WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.459 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:10.599 Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us. 00:00:11.620 --> 00:00:17.260 Good morning. If I didn't say it earlier, my name is Bill Herrett. I'm an associate pastor here at Southwood. 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:23.879 I have the privilege of working with our students and our children and our families. 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:28.379 And I'm grateful for the opportunity to get up here today and share with you from God's Word. 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:31.799 Let me pray for our time before we get started. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:36.019 Father, we're grateful for this time to pause and celebrate our seniors. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:42.320 Lord, may we remember them in our prayers. May we remember them as we walk through these next few weeks. 00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:45.799 May we be encouragements to their parents. May we be encouragements to them. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:56.879 Lord, help us to have a vision to understand that you will continue to be at work amongst them and in them and through them as the years continue on. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:04.780 And Lord, you are deeply concerned about the work you're doing in them, more so than what you want to do through them. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:10.060 So Lord, be with our seniors. May they savor your goodness, your blessing. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:16.560 And may they see Jesus as the clear and wonderful Savior that he is. 00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:25.520 Lord, would you use today as we study your Word, would you guide us by your inerrant, infallible Word to your truth. 00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:34.800 So that our hearts, our lives, and all that we are are changed for your sake, for your glory, so that we might honor you. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.400 Lord, we thank you and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:37.520 Amen. 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:41.800 If you're, I'm going to say a number. 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:42.660 All right. 00:01:42.880 --> 00:01:44.120 Twelve billion. 00:01:44.960 --> 00:01:47.140 Twelve billion dollars. 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:47.840 Okay. 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:49.740 Twelve billion dollars. 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:50.060 Okay. 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:53.480 A book series that sold millions of copies. 00:01:53.480 --> 00:02:07.700 That is well known if you were to walk through any major bookstore, maybe if they even still exist, for the handful that still are around, you would recognize the cover probably. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.620 And then I want to talk about a book that's literally sold in the thousands. 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:19.159 This is a resource book we use in our children's and our youth ministry called Show Them Jesus, Teaching the Gospel to Kids. 00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:21.000 And I want to compare two things. 00:02:21.140 --> 00:02:22.780 I just want to take a moment to compare two things. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:23.020 Okay. 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:29.180 There was a book written years ago in the 90s called DOS for Dummies. 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:30.140 Right. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:39.439 If you've ever heard of the Four Dummies series, basically they are comparable to, and again, kids don't use this word at home. 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:41.300 Idiots guide to whatever. 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:52.740 However, so they're these shortcut books that try to simplify and condense down information so that you can understand. 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:57.000 The first book was called DOS for Dummies, an operating system for computers. 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:03.180 And it was meant to make it simple for some of us to learn and do DOS. 00:03:03.260 --> 00:03:08.880 I don't even know what do DOS means, but anybody here who's an engineer and smarter than me, you can tell me why I'm dumb and that's fine with me. 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:09.520 It wouldn't hurt my feelings. 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.780 But then this series came out. 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:15.200 It became more than just the book about DOS. 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:19.480 It was like, if you want to, you can literally get on Amazon and be like, the Bible for Dummies. 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:34.060 Or, you know, there are all sorts of books that have been given to the world through this series in order that we might find an easy shortcut, a way to understand things, a way to make our lives easier and simpler. 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:37.780 And because of, because he's came out in the 90s. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:47.639 And if you remember, all of us were like, we got to go hang out at Barnes & Noble at some point, whether it's the mall or over at, I can't remember the name of the shopping center over there right now. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:48.139 What's it called? 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:48.920 Anyone? 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:50.580 What's it called? 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:52.020 Valley Bend. 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:55.680 Like, if you're going over there, there's a great place to hang out still, I think. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:01.599 But you would see this sea of these for dummies books. 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:02.240 Okay. 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:09.280 And the goal was that it would be a clear and straightforward communication about how to do something. 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:10.180 Okay. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.319 And those books were immensely popular. 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:20.560 And I love that about our passage today, too, that it's clear and it's straightforward. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:22.019 It's instruction. 00:04:22.219 --> 00:04:22.879 It helps me. 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:24.879 I like straightforward communication. