First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Tune in each week as Pastor Taylor Geurin leads us into a study of God's Word.
First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Not Ashamed: Building God's Church Through Prayer, Thanksgiving, and Service | Romans 1:8-15
This episode emphasizes the importance of being thankful for the church, engaging in persistent prayer, and actively building up the body of Christ. Paul’s love and dedication to the church in Rome illustrate how mutual encouragement and community support can empower believers and expand the church's mission.
• Exploring gratitude for the church as a vital part of faith
• Paul's unwavering prayers for the church in Rome
• The significance of mutual encouragement in faith communities
• Identifying individual roles in building up the church
• The impact of prayer on church vitality and outreach
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado. Will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week? Open God's Word now to Romans 1, 8 through 15 is where we will be this morning. I think there's a few ways that you and I can learn new things, and you've probably learned new things in the three different ways I'm about to describe. Number one would be this You've learned through an instruction manual. You've followed the instruction, you've learned what you need to learn or you did the thing you needed to do. When you get your new bookshelf from Ikea and it comes in 8,500 pieces and you've got the instructions with you, there's a little pain involved, but eventually you arrive at the finish line.
Speaker 1:We can learn with the manual. We can also learn through trial and error. There's some things you just have to learn. You just have to learn by doing it. Learn by making a mistake and don't make the same mistake next time.
Speaker 1:I remember when our son James, our firstborn, was born, and there's so much you can learn. There's so much you can read in a book or someone can tell you how to do it, but then there's some things you've just got to figure out as you go. You're going to make a mistake and try to not make the same mistake the next time. But you can also do this, you can learn by watching. Find that person in your life that is really good at the thing you want to get really good at. Watch what they do. If you're an employee, you've watched your boss do this and maybe, as you've risen the ladder, if you're in that position now, you get to help others and show them. But watch someone do something and learn from them. That third way is how I want us to learn this morning, because I believe Paul, in verses 8 through 15 of Romans 1, is showing us what it looks like to love and care for the church, and I want us this morning to watch him, to learn from him and the things he does, the way he loves the church. That's what I want us to do.
Speaker 1:I want to ask three questions this morning, and the first is simply this Are you a believer who is thankful for the church? Are you a believer who is thankful for the church? Look with me at verse 8. First, paul says I thank my God through Jesus Christ, for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. Let me read that again First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. There's thankfulness for Paul. There's thankfulness in Paul for the church in Rome. Now, I've said this the last few weeks. I'll probably say it three more times before I'm done with this sermon.
Speaker 1:Paul had never been to the church in Rome. Many of these people Paul had never met. He didn't plant the church, and yet there is a thankfulness for this church, a thankfulness for a place he had not been. Yet there is a thankfulness, a thankfulness to God from Paul for this church. And why is Paul thankful? Because it says in verse 8, because your faith, this church's faith, is proclaimed in all the world. So there's a thankfulness in Paul for this church because of how their faith is going forth, really, how the story of their faith is going forth.
Speaker 1:I think about this church in a city of one million people at this time, in a city that thrives on power and prestige. Rome, really the center of the world, and yet under the emperor's nose, is this little bitty church, or series of house churches of these Christians that believe, in a world addicted to power and prestige, that there is this savior who laid down his life and rose again for the sake of the redemption of the world. And these little bitty Christians in this really big place are doing much for the sake of Jesus, of the world. And these little bitty Christians in this really big place are doing much for the sake of Jesus and that story is getting out and I think right now, if you're a believer in Ephesus, in Corinth, in Thessalonica, in El Dorado, and you're hearing the stories of what the Christians are doing in Rome, you're learning something from them, because things are tough right now in Ephesus and in Corinth. We don't have it all figured out and there's a big mission field out there and I don't know if this little bunch of believers can do it, but I know there's a people living right under the emperor's watch in Rome and they're going out every day and making much of Jesus and they can do it and maybe we can do it here. The faith of those at the church in Rome is being talked about among so many other believers, and Paul is thankful for the encouragement that that provides.
