religious talk is offensive and off-putting, as are displays of religious objects. What do we do if we sincerely hope to have God use our witness at work?
Start with a truth that we cannot forget:
I. God arrived at my workplace before I did.
A. The boss, the board, the HR department, and your co-workers couldn’t and didn’t .
Jeremiah 23:24
Even if someone wanted to work in a totally spiritually neutral job he/she could not do so. The fact is God is at work whether we want him to be there, invite him to be there, or think we have to bring him there through our life and actions. God is at work.
B. God was there you were.
John 5:17
Jesus made this statement to explain his actions on a Sabbath day. He healed a man and that according to the Jewish leaders was forbidden on the Sabbath when no work was to be done. Jesus stated that regardless of their laws and traditions about the Sabbath, God had all along been at work in the lame man’s life. In fact he was working that very day, and the evidence was the healing that took place. Jesus worked because he saw what his father was already doing.
If your workplace or company existed before you joined it, God was at your place of work before you came along. He hasn’t been waiting for you to show up before he could get to work. He’s also been working in the lives of the people you come in contact with. He’s been doing that for some time: since they were born. You are not the first spiritual contact the people at work have had. God was there working in their lives before you came along.
God may have also placed other Christians in your workplace before you got there, or will do so after you’ve arrived. You may not know who they are and they might not know you are a Christian.
God may also have already used Christians who are currently at your workplace or who were there in the past to sow the seed of the gospel in some people’s hearts. That leads us to the next truth:
C. God is at your workplace.
This is just restating what was implied by the second point. God isn’t at work simply as an uninterested bystander. God is working to bring your company, your employers, your fellow employees, your clients, customers, students, or patients to him. He is working to bring conviction about wrong practices and treatment of people. He is working to focus people’s lives away from just work, money, and career. He is at work and he is working at work.
Now a second truth none of us would deny:
II. When I go to work, I go
A. It’s a self-evident truth. ( can I go?)
(MULTILINE)
This fact, that we go to work as a Christian can create extra stress for us on the job.
Our workplace or co-workers may not be friendly to Christian values, morals, lifestyles, speech, or behavior. Many of the folks at work may not have any connection to Christ and have lifestyles, beliefs, and values that range anywhere from being somewhat Christian to out-and-out non-Christian or even hostile to Christianity. In some cases, some or even a majority of our co-workers may actively participate in a non-Christian faith.
This may lead some of us to defend compartmentalizing our life and leaving their faith at home when we go to work. “Work is hard enough. It just makes work so much easier not to have to try to bring my faith to work.”
It might be easier if you could leave your Christianity behind when you left for work, but you can’t. You are a Christian, period. Christianity isn’t something you believe, practice, or do. It is who you are. That goes with you everywhere.
B. The question is: “ of a Christian am I at work?”
Let’s remember what Jesus told us:
Matthew 5:13-16
Notice that Jesus didn’t say we must to to be light or salt. salt and light. The question is: are we tangy salt and visible light, or are we salt without taste or light hidden under a bushel? Those are our options when we go to work. Leaving Christianity behind is not one of them.
III. As a Christian at work, I have
Since we can’t be two different people: a Sunday person and a Monday-Friday person. We need to see ourselves as one person with two jobs.
Job 1: of the company I work for
This is the job I’m being paid for. I may be the owner, so I’d put the word ‘employer’ in the place of Job 1 if I were.
Job 1 is the one all of us think about when we head out to work. It is the job we were hired to do. The Bible has had some important things to say about that job and how we do it. We’ve discovered many of those things already.
As a Christian I want to ask: How can I do the job I was hired to do so that it on Christ?
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Job 2: with God
This is the job I’m privileged to do. It is actually God put you in the job you have, so that you could represent him there and with him as he is working in your workplace and the lives of your co-workers.
Job 1 is your earthly reason for going to work, Job 2 is your heavenly reason for going there.
As a Christian I want to ask: How can I work along with God in what he is already doing at my workplace? How can I make a difference for Christ in the lives of others?
Job 1: My as a Christian employee
Question: How can I do my job so that it reflects well on Christ?
There are at least three things I must do to be a witness for Christ on the job:
1. as a Christian should
Colossians 3:23
Your goal: to have everyone want to work for them.
(MULTILINE)
2. as a Christian should
James 3:11
Your goal: to give no one a reason to you are a Christianity.
(MULTILINE)
3. Treat others as a Christian should
Matthew 7:12
Your goal: to make being a Christian to others.
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Job 2: My work as a with God
Question: What is the difference I want to make for Christ in the lives of others?
Matthew 28:19
Literally: “Going, therefore, make disciples…” Therefore: “Going to work, therefore, make disciples…”
We are working to lead people to become born-again followers of Jesus.
This is our heavenly job. It is working for God’s cause and purpose while we are at work. Remember, God is already there working. Job 2 means we join him in his work and make his work at work our work, too.
My goal: to help everyone I encounter take closer to Christ
First, get to know the people at work more than just superficially. Be interested in them. Converse with them. Ask them about themselves. Along the way, see if you can discover where they might be on their way to Christ.
Second, pray for your co-workers. Ask God to give them spiritual desire, to have an interest in knowing more about Christ, or about why you are a Christian. Ask God to open their minds to the gospel. Ask God to give you opportunities to share your faith in even a small way with them.
Third, look for opportunities to have significant conversations with co-workers whom God is working in, or to further expose them to the gospel.
Review: Taking God to Work
God arrived at my workplace before I did.
He is currently there.
When I go to work, I go as a Christian.
I go as and .
As a Christian at work, I have two jobs.
I have the job I was hired to do and the job God sent me there to do.
Application
When I get to work tomorrow I’ll look for ways God may be at work.
I’ll go to work tomorrow as a Christian.
I’ll go to work tomorrow to work at my jobs: the job I was hired to do, and the job God has me there to do.
We know God wants us to work, but how much work is enough?
Possible answers:
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This is no theoretical question.
Here are some recent statistics from various studies in the United States about work-life balance:
66% of Americans don’t have work-life balance.
48% of Americans say they’re workaholics.
77% have experienced burnout at their workplaces.
94% of employees think work-life balance is important.
73% see work-life balance as a core factor when job searching, with 61% saying they wouldn’t accept a job if it impacted their work-life balance
48% would quit a job if it made it impossible for them to enjoy their life
The American Psychological Association reports that about 550 million working days are lost every year due to employee burnout, while 91% of the respondents found their jobs increasingly stressful, leading them to give low-quality results.
About 7 out of 10 full-time employees believe that they do not spend enough time on personal activities because of their demanding work schedules. Nearly 33% of US full-time workers work on holidays or weekends.
Technology has increased the challenge of separating life and work.
How many have gotten a text or phone call from work outside of job hours?
How many have had an online meeting outside of job hours?
How many have done work while on vacation, during days off, or on a holiday?