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:30.620 If you're, if you have interacted with me, I don't like being, or I don't like being beat around the bush. 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:35.339 I don't like, I want you to talk to me through the eyeballs, say what you say and mean it. 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:35.639 Right. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:36.800 And so I love that. 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.139 And I love that the passage today is very straightforward. 00:04:39.139 --> 00:05:02.500 And if we, if we really held on to what this book was going to tell us, and if we cling to, tightly to the reality that I want the most efficient and direct, and I want to be the most successful Christian I can be, and I can take these principles and I can apply them, and I will become a level 22 Christian. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:03.079 Right. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.259 You know, that's, that's not how it works. 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:07.659 That's not how it works. 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:20.360 Even though this is straightforward and helpful and encouraging, I'm fearful that we might not do the work that Jesus is calling us to in the way that we're called to. 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:24.879 This book, Show Them Jesus, which I'm reading with some of our staff. 00:05:25.260 --> 00:05:27.780 I know some of our children's ministry staff have read it in the past. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:34.220 I know some of our volunteers have read it, but here's, it's talking about creating a gospel environment in this, this case. 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:37.680 And I want to read to you just this, this passage. 00:05:37.900 --> 00:05:41.700 And it's a warning for me because I need to be warned. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:50.480 And I think it's a warning for us when we read direct kind of constructive, helpful Christian living statements. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:06:05.379 It says, talking about kids and it's talking about church kids as much as visitors, they need this idea that the world teaches them that success comes from feeling good about themselves or being the best. 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:08.399 And sometimes that philosophy creeps into church. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:15.060 They quickly move from being Christians to believing they have to be the best Christians. 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:23.680 And my goal for teaching this today is not that we would remember that this is what's going to help us all become, we're the best Christians. 00:06:23.719 --> 00:06:25.180 We're going to be the best Christians in Huntsville. 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:30.500 So I want us to become people who trust in Jesus more. 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:42.720 I want us to become people who see how Jesus works out the gospel in our lives in a healthy and beautiful way that calls us to honor and worship him with all that we are. 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:50.600 And so I don't want us to read these things and think, okay, cool, I can create a checklist and become a better, I'm going to be the best Christian when I leave this place. 00:06:50.600 --> 00:07:04.740 And the best Christian we can be is one who has seen their own sin and admitted it before the Lord and laid themselves down before our King, trusting him and his work of the cross. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:15.420 And so my fear as we teach sometimes these instructions or these commands is that we will leave Jesus behind and just attempt to be just the best Christians. 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:19.040 And that can be true of our graduates too. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:26.760 If you're going off to college next year, you can get caught up in trying to become the best Christian you can be. 00:07:27.340 --> 00:07:35.920 Or perhaps even just getting your identity or yourself tied up into things that are not who you really are. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.439 And what's amazing about this passage is that it's, in a lot of ways, it's holistic. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:50.060 And so let's read it together and then we'll talk about why it's this holistic picture for us to understand. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:51.500 What does it mean to live as Christians? 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:53.560 So let's read. 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:57.240 This is God's word from 1 Peter chapter 4. 00:07:57.339 --> 00:07:59.139 We're going to read verses 7 through 11. 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:02.439 The end of all things is at hand. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:07.899 Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 00:08:08.659 --> 00:08:14.620 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:17.620 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:25.699 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:31.899 Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:36.120 in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. 00:08:36.819 --> 00:08:41.720 To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:42.799 Amen. 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:49.919 I'm going to take today's passage and I'm going to break it down into three things because it's a, 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:52.639 I think it is a holistic passage if you look at it this way. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.279 And I think there's reasons why we should look at it this way. 00:08:55.700 --> 00:08:59.520 Because sometimes that we live in a world where we reject that the gospel, 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:05.120 the truth of who Jesus is, has its fingerprints on every part of our lives. 00:09:05.900 --> 00:09:12.600 As a person who kind of played Christian in the Christian world as a high school student, 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:15.900 I was like, well, yeah, I'll do all the Christian things over here. 00:09:16.280 --> 00:09:20.400 But when I'm in the locker room or with my buddies or when I'm out on the weekends, 00:09:20.540 --> 00:09:21.960 my life did not look that way. 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:25.860 And it wasn't until I experienced Christ in college that I knew that, 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:30.500 that I began to learn that Jesus is holistically a part of everything that we're doing. 