Journal

Please use one of the prompts below to get your journaling started.

• Explore your fears and what’s behind them.
• Write about a relational conflict you are experiencing.
• List out all that you are grateful for.
• Recall a significant reaction, conversation or event.

• Here are some tools to help you with the devotional journal:
  • A Guide to Journaling & Prayer
  • A Guide to Self-Reflection
  • A Chart to help articulate feelings

Romans 16 Commentary

Romans 16:1-16 (ESV)

¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, ² 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 of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ 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. ⁵ Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Reflection Questions: Romans 16:1-16

• List the characteristics of those people Apostle Paul greets here. What picture of Christian discipleship and relationship do these qualities paint, especially given Apostle Paul had never been to the church at Rome?
• Note the many names of women that appear in this list (e.g., Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’ mother, Julia, Nereus’ sister.) What does the fact that Apostle Paul referred to so many women with deep personal appreciation, respect, and high commendation show about gender roles in the early church?

• As Apostle Paul comes to the end of his dense and packed epistle, he lists people he loves—a couple who “risked their necks for my life,” three he calls “beloved,” many who “worked hard,” those who were “fellow prisoners,” and a woman who “has been a mother to me.” Reflect on the richness of Apostle Paul’s life. Who are the people I can recollect with a similar fondness, love, and shared history? Try writing your own Romans 16.

Prayer