Speaker 1:Are you thankful for the church? I hope you know when I say that that's a capital C church. That is, the church of Jesus Christ all across the world. Make no mistake, I'm also talking about this church that meets at this property in this room each week. I'm thankful for the legacy of this church that in 1845, seven ministers came together and they met in a little log courthouse about two blocks that way and they started a church. And in 1895 94 I was so close, uh they bought the property that we stand on now. In 1922 they built, uh, this beautiful sanctuary we sit in now. But there's been this legacy of believers here that have made much of Jesus that even to this day I'm so thankful for this church that I look across the room and the legacy of faith that exists, that is being made known. But it's not just about this church. There's a thankfulness, I hope, in your life for the church of Jesus Christ, not just this church but other churches even in our town that are making much of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I reached out to a few friends this week because I wanted a thankfulness report. I reached out to Ryan Hufty at East Main Baptist Church. He talked about the spiritual growth that has existed in their church over the last year. He talked about 1,200 shoeboxes that that church packed for Operation Christmas Child. He talked about two block parties. They hosted serving 150 people in their community, 54 families that church cared for through their benevolence ministry. I reached out to Cody Lane at Westside Baptist Last year. We know they celebrated 100 years of faithful ministry but also a mission trip they took to South Texas. He talks about just the spiritual things that happened there, but he even talked about a mission trip closer to home in Waldo, where they served a church plant there and during that time we're able to share the gospel with over 300 people right here closer to home, not to mention his incredible wife who serves faithfully here at Living Well on our campus.
Speaker 1:I think about Clark, whitney and Emmanuel Baptist Church. Talked about how in December they became a debt-free church. What a blessing that is. Opens up more doors for ministry when you're not paying to the debt each month. They saw many baptisms in 2024. They saw many newborns and soon-to-be-borns coming into their church. He talked about seeing more and more unchurched individuals coming into the life of the church and hearing about Jesus. And that's just a few churches in our community.
Speaker 1:There are many gospel-believing churches that are doing great work and I'm thankful for this work. Paul is thankful for how the faith of this little church in Rome, in a city of one million. This little church is making much of Jesus and it's making a difference and it is encouraging others. Are you thankful for the church, the work of the church? But also I want to ask you a question, not just are you a believer who's thankful for the church, are you a believer who is praying for the church? Are you a believer who is praying for the church? Again, both this church, but the church.
Speaker 1:Paul prayed for the church in Rome. Look at verse 9. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son. That, without ceasing, here it is. I mention you always in my prayers. We'll stop right there. That, without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers. Paul was dedicated to praying for the church in Rome. I'm certain, not just the church in Rome. You read multiple letters of his and you'll see similar language that Paul is going to be praying for the church. And here, this language of without ceasing. So this is an ongoing conversation with the Lord. That throughout the day, at various times, as the Lord brings things to mind, he is praying for the church that exists within Rome, mentioning them in prayer. Are we a praying church?
Speaker 1:I heard a quote it's probably been a few years ago now and I wish I hadn't heard it because I don't like it. And the reason I don't like it it's not because it's bad or heretical. I don't like it because it's so true and it keeps me up at night. And so I'll tell you now and it'll keep you up at night. But the quote was simply this prayerlessness is idolatry, prayerlessness is idolatry. What does that mean? You can probably reason it out, but simply this if I am not praying, then I am making an idol. And who is the idol in this situation? I am making an idol, and who is the idol in this situation? I am, because for me not to be one who is praying to the Lord is me looking to the Lord and saying, lord, I can handle this. It's looking to him and saying, hey, you're free to step off the throne of my life. I'm happy to sit on it because I can hold everything in control. I can, I can move things around so that things will work out. God, I can do what needs to be done. All by myself, I can handle it. But that's not just true of the individual, but for the church.
Speaker 1:Prayerlessness is idolatry and sometimes I fear for the church. Prayerlessness is idolatry and sometimes I fear for the church. Sometimes I fear for all of us that we can get caught up in this mindset that if we just show up and if we just turn the lights on, and if we come into this building and if we just press the right buttons and pull the right levers and just kind of get people building, and if we just press the right buttons and pull the right levers and just kind of get people in place, that the work of the church can just happen. Why? Because we're just going to make it happen, because we've done the right things to make it happen in our own power. We can get caught up in that thinking.
