The following audio is from Gold Country Baptist Church in Shingle Springs, California. Visit gcb.church to find more resources and to learn about our church. chapter 16, and if you are joining us here this morning, we have been looking at the book of Romans now, and we've come to this last chapter, and this is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, that's where the name Romans comes from, and he's writing this from Corinth, which is modern Greece today. And he writes, as he comes to the end of this letter, that he hopes to see them on his way to Spain. So that gives you a little bit of geography. Writing from Greece to Rome, and hoping to visit them on the way to Spain. There was no email in those days. There was not even regular mail in those days. If you were going to give a letter to someone in those days, there needed to be someone you trusted. Someone who could travel, who could deliver that letter. And that's who Paul is going to introduce. Someone coming from Cancria, which is Corinth where Paul was, traveling to Rome. Romans 16, verse 1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cancria, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints. and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron or a helper of many and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house, Greet my beloved Eponidas, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. And we'll stop there, but we'll look at some of the names as we go as well. When you come to a list of names, This may not initially look profound. This may not look practical. If you're honest, maybe in your Bible reading sometimes you just, you pick up the pace as you're reading through lists of names, but all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness so that we would be equipped. And even when it's a list of names that are hard to pronounce, My motto always is just read it quickly and confidently because they don't know how to say it either. But this is a text that can equip us. It can equip us to be better at welcoming people around us, maybe church visitors, maybe regulars that we don't know as well, people that need a word of welcome. This can train us. Also to step out of our friend zone and comfort zone to be greeting others as we're commanded to here. This can correct us if we tend to give complaints about church rather than give thanks like Paul models for us here. This can rebuke us who don't work hard like somebody talks about here. Or aren't willing to serve, or aren't willing to suffer. I just read about some who risked their own livelihoods and some who went to prison with Paul for the gospel. This is a passage that's profitable for teaching us and teaching us God's care for women in the church like Phoebe or Prisca, that's short for Priscilla, Mary and Junia and more that we'll look at. In fact, look at verse 12. There's three more ladies' names. And as you read these names here, these are not common names today. These are probably not names in your baby books, moms, if you've got a daughter in the womb. But here's these names. Verse 12, "...Greet those workers in the Lord, Triphana and Triphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well." And then verse 15, Great Philologus. I like that one. Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and his sister. I count ten faithful females highlighted in this part of God's Word. And one of the things that struck me in my study is Paul's most theological work ends with his most personal words for these daughters of God who are very near and very dear to his heart. And so as we've gone section by section through Paul's letter, the book of Romans, not looking at everything we could look at, but looking at what it shows us about God, his attributes, and his character. And this shows us, this section, God's character and God's care for women in particular, and all God's people that it highlights here. One commentary calls these verses, the care of giving encouragement to people. And God's Word here takes great care to honor some of these leading ladies of the early church who served and supported the men who pastored and preached God's Word. And so even as we look at this, don't tune out if you're a guy. Because this is for us to think and speak like Paul does of sisters in Christ. And I think guys especially need to learn and need to grow in care for the fellow heirs of the grace of life who are among us. And this is also a timely study. in debates that are swirling in our world now about abortion and care for women. And what care for women really looks like is something you're going to be hearing all the time. We need to understand God's Word. And I want to introduce this with God's caring for women in history. That'll be number one. And then Paul's commending women as family. That'll be number two. And then thirdly, God's calling for women in ministry. These are so important in our world. That is actually different in all three points, as we'll see. But so was the first century world, and so I want to start with the broader context of God's care for women in history, because how Paul speaks here is very different than the Greek and Roman world of the first century. In fact, there's a Jew named Josephus who lived in the first century, and he said, quote, The ancient rabbis in the Tosifta taught Jews to pray, and this may have been the tradition in Paul's day growing up, to pray three times daily, and part of that prayer would be thanking God that I was not born a woman. This is the religious culture of the Pharisees. In fact, here's a quote from a Pharisee, 180 BC, that Paul would have been familiar with. He was a very learned man at the feet of Gamaliel. And this is actually from 2nd Sirach. Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good. It is woman who brings shame and disgrace. This was one of the Pharisee forefathers. Paul was in a line of Pharisees. These were writings he would have been familiar with growing up. And the Jewish apostles, you remember, when Jesus goes through Samaria and they come back and they find Him at the well, it says, they were amazed to see that He was talking to a woman. and much less a Samaritan. This is their culture. Here's what the dictionary of New Testament background says. In a synagogue, women could not qualify as constituting members. And the law, I think this was from the Mishnah, forbade women from carrying their infants outside the home on the Sabbath. You can imagine that would impact their ability to worship. Philo of Alexandria, who was a contemporary of Jesus and Paul, he decreed that unmarried women should go only to the door of the women's quarters, whereas married women might proceed as far as the front door or even pass through the streets in a litter to pray in the synagogue at an hour when few others would be around. This was some of their instruction for religion of women. And this writer says, Greek women tended to be the most secluded. Though lower class women were obliged to leave their homes to draw water and to trade in the market, the woman was thought in the Greek culture to have less virtue than a man and to be devoid of moral conscience. Since women could not be trusted, this is their culture, to make responsible choices, they might be compelled to remain within their own homes. Conversation with males outside the family was forbidden to citizen class women. And this author says there's all kinds of evidence that sequestered Greek women tended to be depressed and bitter. That's no surprise. Paul begins this letter saying he is eager to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome because the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Because Paul knew the gospel had changed his Pharisee heart to reflect God's care for women that he served with and that he celebrates here. We need that context as we read verse 1 of Romans 16 where Phoebe is called a servant, and that's the same Greek word Paul just used of Jesus in chapter 15. And he commends her with the same word that he used in Romans 5.8, God commends His own love toward us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's how God commends His love towards us. Paul says, same word, I commend this one that God loves to you. Verse 2 says, welcome her. She's to be welcomed with care, worthy of a saint like Paul himself or any other of the saints from Jerusalem. It's the same word Paul uses in Philippians 2 when he says, welcome in the Lord's love, honor. He talks about showing honor that people like that deserve or receive and hold in high regard is how that's used in Philippians 2. And this word for welcome is the same word that Paul would use in another place to talk about how we are looking to welcome the the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we want to welcome Him. And the point here of this language that Paul is using is you need to care for your sister in Christ as you would Christ. This is the very language he uses of Christ in his writings. Charles Spurgeon said, think of this as Christ's letters to us, perfumed by His love. And he gives this word picture of Scripture. Scripture is the royal chariot in which Jesus rides, and it is paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem. He's a master at word pictures, but Scripture, we need to see Scripture. It's the chariot that Jesus rides in, and it's paved with the love for the daughters of Jerusalem. And so as we look at a passage like this, it's not just about being a gentleman. This is not just about gender roles. This is about Jesus. And the language Paul uses is the highest language of care and affection for saints, but also for the Savior himself. And in this culture that put down women, Paul spends much of this chapter lifting up with some of the loftiest language that he uses anywhere for any servant of the Lord, male or female. Men, husbands here, if you dishonor, if you disregard the women among you, you need to repent. There's no place for us as God's people to have any of those attitudes they had in the ancient world. And unlike ancient books of man, this is inspired by God. The God who cares for woman. And this is also unlike the modern feminist movement in history. It can't even define what a woman is. Can't even define what a woman is, and yet they're sure the guy winning swim races is a woman. They can define