00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:32.960 He doesn't want just a small piece of who we are. 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:34.240 He wants the whole thing. 00:09:36.060 --> 00:09:39.900 And so we may, we may come to these Sunday mornings where we've compartmentalized, 00:09:39.900 --> 00:09:44.620 or we've said that Jesus doesn't belong here, or the gospel doesn't belong here. 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:50.539 But the reality is the language of Peter tells us about an engagement of our whole selves. 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:52.720 And I think it's in three ways, right? 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:58.840 It's that he engages our head, he engages our heart, and he engages our hands. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:00.179 And that's really oversimplified. 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:02.220 And that's an easy thing that we say a lot in church. 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:06.460 But I'll point out why those things that, things that are true here in this passage. 00:10:07.060 --> 00:10:10.539 But first I want to address this first verse. 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:15.339 First, I titled our sermon, In the End, This Is What Matters. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:21.099 And if you're a child of the 90s and the early 2000s, 00:10:21.099 --> 00:10:24.299 you might be recalling the Lincoln Park lyrics. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.240 And it's just a reverse on those. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.199 In the end, this is what matters. 00:10:28.439 --> 00:10:31.240 It's in the Lincoln Park lyrics, it says nothing really matters. 00:10:32.219 --> 00:10:35.699 But the gospel points us to the thing that matters. 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:38.199 And that is Jesus himself. 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:42.140 And so the end of all things is at hand. 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:47.940 Isn't it a part of this passage that tells us that Jesus is coming the next day? 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:48.800 Jesus is returning. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:54.379 Peter is talking to us about the nature of God's redemptive work. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.740 He's telling us that all these things have come to pass. 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:00.480 That Jesus' death, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven. 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.120 We are in, as it stands, we're in this latter part. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:08.340 The end of Jesus' work, the end of God's redemptive work throughout all of history. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:13.419 And so it's this time that we still live in now. 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:17.460 The time that we talk about being the now and the not yet. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.320 That Jesus has ushered in, started to usher in his kingdom here on earth. 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:26.279 And yet we are not yet fully made whole and complete. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:28.500 It's not yet done. 00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:31.600 We still live in this tension of time. 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.080 And so we live in this tension of time. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:40.240 And because we live in this tension of time, because there is still sin there, because we still have struggles, 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:48.080 because we need to be reminded about this big picture holistic life that we're called to live in Christ. 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:54.639 And so I want to ask the question, how does God engage our head in this passage? 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.200 And it's, to me, I've just broke it down into three sections. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:00.820 And so just, we're going to look at verse seven. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:01.620 It says this, 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:03.900 The end of all things is at hand. 00:12:04.680 --> 00:12:09.000 Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:11.660 Okay, so let's, sober-minded, right? 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:13.060 So there we go. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.620 We're going to use that word and we're going to cling to, 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:19.039 God wants us to engage our heads. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:25.460 What we are called to do as we think on this life we have in Christ, right? 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:32.220 He's calling us to do two things in our minds, right? 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:34.620 To be self-controlled and sober-minded. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:35.600 Okay? 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:42.799 And in this passage, he has in mind some of the sins that we talked about last week that Will preached on in these earlier verses, 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.459 talking about living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:52.699 all the things that are happening in verses three through five that Peter is speaking about. 00:12:53.139 --> 00:13:02.679 He's calling us to then assert our minds and focus our minds on the things that are above. 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:07.099 To be sober-minded and to be self-controlled means for us, 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:11.899 not just that we are avoiding things that might alter our state, 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:15.819 whether, you know, drinking, drugs, whatever you may— 00:13:15.819 --> 00:13:17.120 He's not just talking about those things. 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:20.779 He's talking about the kind of things additionally, not just those things, 00:13:20.839 --> 00:13:26.479 but the reality of being people who understand the time we live in as well. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:33.460 So to be self-controlled and sober-minded doesn't just mean that we're avoiding certain sins, 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:35.240 and that's a good thing as well. 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:42.379 But it does mean that we also understand the world we live in here and now today. 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:54.899 And so God is engaging our head so that we might think about what in the world is happening 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:58.399 and how am I reacting to engaging this world. 