Speaker 1:But if we are not a church that from the start or really before the start, is a church on our knees praying to the Lord that his spirit might move, if we're not that kind of church, then what can the Lord really do with us? If we're not inviting him, begging him really to be a part, not just be a part, not just be our co-pilot, be the leader, be in charge, if we're not inviting him to do the work and be the work and be in the midst of the work and lead us in the work and let your will be done by your spirit. If we're not doing that, then what can this church accomplish? I'm convinced not much. But if we are a church that from the start goes to the Lord and says Lord Jesus, we need you and not just we need you, we want you. We want you to have your way in the life of this church, we want you to lead the body of this church, we want this ministry to be your ministry. If we can be that kind of church, there is no telling what the Lord can accomplish for his glory.
Speaker 1:Are you a church, are you an individual that's praying for your church, Praying for the ministry I'll start in this room the ministry that happens at this church and, as we just discussed, other churches as well that prays for the disciples that are being made in this church, that prays for salvation that would come to individuals in this church. That prays for leaders, life group leaders and different ministry leaders in this church. That you pray humbly, that you pray for your pastors. I think about the pastors of this church, these individuals, of whom I am the least, but we need your pastors. I think about the pastors of this church, these individuals of whom I am the least. But we need your prayer, not just the pastors, but the staff at large, to pray for the staff of this church, pray for the work of this church. I'm thankful that, long before I got here, this was a church that made prayer a priority. In our worship gathering there's always a corporate prayer time, because why? Jesus said this my house shall be what A house of prayer. Are you a believer? That's praying for your church. I hope you are and I hope you will be.
Speaker 1:I want to tell you on your way out today, on top of the baby bottle, you will also get a copy of this. I love these books. They've got many of them, but this is five things to pray for your church, this little book, five things to pray for your church. There's a deacon at each exit on your way out, and just one per family, please. One per family so we can make them last. But five things to pray for your church, and I beg of you, start with the first prompt tomorrow morning and go through them all, maybe day by day, maybe week by week, but when you get to this last page. Take the book and start it back over and do it again and pray for your church, and pray not just for this church, but the church of Jesus Christ. Pray for other churches in our community, other churches around the world, other churches maybe around the world that can't even meet in buildings like this and come to places like this. But we need to be a praying church, and so please take this with you this morning. They'll be there on the way out.
Speaker 1:But what is Paul praying for? Verse 11, he says for I long to see you, and here it is that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Now I'm going to get to our third point, which is found in these verses, but first of all, just verse 11 blows me away. This is Paul who has seen many things. This is well into his ministry, the amount of things he has seen, the movement of God he has seen. But he looks to this church in Rome and he says I long to see you.
Speaker 1:But then I think about Rome itself, once again, the center of the world. We still utter the phrase sometimes all roads lead to Rome. Why do we say that? Because it was true, because the infrastructure was set up in such a way that, in reality, if you hop on a road and just stay on a road, you will get to Rome. It was set up that Rome was the center of the known world at this time. If you got there, you could go see the Forum Romanum, the Roman forum. That was the center of civic and political life, this grand building. You could have had a spa day at one of the 200 heated bathhouses there in Rome, at this time, the city of a million people. You couldn't have gone to the Colosseum yet that was coming in about 12 years after this was written but you could have gone to the Circus Maximus where, by the tens of thousands, you could come and watch the chariot races. In Rome. There was no shortage of grand things you could see in Rome. Yet in this place, the center of the world, the grand city of Rome, of the empire, what did Paul want to see? He said this you can keep the circus, you can keep the forum, keep all these things.
Speaker 1:I just want to see the Christians, I just want to see the church, I just want to see what they're up to. I just want to see the work of God in the life of believers. We've got the most beautiful sanctuary in Arkansas and that's not a biased statement. I mean that I say it, but others who have no affiliation to this place have said it. It's a fact. Now I can't believe. In 1922, they built this unbelievable room. I thank God. Every day, every day, I drive by this place and I am blown away and humbled and I can't believe that I get to walk through the doors of this building and I hope for a long, long time. I walk through the doors of this beautiful sanctuary. But I got to tell you, if you gave me the choice right now of the this is not a choice we're keeping the building, but if you gave me the choice right now, you can have this building or you can have these people in the pews. You, you can keep the building Because the church is right here among us.