that. They don't know what a woman is, much less how to care for one by God's definition. You don't need a biologist. You just need a Bible to know what man and woman is. What we are created for. To glorify God. To enjoy Him forever. And we do that as we look at the owner's manual, the designer's book for how we are to live and be. Our world does not care for women when it lets biological men beat them. Or sends daughters to the front lines of war. Or destroys unborn women while deceiving their mothers. We need to understand our government and our state is looking to pass several bills to actually ramp up the destruction and ramp up the deception. You can know that is coming. But with Roe overturned, the church needs to care for girls and for all life, and the pregnant and the unborn. and even by adoption and fostering and other ways. But we need to understand God's care. We need to speak in terms of how God cares for women. Because from the beginning of the Bible, from Genesis, God has been showing his care towards women and to women who are pregnant like Rebecca and Tamar we see God's grace coming to them and care we see in Exodus 21 God's care even in the law for the Pregnant woman and and if any injury happened to her infant we see the chapter after the Ten Commandments what God says About that, but we see also early in the Bible Hagar Hagar saw that God cared for her and As a single mom, as one trying to raise her son on her own, she saw that God is the one who sees, the God who cared for her personally and appeared to her in a special way. In the Old Testament, there are several women who were unloved or barren. who were cared for by God. And we come into the New Testament, and it begins, the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke highlight God's care to Elizabeth and to Mary and to Anna, among others. And in Luke's Gospel, the Lord Jesus showed care to a woman whose son had died. And He forgives a sinful woman who was repentant unlike the men around her. In Luke 8, he speaks care and healing to an old lady who had a bleeding problem for 12 years, and he does this. He stops to minister to her while he's on his way to raise a 12-year-old girl from the dead. And in Luke 13, He heals a crippled woman and gives special care and attention to her, and He rebukes her uncaring male leaders. And even on the way to the cross, even while Jesus is carrying His cross on the way there, He stops and He turns and He speaks words of care to the women of Jerusalem, and while He's on the cross, One of the seven sayings of Jesus has to do with His own Mary, Mother, and John, making sure that she knows that He is going to care for her, and making sure John knows, you need to care for my mother when I'm gone. I'm going to think of the tender care he had with Mary Magdalene. How he delivered seven demons from her. And then he actually has her be the one to deliver first the news that He has risen to the rest. And you sense even there's care in the way that he says her name, Mary, and she turns and knows no one else has spoken with care like her, Mary, before. So how women are treated in the Gospels, we might say, is a Gospel issue. This is an issue that shows those whose hearts know the Gospel and are being changed by the Gospel, we need to keep growing it to be more like the Lord of the Gospel. and how we treat all people. But anyone who says the Bible suppressed women does not know much about New Testament history and hasn't read much of the Old Testament. We need to understand a little bit of history as we read this and understand there's no other religion from the past, whether Muslim or Mormon or man's writings, that can even come close to compare or to show the kind of care that we see in Scripture like our God does. And so that's number one. God's caring for women in history. We need to reflect His heart of caring. And I want you to notice, secondly, Paul's commending women as family. And this language is more than just recommendation. This is really affirmation. This is appreciation. Paul says, I commend, verse 1, I commend to you our sister Phoebe. And that word commend can literally mean I stand with Her as family. Receive her as our sister. As our sister. They hadn't met her yet. That's why he's introducing them, commending them and her to each other. But notice, as a family in Christ, she says to them, she is our sister Phoebe. She doesn't say my sister. This is our sister. And verse 2 says, help her with any need that she has, the implication is, like you would do for family, as you would do for your own sister. Do that for her. It's also striking that Paul entrusts his greatest letter to this most trusted, dear sister in Christ. She not only served this church, she was a servant to all churches of all times. She serves us still today by this letter that she faithfully delivered. Donald Gray Barnhouse said, the theological history of the church through the centuries was in the manuscript that she brought with her. The Reformation was in that baggage. The blessing of multitudes in our day was carried in those pages. I commend to you our sister Phoebe. Receive her warmly. Welcome her in the Lord in this