Well, we’re starting a new series called “Weird Stories from the Bible.”

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It’s not often that I ask you to tell me what you’d like for me to preach, but I did this time. A few of you responded, and I’ll be covering some of the weird stories that you requested.

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Throughout history, there have been some famous people who have married their relatives. That’s right, we’re getting weird right away. Several famous people married their cousins, sometimes their first cousin, including Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, and Jesse James. It’s weird to marry a relative, right? Well, we had some of this in the Bible, also.

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Today, we’re going to cover a story from Genesis 20:1-18. We’re going to talk about a situation with Abraham and his wife, Sarah. Today’s sermon is entitled, “She’s my sister . . . sort of.” If you think this sounds weird already, you’re right.

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Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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Let’s look at the passage and then talk some about it.

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Look at Genesis 20:1-18:

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1 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

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3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

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4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5 Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

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6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

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8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally told them all these things, and the men were terrified.

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9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What made you do this?”

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11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 So when God had me wander from my father’s house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me, ‘He’s my brother.’ ”

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14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want.” 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.”

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17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

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Ok, there’s some weird stuff happening here, so let’s point out some weird stuff from this weird story:

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First, . . .

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‌I. It’s weird that Abraham deceived the king.

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It’s weird that Abraham would do this, but what’s weirder is that Abraham would do this twice.

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Back in Gen

Opening Songs: Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee, The First Noel

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‌Welcome

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Welcome to worship, everyone! Please be seated.

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My name is Matt McCraw. I’m the pastor here at FBC Bartow!

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At First Baptist Church, we exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others.

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We’re so glad to gather together for Christmas worship! For now, I want us to continue to glorify God in our service.

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We would love to have everyone connect with us through the Connection Card. If you have a prayer request, question, or comment, you can write that on the Connection Card. To our guests, welcome! Please fill out the Connection Card so we have a record of your visit. We also have a gift for our guests which you can pick up from one of our greeters in the back of the sanctuary as you leave. You give him your Connection Card and he’ll give you your gift bag. Everyone else can simply leave your Connection Card in your seat and we’ll get it after the service.

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Also, you can connect with us online at bartow.church. If you’d like for us to pray for you in any way you can email us at [email protected].

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(Missions Moment – Lottie Moon)

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Join me now in prayer as we continue to worship!

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Prayer

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(prayer)

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This morning, we’re going to learn about the Nativity.

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Now, first of all, you may wonder what the word nativity even means.

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Nativity refers to the occasion of someone’s birth. So, each of you who can understand me has a nativity, because you all were born.

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However, when I speak of The Nativity, I am speaking of the birth of Jesus Christ. The nativity of Jesus is what we celebrate this time of year.

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This morning, I’m not going to cover all of the details about the nativity, such as the fact that it probably didn’t happen anywhere around December 25, such as the fact that there was probably no barn involved, or anything like that.

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Rather, today, we’re going to talk about “The Nativity Personalities.” We’re going to talk about those who were there (or were not there) at the birth of Jesus.

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Let’s pray and then we’ll dive in.

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(prayer)

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So, we’re talking about the nativity personalities. First, let’s talk about . . .

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‌I. Jesus

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Of course, Jesus was there, right?

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Now, I want you to open your Bibles to the beginning of Luke and the beginning of Matthew. We’re going to be switching back and forth, so keep your thumb or a bookmark there to flip between Matthew and Luke.

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Let’s first look at Luke 2:1-7:

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1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

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4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

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So, we see that Jesus was born, in a manger.

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Now, a manger is like what most of us in America would call a trough. It’s a box that animals eat from.

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Based on archaeological evidence, it’s very likely that the manger was made of stone. It could have potentially looked like this.

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Also, in most nativity scenes, we see the family gathered in a small barn of sorts.

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Perhaps they were gathered in a barn, but they also could have been gathered in the bottom floor of a house, or in a cave where animals were often ke

Well, this is it . . . the end of the book of Romans! We started this sermon series on January 9, 2022 and now we are concluding just in time for next week’s Christmas message.