Speaker 1:Who I want to see day in and day out is you. You are the workers of the ministry and praise God, we've got a place that we can come together in worship. But before anything else, I want to see you. You are the church. You are the body of Christ and just as Paul wanted to see these Christians, so the world needs to see you. The kingdom of God needs to go out with you. So, lastly, I'll ask this Are you a believer who is building up the church?
Speaker 1:I want to read again 11 and 12. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. So, in this context, what is Paul praying for that he may see them? Why does he want to see them? And here's our answer so that he may build them up. And Paul says so that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts, so I can give you what God has given me for the sake of building up the church. That's his desire that they may be built up. But I love verse 12, and it blows me away that we may be mutually encouraged. Mutually encouraged. Think about that now. Paul says I want to encourage you. But this is Paul saying also you can encourage me.
Speaker 1:And I read that and I'm a little confused by it Because I think what in the world do we have to offer Paul, the greatest missionary to ever walk the planet, and there's part of him that he needs to be encouraged by these little believers in Rome. What do you mean? I remember it was about two months ago and he had just was about to have a new movie come out and I was on social media and some post from I don't know one of the entertainment tonight one of these things, I don't know it came up and it had the headline was this that Denzel Washington hadn't auditioned for a role in over 25 years. That was the headline, and I stepped back and my first thought was this did anybody among us think Denzel Washington was auditioning for parts? Denzel Washington, you called the producer and if he wants to be in it, the producer says, yes, sir, right, this way, he's Denzel. I don't think he has to battle others for the role. That's the type of standing that he's earned. I think the same thing with Paul.
Speaker 1:Paul, what in the world can we do for you? You're the guy, you're the one. Surely you can encourage us, but what do we do for you? There's something that paul knows about the life of the church that everyone needs, everyone, that as you look around this room and you see other members of this faith family. You see people that God has given to you. Why? Because you need them. I know we live in a world where there's a little bit of pride and we don't like to need much of anything. I don't want to be told I need anything, but I got to tell you I need every one of you and I can't be the believer and the minister that God has called me to be to its fullness if I don't have each one of you walking with me. And the truth is this for you you look around you. There's people in this body that you need them, that to do the ministry and to live the life God has called you to live. He has called us to be in community, and so you need the God-given gifts that those around you have and bring to the table when they come to be a part of this church. We need one another, and Paul says I want to encourage you and I want you to encourage me.
Speaker 1:I want to ask you are you building the church? Are you building it through your presence, quite, simply being here, and this isn't like an attendance check, where I'm, you know, calling the roll or anything. This is not for the sake of. You know, doesn't it look cool when the pews are filled? This is for the sake of? We're a better church when you're with us.
Speaker 1:Are you building the church through your presence? Are you building the church through your gifts? Once again, god has gifted you. If you are in here, if you are a member of this church, part of this faith family, you have been gifted for the building up of this church body. Are you using those gifts? Do you know what those gifts are? I pray that you would take time to seek out those gifts.
Speaker 1:Lord, what are the gifts you've given me? Are you building up the church through your unity, by being a unified member of this body? We're all going to walk through times in a church. You bring any amount of people together and at times there'll be different opinions. Of course there are. That's a beautiful thing. What if we all thought the same way? I'm not sure how much we'd get done, but there'll be different opinions and there may be different preferences here or there, and there's going to be a time where, you know, your preferences get perfectly met, or 90% met and 80% met, and mine as well, and sometimes things are different in church and there's preferences, all these things, but at the end of the day, are we a unified body, that, at the end of the day, we're chasing after Jesus together? Are you building up the church through your giving? And there's the old bait and switch. This was a a giving sermon all along. It wasn't, but maybe it is. Are you building up the church through your giving, by being a part of the work that is going on? Because I'm giving not simply to the church, but through the church that the kingdom of God might expand through the shared ministry that is going out through this church. Are you building up the church through your giving? Are you building up the church through your thanks and praise, by your own thankfulness, by worshiping alongside of us, by, as about, praying for the church? Are you building up the church?