So you don’t fell alone, some statistics:
“Work-life balance statistics indicate that 57% of employees feel frustrated because technology ruins their family dinner. With employers expecting a reply within the hour to messages and emails, 40% of breadwinners think it’s acceptable to answer an urgent work call during family time.” https://teamstage.io/work-life-balance-stats/
“While cloud technologies make it simple for everyone to connect to work, they also make it hard for many to disconnect. Employees often feel pressure to be “always on” and to respond in the moment, both during and outside work hours, whether or not they’re expected to do so.
According to a 2024 Voice of the Workplace Report:
58% of employees agree that they’re always connected or available for work
46% of employees often work outside working hours
The problem
Life-work balance: how do I balance work with other things that are to me?
Truths about the problem
We can’t have
The struggle over work-life balance is a struggle over . God has not given us unlimited time and energy. The result is that we must learn to the time and energy he’s given us for the best result. We simply can’t , but we can learn with what God allows us to have.
over material things is a good and godly goal
1 Timothy 6:6–8
Philippians 4:11–12
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A balanced life requires
Jesus told us that living a Christian life in the right way demands and some .
Luke 14:28–32
Matthew 16:24–26
Biblical Perspectives on Work-Life Balance
The Bible has few examples and almost no warnings about working too much.
One example:
Exodus 18:14, 17-18
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While there aren’t many examples or specific teachings, the reasons some people over work are addressed:
Reason: of not having what is needed.
Matthew 6:33
Reason: .
Proverbs 23:4–5
Luke 12:15
Reason: Misplaced .
Luke 10:40–42
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A little thought will produce more reasons why we may overwork or even become workaholics:
The need for approval
A perfectionist personality
Thinking just a little more would make it even better
our self-esteem or equating production with personhood
things we don’t want to do
Trying to meet others’
Feeling we need to wear ourselves out to make the best use of our
with others
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To get out of balance we have to from one thing to to another.
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How can we get our life in balance?
.
We pray that God will guide us to see what is really going on – in our heart, our will, our habits, our desires, our ego, and on the job.
We ask God to help us be open to whatever changes He knows we should make.
Do a .
What is causing life and work to be out of balance?
How much of this is under our control?
How much of this is because of what we want rather than what we should do?
How much of this is caused by not living by our priorities?
How much of this is the result of not being willing to make a hard decision?
Decide (with God’s help) .
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and commit to it.
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Trust that if we’ve prayerfully taken these steps
Remember:
God has a plan for your life.
That plan doesn’t include yourself, your family, or anything else important so that you can work longer.
Deciding to get life and work in balance can call for some difficult, hard decisions, but once you recover balance these decisions will seem like some of the decisions you’ve ever made.
INTRODUCTION
So far we’ve deal with the biblical teaching about work: why we are to work and adopting a Biblical perspective on work. Today we turn practical by answering the question: “What does the Bible say about how I am to work?” Does the Bible give me any directions or help in working the way God wants me to work?
While there are many passages in the Bible that deal with work, there are four key ones that are designed to direct our work.
In this message we’ll find that:
- We are to work
- We are to work as if God was our employer
- We are to work as a steward of what God has given to us
- We are to work so God is glorified and the gospel is respected
I. I am to work
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
Already covered this idea. We were designed for work and God has given us work to do. Practically, though there remains an issue. How do we go to work? Do we fell forced to work and do just what will allow us to get by? Do we look for excuses to miss work or slack off? That’s where another verse instructs us:
Nehemiah 4:6
What can distinguish Christians from others at the job is what Nehemiah saw in the people of Israel: they .
So, as important as holding a job is, it is just as important for believers to got o work with a mind to work.
We don’t want to be like the people one employer spoke about when he said, “I have all kinds of people coming to me and asking me for work until after I give them a job.”
Having a mind to work could be rare. Sometimes it might even bring us into conflict with others at work.
So, I am to work, but in God’s eyes the I take to work is just as important has holding a job.
Question: What if I am a single mom or handicapped. Is it wrong to take government help?
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II. I am to work as if God was my employer
Ephesians 6:5-8
Characteristics of how Christians are to work at their job:
Add:
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III. I am to work as a steward of what God has given to me
Matthew 25:14-18, 20-21
Just like the servants given their master’s money to invest for him while he was away, God has given us the opportunity to work, and he’s given us the tools we need to work: education, training, intelligence, problem-solving skills, inter-personal skills, special abilities, talents, and so on.
He expects us to those gifts to create a good return on his investment in us. This doesn’t just mean showing up for work but the opportunities and abilities we’ve been given to bring him pleasure and to earn us hi commendation, “.”
IV. I am to work so God is glorified and the gospel is respected.
1 Corinthians 10:31
1 Timothy 6:1
What does this mean?
I will only do what will (honor, bring praise to) God, not what will disgrace Him.
I will work so if someone knows I am a Christian they will of Christianity.
I will give any praise or honor given to me
I will give personal thanks to God for giving me and to work.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
Review:
- I am to work, but I am also to have a to work.
- I should work as if was my boss.
- I must work to make on God’s investment in me..
- I should work in ways that enhance and the gospel’s .
INTRODUCTION
In this series we are trying to discover what the Bible says about work: how does God view work, how should we view work, and what place should work have in our life, etc.? We want to get answers to some practical questions about work: do we have the right job, how to we mix faith on the job, what does God expect about the way we work, and so forth.
We’re in the beginning phases of exploring this subject. We are trying to discover the most basic things the Bible says about work.
Last week we began by verifying the fact that God and work belong together. God belongs at work. For this reason we can’t live a life in which we are workers part of the week, and Christians the rest. Our faith and our work are to go together. God belongs at our work and with us when we go to work.
Review:
God and work go together.
Work is part of God’s plan for our life.
All of life is to be one integrated whole.
This week we want to expand on the personal part of this, specifically the second item in last week’s outline. I hope by the end of today’s message that you will have a fresh appreciation for the fact that you and I need to work, that work is an important part of God’s design for our lives, that work is valuable to us on its own, and that there is a right perspective on work we can adopt.
Today: You and I @ Work
You and I .
You and I need a perspective on work.
I. You and I
Four reasons this is true:
1. We were
We are made in God’s image: as
Genesis 1:26-27
Even just a momentary glance at the creation story tells us that work was meant to be in our DNA from the outset—God called humanity to fill the earth and subdue it.[1]
We’ve been given that are not needed just for eating, sleeping, and preserving the species.
Psalm 139:14
Psalm 144:1
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
2. The world God gave us
The world needs work to make it and inhabitable.
Genesis 1:28
Genesis 2:15
Genesis does not present the creation as a finished product, wrapped up with a big red bow and handed over to the creatures to keep it exactly as originally created. It is not a one-time production. Indeed, for the creation to stay just as God originally created it would constitute a failure of the divine design. From God’s perspective, the world needs work; development and change are what God intends for it, and God enlists human beings (and other creatures) to that end. From another angle, God did not exhaust the divine creativity in the first week of the world; God continues to create and uses creatures in a vocation that involves the becoming of creation.[2]
3. Work is
Work has value in and of itself. Without producing anything work does some things that are useful for us. Here are some of them.