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This sermon series has been called “United in the Gospel.”

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Indeed, we’ve talked about how Jewish and non-Jewish people are united by the work of Jesus, mature Christians and immature Christians are united by the work of Jesus, those who were far from God have been united with God by the work of Jesus, and so much more!

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In today’s passage, Paul is going to conclude the letter. Some may think this conclusion is not super important, but it is. There’s a lot we can take away from this, so let’s look at it in just a second.

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Before we do, let’s look at one issue. Look at your Bibles . . . how many of you have verse 24 in there? Ok, how many of you do not?

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The reason why some translations have it and others do not is that some of the oldest manuscripts don’t have the verse. In fact, it’s not included in the New Living Translation, Christian Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, or the New American Standard Version.

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However, there is no major issue here. In the New King James Version, verse 24 reads, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

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Well, notice, that’s what Paul also says in verse 20 of the CSB, Paul says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

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So, this isn’t some weird doctrinal statement that someone stuck in there to change the future of Christianity. Rather, it’s simply what we call a textual variant that doesn’t change the meaning of the passage in any way.

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So, as I read, don’t get concerned because I skip over verse 24.

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So, let’s look at the passage together. Look at Romans 16:19-27.

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19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

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21 Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you.

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22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

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23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

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25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles—27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever! Amen.

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Today’s sermon is very simply entitled “Paul’s Conclusion.” So, let’s look at Paul’s conclusion and notice three things that emerge from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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First, we see . . .

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‌I. Gospel people.

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Paul begins this section by mentioning the Romans themselves.

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Remember, he said back in 15:14, “My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

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Now, he complements them again by saying in verse 19, “The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you.”

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Paul then instructs them to “ . . . be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.”

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We need to know a lot about living a godly life and very little about living an evil life.

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You want to be the person who is known as someone who is really good at memorizing Scripture, rather than really good at memorizing the paths to escape law enforcement. You want to know how to make others

From 1994-2004, one of the most successful television series in history ran across TV sets all over the world. That TV series was “Friends.” One of the main characters on that show was Phoebe.

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Well, today, we’re going to learn about Phoebe and some other friends.

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Now, we’re not going to learn about Phoebe Buffay from the television show, but we are, nonetheless, going to learn about Phoebe and some friends. In fact, today’s sermon is entitled “Phoebe and Some Other Friends.”

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Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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So, let’s look at this passage and see what the Lord has to say to us. Look at Romans 16:1-18:

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1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. 2 So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.

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3 Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches. 5 Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert, to Christ from Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother—and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

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17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them, 18 because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.

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So, this may seem like just a list of people and some final instructions from Paul. Yet, it is the Word of God, and it contains some valuable nuggets within it.

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So, let’s find in these verses four things that we can value in the church of Jesus Christ:

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First, we can . . .

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‌I. Value godly servanthood.

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Paul says very clearly in verse 1, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae.”

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Then, he continues in verse 2, “For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.”

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Now, first of all, the word used for servant here is the Greek word diakonos, which is the word we translate as deacon.

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So, some questions have been raised as to whether or not Phoebe was a deacon. I can definitely confirm that she was a deacon because Paul calls her a deacon.

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The question is, was Phoebe in the official deacon office of a church, or was she just living her life as a servant of Jesus?

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Well, we really don’t know definitively, but it appears that she was an official deacon of the church in Cenchreae.

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I will say this, as your pastor: there are much more concerning issues about deacons than whether or not they are women. To be clear, we’

Perhaps you’ve heard that you can tell a lot about somebody by (fill in the blank). Like, you can tell a lot about someone by the way they speak to children. Or, you can tell a lot about someone by the way they treat a server at a restaurant. Or, you can tell a lot about someone by looking at their bank account. Or, my favorite, you can tell a lot about someone by what they keep in their bathroom.

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In today’s passage, we’re going to learn that you can tell a lot about the apostle Paul by how he plans his travel.

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Today’s sermon is simply entitled “Paul’s Plans.”

