Good evening everyone. I think that is the best Amen I've ever heard in a long time.
I've been to Malawi and they love an Amen as well, but that was superb, Alistair.
If you have your Bibles, Romans 16 is where we are this evening and we're bringing home this Letter to the Romans.
This series that we've been in for since, it feels like about 1993, I don't know about anyone else,
but we've been in here a long time, but it's been fantastic.
And it's an absolute joy for me and it's absolute joy for us as a church to finish this letter, this glorious letter.
So Romans chapter 16 and verse 17.
And let me pray and let's ask that God would be so gracious and kind to us as we come to his words this evening.
Let's pray.
Oh, our gracious Father, you are so, so good to us.
And Lord, we ask now as we finish this letter that you would encourage us and that you would equip us
and that you would inflame us to take your gospel, the good news about your son, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to the world.
And this is our prayer that you would help us now because we ask in his name. Amen.
So a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of doing a wedding up in Inverness.
And I've lived in Scotland my whole life, but I'm really ashamed to say that is the first time I've ever been to the Highlands.
First time I've ever been to the Highlands.
But it was a thoroughly lovely experience.
Glorious weather.
The colours of summer are everywhere.
And I've got the view where I'm looking down on the Murray Firth.
I think that's what it's called.
I looked into it, the Murray Firth.
And there is the sun shining on the water.
And it is absolutely glorious.
I mean, I feel like I'm in a Visit Scotland video campaign here.
It's glorious.
And we're staying at this lovely hotel the night before the wedding.
And after the rehearsal, we come back to our hotel room.
And it's quite late.
So we decide we quite want something to eat.
But we can't be bothered going out again.
So we're going to eat in the hotel.
But at that time of night, we go down to the hotel.
And we discover that the only thing you can eat at that time of night is fine dining.
So we thought, well, we're only in Inverness once.
So let's go for it.
Let's go out and let's go fine dining.
So after a while, and I'll get this on the screen for you here because this is good.
After a while, I'm studying this menu for a while.
I'm studying this menu.
And I look and I think, I don't have a clue what half of these things are.
But I'm just going to go for it.
And I ordered slow cooked pork belly, pork fillet, fennel puree, rumbledy thumps, bok choy,
and all topped with just a glistening of apple cider.
Now, you're probably thinking to yourself two things.
Firstly, what is a rumbledy thump?
And I'll be honest, I still don't know what a rumbledy thump is.
The second question, how does he know that off the top of his head?
And the reason I know that off the top of my head is because it was awesome.
It was so good.
I mean, my taste buds were having a party like they've never seen before.
It was absolutely incredible.
And the reason I knew during the meal that I was having a good time
was that because I actually stepped back and I put my fork down
just so I could savor it and take it in.
Now, I'm from a family of boys.
We didn't really do put your fork down.
It was more shovel it in.
It wasn't as much fine dining as time dining.
And if you weren't quick, you didn't eat.
So this is the meal.
And I'm loving this meal.
And I come to the end of this meal.
And at the corner of the plate, I eat up a little bit of pork fillet.
And I think I want to finish there.
It's where I want to finish.
So it goes into my mouth.
Awesome.
Absolutely incredible.
So incredible was it that I turn into this kind of pork fillet, pork belly evangelist.
And I start telling everybody that I meet about how amazing this pork fillet was.
Alex, who's sitting across from me from my wife, I'm telling her about how incredible it was.
The people I met the next day at the wedding, I'm telling them how incredible it was.
My friends and family, I'm telling them how incredible it was.
And here I am tonight.
And I'm telling you how incredible this meal was.
So this week, I'm in Romans chapter 16.
And I'm asking myself, how should I feel?
How should we feel as a church as we leave this book of Romans?
No, how should I feel?
But also, what should I do?
What should we do as we leave the book of Romans?
I mean, I think if we close it shut tonight and think, oh, that was nice.
On it goes the shelf again.
I think we've kind of missed it.
How should we feel and what should we do as we leave this book of Romans?
It occurred to me this week, it's probably a bit like that meal, isn't it?
In fact, I would say that the whole book of Romans has felt a bit like that meal.
I mean, there's been times where I've wanted to put down my fork and think, I just want to savor that.
I just want to take that in.
I mean, we got to Romans chapter 8, which I think is my favorite chapter in the Bible.
I just want to take it in.
But the question now as we come to the end and as we take our final bite,
our final mouthful, as it were, of this letter,
and as the original readers of this letter, as they take their final mouthful,
what are they supposed to feel and what are they supposed to do?
