Sermons 2025

Text: Romans 15:4-13 

Theme: Patient Welcome 

Outline 

1. We are often unwelcoming because of distrust. 

2. God welcomes us in Christ for our salvation 

3. Because God is welcoming to us, we can welcome others 

Sermon 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Epistle of Saint Paul’s letter to the church in Rome the fifteenth chapter verses four through thirteen. 

Boys and girls, I pray that you are doing well today. Do you enjoy saying hi to people? Sometimes you like to be really outgoing and say hi and good morning to everyone, even people that you do not know. I love that you do that. Some people do not like to do that because they enjoy getting to know people before doing so. Saint Paul tells us that in Jesus, God welcomes us. I know that you have seen this picture before. It is one of mine and your grandpa’s favorites of a man entering into heaven and Jesus giving him a giant hug. How does God welcome us in Jesus with a giant hug? How does Jesus’ welcome help us to be welcoming to those around us? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you. 

1. We are often unwelcoming because of distrust.

 How welcoming are you? Would you describe yourself as an extrovert or an introvert? 

Just as there many people out in the world today, so too within the church. 

Some people are bubbling and joyful all of the time, enjoying the crowds, the busel of conversation, and getting to know lots of people. Others are more reserved, quiet, and stoic. They enjoy smaller gatherings with close friends, a quiet night at home alone to recharge, and getting to know a few people very intimately. Many are somewhere in between, and others have learned how to be more extrovert like while still needed introvert times. 

Does this mean that you automatically enjoy and get along with everyone that you meet? There are people that we put up with and tolerate because we know that we have to. That boss that always seems to have a scowl on their face. The coworker that you just cannot seem to make happy no matter what you do. That spouse that always seems to nitpick what you do, no matter how well you do it. There are some that we tolerate and others that we love to be around upon this earth. 

One way that I can describe this is picture McDonald’s fries. Think of them. Fresh. Hot. Glistening with salt. A perfect golden brown. Can you smell them right now? So, here is the question: If I have McDonald’s French fries on my plate, do I tolerate them? The answer is no. I do not tolerate them. I enjoy them! I like them. I love them! Point being, we do not tolerate things that we like. We put up with things we have to put up with. That is what broccoli is for (just kidding, I like broccoli; kale on the other hand is a product of the fall). 

Tolerating and putting up with things or people is not being very welcoming. Because of our sinful nature, we often distrust those around us. We ponder how they are going to hurt us again, when will the next fight happen? How are they going to let us down this time? Oh, great, what task did I fail now? How far is that verbal jab going hit this time? I am already hurting, are they gong to provide comfort or rub further salt in the wound after a long, rough day? Even simple pleasantries become masks. A grumpy coworker says hi and your mind thinks, ‘Oh great, what do you want now? You never say hi without needing something from me.’ 

God should take this kind of attitude towards us. He should wash His hands of us completely because we do not pray rightly, we either come in arrogance, demanding for something from Him for ourselves or others, or we come timidly and meekly, unsure of what to even say or if God can even fulfill our request. 

1. God welcomes us in Christ for our salvation 

Yet, what does Saint Paul say? “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. ” 

How has Christ welcomed you? He took on the form of a servant for your good. 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 

9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, j“The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

 In Jesus Christ, the God-man, God became a servant for your good. He fulfilled every single one of the Laws given to the Jews, living a perfect life, even when it meant going to a cross. There, in perfect obedience, Jesus bears the sins, shame, and distrust, not only of the Jews, but also yours and mine. 

He dies the dead that you and I deserve. He bears the full wrath of God so that God does not look upon us in distain or merely tolerates us. Rather, in Christ, He opens His arms and gives us a great giant welcome in Heaven as His dear and beloved Children. Jesus, through His life and death, undoes every difference and distrust that arises because of our sinful nature. The Jesus of Advent, the root of Jesse (Romans 15:12), the sun of righteousness arisen with healing in His wings is the Messiah who healed the breach between Jew and Gentile in His body, broken upon the cross that He might break down the dividing wall between them. As seen when the Temple curtain tears in two from top to bottom at His death, signifying that the barrier bearing the inscription, “No stranger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure. Whoever is caught will be himself responsible for his ensuing death.“ has been done away with forever. 

Though His death and Resurrection, Jesus is our peace between us and God (Ephesians 2:14), and is our only hope for our cracks to be healed, our mistrust, our differences, our divisions to be solved, the very source of our salvation. 1. Because God is welcoming to us, we can welcome others All this God has done on our behalf, purely because of His divine goodness and mercy towards us. As His people, we emulate what Jesus has done for us in our daily lives. It does not mean that we have to get along with, or even enjoy being with, other people. Rather, it means that we see them as Jesus sees us. We see them as a human being, created in the image of God. We see a soul that Jesus died and rose from the dead, to save and redeem them. We see a person whom the Holy Spirit works though us, to bring the blessed gifts of God’s Word, that He might create and sustain saving faith in. We do this, seeing that in Christ, all barriers have been broken down, that it does not matter what we look like. It does not matter the color of our skin, the mental faculties that we posses, if we are wearing the best clothes or coming in tattered jeans and a cut off t-shirt. We are welcoming of everyone, because God in Christ, has first welcomed us, forgiven us of all of our sins, and still deigns to invite and welcome us to His table in the Holy Eucharist, to feast upon Jesus’ true body and blood, in, with, and under, the bread and the wine, that our faith is strengthened in love towards God and service towards those around us, that we may welcome others with a giant hug, or high five, just as Christ welcomes us, drawing us to His Cross. 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.