Speaker 1:Look with me quickly at verse 13 through 15. I don't want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you but thus far have been prevented. In order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the gentiles, as well as among the rest of the Gentiles, I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians or you could read that Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. I want you to notice something here with Paul Paul wants to get to the church in Rome, number one so that he could reap a harvest with those who are in the church in Rome, that he could build them up, that they could grow in their faith and maybe some come to know the Lord and grow the church at Rome. But also this so that the gospel can go even further because of the work that the church in Rome is doing.
Speaker 1:We talked in week one that Paul had desires for the church at Rome to really be a sending church, really a launching pad for further ministry to the Gentiles, even into Spain, further west, and Paul wants this to happen. But I want us to see Paul's mentality that a built-up church builds the church. And so, as we are committed to building up this church, we do so not just for the sake of this church though certainly for the sake of this church, but more than just for the sake of this church. We build up this church so that the church might be further built up, so that, as we talked about last week, as we are here in this embassy of heaven, this embassy of the kingdom of God, right here, when the ambassadors of this embassy flow out of the church at the end of a service on Sunday morning, that the kingdom of God would go forth and the kingdom would expand, because there's a church that is built up right here, because built up churches build up churches. Paul wanted a ministry in Rome and beyond. I pray that this would be a church that sees a ministry here and in El Dorado and far beyond and far beyond, because right here there is a community that needs the gospel, that needs to know that there's a Savior that died for them, that can forgive them, that rose from the dead, that can offer hope and life, and we have that good news. And so, as we are thankful for this church and pray for this church and build up this church, would it be that, as a built-up church, we go build the kingdom even beyond this church?
Speaker 1:I was down in the history room this week that may not surprise you and I found a church covenant from many years ago and I looked and looked and looked to try to find a date and could not find it but it's from a long time ago, a real long time ago, but I love within this church covenant there's it's this little card, and they asked you to put it in your Bible where you can see it often, and there were just a few points on it that I think. I almost think they read Romans 1, 8 through 15 when they were putting this together. Number one is this we engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of the church in knowledge, holiness and comfort, to promote its prosperity and spirituality, to sustain its worship ordinances, discipline and doctrine. They wanted to be a worshiping church. Number two is this we engage to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor and the spread of the gospel through all nations. They wanted to be a built-up church. That built up the church I love.
Speaker 1:Number six we further engage you want to know what a church looks like. We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, to be slow, to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and, mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay. And you talk about a church that understands not just the little c church but the church at large. The last point is simply this we engage, moreover, that when we remove from this place, if we ever have to leave this church, we will as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's word. It sounds to me like First Baptist Eldorado and I say this not to rest on our laurels or pat ourselves on the back, but it sounds like we have been a church through the generations that have understood the simple fact that a built-up church can do great things for the kingdom.
Speaker 1:A church body that takes seriously the work of the church there's no telling what the Lord can do and that in this mission, in this life, in this gospel work that we've been called to, that we can do a lot more together than we can do by ourselves. And I can grow a lot further in my love and closeness to Jesus if I get to do it with each one of you, and you can grow closer to Jesus than you ever thought possible. If you get to do it with each one of us in this room. What a gift to be a part of the church. What a gift to not have to live the Christian life alone. What a gift to be about the ministry of Jesus Christ with others who are walking with us and serving with us and loving with us.
Speaker 1:I'm thankful this morning for the church. Maybe you want to be a part of this faith family. Maybe you want to join this church. I hope you will, because we've been needing you. We have. Maybe you want to make a decision to come to know Christ for the very first time and you want him to be your savior. I'd love to introduce you to him.
Speaker 1:Maybe you want to come down and just let me pray over you. I'd love to do that too, but however, you need to respond in just a moment of worship. I hope you'll do it and I'll be down front. Would you pray with me now, lord Jesus, thank you for this church. Thank you for the gift of the church, the hope that is found in this church. I just thank you that you've allowed my family to come be a part of this church. I thank you for how they've taken us in. Come be a part of this church. I thank you for how they've taken us in and, lord, I just pray that the work of this church would go forth, that we would be a church on our knees that prays, we would be a church that is thankful that we as believers, as individuals, would be committed to building up this church for the sake of the gospel. We ask this in Christ's name, amen. Would you stand now as we worship?