And what I want us to see this evening is that as they finish this letter,
Paul wants the last taste on their lips to be one of praise.
Praise.
The book of Romans, the letter to the Romans, I should say rather, is meant to inspire doxology.
It's meant to inspire, that's a big word meaning just praise of God.
That's what it's meant to inspire.
It's meant to inspire praise of God and it's meant to inspire mission.
To take this glorious news of Jesus Christ, this gospel, to the whole world.
Because it tastes so good.
In other words, God is awesome.
And as my mind, as it tries to comprehend how good he is, how gracious he is,
as my heart is gripped by grace,
oh, I want to worship him with everything that I have.
And I want to tell everybody that I meet about his goodness.
Now here's what I want us to see just really quickly this evening as we finish this letter,
as we finish our Romans meal,
the taste that these readers are left with,
and the taste I think we want to be left with,
this praise taste, this taste of praise, it's got three flavors to it.
And as they take their final mouthful,
as those three flavors, as they hit the palate,
they're meant to inspire praise.
And Paul wants them to know and go.
So what Paul is saying is,
let the praise of God,
let the praise of God propel you to go and proclaim the greatness of God.
Now, are you ready for this?
Let's forget about the PowerPoint for a minute, okay?
It's a cracker, but we can wait for it.
I can do it without it.
Here's the first flavor.
Now, if you've got it there,
look at verses 17 to 20.
Verses 17 to 20,
the first flavor of this praise taste is the church.
And Paul is saying to them in these verses
that the church is the miracle worth fighting for.
Now, what is the miracle?
Well, scan your eye over the first part of chapter 16,
which John so beautifully and helpfully took us through last week.
Now, what do we see?
We see Paul give us a long list of names.
These are the people who are in this Roman church.
And Paul is effectively saying,
would you say hello to them for me?
That's what he's saying.
Would you greet them?
Now, is that just a bunch of names?
That's what we were considering last week.
Well, no.
It is so much more to it than that.
Just look at these names.
Here are Jewish people.
Here are the names of Greek people.
Here are the names of rich people.
Here are the names of poor people.
Here are the names of free people.
Here are the names of slaves.
Here are female names.
Here are male names.
Here is a different church.
But here is one church.
That is the beauty of what God has done through Jesus Christ.
Where the world would look at this group of people and say,
where the world would look at this people and say,
different and irreconcilable,
Paul wants them to know and Paul wants them to see
that because of the gospel,
because they have Jesus as their Lord,
whoever they are,
whatever they do,
wherever they are from,
their common life in Jesus Christ
makes them one.
One.
And look,
if you've got it there,
chapter 15 and verse 5,
just flick back one page.
Or if you've got a really small Bible,
maybe it's half a page.
Paul writes this,
chapter 15 and verse 5.
May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to live in such harmony with one another,
in accord with Christ Jesus,
that together you may with one voice,
what are they going to do with that one voice?
Please glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now you see why we were singing that last song,
weren't you?
That's why we were singing that last song.
These people God has called together,
not just to sip tea and play happy families,
but he's called them together with a purpose,
to be a worshipping community
that's on mission for the living God,
declaring his greatness to the watching world.
And as people see that community in action,
as they see unity and diversity,
what a powerful witness
to the transforming power of the gospel
to the watching world.
Now I used to live for a few years in Bristol,
in the southwest of England.
And the thing about Bristol is it's a very multicultural city.
For me,
I'd spent my whole life in Edinburgh and Glasgow,
and a bit in Aberdeen as well,
whole life in Scotland.
And so when I came to Bristol,
I was amazed about just how many different people
were in Bristol.
In fact,
remember when I moved there,
one of the estate agents who I asked to kind of
suss it out for me,
I lived in this area called Montpellier,
which was on the border of St. Paul's,
and she told me that it was bohemian and earthy.
Now I don't know what that means.
I think it means it's a bit rough and ready.
So this is the area that I lived in.
And at the bottom of my street,
I had this junction,
and I had a Somalian community here.
I had a Jamaican community here.
There was an Indian community over here.
There was an English community around it all.
And then there was a token Scot in the midst as well.
So this was what Bristol was like.
And I heard a story when I was down there
about one of the local churches
in one of these local communities.
And one day, the local MP,
he'd heard about their work,
and he goes to visit one of their Sunday services.
And he walks in,
and what does he see?
He sees different people,
different skin colours,
different accents,
dressed differently.
And what are these different people doing?
