27 May 2012 - ENCS

Pastor Larry spoke about Romans chapters 15 and 16
Bringing to an end the longest series ENCS has seen
First he did recap the entire Romans book
Into Faith, Hope, and Love it does look
Chapter One deals with the realities of being alive
The need to build standards through chapter five
Understanding our struggles from six to eight
Between God and us, nothing can separate
Clarification to lead us through, from nine to eleven
Twelve to sixteen provide encouragement from heaven

Pastor said the final challenge is to receive others
Whether Jew or Gentile, all can be Christian brothers
We must overcome cultural biases, per Romans 15:7
Receiving each other as we have been by Christ in heaven
We should work with people of every nation and age
Whether they be rich or poor, uneducated or a sage
We should receive patience and comfort, per verses 5 and 6
Towards one another be like-minded, on God our eyes fix
Moving on to chapter fifteen, verse thirteen
Receive hope, joy, and peace can be seen
And from Pastor's message we did hear
That faith is the best way to fight fear
In verses 18 and 19, Paul states as clear as he can
That it is wrong to worship the accomplishments of man
For to Christ alone, all accomplishments are due
And we should remember all of them, not just a few

Chapter 16 says to receive women, who are not weak
About their strong points, Pastor's wife Elaine did speak
And it is important to note that in the eyes of the Lord
Women have a key role to play in spreading His word
God uses circumstances to get us to the right place
Different people have different challenges they face
But in ministry all people can be effective
Through their words and how they live
Per 1 Timothy 4 verses fourteen and fifteen
We should not neglect our gifts, even if unseen
To our life's doctrine we must stay near
In a word, we must always persevere
In Romans 16 verse twelve we can see
That women have the gift of hospitality

Turning to verses 17 and 18, Pastor then did say
Avoid the divisive types, as they get in the way
And concluding with verses 19 and 20
There are comforting words aplenty
We should be wise about what is good
And be innocent about evil, that we should
Know that God will crush Satan under his heel
For that, we should bow to God and kneel