Work us
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work us
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work involves us
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work us
Ecclesiastes 2:10
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Matthew 25:20–21
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work provides a sense of
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work helps us have good
Ecclesiastes 5:12
Here are a of these benefits that work can provide:
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Of course our work and working conditions can challenge good mental health. In such a situation those of us in Christ have resources that non-Christians don’t have that allow us to experience God’s comfort, His peace, and His hope. Long-term mental health can be a reason to look for other work, but even in challenging situations, believers can still gain many of the mental health benefits of work.
Work gives us opportunities to bring and to be for Christ.
Matthew 5:16
1 Peter 3:15
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
4. Work for us
Work provides for
Proverbs 28:19
Work provides for
1 Timothy 5:8
Work provides something we can
Ephesians 4:28
Acts 20:35
Review: You and I need work
Four reasons we should believe this:
1. We were designed for it
2. The world God gave us requires it
3. Work is good for us
4. Work provides for us
II. You and I need a perspective on work.
Work is a not a secular activity.
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work is one of God’s to us.
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work is to us becoming the person God wants us to be.
Ephesians 2:10
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Work is part of being , of following Jesus
Mark 1:17
Ephesians 4:11–13
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Our work now will someday be a part of
1 Corinthians 3:12–15 (NASB95)
Matthew 25:21 (NASB95)
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Review: You and I @ Work
You and I need work.
You and I need the right perspective on work.
Application
I will for allowing me to work.
I will let God into what he wants me to be through work.
I will work in ways that him and bring to him.
I will for my coworkers and look for ways God wants to use me to bring others at work to .
- Ben Witherington III, Work: A Kingdom Perspective on Labor (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), 2. ↑
- 8 Fretheim, Creation Untamed, p. 15.
Introduction
Most of us here will spend and hours of our life working. This year most of us will spend more time at work than in any other single activity, about 2,000 hours or more.
What questions you have about work from the Christian perspective?
Theoretical questions we have about work:
Is work really important?
Does God care about my work?
Shouldn’t we keep work and religion separate?
Wouldn’t my time be better spent doing ministry?
Can you really be a Christian in a secular job?
Practical questions we have about work:
How can I be sure I have the right job?
How can I help my co-workers get to know Jesus?
Can I cut corners to make my job easier on me?
How do I handle office politics?
How much work is enough?
This morning we’ll start our series of message on God at work. From the title of this series you probably could conclude that I believe that God does belong at work.
That isn’t always what Christians think. Some feel that being a Christian is fine, but work is work and faith is faith. The two really can’t mix. The standards of work and the standards of Christianity are simply incompatible. A person has to work, so in order to do so, he or she can’t expect their secular job to reflect the standards of Christianity. The only thing to do is be a nice person and try one’s best to give generously to the Lord’s work, but Christianity and faith are really something for the time outside of work.
The main reaction to that viewpoint by some believers has been to go in the other extreme: work is just a place to witness and win others to Christ. If you aren’t doing that you are wasting your time at work. God doesn’t care about your employment itself. That’s just your mission field, so be sure you are making your witness your real job.
In the first case God doesn’t belong at work at all. In the second God doesn’t care about work, only about our witness.
Is either of these is a Biblical viewpoint and if not, what the Biblical viewpoint is?
We’ll be trying to answer that question this morning as we attempt to lay a foundation for God at work. Here’s what I will be trying to convince you as we look at Scripture this morning:
Today: Laying a Foundation for God @ Work.
Assertion #1: God and work go together.
We’ll look at the Biblical evidence that you cannot separate God from work, the work environment, the reason for working, how we work, etc.
Assertion #2: Work is part of God’s plan for our life.
Here we’ll take on the idea that work is something to avoid, finish as quickly as possible, retire from early, or otherwise try to have little to do with.
Assertion #3: All of life is to be one integrated whole.
Many Christians are guilty of compartmentalizing their lives. God is in one compartment, work in another, family in another, and so forth. It is often a matter of much stress and sometimes guilt going from one compartment to another: taking the sermon on Sunday and doing anything with it at work on Monday for example. It sounds nice but life is easier if you keep things separate.
We’ll just briefly look at the fact that this is not how we are to live the Christian life.
Each of these topics could be a sermon in itself, so we’ll have to work quickly to cover all three subjects. The scriptures I’ll use are simply the start of many more that relate to each outline point, some of which will come to your mind as I speak.
Assertion #1: God and Work Go Together
God is a worker
He worked in creation
Genesis 2:1-2
He worked in salvation
Isaiah 53:4-6
He works in continuation
Colossians 1:17
He works in sustentation
Matthew 6:31-33
God ordained, directs, rewards, and judges work
Genesis 2:15
Proverbs 19:21
Matthew 25:21
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
Outside of God work is ultimately meaningless and futile
Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
Luke 12:16-21
Assertion #2: Work Is a Part of God’s Plan for Our Life
We know this from God’s design:
We are made in God’s image (as workers), and the world God made requires work.
Genesis 1:26-27
We know this from God’s commands: He has given us work to do.
Genesis 2:15
We know this from God’s warnings: Idleness is wrong.
Proverbs 19:15
2 Thessalonians 3:10
We know this from Jesus’ life and teaching: He worked and put others to work.
He was a carpenter before he entered public ministry.
John 4:34
John 5:17
Luke 9:1-2
Matthew 28:19-20
Assertion #3: All of Life Is To Be One Integrated Whole
We are not to divide life into secular and sacred.
Joshua 24:15
All of life is to be under the control of God and lived for His purposes.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Colossians 3:17
Work is important, but it is not the most important thing in life.
Matthew 22:37-38
Matthew 6:33
Jesus laid down his life for people, not for a career or a job. Along the way he loved people, taught people, healed people, served people, and confronted people. Work is important, but not the most important thing in life. We can’t afford to let work become our life rather than have a proper place in our life.
Application
I will embrace work as an essential part of God’s plan for my life.
I will seek to glorify God with all my life, including my work.
I will be God’s person wherever I am, including on the job.
INTRODUCTION
Christmas and joy, or course, belong together. We’re studying some of our favorite Christmas songs in hopes of learning to appreciate them more for the gospel message they contain. Christmas is all about the gospel, so it is naturally filled with joy.
Our song this week is all about joy.
The History of Joy to the World
Isaac Watts, a English Congregational Church minister, wrote and published the song 1719 – now over 300 years ago!
Watts also wrote “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun”, “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed”, “I Sing the Almighty Power of God”, and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” among others.
He based Joy to the World on Psalm 98 which calls upon us to sing a new song to the Lord because he has revealed his salvation before all people and then calls on the whole earth to rejoice and sing praise to God. Many of the song’s words, however, find no direct reference to Psalm 98. The version we sing differs from what Watts wrote only in repeating the last line of each stanza two additional times.