Well, they're laughing,
and they're smiling,
and they're singing,
and they're praying,
and they're hugging,
and they're praising,
and they're gathering,
and they're doing it all as one.
And he sees the beauty of unity in diversity.
He sees the church.
And the story goes something like this.
He goes up to one of the leaders of that church,
and he remarks,
he said,
all these years,
I've been spending millions of pounds
trying to get people from that area
to talk to people from that area,
let alone live alongside them.
And I come in here,
and I see that you do it for free.
What does he see?
He saw unity in diversity.
He saw the beauty of the church.
And so as Paul lays out this list,
as he talks about the implications
of what God has done for them
in and through Christ
by creating one new man,
in Christ,
smashing down all the barriers
that kept them apart,
he wants to see
that that is the miracle worth fighting for.
And so in these verses here,
Paul is telling them
to do all that they can
to protect that miracle
for the glory of God.
Now, how are they going to protect
that miracle?
Well, they're going to do it
by protecting and uniting
around the gospel message
that is brought around
the miracle in the first place.
Now, remember what Paul had said,
Paul's saying,
right back at the beginning
of this letter,
chapter 1, verse 16.
The power of God.
Where is the power of God?
It's in the gospel.
The Greek word there,
dinamos,
it literally means
the explosive power of God.
It's to be found
in the gospel message.
So you can understand
that if you take away,
if you start to dilute
that gospel message,
then you're going to rid
the gospel of its power.
Because what does Paul envisage
is going to happen
in these,
to this church?
People are going to come
into their midst
and they're going to try
and twist
and distort
that gospel message.
What does he say
at verse 17?
watch out
for these people.
What will they try
and do?
They will try
and cause divisions.
They will put up obstacles.
They will pitch
to you untruths.
And they will try
and deceive you.
And how are they going
to do it?
They're going to do it
by smooth talk
and flattery.
Now, we don't know
what that deception was.
We don't know exactly
what it was.
But it's not too hard
to imagine, is it?
A scenario where
a church of, you know,
devout Jews come along
and start teaching
this church that,
yeah, Paul, he's a nice guy
but sometimes he's, you know,
gets things messed up
and actually you do need
to obey the Jewish laws
to be a good Christian.
And you can imagine
how something of that
would happen.
But whatever the teaching is,
how are they going
to recognize it
that it's false?
Because it's going to
fly in the face
of everything
that Paul has been
outlining in this letter
so far.
This is the gospel,
says Paul.
This is the gospel
in Romans.
Protect yourselves,
protect your church
by protecting
the gospel message
and watch out
for one another
as you do that.
And so,
with danger
always on the horizon
for this church,
what does Paul
want them to do?
Notice three little phrases.
Firstly,
at verse 19,
what does he say?
He talks about
your obedience.
He's called them
at chapter,
beginning of chapter 12
to live a life
of worship to God.
to make their lives
both individually
and corporately
all about being
a living sacrifice
and how are they
going to do that?
Well,
they're going to be
radical in how
they obey.
And he commends
them for that.
Do you see that
in verse 19?
He rejoices
that he knows
that he's heard
that these guys
have a reputation
for being obedient.
Saying,
no,
I'm not going to
go my own way.
I'm not going to
just go with the world
on this one.
I'm going to go
with God.
I'm going to
be radically
different here.
I'm going to
go with God's
word and what
he's said.
I'm going to
honour him
with my life.
And I'm not
going to bow
like everyone
else to what
the world
says.
It's not an
incredible thing
if you just
pause there for a
minute to be
known for as
a church.
Radical
obedience.
And the thing
about everyday
obedience is that
it's not glamorous,
is it?
We're not going
to get a call
from Peter Jackson
the next day
after you've
been obedient
to something
and saying,
hey, listen,
could we make
a motion picture,
a bio doc about
your life and how
you've been
obedient?
We're not going
to get that
call.
Because that
doesn't sell to
Hollywood, does it?
It's not going
to get us book
deals.
It's not going
to get us
attention.
But here is the
encouragement from
these verses.
That everyday
obedience to God
and everyday
following of his
words gets us
God's affirmation.
And maybe that's a
word for some of us
here this morning
who are just
struggling thinking,
am I making a
difference?
Am I doing
anything in this
world?
Well, here's the
thing, that Paul
loves their
obedience and God
loves our
obedience.
You know, I must
say I've heard a
couple of instances
even this week of
people in this
church making
costly decisions,
making sacrificial
decisions, making
gospel decisions
because they want to
be obedient to the
word of God.
And can I just say
I find it massively
encouraging?