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:04.379 So you and—I don't know if you felt this way, 00:14:04.439 --> 00:14:07.379 but I can at least speak to my own sin for the past three weeks. 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:14.439 I know that May is not—if you're a parent, May is also a hard month. 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.279 I feel like there's always something every weekend. 00:14:16.439 --> 00:14:17.720 There's always something every night. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:19.200 There's something that goes on. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:24.240 And I'm—we have kind of been in the midst of a stretch where we are very busy people. 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:26.480 That may not be true for all of you, 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:29.879 but for the past few weeks I have felt very thin. 00:14:30.939 --> 00:14:31.740 Very thin. 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.720 We get—we get hurried and hectic. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:39.779 We think about the things that go on in our lives. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:40.800 We think about our work. 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:42.320 We think about our children. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:43.899 We think about our activities. 00:14:44.160 --> 00:14:46.680 We think about, oh gosh, did I sign up for the right summer camp? 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:48.240 Oh no, do I have the right child care? 00:14:48.300 --> 00:14:48.940 Do I have the right day care? 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:50.060 What's happening with this? 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:50.920 What's going on this? 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:52.860 I get that way. 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:57.379 Sometimes we get overwhelmed with worry and fear, 00:14:57.379 --> 00:15:03.480 and I'm sure as some of the parents of these graduates can attest, 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:08.980 there is an element of worry and fear as they think about the future. 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:10.299 There's an element. 00:15:10.439 --> 00:15:12.539 I'm not going to—no one's confessed anything to me. 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:14.659 I can only imagine it. 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:20.299 And so there's this reality that we're called to engage our thoughts, 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:22.339 our sinful thoughts, our struggles. 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:27.219 And why does he call us to be self-controlled, 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:31.100 looking at the things that have an impact on us in our lives, 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:35.679 and looking at the things that—the sins that can change who we are? 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:39.559 Why does he ask us to engage this? 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:46.859 Well, we can say for the—we say the passage says for the sake of our prayers. 00:15:48.359 --> 00:15:55.000 And what is prayer but our relationship and communication with our Heavenly Father? 00:15:56.239 --> 00:15:56.519 Right? 00:15:56.599 --> 00:16:01.819 He's calling us to this life not for the sake of being good at praying. 00:16:02.219 --> 00:16:03.959 I'm going to be the best Christian. 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:05.780 I'm going to pray really well. 00:16:05.900 --> 00:16:11.060 We need people to pray together as God's people, as we've even announced this week. 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:19.759 But so that we might be in the right prayerful relationship with our Father. 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.820 So as God calls us to engage our minds, 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:31.860 it's a call to engage for the sake of our relationship with Him. 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:36.460 And Peter has in mind as he talks about this, 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.680 he's not just talking about just like praying and generally. 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:46.500 He's talking about these repeated, continual acts of prayer to our Lord. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:49.440 Right? 00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:52.320 I think this is what we need to do. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:54.180 We need to be people who engage our minds. 00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:58.419 This is how God has called us to engage our heads with this, 00:16:58.739 --> 00:17:05.019 so that we might be people who lovingly communicate and talk to our Heavenly Father. 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:10.619 And so you and I need this. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:11.839 And I'll be honest, 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:17.500 this idea of rejecting that the gospel touches all of my life, it happens. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.599 We compartmentalize, we take it apart and we say, 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:24.039 this is what's going to happen. 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:28.339 And I'll go home after a day of work. 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:32.079 And as a pastor, I'll confess that I'll get to a point where I'm like, 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.559 I just need one less church thing on my mind right now. 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:38.119 I need it. 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.039 And I don't know if you feel that way if you say, 00:17:40.159 --> 00:17:43.200 I just need, and I turn myself to things, 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:48.279 particularly I will confess that I will numb myself by, 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:53.559 oh, I'm just, I can scroll through Instagram and live vicariously through other people's recipes 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:56.579 and hunting experiences and fun things that, 00:17:56.680 --> 00:17:57.839 oh, places I'll never visit, 00:17:57.899 --> 00:18:01.319 but at least I can just numb myself by escaping. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:10.420 So what does that mean for me to be sober-minded and self-controlled? 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:12.480 What does that mean for us? 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:18.980 How many times have I turned to things 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:24.500 that does not identify me with our Father? 