The tune we sing it to is called Antioch. It is named after the New Testament city of Syria where believers were first called Christians. It was written in the United States by Lowell Mason, one of America’s first music educators and a prolific music composer in 1839, and first appeared together with the words of the carol in 1848. Mason indicated that the tune was ‘from Handel’ but scholars today find only a few links between the final composition and Handel’s works. Most of the tune is Lowell’s work.
Joy to the World is in the record books just as O Holy Night is. In 1979 it was recognized as appearing in more North American hymnals than any other song (1,387 of them. The Dictionary of North American Hymnology). Hark the Herald Angels sing was a distant second, found in 974 hymnals.
In the Time Magazine Survey that we saw last week, Joy to the World was the second most recorded Christmas song in their survey period of 1978-2014.
Some see in this hymn a reference to the second coming of the Lord, but the fact that the song says that the Lord is come, not is coming, seems to argue against such an interpretation. Likewise, when the songs says, “Let earth receive her king,” it is assumed that earth has not yet done so. The song does anticipate the blessings for the whole world found in Christ, blessings that won’t be fully experienced by the world until Jesus’ return, but already spiritually present in his first coming. Yet on the whole it seems best to see this as the people in France saw it when it was first published: as a celebration of the birth of Jesus.
This is, however, an unusual Christmas hymn. It never mentions Mary or Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, the manger, Bethlehem, or the wise men. In addition, only the first stanza references Jesus’ coming with the simple declaration, joy to the world, the Lord is come.
A brief overview of the song:
The first verse shares the joy that the Lord is come with the whole world and invites everyone to receive him and to make room for him in their hearts for him.
The second verse celebrates the reign of Jesus and encourages all people and the earth itself to join in the joy that he reigns.
The third verse prays for the end of sin and sorrow and the curse of sin because his blessings are for every place the curse can still be found.
The fourth verse declares that he is ruling the earth with truth and grace, and the nations must put to the test or prove by their actions that his rule is righteousness and loving.
For our time together this morning we’ll focus only on the first verse and its declaration that joy has come to us, to the whole earth, through the coming of the Lord.
In this verse, almost every word is significant and speaks of the good news, the gospel.
I. The opening cry
Joy to the world
The emotion called for:
What joy is
Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness depends on .
Christian joy is a positive emotion that can express itself in exuberant celebration or in quiet satisfaction no matter what our circumstances. It flows from the knowledge that we are right with God through Jesus Christ and are participating in what is eternal: God’s work, God’s presence, God’s action, and God’s love.
Why joy?
There isn’t anything higher or better to experience.
The gospel experience centers on the experience of joy:
Romans 14:17
Romans 15:13
What is the source of this joy?
Not presents nor a tree, but as we’ll see, it is caused by .
The extent of the cry:
Why the whole world?
John 3:16
Jesus came for everyone. Every person whether Jew or Gentile, people of every race, culture, and nation.
He came for the world because everyone in the world has sinned and needs a Savior. And Jesus alone is the savior.
John 14:6
The gospel is good news. It brings joy to all who respond to its call to repent and believe. Their sins are forgiven, they are restored to fellowship with God, they are guaranteed eternal life in heaven, and they are give the Holy Spirit to live in them, empower them, and transform them.
II. The cause for the cry
The Lord is come
Someone has arrived:
Not just a baby, but Jesus, the Lord
Lord – OT word used for God.
The joy of Christmas is the joy of God coming. just as Isaiah said he would
Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel, God with us.
Isaiah 9:6–7 The Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace with an eternal Kingdom.
An event has occurred: he
What was promised and is now .
Why is the Lord’s coming important?
It was the fulfilment of a promise given almost from the of human life on earth.
Genesis 3:15
It was the fulfilment of what an angel told both Mary and Joseph
Luke 1:31–33
Matthew 1:21
It was what the angel told the shepherds had occurred that night
Luke 2:10–11
Later Jesus himself would say:
Matthew 20:28
John 10:11
The good news of the gospel says: . The Savior has come and salvation can now be ours as we repent of sin and receive Jesus as our Savior. The gift of salvation that was promised ages ago is not present, waiting for us to simply receive it.
Romans 6:23
III. The consequent call
In consequence of the fact that the Lord is come, Isaac Watts issues a call:
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
The urging:
Allow
Voluntary
The scope of the urging is two-fold.
1. is addressed
Why the whole earth?
God’s salvation was always intended for the :
Genesis 12:3
Galatians 3:8
What is the earth to do?
Receive – welcome, accept – her King
He may not be known as their king, but he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, so to receive him rather than reject him is the only logical response to his coming.
There is a day coming when Jesus will return and all will acknowledge him as Lord. Joy comes in doing that now.
2. is addressed
Every = all
This makes the call – what Watts urges he urges upon .
“Let every heart” then could mean the same thing as “Let every person”
But I think there is a reason he doesn’t just say “person” or “soul” but he says “heart”
It is because of what the word heart is often used to describe in the Bible.
The heart = our being
We are thus being urged to do something , not superficial nor outer, but inner and deeply personal.
Christ coming into our heart means having a deep personal relationship with him.
What are we to do in our heart?
We must
Get the heart ready for a new King.
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
We must prepare for Jesus
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
IV. The cosmic conclusion
A song must be sung by .
And heaven and nature sing
Heaven will sing for everyone there feels:
Joy over God’s promise
Joy over salvation
Joy over restoration between heaven and earth
Nature will sing for it feels:
Joy the its creator has given
Joy that its creator as a human being on the earth
Joy over its own coming from the curse
CONCLUSION
Joy to the World invited us to experience joy over the coming of the Lord – God himself in human form – who brought salvation to the world. It calls us to respond personally by making room in our heart for Jesus and then inviting him in to be the Lord of our life and our Savior.
It then calls upon everything in heaven and earth to sing over this great event.
Have you experienced the joy this song is about?
Have you experienced the joy of inviting Jesus into your heart and experienced him coming in to your heart, forgiving all your sins and giving you a restored relationship to God the Father?
If not today is the day. Prepare him room and invite him to come in.
INTRODUCTION
Do you like lists? I mean lists of the top ten or top 100 in some category?
I find them interesting. Let me share one which some of you may be very interested in at this time of the year.
Ten best-selling gifts for children in 2025 (according to Amazon)
- TOSY Magnet Pyramid Stone
- LEGO Botanicals Happy Plants Building Toys
- Schylling NeeDoh Nice Cube
- LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book, Green
- The Original Slinky
- Emotional Support Chicken Nuggets
- Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush
- Shashibo Shape Shifting Box
- Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Wildly Entertaining Card Game
- Transformable Fidget Spinners
- Sold out: Nex Playground active game system
The carol we will focus on today made a top ten list just a few years ago. It was the list of the most-recorded Christmas songs during a 36 year period from 1978-2014. The list was created by Time magazine using copyright use filing information in the US Copyright Office.
