1 Peter 4:8-11 Life In The Body

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2)

The church must become the church God intended it to be. We must become the kind of Christians God intended us to be. We must learn again to practice deep koinonia-fellowship, carrying one another’s burdens, sharing one another’s hurts, confessing to one another, rejoicing with one another, encouraging one another, celebrating the diversity of our gifts and abilities while maintaining the unity of the Spirit….We must rediscover the meaning of Body Life – the amazing energy and empowerment God gives to his people when they live in close, loving, caring community with him and with one another. (Ray Stedman, “Body Life”)

8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4) Heart Home Service

HEART 8 Above all, love each other deeply, (1 Peter 4) 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. (1 Peter 1)

Peter calls for a love that is both intense and persevering. The word he uses to describe this love is ektenes, which has two meanings. It means outstretching in the sense of consistent; our love must be the love that never fails. It also means stretching out as a runner stretches out; our love must be energetic. Here is a fundamental Christian truth. Christian love is not an easy, sentimental reaction. It demands everything a man has of mental and spiritual energy. Christian love is the love which never fails and into which every atom of man’s strength is directed. (William Barclay)

8 … because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4) 12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10) 20 remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5) 9 He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. (Proverbs 17)

20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backwards and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. (Genesis 9)

Ham did not act in love toward his father, because he made his father’s sin public. Noah’s other sons did the opposite. They refused to look upon him in his condition, even as they were covering him. They sought to keep the sin of their father as private as possible. This gives us a very important clue to the meaning of the expression, “love covers over a multitude of sins.” Love does not seek to “cover up” sin but to cover it. Just as a doctor cannot cure cancer by putting a band-aid over it, neither can a church remedy sin by concealing its existence. Sin is “covered” by privately confronting sin, hopefully in a way that results in repentance, but if not, in removal from fellowship. (Bob Deffinbaugh, “Living On The Edge of Eternity”)

HOME 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4) Philo Xenia

“Long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables. Even a casual reading of the New Testament unveils the house as the primary tool of the church. The primary gathering place of the church was the home. The early church (with its varied backgrounds) got along without the aid of sanctuaries, church buildings, clergy, or seminaries. They did so through the clearest of messages (the Cross) and the simplest of tools (the home). Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on faces. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ You may think you are saying, ‘Come over for a visit.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I am worth the effort.’” (Max Lucado, “Outlive Your Life”) The Lost Art of Philoxenia

A Vital Ministry Integration Evangelism Our home fellowships are more important than having big group meetings in a fancy church building. Quiet homes opening up for evangelism will always be more effective than an organized program. (Brian Morgan)

Practising Hospitality 1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13)

SERVICE 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, (1 Peter 4)

A Contribution To Make Speaking Serving so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4)

The church is a group of people who share the same life, who belong to the same Lord, who are filled with the same Spirit, who are given gifts by the same Spirit, and who are intended to function together to change the world by the life of God. (Ray Stedman, “Body Life”) Response

Heart Home Service