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:32.759 And so being sober-minded and self-controlled means we turn to God Himself, 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.140 remembering who we are, 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:37.360 that we are clinging to the grace of God, 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:39.380 remembering His promises to us, 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:42.000 remembering that we have an identity that transcends 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:46.259 the things that inhabit our minds, 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:47.539 the sins that we struggle with, 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:52.579 the things that take over our heads. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:57.980 We remember the forgiving power of the cross, 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.220 the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:04.220 We remember that we are not made, 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:07.299 that we are no longer sinners, 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:10.460 but we are sons and daughters of the living God. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.660 And so He engages our head so that we might be in right relationship with Him, 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.700 so that our prayers as we seek after our God, 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.519 we turn to Him remembering who we are, 00:19:25.180 --> 00:19:26.980 that we are His beloved children. 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:32.440 So God engages our heads, 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:33.420 but He goes on further. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.740 He engages our hearts in this passage as well. 00:19:38.120 --> 00:19:38.200 Right? 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:39.480 Above all, 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:42.240 keep loving one another earnestly, 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:45.059 since love covers a multitude of sins. 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:45.819 Right? 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:48.319 So we're using some very generic head, right? 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:49.720 Being sober-minded, 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:50.799 our hearts, 00:19:51.539 --> 00:19:54.200 the idea of loving one another as the Christian body, 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:59.319 and again, reminding ourselves too that this is not a passage that is strictly, 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:02.620 that is calling us to do these kind of things. 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:06.039 This is aimed at people to love one another 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:09.299 and to live in such a way amongst each other as Christians 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:12.140 in this particular passage, 00:20:12.340 --> 00:20:13.240 in this particular portion. 00:20:14.080 --> 00:20:17.440 So that this is actually how we're called to care for each other. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.460 That for all of you that, 00:20:19.460 --> 00:20:21.059 that Kathy was talking about this view, 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:24.740 as I look on to all these people that we are called to each other, 00:20:24.900 --> 00:20:26.480 and you can take a moment, 00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:27.860 and if you look around and you see, 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:32.140 these are the people that we are called to love one another together. 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:35.320 See, he emphasizes, 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:37.180 he gives it great importance, right? 00:20:37.340 --> 00:20:37.860 He says, 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:38.920 above all, 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:41.019 above everything else, 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:42.860 love one another. 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:45.419 So there's some emphasis here on love. 00:20:46.199 --> 00:20:50.439 Emphasis on seeking to be people who love one another. 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:54.939 So that you and I might remember that there's, 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:55.979 this isn't just some, 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:57.240 oh, be loving, 00:20:57.379 --> 00:20:58.119 be kind, 00:20:58.939 --> 00:21:02.079 but to engage one another lovingly. 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:05.199 See, 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:06.199 above all, 00:21:06.659 --> 00:21:08.619 keep loving one another earnestly, 00:21:09.699 --> 00:21:09.979 right? 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:11.220 That, 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:11.579 that we, 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:12.380 it's not just, 00:21:12.620 --> 00:21:17.039 not just that we are trying to love one another, 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:19.559 in a way, 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:20.839 keep loving one another. 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:23.200 We're not trying to love one another in a vacuum, 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.860 where everything is just perfect and great and awesome, 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:28.160 and everything is just so sweet and fun. 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:28.339 Like, 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:30.339 we've never had a problem in this church ever. 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:32.180 No one's ever had another problem with someone in this church. 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:32.620 That's fine. 00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:33.299 It's great. 00:21:33.360 --> 00:21:35.039 That's what's amazing about Southwood. 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:35.900 And I love it. 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.220 That no one's ever had a problem with anyone here. 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:40.120 It's a great thing. 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:43.240 But there's a word I want to make sure we say, 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:45.579 keep loving one another. 00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:49.079 There's a hesitation in the word keep. 