And I really do, I
find myself rejoicing
with Paul on this
one.
When he sees
obedience in the
church, you know,
I wonder how you're
doing with everyday
obedience this
evening.
You know, are there
some decisions right
now in your life that
you need to make for
the glory of God in
your life?
It's a big challenge
to us, isn't it?
Paul rejoices in the
obedience of these
Christians to the
word of God.
They are making
everyday gospel
decisions for the
glory of God.
And you see, to
spur them on even
more, here's the
second phrase Paul
uses at verse 19.
What does he say?
He wants them to be
wise in what is
good.
And quickly
followed by the
third phrase he
wants them to be,
at verse 19, he
wants them to be
innocent about what
is evil.
So he wants them
to be discerning.
That's what he wants
them to be.
Now what are the
encouragements for
them as they seek to
do that?
We'll look at verse 20.
Who is on their
side?
The God of peace.
What encouragement
for this church living
in a world of chaos
and division.
They would seek to
work its way into the
church and infiltrate
it.
Who is on their
side?
The God of peace.
And not just that,
look where else
what he says, and
the grace of Jesus
Christ.
Grace and peace.
What is he telling
them to do?
What is the big
point here?
The big point is that
God will provide
everything that you
need.
Keep looking to him.
Keep running for him
because his will be
the victory.
There's the miracle,
says Paul.
The gospel message of
Jesus Christ, the
power of God that
has created this new
people.
Fight for that.
Fight for the
miracle of the church.
Fight for it by
fighting for the very
gospel message that
has brought you
together.
So there's the first
flavor of this last
bite of Romans.
Flavor of the church.
The second flavor is
at verses 21 to 24.
And it's mission.
Paul is saying to them
that here is the
mission worth working
for.
And here Paul gives
us even more names.
Loves a name, does
her brother Paul.
Remember Paul, he's
penning this.
Or as we'll see in a
minute that he's
probably dictating this
letter from Corinth.
He's over here and he's
sending it over to the
church in Rome.
So in the first half of
chapter 16 we learn some
names of the people who
are in this church in
Rome.
That is the guys who are
going to open this letter
and read it for
themselves.
Well in this section
here we get some names
of men who are at this
side of the letter.
That is Paul's fellow
laborers in the gospel.
The people who are with
Paul.
The people who are at the
Corinth end of the
letter.
That's what we get.
And you see that he
lists eight such men.
Eight men he lists here.
Quickly look with me.
Who does he mention?
Timothy.
Paul's loved and fellow
worker in gospel ministry.
Timothy sends his
greetings to this church.
Lucius, Jason and
Sospiter.
I also said that a lot
better than me but I've
been working on that.
That's what I think.
These guys most likely
relatives of Paul's who
he's led to the Lord.
They're sending their
greetings as well.
Tertius probably a slave
who was writing down this
letter word for word as
Paul's dictating it.
What an amazing privilege by
the way for Tertius.
He's sending his greetings.
Gaius, probably a
prosperous businessman who
lives in Corinth who's
leading one of the house
churches or certainly
opening his home for one
of the house churches and
being a host to the
apostle Paul.
He sends his greetings.
And Erastus, the city
treasurer who's trusted in
Christ, this man of honor,
this man of position, he
sends his greetings as well.
Paul wants them to know
about these eight men.
Now the real gold here is
not in so much as what
these men do, although that
is important.
The real gold here is
noticing why Paul bothers
to mention them.
Why does he mention them?
Now every time Paul mentions
names in his letters, he's
doing it with a purpose.
Because letter writing in
this culture, very timely,
time consuming I should say,
and really expensive.
So you do not waste your
words.
So Paul is deliberately
mentioning these men here.
Why is he doing that?
Why does Paul want these
guys in Rome to know about
these guys who are laboring
with him in Corinth over
here?
Why does he do it?
Answer for their
encouragement and for their
inspiration.
Here are eight men, says
Paul.
Different men, different
gifts, different resources,
different circumstances.
And what have they done?
They have all bought in to
the mission.
They've all bought in to the
mission.
And what's the mission?
The mission is to take the
gospel, the story of God's
salvation, the story of how
God has made a way for sinful
men and women to be reconciled
to him and live and enjoy him
forever through Jesus Christ.
Take that gospel to the ends of
the earth.
Take it to your whole world.
Take it to your circles.
That's the mission.
And here are eight men who have
bought into that mission and who
are working hard along with Paul
and using whatever they have,
whatever they have for that
mission.
Just think about a few of them
really quickly.