The ten most recorded Christmas Songs (1978-2014)
- Silent Night, Holy Night – 733
- Joy to the World – 391
- Holy Night – 374
- What Child Is This? – 329
- Away in a Manger – 300
- Come All Ye Faithful – 296
- White Christmas – 283
- Ave’ Maria – 270
- The Christmas Song – 254
- Jingle Bells – 254
The interesting history of the song:
Our song today is . It was based on a French carol written in 1847 by Placide Cappeau and translated into English with some modifications in 1855 by John Sullivan Dwight.
The history of the song is interesting. The composer of the French carol was not known for his church attendance but was asked to compose a poem for the dedication of his church’s new organ. He agreed, and apparently on a coach ride to Paris imagined what it might have been like to have been in Bethlehem on the night of Christ’s birth and wrote the poem. The poem was then set to music by the composer Adolphe Adam.
It was recognized that the poem was not exactly orthodox in its view of Christ, but in France grew to being very popular and sung at midnight masses. However the Catholic church quickly tried to suppress it and it was banned from being sung at church although the people of France continued to sing it at home. The church’s position in France hasn’t changed. In 1990 a soloist was refused permission to sing it at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
The English version was translated and somewhat modified by John Sullivan Dwight. He liked the references in the original version to slaves becoming brothers as he was an abolitionist. He removed the offensive theology and published the words in 1855. It was an immediate hit in the northern states, but not in the South for obvious reasons.
On Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden–a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison–did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man’s voice was broadcast over the airwaves: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed,” he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would.
Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle–hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel.
Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn’t have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle. After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played “O Holy Night,” the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, so did the broadcast–but not before music had found a new medium that would take it around the world.
There is little question today that O Holy Night is one of the best-known and most popular Christmas songs.
According to an article online, in recent history the song has been covered in a variety of Christmas album collections, across a range of genres and song styles. Popular covers of the song include renditions by Michael Crawford, Mariah Carey, NSYNC, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Wezzer, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Ella Fitzgerald, Carrie Underwood, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, aand Kelly Clarkson. In a 2010 survey conducted by Zogby International, “O Holy Night” was ranked as the most popular Christmas song, ahead of “White Christmas” and “The Christmas Song”. (Wikipedia)
I have no doubt that O Holy Night is among the favorite Christmas songs you know and certainly is one of those songs we can’t celebrate Christmas at North park without. It is one of our favorite Christmas songs at North Park.
Let’s look at the song and particularly look at ways in which it reveals the gospel message to us.
The first verse of this song was written from the perspective of those who experienced the first Christmas. The second verse invites us to join the shepherds at the manger, The third stanza asks us to think about what Jesus taught and the difference he’s made in the world.
Verse 1 – The perspective of those present on that night
O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
The were shining
Stars – over Bethlehem the night Jesus was born
Luke 2:8
A special star shined guiding the Magi
Matthew 2:1–2
Matthew 2:9
A had been born
Matthew 1:21
Luke 2:10–11
was oppressing the world
Long lay the world in sin and error pining;
Everyday sacrifices were offered in the Temple in Jerusalem for sins. Everyday there were reminders that every human being sins and that sin separates from God, and only through atonement for that sin can a relationship with God be restored.
The world was weary of sin. People suffered everyday through the sins others committed. Their own sins weighed them down and brought them guilt and trouble. It wasn’t just a Jewish problem, it was a world-wide problem.
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
The appearing of the Savior showed them (and us)
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
The coming of Jesus showed us that God valued us. Our souls were precious to him. He was willing to leave heaven, become one of us, then die for us so that we could be forgiven, restored, and redeemed for all of eternity.
The appearing of the Savior gave them (and us)
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices;
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
The birth of Jesus changed everything. It was the birth of the Savior the Jewish people had long expected. But not only Jews, God-fearing people of all nations had come to believe in the promises given through the Jewish scriptures that a star would rise from Jacob to rule the nations.
Numbers 24:17a
When the angel appeared to the shepherds he announced the appearing of the star – the coming of the Messiah, the Christ who God-fearing people looked for for generations.
Luke 2:11
This fresh hope – a new and glorious morn – those who were there and filled them with joy
Luke 2:15
Luke 2:20
They were
Fall on your knees!
Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine!
Oh night when Christ was born,
Oh night divine!
Oh night, oh night divine!
Fall on your knees – a posture of wonder and amazement, an attempt to gain a little more stability when emotionally and spiritually shaken.
O night divine – rarely do we call a night divine. The divineness of this night was literal. It was made in heaven and brought heaven down to us. As never before God was near us – not close to us, but one of us, the divine King of kings born in a lowly manger as a human being.
The Gospel in the song
Here is the gospel in a nutshell: a baby was born at the first Christmas who was the Savior and who would bring new hope into a sin-weary world. That baby, Jesus, is called the dear Savior. What kind of Savior was he? Not a political deliverer, nor a military leader, nor a researcher who would find the cure for a dread disease. Jesus was born as the Savior from the eternal condemnation we deserve for our sins. God came in as a human being, born like any other human being, to do for us what we could not do ourselves: pay the eternal penalty of our sin and still survive to enjoy heaven with him. No wonder we fall on our knees when we know what happened on that holy night.
Verse 2 – We and others are led to the child
Finding the Christ child
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand;
The angel told the shepherds the unusual circumstance that would allow them to find the savior: a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.
Luke 2:12
Led by that information they quickly found the baby.
Luke 2:16
In this verse we are with the shepherds. We are standing (or perhaps kneeling) by his cradle (a manger)) and our hearts are glowing – burning with excitement, joy, and hope. The light of God’s Word and the drawing of the Holy Spirit have led us to Christ, the Light of the World.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
Matthew does mention a star guiding the wise men from the east to the house of the baby Jesus. Most scholars think this happened when Jesus was between 1 and 2 years of age.
Matthew 2:1–2
Matthew 2:9
The humility and of the new-born king
The King of kings lay once in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend;
Our song reminds us that the helpless child in the manger was in fact the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Yet in his first, but not last, appearing on the earth, he was born in the most humble circumstances. Not in a palace attended by the best physicians and surrounded by crowned potentates, but in a stable, placed in a manger for there was no room for him even in a common inn.
And born not to Lord it over us but to become a friend to us.
As Jesus said to his disciples:
John 15:15
The of the King of kings
He knows our need,
Our song says, He knows our need.
Exactly. A mortal man alone might understand some of another man’s needs, but could never know all of them. But the incarnate son of God, Emmanuel, God with us, had infinite knowledge. He knows not some of our needs but all of them. Of course the greatest of these is forgiveness of our sin, reconciliation to God, and new life springing up within us through the new birth, but he knows all our other needs as well: the need for security, for love, for respect, for accomplishment, for relationship, for health, for peace, for satisfaction in life, etc.
The of our Savior
To our weakness is no stranger.