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As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Romans, he is revealing some of his plans to them. As he does so, we see at least four aspects of Christian living in these verses.

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We learn that Paul can’t even make plans without dropping spiritual truth in there!

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So, let’s see what God has to say to us through the words of Paul. Before we do, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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Before we dive into what we might learn from this passage, let’s dive into the passage itself. Look with me at Romans 15:22-33:

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22 That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you. 23 But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you 24 whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Right now I am traveling to Jerusalem to serve the saints, 26 because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to them in material needs. 28 So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds to them, I will visit you on the way to Spain. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

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30 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in fervent prayers to God on my behalf. 31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 and that, by God’s will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

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33 May the God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

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Ok, let us now see these four aspects of Christian living from the passage.

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First, lets us see . . .

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‌I. Christian fellowship (22-24)

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First, we see that verse 22 starts as if we should have more information. Of course, we do have more information. We have the previous fourteen chapters and the first twenty-one verses of this chapter.

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Paul says, “That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.”

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What prevented Paul from coming to see the Romans was the work of expanding the gospel in all the regions between Jerusalem and Illyricum. This expansion is what we learned about last week.

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So, Paul wanted to see the Romans, but his mission work prevented him from doing so.

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Paul says in verse 23, “But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you.”

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Paul is saying that this part of his mission is over, and he is gearing up for his next mission, which we learn is in Spain.

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By the way, when Paul mentions Spain, he is more than likely speaking of what is called the Iberian Peninsula, which occupies what is modern-day Spain and Portugal.

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So, going back to the map from last week, Paul wanted to continue to travel in a western direction to expand the gospel.

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Spain would have been all t

Here we are nearing the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans, and Paul takes some time to offer some personal reflections on his work among the Romans.

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As he writes about his work among them, he does not forget the gospel mission to which God has called him.

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This sermon is entitled “Paul’s Gospel Mission.”

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As we look at Paul’s gospel mission, we’re going to see three aspects of his mission in this passage.

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Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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Let’s look at the passage together, and then let’s see what the Lord will teach us.

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Look at Romans 15:14-21:

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14 My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15 Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. My purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God. 18 For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles, 19 by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. 20 My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but, as it is written, Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

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Ok, so let’s look at these three aspects of Paul’s gospel mission.

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First, we see Paul’s . . .

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‌I. Gospel Encouragement (14)

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Don’t you just love encouragement?

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Good, godly, genuine encouragement can lift your spirit.

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This week I had two pastors who reached out and encouraged me. One said that he thought I was humorous, and the other said that he thought I was I was doing a good job as a pastor. Let me tell you, that little bit of encouragement warmed my soul.

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Listen to what Paul says to the Roman Christians in verse 14.

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Paul says, “My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.”

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Paul doesn’t say to the Romans, “Well, you all are just a bunch of idiots, and you really need some help!” No! He encourages them.

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Paul says that the Romans are full of goodness. He says they are filled with knowledge. He says they are able to teach one another.

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Paul will go on in just a minute to remind the Romans why he is writing to them and why his mission is important. However, before he does, he wants to reach out to encourage them.

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Listen, church: this is not the main point of this passage, but we ought not to miss this reality, either: part of our gospel mission should include encouraging people.

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There’s so much discouragement in the world right now, and there has been for thousands of years.

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Countries are at war, prices are sky high, there’s about twelve different viruses floating around in our community, our country’s leaders don’t get along . . . there’s lots of discouragement in this world.

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However, the encouragement found in the gospel message and in gospel people can blast through the discouragement of the world.

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Doesn’t the gospel of Jesus Christ encourage you, church?

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Let me take just a moment to encourage you as your pastor:

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As a church, you are friendly and welcoming to people. As a church, you care about the well-being of

Some of you know that in years past, I participated in something called GORUCK, where a team of folks would carry weighted rucksacks (or backpacks) and do whatever our instructor told us to do. I have a few pictures of me participating in this silliness (show pictures).