Tertius sacrificing his time to
help Paul write this letter.
Now, is Paul having difficulty
writing at this point?
Is Tertius helping him translate
this letter into Latin so that it
can be understood by people at the
other side, perhaps?
But whatever it is, do you see how
Tertius is giving up his time,
listening to Paul, writing it all
down and using his skills to write
this letter?
Why is he doing that?
Because he buys into the mission.
Gaius, this wealthy man who we read
about at the beginning of 1 Corinthians,
he's baptized by Paul.
What is he doing with his resources?
Is he living the high life?
Has he got a speedboat and a house
in the south of Spain?
No, he's not.
What is he doing?
He's hosting a church.
And he's using what God has given
him for the furtherance of God's
kingdom.
And why does he do it?
He does it because Gaius has bought
into the mission.
And Erastus, this man of high position,
is he seeking to climb the career
ladder?
No, he's not.
He's seeking to live for the glory of
God and telling others about him in
the place where he works.
And why does Erastus do it?
He does it because he's bought into
the mission.
Here are eight men who have bought
into the mission.
Here are eight men who are working
hard for the mission.
Here are eight men who are spending
themselves for the mission to take the
gospel across the globe.
And why are they doing that?
Because their hearts have been so utterly
gripped by the greatness and sheer
brilliance of the person and their
savior, Jesus Christ.
And you see how that praise of God has
propelled them to go and work hard for
the gospel and proclaim the gospel,
live for Jesus Christ.
You know, it was William Tyndale, the
man probably most famous for translating
the Bible into English at some point in
his life.
And it was really hard to do so.
And he was burnt at the stake because he
did it.
He said this.
He said,
Evangelion is a Greek word signifying good,
merry, glad, and joyful news.
And it makes a man's heart glad.
And it makes him sing.
And it makes him dance.
And it makes him leap for joy.
Question.
Does the gospel make you,
does the gospel make me sing and dance
and leap for joy?
Has Jesus gripped our souls?
Have we bought and do we cherish and do we
love the gospel of Jesus Christ?
And have we bought into the mission that
Paul lays out here to take the gospel to
the world?
Are you using your time for that mission?
Are you using your resources for that
mission?
Are you using your job and position that
God has given you for that mission?
And I was reacquainted with the story of
the English cricketer C.T.
Studd this week.
That's the guy on the screen.
Just to put you out your misery there.
That's who that guy is.
I'd heard the story before about C.T.
Studd, but I maybe just hadn't
appreciated just how good a cricketer he
was.
He wasn't just a good cricketer.
I mean, we're talking about a seriously
talented and highly acclaimed man who
played for England.
I mean, he's got to be good, I think, to
play for England.
But in any event, he becomes a Christian
and he gives up his cricket career and
he goes on to become a highly devoted
missionary and he's taken the gospel to
places like China and India.
Incidentally, you can have this one for
free.
There's a great biography of him by Norman
Grub.
You can get it for really cheap on
Kindle just now.
That's for free.
But there it is.
But we have to ask ourselves, why would
C.T.
Studd give up his cricket career to go
and share the gospel with those in
far-flung lands?
Well, here is what he said as he thought
about his life and as he thought about
what he should do with his life after he
became a Christian.
Now, this is great.
Listen to this.
He's recorded as saying this.
How could I spend the best hours of my
life in working for myself and for the
honors and pleasures of this world when
thousands of souls are perishing without
having heard about Jesus Christ?
The best hours of his life.
And he would later go on to write the poem that's
cherished by so many.
The poem with these words,
Oh, let my love with fervor burn.
And from the world now let me turn.
Living for thee and thee alone.
Bringing thee pleasure on thy throne.
Only one life.
It will soon be passed.
Only what's done for Christ will last.
That is inspiring stuff, isn't it?
I find that massively challenging as I think
about my life.
You think, I think about Moses in Psalm 90.
What does he say?
He says, Lord, teach us to number our years,
number our days.
What are we doing with our days on this
earth?
Have we bought into this mission?
Here's a man.
Here's men in this letter, but here's a
man C.T. Studd who is bought into this
mission and living his life for the glory
of God and expending himself for the
mission of God to take the gospel around
the world.
But it's an example, isn't it, of what
happens when the gospel of grace grips
us and is the person of Jesus Christ as
he thrills us.
And it produces in us, doesn't it, that
deep sense of wonder and awe and worship
and praise and that deep sense of obligation
and debt and it propels us to mission.
Here are eight men, says Paul.