By being born as a human being Jesus became personally acquainted with our weaknesses. He was tempted as we are, though he did not give in. He became hungry and thirsty just as we do. He grew weary and needed rest, just like us. He felt pain, grief, and anger, and also love, compassion, and happiness just as we do.
Hebrews 2:17–18
The sign of reverence this new born child from us
Behold your King,
before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King,
before Him lowly bend!
We must also acknowledge him as our king, the one who has the right to rule over us.
We, too, should bend low before him as a sign of our reverence and submission.
Verse 3 – The child in that cradle has changed us and the world
The words of our song now turn from inviting us to experience the birth of Jesus to contemplating what he taught us and what he’s done.
He taught us
Truly He taught us to love one another,
He taught us to love one another.
The gospel, the whole story of the coming of the baby born that night, begins with .
John 3:16
The gospel story started with God’s love, then Jesus showed us his love, and then Jesus taught us to love others.
He taught us to love ..
Matthew 5:44
He taught us to love our .
John 15:12
The apostle John taught us that love for the Christian.
1 John 4:8
Love is one of the defining marks of being a genuine Christian.
His gospel is the good news of – peace with God, peace within, and peace with each other.
His law is love and His gospel is peace;
We are to be
Matthew 5:9
We enjoy through faith in Jesus
Romans 5:1
Jesus gives his to his followers
John 14:27
The Holy Spirit produces in every believer who walks in the Spirit
Galatians 5:22
The believer’s goal is to with others
Romans 12:18
The gospel is indeed the gospel of peace: peace with God, peace within, and peace with others.
The transformation in he brought about.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
What the world ignored for so long was the kinship we all share as bearers of the image of God through creation. Sin led people to enslave others, misuse others, and mistreat others.
The song tells us that Jesus will break the chains of slavery.
When he proclaimed what we know as the Golden Rule he set a standard that clearly rules out slavery:
Matthew 7:12
The song goes on to remind us that the slave is .
The slave is not property, a thing, an object, a tool.
The slave is a human being created in the image of God, and if he or she is a fellow Christian, then a brother (or sister) in Christ.
We cannot treat another person as a brother or sister and take away their freedom, put them in chains, force them to work for no more than a little of the cheapest food, and then say our prayer and read our Bible as good Christians. This is unthinkable, and unthinkable even to many, many who are not Christians.
Jesus came as the . What a pity it took so long for his people to break the chains of slavery, though eventually they led the world-wide abolition movement.
The matchless we must give him
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord
O praise His name forever.
We praise his name – who he is, what he did – and will do that forever if we know him as our Savior.
In Revelation John had a glimpse into heaven and saw the worship of the Lamb who was slain, Jesus:
Revelation 5:6–14
Those who are saved praise Jesus’ name now and will forever. It is one of our chief delights.
The personal we give about him.
His power and glory evermore proclaim;
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
Here is our privilege and our duty: to proclaim to those who do not know the power and glory of the child born in the manger.
We are to proclaim :
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
We are to proclaim :
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Conclusion
Look at all this song encompasses:
The incarnation
Redemption
Our worth to God
Hope
Adoration
Lordship
Kinship
Understanding
New ways of living
Liberation
Brotherhood
A call to worship
(MULTILINE)
INTRODUCTION
Over the next few Sundays here in church we’ll be enjoying songs we’ve sung in Christmases past. We’ll also be focusing on three of them to discover how the gospel we’ve just studied in the book of Romans is reflected in these songs.
Christmas isn’t just about a Silent Night, the Little Town of Bethlehem, Shepherds, Wise Men, and Angels We Have Heard on High. It isn’t just about the birth of Jesus itself, but the reasons behind his birth and what his coming accomplished. I hope this brief series will help you to appreciate our Christmas songs at a deeper level and give us all some extra food for thought as Christmas approaches.
Today’s song is a song of anticipation and longing for the coming of Immanuel. In fact it takes a number of prophetic names for the coming One out of the Old Testament to weave together a picture of who many godly Jews in the centuries before Jesus came were longing for.
One of our must=have songs every year is also on one of the oldest Christmas hymns we now have in the English language, O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
The story of how we got this hymn
This hymn, originally written in , takes us back years to monastic life in the 8th or 9th-century. Seven days before Christmas Eve monasteries would sing the “O antiphons” in anticipation of Christmas Eve when the eighth antiphon, “O Virgo virginum” (“O Virgin of virgins”) would be sung before and after Mary’s canticle, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46b-55).
There were seven antiphons. Each of these antiphons greets the anticipated Messiah with one of the titles ascribed Him throughout the Old Testament: Wisdom, Emmanuel, The Lord of Might, The Rod of Jesse, Day Spring, King of the Nations, and The Key of David. (For more, see Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 361.)
The Latin metrical form of the hymn was composed as early as the 12th century. John Mason Neale (1818-1866) discovered the Latin hymn in the appendix of an early 18th-century manuscript with a refrain. Neale translated it and included it in his influential collection, Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences (1851).
How is the gospel revealed in this ancient hymn?
1. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Key word:
The first word that grabs our attention is that strange one, Emmanuel. It is ties in intimately with the promise of the coming of the Messiah.
Isaiah 7:14 (NASB95)
Matthew 1:22–23 (NASB95)
It means far more than the idea that God is with us in some , unfocused way, as we sometimes say when we say “God is with you in the midst of the storm” or some such thing.
No, Isaiah is . He points to the birth of a child through a virgin whose name (that is his being and character) are described by the word Emmanuel, “God with us.” Emmanuel is identified with this child who Matthew tells us was to be born to Mary of Nazareth, who had became pregnant through the operation of the Holy Spirit while remaining a virgin.
Emmanuel, God with us, is a person, Jesus, the Christ, not some unfocused presence of God.
(MULTILINE)
The apostle John said it this way:
John 1:1–2
John 1:14
John 1:18
The gospel truth is that God himself came down and took on flesh to become our ransom for sin.
Key word:
O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
What does a ransom have to do with Christmas? It’s not a word we think of when we think of mangers, shepherds, the birth of a baby or a special star guiding magi to the king of the Jews.
Jesus explained. It was the reason for his coming.
Mark 10:45
1 Corinthians 15:3
1 Peter 3:18
Emmanuel, that is Jesus, came to ransom us back from sin, self, and Satan. His blood shed on the cross paid the ransom price to free us from Satan’s grip and allow us to live eternally with God once we receive his gift of salvation by faith.
Key word:
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
(MULTILINE)
The truth was, God had not left them, but they had left God.
Isaiah spoke this truth to them even before their exile:
Isaiah 59:1–2
It was Israel’s that had caused their exile and left them feeling separated from God. We, too, are exiled or separated from God because of our sin. If we repent, turn from our sin, put our faith in Jesus alone to restore us to God and his favor, trusting Jesus to save us from the penalty of our sins, the good news of the gospel is that we are to God and made a part of his family..