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:50.380 Like, 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:53.160 keep loving one another means there's a, 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:56.460 there's a possibility that I want to stop loving people in this room. 00:21:56.860 --> 00:21:59.940 That I want to stop loving people in the body of Christ. 00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:04.240 Keep reminds us that there's a problem, 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.559 a great theological truth about who we are. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:12.359 And that this is a body of sinners who have come together because of Christ. 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:13.799 Right? 00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:13.980 This, 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:15.700 it's a hard thing to remember that, 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:17.380 that first I, 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:18.079 listen, 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:18.420 we, 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.180 we are very easily able to point out when we have been sinned against. 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:22.640 Right? 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:24.860 It's easy for me to be like you, 00:22:25.020 --> 00:22:25.200 no, 00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:25.540 you, 00:22:25.820 --> 00:22:27.100 you did that to me. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:27.920 You did that to me. 00:22:28.060 --> 00:22:28.220 No, 00:22:28.300 --> 00:22:28.740 you remember. 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:29.800 I know you remember. 00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:38.620 But often it's hard for us to remember that we too are the ones who sin against others in this body. 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:48.019 And so this idea of keep means that we're hesitant at times. 00:22:48.500 --> 00:22:51.319 We're not willing to love difficult people. 00:22:51.739 --> 00:22:53.759 We're not willing to love hard, 00:22:54.639 --> 00:22:56.099 in love in the midst of hard situations. 00:22:57.379 --> 00:23:01.379 We kind of flinch when it comes to those times. 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:03.239 Or we give up. 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:05.599 Or we quit. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:11.500 And so we're being encouraged to love one another earnestly. 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.299 Another word of saying is unfailingly, 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:15.559 never stopping. 00:23:15.659 --> 00:23:16.599 If you can think of the, 00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:17.639 the, 00:23:17.719 --> 00:23:20.939 the way that love is described in the Jesus story of the Bible, 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:22.799 the never stopping kind of love. 00:23:23.899 --> 00:23:26.339 He is faithful in his love. 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:31.219 And so there's this unfailing and earnest love that we're called to share with one another. 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:35.279 And so it's a reminder that, 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:37.159 because love, 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:40.799 it covers a multitude of sins. 00:23:42.939 --> 00:23:44.959 If you remember the Apostle Paul, 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.459 here's something that it remembers. 00:23:47.659 --> 00:23:48.559 Love is patient. 00:23:48.719 --> 00:23:49.639 Love is kind. 00:23:50.159 --> 00:23:51.799 Love does not envy or boast. 00:23:51.899 --> 00:23:53.559 It is not arrogant or rude. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.119 It does not insist on its own way. 00:23:56.199 --> 00:23:57.899 It's not irritable or resentful. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.939 It does not rejoice at wrongdoing. 00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:04.299 But rejoices with the truth. 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:06.480 Love bears all things, 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:07.840 believes all things, 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:09.180 hopes all things, 00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:10.400 endures all things. 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:13.680 Love covers a multitude of sin. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.380 Because we know ourselves to be sinners. 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:22.580 And it was the love of God that sent his own son for our sake. 00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:26.339 And I want us to think about it. 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:28.359 Have you thought about this? 00:24:30.919 --> 00:24:34.899 How do you react when you've been sinned against? 00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:39.140 How do you react when you've been sinned against? 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:44.660 And how do you react when you sin against others? 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:47.320 I imagine it's like me. 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:50.519 There's a great valley between those two things 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:53.580 where someone sins against me. 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:55.900 I'm going to react pretty terribly, 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:57.060 pretty poorly, 00:24:57.779 --> 00:24:58.900 pretty unlovingly. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:02.980 But when I've sinned against others, 00:25:03.060 --> 00:25:04.380 how many times have I said, 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.540 oh, it's not that big a deal. 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:08.279 Or they probably deserved it. 00:25:10.040 --> 00:25:10.920 Oh, it's fine. 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:11.540 They'll be fine. 00:25:12.340 --> 00:25:13.040 It's okay. 00:25:13.040 --> 00:25:13.140 Okay. 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:16.300 But Peter calls us 00:25:16.300 --> 00:25:18.519 to enter into something hard. 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:21.000 Because love is not easy. 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:22.380 Love is sacrificial. 00:25:22.620 --> 00:25:23.880 Love is not something 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.640 we just wake up and do easily. 00:25:29.600 --> 00:25:33.060 So as we think on our own brothers and sisters in this room, 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:34.600 our own brothers and sisters across the world, 00:25:34.800 --> 00:25:37.580 we need to remember that we are a people 00:25:37.580 --> 00:25:40.680 of repentance and a people of forgiveness 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:42.940 because we are a people who sin. 