letter that she's bringing to you. This is our sister. This is our sister too. This is our family tree spiritually. And in the middle of verse 12, he also warmly greets Persis, who he calls the beloved. Most that I read on this Her name is from Persia. She was probably of Persian origin. But the bottom line is she is his beloved family. And the next family may be part African in this church family. Verse 13, Greek Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. So he's commending this woman, his family, and she'd been a mother to him. There seems to be a special family in the early church that Mark in his Gospel also highlights. A Gospel of Mark was written in Rome after Paul wrote this letter to Rome. And Mark 15 says that there was a man, as Jesus is carrying His cross, as Jesus collapses in His humanity, someone else needed to come alongside. There was a man named Simon of Cyrene. That's Africa. So this African man named Simon comes and Mark says, Simon was the father of Rufus. Now, why would Mark say Simon is the father of Rufus unless those he's writing to in Rome knew Rufus. And so scholars agree that the Rufus here is one of those sons of Simon who may have been brought to saving faith in Christ through that contact with Him on the way to Calvary. And if that's true, that was this early tradition. To be someone to have carried Jesus' cross with Him literally, to walk beside Him, this would have been a special honor. of the family, and his wife, the mother of Rufus, clearly believed she'd become a spiritual mother, not just to him, but to others, and to Paul as well. And the language Paul uses of this mother, she cared for him as if he were her own son. Paul's own parents probably had disowned him. You can imagine a Pharisee family, and your son's now a leader of this sect called the Way. Paul may have lost his relationship with his own mother, but now there's this woman who's like a mother to him. And I can think of women in my life who have been mothers to me as well. 1 Timothy 5 says, encourage older women as mothers. and younger women as sisters in all purity, honor widows who are widows indeed, in other words, especially those who don't have family caring for them. This is how we are to honor and to commend. The question is, do you honor in those terms? Do you think in those terms? Is there someone here you can encourage as a mother? As a young man, are you thinking of other young women as your sisters and how you need to think of them in all purity? Is there a widow here you can honor, that you can come alongside? And I would say to you who can be spiritual mothers in the faith or already are, is there someone you can also seek to take under your wing and care for? Paul commends that, and that's number two. And then thirdly and finally, You're going to see God's calling for women in ministry. And here's a controversial question. Are women called to the ministry? Should a woman be a minister? In Paul's language, the answer is going to be yes. We need to understand what a minister is. Paul in Ephesians 4.12 talks about pastors who equip the church to do the work of ministry. And the word minister or servant, it's the same word in the original language. Ministers are not just pastors. There's no way you'll see that in the New Testament. All believers are ministers. The pastors are called to equip them so that they can minister or serve. Romans 12 verse 7, for example, Paul tells all to use their gifts. He says, if ministry in our ministering, that's the New King James, others might say service in our serving, but it's the same word used, it talks about women who were ministering to Jesus in the Gospels. It was a vital ministry to his needs in Luke 8 and even at the cross. It talks about women who were ministering to him and continued to even in his death. they were ministering to him. And one translation of Romans 16.1 calls Phoebe a minister of the church. Or another has deaconess, but there wasn't actually a feminine form of that word at this time in history. So most translations just have the word servant, but it's the same word that's translated minister, or that's even used of officers who are servants. I think this is a non-technical use here, but she is this servant of the church. She's recognized in some way. I just remind you, ministry or service is just one word. in the original language. Jesus honored women in ministry, and he also chose only men for pastoral ministry. Pastor is the word for shepherd. He tells the men after his resurrection, shepherd my sheep, starting with Peter in particular, but the twelve as well, Jesus and the twelve, where Jesus trained and He told them to pastor, to shepherd the flock. That involves leading and feeding and protecting. Acts 20 talks about caring for the church of God or shepherding the church of God. And part of that involves there's fierce wolves out there that are going to want to divide and tear people away from the truth. There's false teachers. And so part of shepherding involves fighting off those fierce wolves, confronting false teachers, protecting women and children and all the flock. But just flip forward if you would a moment to 1 Timothy 3 for