So, as we sing the first stanza of this ancient hymn, we are swept right into the central mystery and the purpose of Christmas. God promised to come and be with us. He did that through human birth. The reason God came was to ransom us from sin and its eternal consequences. God turned us from exiles to members of his family. That’s the gospel. And it’s in this, one of our must-have Christmas songs.
2. “O come, Thou Dayspring”
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Key word:
Dayspring is a poetic word for . The Jews were looking for a rising of the sun, but not the physical sun, but the sun of righteousness, the Messiah.
Malachi 4:2
Luke 1:76–79
John 8:12
The Messiah’s coming was to act as a sunrise, a dayspring, upon the nation. It would dispel the spiritual darkness they were in and allow them to walk in the light of the knowledge and presence of God. Our song anticipates this dramatic change as the sun of righteousness, the dayspring from on high arrives.
Key word:
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
It isn’t hard to connect this word cheer with the coming of Jesus.
Luke 2:8–11
The gospel is full of the promise of joy – joy over, joy over the , joy over a with God, joy over the certainty of a home when we die, joy in the problems of life since , and joy given to us through the indwelling .
Remember what Jesus said:
John 15:11
Remember also what Paul wrote in Romans:
Romans 14:17
Key words:
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Death casts a long shadow over humankind. In Psalm 23 David referred to the valley of the shadow of death, a harrowing image. The gospel reveals that death has been in Jesus, the dark shadow has been removed for those who have received Jesus as Savior. Death is still with us, but one day death will be no more. In the meantime is gone once we come to Christ as Savior.
Hebrews 2:14 (NASB95)
3. “O Come, O Come Thou Wisdom from on high”
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show
And teach us in her ways to go.
Key word:
Wisdom’s source:
Proverbs 8:22–23 (Wisdom speaking)
Wisdom’s manifestation:
1 Corinthians 1:24
1 Corinthians 1:30
The wisdom from on high is Jesus. He came not just to ransom us through his blood, but to impart his infinite wisdom to us, Through his teaching and through the inner work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, Jesus has taught us and continues to teach us in the path we should go. The gospel not only redeems us but it also transforms. Believers have the mind of Christ and are led by Jesus, Wisdom himself.
4. “O Come, Desire of nations”
O come, Desire of nations bind
All peoples in one heart and mind.
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Key words:
Haggai 2:6–7 (KJV)
One thing every nation desires is peace. The Nobel Peace Prize was established to reward those who help bring peace on earth, peace between nations. It is a coveted and honored prize because pursuing peace is so difficult
We, too, individually desire peace. We don’t like envy, strife, and quarrels anymore than the nations do. We long for what the Desire of nations can provide us: peace with God, and a way to have peace with others. Only the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, Jesus, can bring it. Perhaps without knowing it, the nations desire what Jesus alone can give them: peace. He certainly can give it to you and I.
John 14:27
The Gospel this hymn celebrates:
God has fulfilled his promises given centuries before it happened about the birth, mission, and life of Jesus the Christ.
God himself has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Jesus was who went to the cross and died for our sins so that we could be freed from sin, self, and Satan, and begin to live in a personal relationship with God. In that relationship we have God’s joy, peace, and leadership.
Emmanuel has come. God has come to be with us through the birth of his Son, Jesus. He paid the ransom price so that we would not have to live in exile and in the fear of death but could live restored to God, walking in the light of his presence, learning true wisdom so we can live successfully.
What can this hymn mean to us?
How have we responded to this amazing news, the coming of the long ago promised Emmanuel, God with us?
John 1:10–13
John says that many receive Jesus when he came, but that those who became the sons of God.
To receive him meant to believe in who he was and to trust him and him alone for forgiveness and for salvation from the penalty of sin.
It may help to visualize what you need to do:
Revelation 3:20
Jesus is standing outside your life, knocking on your heart’s door, and waiting for you to open your heart and receive him, as John said in his gospel. It’s as simple as invite him to come in to your heart to be your Savior and Lord.
INTRODUCTION
If you moved away from this area then met a Christian who was moving here, I’m sure you’d encourage them to visit North Park Church and you’d tell them some things about the church.
You might also give them the names of a fe people here at the church to look out for and when they find them to those them to say hello for you.
Who might you tell them to greet once they got here?
As we close Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, he does something like this. Except he asks the church in Rome to greet some of their members that he already has met outside of Rome. His list is pretty long. It consists of 29 people by name or by position.
We probably wonder how Paul could know so many believers in the Roamn church having never visited it. We may never know. Some were Jews expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius. Others were believers from churches Paul planted or visited that had then relocated to Rome. What we do know is all the good things Paul said about many of them indicate he knew them personally.
Besides asking the Roman believers to greet those of their members that Paul knew personally, he warns them of a danger they had to watch out for, sends greetings from his co-workers and others in the church at Corinth, and then reminds them of how great the God they serve in the gospel is.
We’ll take the chapter under four heads:
Paul asks the Romans to
- Greet some great people to know
- Avoid some dangerous people they might encounter
- Receive greetings from some faithful co-workers
- Remember how great God is
Greet some great people , 1-16
A of the church, 1-2
Phoebe
co-workers, 3-5a
Aquila and Priscilla
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
A memorable
Epaenetus – from Asia (Ephesus?)
Perhaps led to the Lord by Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, and went to Rome with them?
Hard working
Mary, 6
Tryphaena, 12
Tryphosa, 12 (Perhaps the two are sisters)
Persis, 12 – met Paul outside of Rome. Impressed him with her hard work and won his admiration and affection
Fellow and fellow
Andronicus and Junia, 7 (some think Junius (masc) and therefore another man) If Junia, then she might be his wife
Had seen the risen Lord (called apostles) and were apostles before Paul
At some point had been imprisoned with Paul for the gospel
Had outstanding reputations as apostles
Herodian, 11 – perhaps a former slave of Herod who’d been set free and traveled to Rome, 11
brothers
Ampliatus, 8 – a typical slave name so a slave or a freedman
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Stacys, 9 – another believer who Paul had met outside of Rome and thought highly of
A fellow
Urbanus, 9 – Probably a Gentile Christian. Besides A & P the only co-worker of Paul named
An believer
Apelles, 10 – we know only that Paul must have met him outside of Rome and knew him to be a man of whom Christ approved.
Whole
Aristobulus’ family, 10 Tradition says that he was a brother of Barnabus and eventually was a missionary to Britain. Paul’s words indicate his whole family were Christians.
Believers in Narcissus’ household, 11. Paul’s words indicate that not everyone in Narcissus’ household were believers, in fact Narcissus may not have been a believer.
A brother
Rufus, 13 – probably a Gentile Christian and free person
Choice – “chosen in the Lord”
A shared
Mother of Rufus, 13
May have been of his mother’s age and doted on him like a mother would,
A 14
Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas
Likely all members of the same house church, all likely Gentile Christians, and perhaps all leaders of the church. Paul must have net at least one of them (Asyncritus?) outside of Rome. He might know of the others through that one person.
and more 15
Philologus and Julia (Husband and wife? Brother and sister?) Likely immigrated to Rome for the east where Paul met them.
