The Book of Romans: "The Welcome of Jesus"

The Book of Romans

Welcome:

Good morning, friends! My name is Stuart Davidson and I’m the pastor here at Eastern Shore Baptist Church. Thank you so much for being here with us this morning. If you are visiting with us today for the very first time, I want you to know something right out of the gate, this message today is especially for you. In fact, as the pastor of this church, I truly hope you feel welcomed here. 

I hope you feel seen. 

I hope you walk out of this place today thinking, “Man, that is one of the most loving and welcoming churches I’ve ever been around.”

You know, we live in a world where people can “know” hundreds of people online, recognize names, recognize faces, maybe even like a few pictures, but never actually have a relationship. 

That’s not what we want here. 

We want more than recognition. 

We want relationship. 

We want to know people the way family knows people, the way lifelong friends know people. 

We want real relationships, authentic relationships, life-sharing relationships centered around Jesus Christ.

If you are visiting today, if you are watching online, or even if you’ve been a member here for years, I also want to remind you about our prayer line. If you have a prayer need, big or small, or maybe you just need somebody to talk to, text your request to 251-222-8977. A member of our prayer team will receive that message instantly and begin praying for you. Friends, we mean it when we say we care about people around here.

So once again, welcome. Welcome. Welcome.

Introduction of Today’s Message:

Back in 1996, I had just finished my very first semester of college at Samford University up in Birmingham. Friends, it had been a long semester. There had been a lot of ups and downs. Believe it or not, Angela and I were dating back then. She was a senior in high school and I was up in Birmingham trying to survive freshman year while also trying to survive a long-distance relationship. That was before email, FaceTime, unlimited texting, before all that stuff. Some of you students have no idea how hard we had it! You had to actually wait by the phone and hope that your…in my case…girlfriend would call. 

I was homesick. I missed Angela. I missed my family. I had been gone for months. I still remember the day Christmas break started. I packed up my car and drove about an hour and a half south to Montgomery. I remember pulling into the driveway, walking through the back door, and immediately being greeted by my mom and dad. Friends, I don’t know that I have ever felt more welcomed, more loved, or more celebrated in all my life. Even now, nearly thirty years later, I can still remember that feeling.

That memory came flooding back to me just a few days ago because our oldest son had been away at school in Montgomery. He had not really been home since New Year’s except maybe for a couple of quick stops to pick up a few things. We had of course seen him play baseball, but it’s different when somebody’s not home. Their presence is missed. Well, he came home this past week, and I watched Angela throw her arms around him. She was so excited to see him. Honestly, it reminded me of my own mom and dad greeting me all those years ago.

There’s just something powerful about being welcomed. There’s something powerful about being loved, celebrated, missed, and embraced.

Just the other day, I was visiting with Marilyn and Jim Wally. Marilyn has been battling Parkinson’s Plus for several years now, and she is very much in the twilight of her life. It will not be long before she sees Jesus face to face. While we were talking, I told Marilyn how much I loved her, and I reminded her that one day very soon she is going to leave behind this world filled with suffering and pain, and she is going to be welcomed into the arms of Jesus Christ Himself. Tears began rolling down her face. We prayed with her. We loved on her. It was a holy moment.

Friends, here’s the truth. You should not have to wait until heaven to feel welcomed. You should not have to be gone for months to feel missed. You should feel the welcome of Jesus every single time you walk into this church. You should feel the welcome of Jesus when you are surrounded by the people of God.

So let me ask you this morning, have you felt the welcome of Jesus today?

Friends, that brings me to the title of today’s message:

“The Welcome of Jesus.”

Today’s Message: 

“The Welcome of Jesus”

Introduction of Today’s Thought:

Friends, we have all visited churches before, but let’s just be honest, not every church experience is the same. 

Some churches are warm. 

Some churches are welcoming. 

Some churches make you feel like family within five minutes of walking through the doors. 

Other churches can make you feel like you accidentally wandered into somebody else’s family reunion. 

Nobody talks to you. 

Nobody notices you. You sit there wondering if anybody even realized you came.

Now friends, I certainly hope that when people come to Eastern Shore Baptist Church they feel seen and not overlooked. I hope they feel loved and not ignored. I hope they feel the warmth of Christ in this place. It got me thinking this week, what creates tension inside churches? 

Why are some churches not very welcoming? 

Why is it that a new person can walk through the doors of a church and later say the familiar phrase, “Nobody even spoke to me. Nobody even noticed I was there”?

Sometimes churches stop being welcoming because there becomes an unhealthy desire for power, control, and authority. Instead of letting Christ rule the church, people start trying to control the church. 

They want to control the narrative. 

They want to control the dynamics. 

They want to control the relationships. 

New people can begin to feel like threats instead of opportunities for ministry. Friends, that is dangerous territory for a church to enter.