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:44.940 Here again, 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:47.380 our love for one another 00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:49.860 is one of the ways that we remember 00:25:49.860 --> 00:25:52.320 if love actually covers a multitude of sins, 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:54.920 if love allows us to engage with fellow sinners, 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:58.559 that we ourselves must be people of repentance, 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:00.840 people who turn from our own sin, 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:02.759 people who turn to forgiveness. 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:07.200 And we need to become people of grace 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.460 because of the love that Christ has shown to us 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:12.539 because of the grace he's poured out on us. 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:17.319 One of the things that I was taught many years ago 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:22.700 by a mentor, friend, pastor, teacher in school 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:28.160 was that the safest person in the room 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:29.940 is the repentant person. 00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:32.120 The safest person in the room 00:26:32.120 --> 00:26:34.220 who's the person who's asked for forgiveness. 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:38.700 I have become a big advocate 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:40.620 of just owning when I am wrong. 00:26:41.620 --> 00:26:44.580 I know I act like I know a lot of things sometimes 00:26:44.580 --> 00:26:46.600 if you've ever had any interaction with me 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:47.659 and there's a lot of people smiling 00:26:47.659 --> 00:26:48.919 that make me scared. 00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:55.039 But I'm happy to admit when I'm wrong. 00:26:55.779 --> 00:26:58.679 If I've done something or hurt someone, 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:01.519 again, I don't say that like to be like, 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:02.159 oh, look at me. 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:07.179 I have tried to take to heart this reality 00:27:07.179 --> 00:27:09.679 that the safest person in the room 00:27:09.679 --> 00:27:12.119 is the person whose sin has been forgiven. 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:17.500 And Christ's work on the cross has forgiven our sin. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:21.439 It has paid the penalty that we could not. 00:27:23.379 --> 00:27:27.259 And so we are able to be people of repentance, 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:28.939 people who ask for forgiveness, 00:27:29.419 --> 00:27:32.759 people who give forgiveness luxuriously 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:36.339 because Jesus has poured out his grace 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:38.279 in abundance on us. 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:41.379 And so we're called to engage our hearts 00:27:41.379 --> 00:27:44.220 amongst each other here as God's people. 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:48.680 And so we've talked about our heads and our hearts 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:50.339 and we're going to try and finish with our hands 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:51.740 here in a second 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:54.720 as we keep our eyes on the time. 00:27:56.579 --> 00:27:59.960 But how does Peter call us 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:01.639 to engage our hands in this passage? 00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:03.079 And there's a couple of things. 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:04.639 It's getting dirty. 00:28:04.740 --> 00:28:06.039 So we talked about our minds 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:06.899 and we talked about our hearts 00:28:06.899 --> 00:28:07.519 and that's easy. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:09.180 And now we've got to get dirty, guys. 00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:10.180 That's just how it is. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.039 We got to roll around in the mud 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:14.319 and we got to engage with one another 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:16.960 more so than we want to. 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:19.799 And the word that gets used here 00:28:19.799 --> 00:28:22.279 is show hospitality to one another 00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:24.619 without grumbling. 00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:27.299 Without grumbling. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.539 That we're called to show 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:32.259 this radical hospitality. 00:28:32.460 --> 00:28:33.339 And we're talking about 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:36.079 in this period in the church, 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:38.319 hospitality was necessary. 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:41.019 It was the only way the church would survive. 00:28:41.159 --> 00:28:42.879 People were under persecution. 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:43.899 People were suffering. 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:46.539 People were looking for places to stay. 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:48.839 They were looking for hospitable places 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:50.339 for Christians to be cared for 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:51.939 and loved by fellow believers. 00:28:52.439 --> 00:28:54.599 And if you can imagine how hard it is 00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:55.579 if you all of a sudden 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:56.519 you get a knock on the door 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:59.379 and there's like a family of eight 00:28:59.379 --> 00:29:00.460 who showed up and said, 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:02.600 hey, we knew you were fellow believers. 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:03.779 We need somewhere to stay tonight. 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:04.940 And you're like, 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:07.120 hold on one second. 