DEVOTION: Romans 1:1-7 (ESV)
"Greeting"
1 Paul, a servant[a] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David[b] according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do you greet people? "Hey!" "Hello." "How are you?" Have you ever considered greeting people the way Paul does here? He puts the emphasis, almost immediately after introducing himself, on Christ. He doesn't waste any time. He says that he was called to be a sent one for the good news (Gospel) of God.
Then he simply gives them that grace with a greeting of "Grace to you and peace from god our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." I usually use this or something like this at the beginning of the sermon. It is usually as most people are getting settled in for their naps and straightening out whatever their kids need to stay quiet, so I'm sure many people don't pay much attention to it. Frankly, I don't pay much attention either. We take that greeting, and in fact, we take God's grace itself, for granted, don't we? The few times we acknowledge his grace outside off worship and devotions is when we escape some sort of harmful thing, or when we are so in dire straits, spiritually and physically, that we have no other choice but to surrender and rely on God.
When we truly hear this greeting with open ears during times of conflict or struggle, it has a different meaning to us. We understand what that peace truly is, we can actually understand and fathom the reality of his grace on our lives.
My prayer for you today is that you hear Paul's greeting "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ", in a refreshing and new at today and that it has fuller meaning for you.
Lord, renew Your grace and peace in me today so that it may overflow from me to others and I can greet every one around me with peace and grace. Amen.
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CALENDAR
Wed- Oak Pointe Worship 10am; Supper 5:30; Worship 6:30; Choir 7:15; SCRIP orders due
Thurs- Karate 5:15-7:30
Sat- Men's breakfast 8am; Sunday school Christmas program Worship 5pm
Sun- Worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; Chapel 11
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WORSHIP WORKERS FOR THIS COMING WEEKEND:
Acolyte- Wed- Cierra Figura; 8:30- Addie Hoelscher 11- Gus Klaustermeier
Ushers- Wed- Alan Hofeldt, Tim Linke, Rich Talbert, Don Turnure; Sun-Scott and Alex Heitgerd, Bob and Tom Linke
Altar- Wed- Terry McKenzie; Set up- Dave and Linda Callies; Clean Up- Pam Linke
Elders- Sat- Randy Fischer; 8:30- Don Turnure 11- Charlie Figura
Greeters- 8:30- Rich and Peggy Talbert; 11- Dan and Lisa Rausch
Lay Readers- Sat- Marcia Sevier; 8:30- Allan Dreyer; 11- Steve Robine
Piano- Doug Walters Sat and 11am Sunday
Organist- Rachel Fisher
Projectionists: Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30 Schaumberg 11- Cluver
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: