The local church is not some abstract idea with nameless members—it’s a family of real people who are personally connected with one other. That’s what we learn in Romans 16. After all the great doctrine in Paul’s letter, he greets real people with real names and commends the real labor they performed in the Roman church. His words read like a family photo album as he illustrates what grace looks like in a local church body. This is what God intended for church life—that it be alive and fruitful, like a family. 

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/696dc90a6dae751850c3cffa