the one ministry that sisters are not called to in Scripture. Those who pastor, those who shepherd are called elders or overseers in the New Testament. So if you just look at 1 Timothy 3 verse 2, it says, overseer must be above reproach the husband of one wife." That means literally a one-woman kind of man. And verse 4 goes on to talk about how he must lead his house well if he's to lead the church. A woman cannot be a husband. It cannot be a he. as an elder must be. And so elder ministry is not for her, but we could also say Titus 2 ministry is not for men. Mom's ministry is not for us. There are certain things we are not called to do. Men cannot get pregnant or be mothers. Even in California, we can't get pregnant. Even if we feel called, that doesn't change the reality. Guys cannot be wives. But verse 11 here does call for faithful wives is how I take that. Wives who support faithful husbands in ministry in verse 12. But these are God's house rules. And verse 14 I think is key. He says, I hope to come to you soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God. In other words, I'm writing this so that you know how the church is to be. This is how it's to be in church. Not speaking of other aspects of society, but this is the church that he's talking about in 1 Timothy, the gathered church in God's house. So look back at chapter 2, verse 12, where God's Word says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. So this is teaching a man or exercising authority over a man in the church. Rather, she is to remain quiet. So it's important to know that context is how to behave in church Because other scriptures, and even Paul affirms that ladies can speak to or teach men in other settings. But in the church, chapter 3, verse 15, a man of God is to lead and preach to a listening congregation. And that's God's design. In fact, notice what he says in verse 13. than Eve. So Paul doesn't just base this on culture or what was maybe going on. People try to figure out what was going on in that culture and Corinth. Paul doesn't base it on culture. He bases this on God's creation plan. And that's important. And so that takes us back to Genesis 2 with Adam and Eve. If you want to turn back to Genesis 2. Because we need to see that no sinful man made this up. Before sin, God gave Adam authority. He gave him a responsibility to be a loving leader and that he would lead Eve. If you look at Genesis 2 verse 20, God made Adam first for a reason. He gave him authority over the animals. He names them. He also gives them a special responsibility. Before he created Eve, go back to verse 15, Genesis 2, the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. And then he goes on. So he creates Adam first. And Adam is going to need to be the one to pass on God's Word to Eve. He's called Adam to care for Eden and to her. It doesn't mean she can't come alongside him. In fact, they would together care for and have that creation mandate in Genesis 1 at the end of the chapter. But look at v. 18 of chapter 2. Then the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him. This is what the kid's saying. Adam, he was incomplete. So God gave him a helper, Eve. A happy husband and his wife. They showed the world what God is like. And it says, we are the images of God in all the world. He made us boys. Boys! He made us girls. Girls! We are pieces of the puzzle joined together perfectly. We are just the way God wanted us to be. That's good theology right there. I hope you kids are listening to that. God has created us differently and beautifully and immutably for His glory. We're just the way He wanted us to be. And God here designed woman to be a helper in Genesis. And it's not because she's less than man. In fact, the same Hebrew word helper is used of God. God is definitely not less than man. That's not what this word means. In fact, every other time this word for helper is used outside of some of the prophetic language, it's used of God being the helper. This is a lofty title and role in a way that God's image is reflected. It's a high calling. It's a way to reflect God's image and the role of head and helper together reflect God's image. And even as we sang of the blessed Trinity, even the Son and the Spirit in different ways reflect God's image even in the head. In the Helper, Ephesians 5 talks about the loving headship that a husband is to have that's like Christ loved the church. And then it quotes from Genesis 2 and it says this is a mystery, but I'm talking about Christ and the church. The way God did this in Genesis is actually to picture ultimately Christ and His church. That's why this is so important. Why this is about the Gospel in that sense. And from the beginning of the Bible, God's Word takes very special care describing the forming of woman and describing her as an equal in God's image. They're both made in God's image. They are equal in worth and value before God, but they are not identical in role. The Bible affirms that you can be equal and yet not have an identical role. So here's one translation of Genesis 2.18. This is the Holman Christian standard. I will make a helper as his complement. As his complement. Not saying