Romans: Rooted in Jesus - Strive Together

Winston Churchill, the fiery Prime Minister of Britain during WW2, was constantly fighting two battles. The first was the war against Hitler’s Germany. He was constantly planning attacks, managing supply lines, motivating and assuring a nation through public speeches, and maintaining diplomatic relationships with other nations, especially American President, Franklin D Roosevelt. The war effort was the focus; it was the eminent threat and the pressing need. The second battle was the political war in parliament. He was constantly battling the infighting in his own cabinet, his war committee, and his opposition party. In his famous speech, Blood, toil, tears, and sweat, he urged politicians to drop old rivalries, saying “let pre-war feuds die; let personal quarrels be forgotten, and let us keep our hatreds for the common enemy.” He knew that internal dissention would be the death knell of the nation that faced obliteration by Hitler.

In our text, Paul is explaining to the church his mandate, urging them to get focused. He ends by appealing to them to partner with his efforts. Paul’s great desire was service to Christ by spreading the gospel all the way into Spain. Most of his epistles (letters) were direct corrections of the churches to get them focused on the bigger mission of evangelism. It’s a great text to call us to ask, What do we see? How far is our vision? Join us as we worship our Ambassador from Heaven, Jesus Christ, and renew our commitment to His mission.