The Book Romans (Sermon #7)

Romans 1:16,17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

These two verses crystallize the thesis of the entire book Romans—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which Paul will unfold and explain in the following chapters are anchored here, and will serve as the axis on which the rest of this epistle will revolve. 

I have the distinct honor to welcome seven men into the Deacon Ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, serving the Families of Trinity Baptist Church. Every man being ordained today has been prayerfully considered for months and through intense prayer and spiritual vetting process, I have peace that this group of men are ready to serve. The Bible sets the standard and the qualifications for these men and their position is not to be taken lightly. Their task and their role in the church is a vital part of a spiritually healthy church.

I want to thank each man and his wife for their faithfulness and dedication to the Lord. These are men and women that can be trusted and when they speak, teach or lead, they do it as men and women that are full of faith and full of the Holy Ghost. Praise the Lord for our Deacons! Help me welcome the following men into our Deacon Ministry:

Terry McCoy

Mark Letterman

Darin Hudgins

David West

Chris Peluyera

Morris Childers*

Rev. James Robertson*

*Previously ordained in other ministries or capacities

Pastor Winston Parrish

Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

1:8 I thank my God. In every letter Paul wrote, he expressed his gratitude for those who would receive it except in his letter to the Galatians, whose defection from the true gospel caused him to dispense with any opening commendations. The point is, Paul was truly thankful for the family of God. You can’t do wart he did and not depend on the love, support and prayers of God’s people.

I’m so glad that I’m a part of the family of God! It’s the greatest institution ever to exist! Don’t ever take for granted being part of the family. And don’t ever miss an opportunity to bless or encourage someone that belongs to your family of faith.

your faith. This speaks of the genuineness of their salvation. The testimony of the church in Rome was so strong that, in A.D. 49, the emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews because of the influence of “Chrestus,” which was undoubtedly a reference to Christ (cf. Acts 18:2). throughout the whole world. As the center of the Roman Empire and the inhabited world, whatever happened in Rome became known universally.

Service and Truth

First, we must serve God in truth, you do that by living and serving consistent with His word. Jesus came to do the will of his Father and we must do the same. Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters because we will either hate the one and love the other or we will be devoted to the one and despise the other. We cannot serve both God and our desires our passions, or anything else. Deacons are servants of truth, for the truth! 

We thank the Lord for the incredible doors being opened to directly impact the people who are in dire need in the Ukraine. 

This past week, through your support and prayers, we were able to directly support efforts to care for thousands of refugees.  Not only did we bring them help financially, we were also able to buy hundreds of pounds of food for frontline soldiers, purchase critical items like tools, socket sets and drills for repair of cars, homes and church buildings, outfit young men from a church in Ukraine that were sent to the front lines this past Thursday, and supply 100 tactical tourniquets and trauma dressings for units under fire even while we were in country. 

We aided a Christian camp in Romania to buy food, diapers and supplies, as they are feeding and caring for over 60 refugees, mostly women and children. We were able to financially support the incredible team of people that God has on the ground there, taking the gospel message of Hope in a hopeless situation. 

Trinity, I want to thank you for praying, giving and supporting AidUkraine and the ministries that are making it happen in the name of Jesus Christ! It’s been wonderful to see Trinity, Ralph Sexton Ministries and Hearts With Hands come together on such a large scale for the Lord.

Pastor Winston Parrish