nice things, although that's good, but someone who completes. Complement in the sense of completing. Not in competition for leadership, but completing. Her role completes what The man can't do alone in his role, leading his family or leading his church family. And so, accompaniment means, even in Merriam-Webster's dictionary, one of two mutually completing parts or a counterpart. Some of the translations actually have the word counterpart in Genesis. Different pieces of the puzzle joined together perfectly. We are just the way God wanted us to be. Amen? Here's what our church, what we teach statement says, God created man and woman equal, quotes from Genesis here, but different in complementary roles. So don't let feminists or don't let the wokeness of our age define what equality means. Equality doesn't mean having the same role or having the same job. God the Father and God the Son are equal But they have different roles within the Trinity. Jesus submitted to His Father as He comes to earth. But to say that Jesus is not equal with God is heresy. This is important. Equality doesn't mean being exactly the same or having the same job. Even among equals, our three-in-one God knows what is best. for male and female roles. We need to listen to Him and not our world. He not only knows it, He shows it in the Trinity, what that can look like. And even the Holy Spirit is called the Helper. He's called the Helper. That's not an insult. And it's also not an insult to say that guys need help. I mean, even in the perfect world, Adam needed help. Even before sin, he needed help. So go back to Romans 16, but we needed a little bit of biblical theology of this as we see that Paul as a preacher and a leader needed help from women and men. And so many translations of Romans 16 say something like, help her for she has been a helper of many and myself. And that help could include being a patron, As the ESV translates it, it could have included financial help or a benefactor. She probably had some resources. She's traveling to Rome and maybe was even going there for business, like we see Lydia and other women that God used in the early church. But whatever it is, Paul knows that she's going to have some needs, some spiritual needs, if not practical needs, as she comes to Rome. Whatever those needs are, help her, because she's been a helper. She's been a helper to me, Paul says. She's been a helper to many. And there's an echo of Genesis 2 here. Again, God's good design in making womanhood. I will make her a helper. And that's the principle there in the beginning. But God uses heads of home. God uses helpers fit for them. God uses preachers. He uses patrons. He uses leaders who plant churches. He uses Lydia's who host churches in their home and provide in that way. Phoebe did not try to take Paul's role, but she helped him. She helped others in their role, to fulfill their role. And pastoral ministry cannot happen without Phoebe's. Not people named Phoebe, but faithful ladies like Phoebe. Pastoral ministry could not happen without the faithful ladies of this church. who have served it so well for so many years. But also, as we keep reading in verse 3, there's vital couples in ministry together like Prisca, also known as Priscilla, with Aquila. Verse 3 calls this married couple his fellow workers. That's the same term he used for Pastor Timothy in verse 21. So again, he's using high language. He sees that they're working and their ministry is all important to God, whether it's a pastoral ministry or not. That word for fellow workers is the word Paul uses in Philippians 4 when he talks about help these women. He says, because they have labored side by side with me in the Gospel. Together with Clement. And so they not only helped the leader Clement, but here this husband and wife team helped the teacher Apollos in Acts chapter 18. There was a teacher that came into Ephesus there, but he didn't quite know. He was powerful. He had some gifting, but he wasn't quite teaching accurately in certain things. And Priscilla, she's actually mentioned first, evidently she, we don't know exactly why, but certainly you get the impression there that she was not a passive participant in this couple, but she didn't interrupt or instruct at church. Acts 18 says, Priscilla and Aquila invited him to their home and explained to him, this is Apollos, the way of God, more adequately. She explained it to him privately so that he could explain it better publicly. And he was a better man for it. And I am thankful for people like that in this room. Men and women as well who have helped me. And so like verse 4 says, I thank God for couples like that. There's a vital role serving together. And verse 5, those who open up their home And then later in the chapter it mentions parents with children, families who are serving. But I just want to again say that I want to publicly thank God for this past week where there was so much Romans 16 stuff happening here on this campus. There were so many serving. Like verse 6 says, greet Mary who has worked hard for you. Many of you worked hard. Some of you worked hard behind the scenes. Some of you prayed. Some of you set up. Some