Nereus and his sister. (Likely Gentile Christians as well)
Olympas. Like Philologus, he was probably a Gentile Christian who had immigrated to Rome.
All the saints with them
Likely all part of the same house church of which the mentioned five were among the leaders.
Avoid some you might encounter, 17-20
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Who to watch out for:
(cause dissension or opposition)
(temptations to sin)
What these people do:
Work against (teaching)
They serve their , not Jesus
Use and flattery
The those who are naïve (unsuspecting, innocent)
How these people must be treated:
(stay away, steer clear of)
Why this is needed:
To stay innocent of while being wise to what is
What will become of these people (and their leader):
They will be with Satan under their feet.
Receive greetings from some great , 21-23
– 2nd-3rd Missionary journeys, trusted co-worker, Paul’s beloved and faithful child in the Lord, mentioned as a co-writer with Paul of 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
– possibly the Lucius who co-pastored with Paul in Antioch before he was called to missionary work.
– possibly the Christian from Thessalonica in whose house Paul was staying (Acts 17:5-9)
– perhaps Sopater the Berean Christian who later accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4)
– the scribe who wrote the letter down.
– a Corinthian Christian with whom Paul was staying and who in one way or another hosted the whole church in his home. One of only 3 people that Paul baptized in Corinth.
– treasurer of the city of Corinth.
– called “the brother” – a fellow believer.
Remember God is, 24-27
Able to
Author of salvation
Giver of salvation to
The only God
The one who deserves forever through Jesus Christ
APPLICATION OF ROMANS 16
Look for good Christians to make friends with and to emulate.
Good students of the word, good personal evangelists, good teachers, good servants, good welcomers, good leaders, etc.
Watch out for so-called believers who create .
Find good believers to .
Remember the God of the gospel is.
CONCLUSION TO ROMANS
Paul has finished writing a masterpiece, the most important Christian letter ever written.
He stated his theme in the beginning of his letter
Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
His theme has been :
The need for the gospel: universal
The content of the gospel: the righteousness of God can be obtained alone in Jesus alone
The benefits of the gospel: sin’s power in the believer’s life, the presence of the Holy Spirit makes living in victory over sin possible.
The faithfulness of God in the gospel, offering salvation to by faith.
Life as a gospel transformed person: offering ourselves to Gid as a living sacrifice, being transformed by the renewing of our mind, putting love first, living in harmony and peace will all people, submitting to God-given authorities, watching out for the weaker brother or sister, and making sure every brother or sister feels welcomed by us.
If Paul were here today he’d urge everyone here to : to repent of sin, put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross for you, and be saved.
He’d go on and tell all of us to live . To live free from sin, to love others, seek harmony and peace, and put our weaker Christian brothers and sister before ourselves.
INTRODUCTION
This morning’s message focuses on three things:
A , a , and both.
The missionary was .
The support Paul needed was , , and .
He needed to make the trip to Spain and live there while he traveled and attempted to plant churches, he needed and others who stayed in Rome who kept in touch with him and continued to send support, and he needed of the believers in the Roman church.
Perhaps because we don’t know many (or any) missionaries personally we may not realize the struggles they face all the time. About 30 years ago a Christian ministry surveyed hundred of missionaries from the largest mission organizations in the USA, in part wanting to know what the biggest challenges were that they faced. Here’s the rank order list of what these missionaries reported. I doubt this list will have changed much in the last 30 years.
Missionary Stress Points
1. with other missionaries
2. adjustments
3. Managing stress
4.
5. difficulties
6. pressures
7.
—Reported in World Prayer and Share Letter, Sept. 1990. “To Verify,” Leadership,[1]
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Let’s look over the shoulders of the Roman church believers as they read this personal message to them from missionary Paul.
The planned mission, 15:22-24, 28-29
The destination: .
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Spain had been on Paul’s heart for many years. Soon, he hoped he’d finally be able to get there. He’d stop in Rome, visit the church there, and then be off on what would no doubt be a multi-year trip to bring Gospel light to that spiritually dark place.
The present ministry, 15:25-27
Before Paul could visit Rome and then travel on the Spain, he had a ministry to complete. The primarily Gentile churches of Macedonia and Achaia had given to help relieve their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and Paul was going to travel back to Jerusalem to present it to the leaders of the church there.
As Paul told the Romans, it was a fitting thing for the Gentile churches to do. They’d benefited from believing Jews, so they could help with the needs of those same Jewish believers.
The anticipated support, 15:24b
It’s a little hidden from us in English but the word Paul used in verse 24, translated ‘to be helped on my journey’ comes from a Greek word that means
① to conduct someone who has a destination in mind, accompany, escort 1
② to assist someone in making a journey, send on one’s way with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc. 1
Paul is anticipating that the Roman Christians will send him on his way with , (money, food, perhaps making arrangements for travel) and that one or more may volunteer to , as others had from other churches in some of his earlier journeys.
The needed prayer, 15:30-32
Paul adds an urgent request to the report of his plans. He wants for safety and for acceptance once he gets to Jerusalem.
Paul had already been persecuted by jealous unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem and many other places. He was well aware that many Jews would have been glad to see him dead. Only God could protect him, and only by striving in prayer would that protection come. Paul sought prayer partners, just as modern missionaries do.
(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
The requested blessing, 15:33
Paul closes the body of his letter with a brief request to God: that God’s as the would be with them.
CONCLUSION
A mission: to take the gospel to
A missionary: , the apostle to the Gentiles whose goal was to only preach the gospel where it had not been preached before.
Supporting both: supporting Paul’s financially and supporting with companions and prayers.
You as members of North Park support mission work and missionaries here in CT, in New England, throughout the rest of the USA and Canada, and then in over 140 nations around the world.
It takes a lot of money to support all this work.
The bulk what we give is given every month as we send off the budgeted amounts we have designated for mission work. That is currently about % of our budget, so almost 30 cents of every dollar you give goes to support God’s saving mission outside our church walls and with people other than you.
Besides this on-going support, we have three special offerings that give us an opportunity to do more. In April we give to support missions in the USA and Canada through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. In October and November we give to help the hungry, homeless, and needy in Bridgeport and around the world through our annual World Hunger Offering. Then during December, we try to give our best offering of all, to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Last year you gave over $ to those special offerings. Your total gifts to mission work outside our church last year was over $. We are on track to exceed that amount this year.
Our missionaries are sacrificing and under stress, facing challenges and difficulty all the time, and many of them are far away from family and friends. The least we can do for them is make sure they have all they need to live and to carry out their part of God’s mission either here in the USA or somewhere around the world. They need our financial support, and they need our prayer support.
Can I enlist you to tangibly and spiritually support this Gospel centered mission and the missionaries who are doing the work?
- Elesha Hodge, ed., Today’s Best Illustrations, vol. 1–4, Today’s Best Illustrations (Christianity Today International, 1997). ↑