Sometimes churches stop being welcoming because the Holy Spirit has been stifled. When the Spirit of God is moving, there is joy. 

There is warmth. 

There is conviction mixed with compassion. 

There is love for people. 

When churches become cold, rigid, prideful, bitter, territorial, or spiritually lifeless, guests can feel that almost immediately. You can walk into a room and sense whether people are filled with the Spirit or simply going through religious motions.

Sometimes churches stop being welcoming because the leadership doesn’t model it. After all, sheep generally follow the attitude of the shepherd. If the pastor is distant, cold, guarded, or disconnected, eventually the people can become that way too. Yet, when leadership is joyful, approachable, servant-hearted, and people-loving, it creates a culture where others begin doing the same thing.

Friends, Eastern Shore Baptist is not above any of those dangers. Any church can drift if we are not intentional. Any church can lose its warmth if we are not careful. Any church can move from ministry to maintenance if we stop focusing on Jesus.

Friends, that brings me to today’s thought. 

There it is on the outline. Fill in the blanks with me:

Today’s Thought:

Jesus Wants To Move The Church Away From Tension Towards Togetherness!

What does togetherness look like in the church? 

It means we worship together. 

We serve together. 

We pray together. 

We hurt together. 

We celebrate together. 

We carry burdens together. 

We welcome one another because Christ has welcomed us.

Introduction of Today’s Quote:

Friends, if you’re following along on your outline, here’s our quote for the day. It comes from Tim Keller and his book, The Reason for God. He explains that the church is supposed to be radically different from the world around it. The world divides people by race, politics, backgrounds, personalities, and preferences, but the Gospel brings people together under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Listen to what he says:

Today’s Quote:

“The gospel creates a human community that is radically different from any society around it. In the church, people who would never ordinarily associate, people of different races, classes, politics, and backgrounds, are brought together in love because of Jesus Christ. The church is called to display a unity that is deeper than race, politics, class, or culture. The gospel creates a new humanity.”

-Dr. Timothy Keller’s “The Reason for God”

Introduction of Today’s Scripture:

Well friends, come now to our Scripture for the day. Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans 15:7-13. And while you’re getting there, let me tell you a little bit about this passage.

Paul is writing to a church that was dealing with tension, division, and disagreement. You had Jewish believers and Gentile believers trying to learn how to live together as one family in Christ. 

They came from different backgrounds, different traditions, and different convictions, and those differences were creating friction inside the church.

So Paul points them back to Jesus. He reminds them that Christ welcomed them all by grace, and because Jesus welcomed them, they should welcome one another as family. 

Paul wants the church to move away from division and toward unity, away from tension and toward togetherness, so that they would become a people overflowing with the love, peace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Statement of Belief:

“We are opening the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Romans 15:7-13 CSB 

Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. [8] For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, [9] and so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to your name. [10] Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! [11] And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him! [12] And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him. [13] Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord!”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His Holy name!”

How Can Eastern Shore Baptist “Welcome One Another…”?

I. Receive People Compassionately (vs. 7)

Well friends, we have made it now to the heart of today’s message.

How can Eastern Shore Baptist “welcome one another”?

Friends, I want you to fill in the blank there by Roman numeral number one. We can welcome one another by receiving people compassionately.

Look again at verse 7:

“Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.”

Romans 15:7 CSB

Friends, there’s a brief explanation of the point there on your outline. Notice what it says:

“A welcoming church notices people, speaks to people, smiles at people, and helps people feel seen and valued instead of feeling overlooked.”

Well friends, one of the funny things Baptists do, especially if you’ve been in church for a long time, is we all develop assigned seating. Now we don’t officially assign the seats, but let’s just be honest, some of y’all would call a deacons’ meeting if somebody sat in your spot next Sunday morning.

I mean, every week it’s the same thing. We’ve got our youth usually sitting over here to my left. We’ve got many of the same families sitting in these middle sections over here. We’ve got some of our precious senior adults sitting over here to my right. After a while, if we’re not careful, we can come to church and only see the same handful of people week after week after week.

Here’s the problem with that. There may be church members in this room who love each other deeply but never really interact because they always sit on opposite sides of the sanctuary. Even more concerning, there may be guests who walk into this room and never get noticed simply because they did not sit near us.

Now friends, I want to do something a little different this morning. Don’t panic, I’m not asking anybody to run laps around the sanctuary or anything like that.

But if you are comfortable doing so, I want us to play a little game for just a moment. I’m going to ask you to stand up, move to a different section of the sanctuary that you normally do not sit in, and sit next to somebody you do not normally sit beside. Families can absolutely stay together. Husbands and wives, don’t use this as your opportunity to separate for the next thirty minutes. Keep your families together.