of you took time off work. Verse 12, greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis who has worked hard in the Lord. It's interesting. It talks about some who are working hard in the Lord, and then some who have worked hard. There's a present tense participle, those who are working, and then this verb has worked hard is in a different tense, a past tense. It may even be highlighting there's some that He's greeting who are at an age, stage of life, where they can't do as much as they could before, but they work hard. And I know there are faithful people, sisters here like that in this church, who have served for decades. Think of names like Jean, and Jan, and Janice, and Shirley, and Marge, and Louise, and Francis, and Edie, and Bonnie, and Carol, and Mary, and Ronnie Jo, and Becky, and Donna, and Linda, and Marion, and Melody, and many more, Debbie, and Susie, and younger ladies too. So if your name's on the list, consider yourself a younger lady serving as well. But there are a new generation always needed of younger sisters learning from their older sisters in the faith how to serve. Without people like that in this church, this church would not be here. Praise the Lord for those who work hard. But I also want to say and be clear, there are no works that can save us. Working hard does not get anyone to heaven. You can work as hard as Mother Teresa, but if you're trusting in works to save you, you're not going to heaven. And the key phrase here is, they're workers in the Lord. They're in Christ. It's the Lord Jesus who has saved them, and they understood that we can only be saved by trusting the work of the Lord Jesus for us. Our kids learned this week. We are his workmanship We're created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them We need to walk in good works, but it's because of his work and saving us we were dead but God he saved us he made us alive but then he calls us to do good works and But we need to understand we're only saved by trusting the work of the Lord Jesus for us, His life, His perfect life for us, His death for our sins, His resurrection for our life, for all those who turn from their sin and trust in Him. It's His work, not ours. He is the ultimate servant. He is the ultimate Beloved for all who turn from sin and who trust in Him. That said, I love what Paul said in verse 4 about church servants who sacrificed, who he gives thanks for, and says the church thanks God for. You saw a couple of our brothers up here leading us in music, but people behind the scenes, you saw some of the children and all that, but there's a lot that you didn't see for a week like this to happen. And the church is to thank God for that. Those who sacrifice time and energy, as Paul talks about those who sacrifice. We want to thank God for the Phoebes and the Priscilla's and the Mary's here as well. For men who gave up vacation days to be here to serve. For youth workers. I remember the first time I went to a conference down south, and there was a guy in our Bible study. He was there as a greeter, and I said, oh, I thought you had to work today. Yeah, don't you normally work today? He says, oh, yeah, I wanted to take the whole week off of work just to come and to serve the pastors and to just be a part of serving. It just moved me to tears hearing someone giving up of their time to come and to serve others. But I just want to commend, as Paul does here, those who serve. I also want to challenge you who don't serve to serve as well. I want to praise the Lord for women and men and young people. I counted 11 ladies. in various roles, leading teams here in VBS, I think maybe four husband-wife teams, and counting guys and young adults and the setup and the barbecue, I think there were 80 plus different people serving in some way. I can't name them all. like Romans 16. But praise the Lord for His family and how it serves families and how it serves a community. And pray ultimately for the Gospel to continue to bear fruit. And in our ministry list tonight as we meet, I'll share some of the other ministries that we have. And there's some faithful ladies. serving in various ways. I think 17 different ministries with a director or point person. There's a sister in Christ. Some of those teams need other people to serve. But as we close here, this chapter calls us to greet. one another. This calls us to greet, to welcome one another. So I want to encourage you, don't just walk out these doors here today. One of the reasons this passage at the end of it, as this is read to the church, tells them to do this is so that they would actually do what this chapter says while they're gathered, hearing the Word of God. And so let's show care, as Paul does, to all people. men and women, young and old, let's commend, let's thank the Lord for faithful servants, and let's be faithful in our callings. Amen? Amen. Let's pray for God's help. Our God, we praise You and thank You for even chapters like this that highlight people that are not famous, but are faithful. Help us to be those faithful ones. We pray these things for the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior and our returning King, Jesus Christ. Amen.