How Does God Grow Your Faith? When Jesus Brings Friends Into Our Lives

CLCC Church Podcast

How Does God Grow Your Faith?

Sermon: When Jesus Brings Friends Into Our Lives

Pastor: Jim Lucas

Romans 16:1-16

Sermon Summary

The Big Idea of this study is that friendship is a huge factor in growing our faith. Even the Apostle Paul, the gifted author and orator, encircled himself with good friendships.

One of the remarkable things about our text this week is that the Apostle Paul has never visited the church in Rome, yet he has so many good friends there. This tells us not only that Paul was not a lone ranger kind of Christian, he worked well with others. It also tells us that in the 1st Century people were pretty mobile in that Paul has encountered these folks in places other than their home town. Keep in mind that Claudius expelled Jews from Rome around 41-52 AD (Acts 18:2).

Most of the people Paul addresses are slaves or freemen and freewomen who had bought themselves out of slavery. But while they were slaves they were also important people. Slaves in the 1st Century were often highly educated and carried on much of the skilled labour of the Empire. Slaves managed much of the household and government affairs.

Paul mentions 24 friends in Rome, many of whom were women who labored with him. The letter carrier (Phoebe) probably had an important role in reading and interpreting the letter to the church. Junia, another woman, is called an apostle. Keep in mind the New Testament uses the term Apostle in a strict sense to identify the first disciples of Jesus and also in a broader sense as those “sent out” by the church to serve the Lord. But even given this secondary meaning, he identifies a woman as someone sent out by the church. Whatever we make of passages like 1 Cor. 14:34 and 1 Tim. 2:11-15 we see that Paul is not a misogynist (woman hater).

Questions for Discussion:

1. Have you found that Covid has diminished your circle of friends? Why or why not?

2. Why do you think Paul takes the time to mention his friends in Rome? Would that help his letter to be better received?

3. What are the key qualities that you look for in good friends?

4. Where can you go to find and connect with new friends?

5. Have you ever had to cut off a friendship that you felt was unhealthy? Why?

6. What are some habits that you might try to enhance the quality of your friendships?