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I’ve done six of these types of events, and I’m often one of the smallest men in the group. Part of the task is carrying the rucksack that weighs about forty pounds. However, the instructor will often add additional weight to the group, often in the form of sandbags. On one particular event, we had about ten extra sandbags, some twenty pounds, some forty pounds, and some sixty pounds. We would rotate the sandbags around and carry them as we marched through the city. Well, when it came time for me to carry a sandbag, which one do you think they wanted to give to the guy who only weighed about 155 pounds at the time? The sixty pounder! I had to carry my forty-pound rucksack plus the sixty-pound sandbag. I’m not one to turn down a challenge, so I told the team leader I’ll carry it, but it will slow us all down. You see, our team was only as strong and fast as the weakest and slowest member. I was not the slowest, but I was one of the weaker men in the group. Eventually, they gave me a forty-pounder instead of a sixty-pounder, and our team started moving faster. Our team realized that it made sense to help the weaker members for the benefit of the entire team.

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This is our third weak where Paul is talking about how we should relate to our weaker brothers and sisters in the church. Paul is going to teach us in this week’s passage that when we help each other, it helps all of us, and it honors the Lord.

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Today’s sermon is entitled “Honoring God by Honoring One Another.”

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Before we go any further, let’s go to Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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In the last few weeks, we’ve heard about not disputing with those who are weak in their faith and not causing those who are weak to stumble. Here Paul is talking about this topic again.

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It seems to be clear that the way we interact with other Christians matters deeply. Indeed, it should affect the very way that we live.

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So, let’s look at this passage and look at four ways that if affects the way we live.

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First, . . .

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‌I. We live with humility as our aim.

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Let’s look at the entire passage together, and then we will walk through it.

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Let’s look at Romans 15:1-13:

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1 Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

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7 Therefore accept/welcome one another, just as Christ also accepted/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,

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Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

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and I will sing praise to your name.

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10 Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people!, 11 And again,

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Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;

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let all the peoples praise him!

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12 And again, Isaiah says,

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The root of Jesse will appear,

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the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;

One of my favorite things to do in all the world is to sit around a campfire and just watch the flames. For me, there’s something so enjoyable and relaxing about that activity. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had three or four campfires at my house.

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There’s this thing about a campfire, though . . . when you add three young boys to the mix, it’s not quite as relaxing as it is by yourself. With my boys, I usually don’t sit down by the fire much. Between keeping the fire burning, making sure the boys are not burning, getting s’mores supply ready, and keeping them from poking others’ eyes out, the relaxation seems to be hard to come by.

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Now, why would I do a fire with my boys if it takes so much more work and there is so much less relaxation? Because I love my boys. I set aside some of my enjoyment and preferences in order to accommodate their preferences and enjoyment. I also hold out the hope that one day they will grow older and not be so high maintenance.

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In today’s passage, Paul is teaching the church in Rome to be concerned with building up our brothers and sisters in Christ and laying aside some of our enjoyment and preferences in order to not cause others to stumble in their walk with God.

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Today’s sermon is entitled “Build Up, Don’t Trip Up.”

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Before we continue, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to speak to us through His Word.

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(prayer)

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You may remember that last week’s passage spoke about fellow believers not arguing about certain less important beliefs such as diet and days. Rather than dispute these matters, we should love one another and welcome those who are still developing in their faith.

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Today, Paul is going to discuss a very similar issue but from a different angle.

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Last week, Paul encouraged us not to argue with those who are still coming to understand the heart of the gospel.

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This week, Paul is encouraging us to be careful how we live so as not to spiritually harm those who are still developing in their faith.

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Let’s look at the passage, and then we will discover three actions we must take regarding this topic.

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Look at Romans 14:13-23:

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13 Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. 15 For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy, by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval.

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19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. 20 Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. 21 It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. 22 Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

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Ok, let us now look at these three actions. First, . . .

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‌I. We should not trip up others.

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Paul is very clear about this reality.

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Look at verse 13. Paul says, “Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister.”

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If you have young kids in the house, you know all abo