Different men, different gifts, different
resources, but who are using whatever
they've got, whatever God has given them
for this mission.
Now, of course, this guy Paul, isn't he?
He's already outlined in this letter that
praise has propelled him to travel around
Asia Minor proclaiming the gospel.
What is his desire?
We saw at the beginning of chapter 15.
He wants to go to Spain.
I mean, this is not a guy who, like,
lacks godly ambition, is it?
Or that I would have the mindset of Paul,
that I want to go to everywhere in my
circles and spread the gospel.
Paul says here, as he finishes this book
of letter of Romans, here is the mission
worth working for.
And that's the second flavor of the last
bit of Romans.
Here's the third one.
And we'll find it in verses 25 to 27.
And it's of God's glory.
Paul says here is the message worth living for.
So do you see how Paul finishes his letter
by lifting their gaze to the greatness of God,
the God who has made this whole salvation
venture possible.
And he tells them again that salvation,
this plan that God has had since the beginning
of time to bring sinful men and women to himself,
that they can be saved through Jesus Christ,
that they can be made one with God,
this is the God who has made this all possible.
It's not us who have made this possible.
It is God who has made this possible.
And notice in passing how Paul describes God here.
Verse 25.
As the one who is able to establish them.
As if to remind them that the God who saved them
is the God who is able to hold them and keep them.
And the God who is able to see them home.
Is this mission terrifying?
It is absolutely terrifying.
What is the comfort in this mission?
That the power is from God and it is God who's holding us.
This is all of him.
He is the one who commanded this whole salvation thing.
Do you notice that in verse 26?
He is the eternal God.
He is the only wise God.
Salvation from beginning to end is the plan of the eternal God.
His plan since the beginning of time to win a people for himself.
A plan centering on Jesus Christ, heaven's reigning king.
The eternal son of God.
God sent from heaven's courts to rescue sinful men and women from their sin.
He would give his life on the cross to win that people.
A people from all around the world and win them to himself
in order that they might sing his praises.
And with one voice live for and glorify the God who has saved them.
That's the message.
What does Paul do with this message?
Verse 25.
He proclaims it.
And you can't help this.
Maybe this was just me.
But you can't help but read these verses.
I read them this week and I could hear Paul's voice in the back of my head.
And what was he saying?
He was saying, join me.
Join me.
Give your life for this mission.
There is nothing that compares with giving your life for this mission.
Join me.
Join me in making much of Jesus Christ.
Join me in making Jesus Christ known to the lost world.
To a lost world that desperately needs to hear about him.
For you see, the greatest man that ever lived.
He calls us to join him in the greatest mission that the world will ever know.
Here is Jesus Christ.
That's what Romans says, isn't it?
As we come to finish.
It's a call to know and it's a call to go.
To go and proclaim.
To take this incredible message to the far-flung corners of the earth.
Yes.
But to take it to our streets.
And to take it to our offices.
And to take it to our sports teams.
And to take it to our families.
And to take it to our friends.
And to take it to anywhere else that you find yourself.
To make Jesus known.
To make him great.
And to bring.
God would use us to bring men and women to faith in him.
So the question as we leave the letter to the Romans is.
Will we go?
Will we be God's people who are captivated by praise and who go and proclaim?
So there it is.
The last bite of Romans 16.
The miracle worth fighting for.
The mission worth working for.
The message worth living for.
And let me close just by reading the chorus of the song that we're about to stand and sing.
Which I think so beautifully ends the book of Romans.
You can almost say it's a theme song for the whole book of Romans.
And it's this.
All glory be to Christ our King.
All glory be to Christ.
His rule and reign we will ever sing.
All glory be to Christ.
And how does Paul end this letter?
Alistair led us in it earlier.
Let's end there.
We'll say it together.
How does Paul end this letter?
Amen.
Let me pray.
Oh our gracious Father.
We thank you.
Thank you for your word.
Thank you for the letter of Romans.
Thank you that we have it in our own language.
Thank you that it tells us about your greatness.
And the extent that you have gone to to make us yours.
And as we close our time together in it tonight.
I ask gracious Father that its message would continue to be fuel for mission.
Oh would the person of Jesus Christ.
His work.
His death.
His resurrection.
May that continue to thrill our hearts.
And may that praise of him propel us to go and proclaim.
Oh would you help us to live for you and your glory this week we ask by your spirit.
To be those who proclaim your glorious message to this lost and broken world.
Oh our gracious Father we thank you for our time this evening.
And we pray these things in the glorious name of Jesus.
Amen.