Now listen, if you are introverted or physically uncomfortable moving around, there is zero pressure here. I am not trying to embarrass anybody or force anybody into an awkward situation. That is not the point. The point is this: sometimes we have to intentionally break up our routines in order to see people we may otherwise overlook.

So stand up for just a moment, move around a little bit, introduce yourself to somebody, shake a hand, learn a name, and let’s practice what we are preaching today.

Alright, now for those of you that participated in our little seating experiment this morning, let me ask you an important theological question:

Did you die?

No! You made it! Some of y’all are nervous, but you survived.

Now the good news is some of the people who used to be on my bad side are finally over here on my good side, so I appreciate your spiritual growth this morning.

Seriously though, now you get to see the sanctuary from a different vantage point. 

You noticed different people. 

You spoke to different people. 

Maybe you even met somebody you had never talked to before. Friends, that is exactly the point.

Now let’s talk about this idea of receiving people compassionately. Paul says in verse 7:

“Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.”

That word “welcome” in the Greek is proslambanō (pros-lam-BAH-no). It means “to receive warmly,” “to accept into one’s fellowship,” “to draw close,” or “to bring near to yourself.”

Friends, Paul is not talking about offering somebody a quick handshake and then disappearing before the invitation song. 

He is talking about bringing people close. 

Accepting them. 

Loving them. 

Making room for them in your life.

Now let me warn you about something. When you truly welcome people, ministry can get messy.

When you start loving people deeply, you eventually start seeing their struggles. 

You hear about the marriage problems. 

You hear about the addiction. 

You hear about the prodigal child. 

You hear about the depression. 

You hear about the loneliness. 

You hear about the financial strain. 

You hear about the doctor’s report.

Welcoming people means we do not merely admire them from a distance. It means we step into their lives. Sometimes we get neck deep in the mess with them. 

We pray with them. 

We cry with them. 

We support them. 

We walk beside them.

Friends, that is what the church is supposed to do.

The church is not a museum for perfect people. It is a family of redeemed people learning to walk together under the grace of Jesus Christ. Real love gets involved. Real compassion gets close.

That’s why Paul says over in Romans 12:13:

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:13 NIV

Friends, hospitality is more than opening your home. It is opening your heart.

How Can Eastern Shore Baptist “Welcome One Another…”?

I. Receive People Compassionately (vs. 7)

II. Respect People Consistently (vs. 7-9)

Well friends, we have made it now to our second point this morning.

How can Eastern Shore Baptist welcome one another?

Well, number one, we welcome one another by receiving people compassionately.

Number two, we welcome one another by respecting people consistently.

Look again at Romans 15, specifically verse 7. I want you to notice this phrase again:

“Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you…”

Romans 15:7 CSB

Friends, notice the standard Paul gives us. He does not simply say, “Welcome one another when it’s easy.” He says, “Welcome one another just as Christ welcomed you.”

How did Jesus welcome us? 

Patiently. 

Mercifully. 

Compassionately. 

Truthfully.

Friends, there’s a brief explanation of the point there on your outline:

“The church should be a place where people encounter conviction without condemnation, truth without harshness, and grace without compromise.”

You know, this point reminds me of the true story behind the song “Craig” by Walker Hayes. 

Walker Hayes was struggling badly. His music career was barely hanging on. His relationship to his wife, who was a born again Christian, was fractured. 

Financially, things were falling apart. He was battling alcohol addiction. His family was hurting. Thankfully Hayes’ wife never gave up on him. She prayed for him daily, read her Bible, and poured she and her children into church. 

According to his own admission, Hayes was not walking with God. In fact, he openly described himself as an atheist at the time. He was not writing Christian music. He was not deeply involved in church. Honestly, he was the kind of person many churches might quietly avoid.

Then there was a man at Walker Haynes’ wife’s church named Craig Cooper.

Craig did not treat Walker like a project. He treated him like a person. He welcomed him. He respected him. He consistently loved him. Craig and his family stepped into Walker’s pain instead of stepping away from it. At one of the lowest moments in Walker Hayes’ life, Craig Cooper ministered to him and his family in practical, tangible ways. He encouraged him. He supported him. He even bought their family a van when they desperately needed transportation.

Friends, Craig did not compromise truth. He did not celebrate sin. He simply chose compassion over condemnation. He chose grace over harshness. He chose to love somebody who was hurting.

Can I tell you something? That is exactly what Jesus did for us.

Friends, people who walk into this church may not believe like we believe yet. They may not talk like us. Dress like us. Understand church culture like us. Some people walk in carrying addiction, brokenness, skepticism, shame, and years of pain.

Our job is not to stand at a distance and judge people from afar. Our job is to love people consistently while pointing them faithfully toward Jesus Christ.

You never know what God can do through one welcoming conversation, one act of kindness, one moment of compassion, one invitation to lunch, one prayer, one encouraging word.

That’s why Paul says in Ephesians 4:2:

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”

Ephesians 4:2 NLT

How Can Eastern Shore Baptist “Welcome One Another…”?

I. Receive People Compassionately (vs. 7)

II. Respect People Consistently (vs. 7-9)

III. Rejoice Together Collectively (vs. 10-13)

Well friends, we have finally made it to our last point this morning.

How can Eastern Shore Baptist welcome one another?

Well, we can receive people compassionately, respect people consistently, and Roman numeral number three, rejoice together collectively.

Look at verses 10 through 13:

“Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him! And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:10-13 CSB

Friends, there’s that final explanation there on your outline:

“When believers love worship, love people, and love each other, the joy of Christ becomes contagious to guests, members, believers, and even unbelievers.”

You know, when you hear the word “attractive,” there are a lot of different ways people think about that word. Some people immediately think about physical appearance. 

Symmetrical faces. 

Certain body types. 

Muscles. 

Beauty standards. People naturally gravitate toward what they find visually appealing.

Other attractions are different entirely. A bright light attracts moths and flies. Sometimes attraction can even pull something toward danger or destruction.

When churches think about becoming “attractive,” many people immediately think about programs, facilities, ministries, personalities, branding, production quality, or charisma. They think about what a church can offer somebody. “What can this church do for me? What can it provide for my family?”

Now friends, those things are not necessarily bad. We ought to pursue excellence. We ought to care about ministry. We ought to work hard. However, those things are not the primary thing that should attract people to the bride of Christ.

According to Scripture, what should attract people to the church is the people inside the church.

It is the way believers love one another.

It is the way believers rejoice with one another.

It is the way we celebrate victories together and carry burdens together. 

It is the way we pray for each other, care for each other, cry with each other, and show up for each other.

It is knowing that when life falls apart, there is somebody in this church you can call. 

Somebody who will pray with you. 

Somebody who will sit with you in the hospital. 

Somebody who will stand beside you at the funeral home. 

Somebody who will encourage you when your faith feels weak.

Friends, that kind of love is attractive.

There is something powerful about walking into a church where people genuinely enjoy being together. Not because everything is perfect, but because Jesus Christ has changed their hearts.

And honestly friends, when you look at the ministry of Jesus, one of the most remarkable things about Him is who He welcomed.

Think about Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Here was a crooked tax collector. A cheat. A swindler. A man rejected by his own people. Nobody in town looked at Zacchaeus and thought, “There’s a future church member.” If anything, people probably expected Jesus to publicly rebuke him.

Yet, Jesus stopped beneath that sycamore tree, looked up, called Zacchaeus by name,

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.”

Friends, that shocked everybody.

The religious crowd immediately started complaining:

“He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.”

Jesus welcomed him anyway.

Now hear me carefully. Jesus did not excuse Zacchaeus’ sin, but He also did not avoid Zacchaeus because of his sin. He welcomed him, loved him, and that welcome helped transform his life.

So, by the end of the story, Zacchaeus is repenting, making things right, and following Christ.

Friends, grace opened the door for transformation.

That is what Jesus does. He welcomes broken people and changes them through His truth and love.

Church, if Jesus could stop for Zacchaeus, then surely we can stop for people too. We should never become the kind of church where people have to look perfect before they feel loved. We should be the kind of church where people encounter the welcome of Jesus the moment they walk through these doors.

Paul says:

“Rejoice… praise… overflow with hope…”

In other words, the church should not feel spiritually cold, emotionally disconnected, or relationally distant. There ought to be joy in the house of God. There ought to be encouragement in the house of God. There ought to be hope in the house of God.

That’s why Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:11:

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

I’ll leave you with this closing thought…

A Welcoming Church Reflects A Welcoming Savior!

Closing Prayer:

Father God, it is wonderful to be in Your presence this morning. Lord, we get to worship You, spend time with Your people, and glory in Your goodness. We praise You for that.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Eastern Shore Baptist Church. We know we are not perfect people, and we certainly do not have a perfect pastor, but Lord, this is Your church. Thank You that this is a place where people can be welcomed, loved, encouraged, and pointed toward Jesus Christ.

Lord, we do not welcome people so they can remain the same. We welcome people with the hope of transformation. God, You did not bring us here to leave us in our sin, but to make us new through Jesus Christ.

Father, if there is anyone here today who has never trusted in Jesus as Savior, I pray today would be the day they surrender their life to Him. 

Jesus, if there are others who need to follow You in believer’s baptism or simply need prayer, give them courage to respond today.

Spirit, help us be the kind of church that reflects the welcome of Jesus in the way we love people, serve people, and care for people.

We love You, Lord, and we pray all these things in Jesus’ name.

Amen.