00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:08.279 Are you kidding me? 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:09.180 Just right now? 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:11.420 I was just about to get all this stuff done 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:13.180 and I've got all this going on in my life 00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:13.720 and I can't believe. 00:29:14.100 --> 00:29:15.940 Sure, come on in, guys. 00:29:16.340 --> 00:29:16.539 Right? 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.720 In Peter's day, 00:29:21.299 --> 00:29:21.980 there was a lot of, 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:24.120 it was costly to show hospitality. 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:25.340 Not just financially. 00:29:26.339 --> 00:29:26.639 Right? 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:30.339 Not just by way of your reputation. 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:30.939 Right? 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:32.619 Because then you might be identified 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:33.779 amongst the Christians. 00:29:33.919 --> 00:29:34.119 Right? 00:29:35.379 --> 00:29:35.799 It was, 00:29:35.879 --> 00:29:37.319 it might be maybe culturally 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:39.279 to the people in your neighborhood, 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:39.980 in your town. 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:40.559 Right? 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:42.839 It was costly to you 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:45.259 to share hospitality with others, 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:47.079 to invite people into your home, 00:29:48.399 --> 00:29:50.839 to care for them, 00:29:50.839 --> 00:29:55.500 but to do it without grumbling 00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:57.819 was what Peter was calling us to. 00:29:59.439 --> 00:30:01.199 We're called as people 00:30:01.199 --> 00:30:02.720 as we engage with one another 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:04.899 to care for one another 00:30:04.899 --> 00:30:05.839 in these times. 00:30:05.959 --> 00:30:07.459 There's wonderful things 00:30:07.459 --> 00:30:08.419 that you just are simple 00:30:08.419 --> 00:30:09.379 and easy that happened 00:30:09.379 --> 00:30:10.639 in our church this week. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:13.659 Meal trains for people. 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:17.039 Visits in the hospital. 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:18.899 Visits at home. 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:22.880 People being invited over to meals 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:24.280 after service today. 00:30:25.360 --> 00:30:27.840 There's this great reality 00:30:27.840 --> 00:30:29.220 that we have as Christians 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:30.440 and I think it's one of those things 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:32.100 that actually will transform 00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:33.580 our entire world and culture 00:30:33.580 --> 00:30:35.660 if we really practiced it well. 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.120 And again, 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:37.240 we don't practice it well. 00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:38.240 I don't practice it well. 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:40.900 Of this radical hospitality, 00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:42.660 welcoming our fellow brothers 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:43.540 and sisters in Christ 00:30:43.540 --> 00:30:44.100 into our homes 00:30:44.100 --> 00:30:45.519 and then how that spills out 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:46.380 into our neighborhoods 00:30:46.380 --> 00:30:47.120 and our communities. 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:48.759 It will have this radical, 00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:50.779 transformative impact 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:51.759 on our world. 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:55.459 If people saw us 00:30:55.459 --> 00:30:58.019 loving one another 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:00.500 as our meditation says, 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.500 loving one another 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:03.439 as Christ has called us to. 00:31:05.939 --> 00:31:07.639 And so there's this sentiment 00:31:07.639 --> 00:31:10.500 that we need to remember 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:11.799 that this is what we're called to, 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:13.539 that we're called to draw 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:14.359 one another in, 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:15.559 to bring each other 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:16.619 into relationship 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:17.319 with one another 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:20.159 through the act of hospitality. 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.399 And I'm going to tell you a story 00:31:21.399 --> 00:31:22.919 and I didn't clear it with him. 00:31:22.979 --> 00:31:23.719 He's sitting in the back 00:31:23.719 --> 00:31:24.679 so don't look back there. 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.799 Everybody just keep your eyes up here. 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:29.219 But I personally have experienced 00:31:29.219 --> 00:31:30.099 that here at Southwood. 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:32.459 If you don't know this about me, 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:34.759 I have previously served 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:35.519 at Southwood 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.500 years and years ago 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:39.439 before I had children, 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:40.839 years and years ago 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:42.199 before I was married 00:31:42.199 --> 00:31:44.819 and I was single. 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:46.119 I was in my 20s 00:31:46.119 --> 00:31:49.079 and I'm from South Carolina. 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:50.500 There's no reason 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:51.399 I should know anyone 00:31:51.399 --> 00:31:52.259 in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:31:52.419 --> 00:31:52.919 I don't. 00:31:53.339 --> 00:31:53.939 I do now 00:31:53.939 --> 00:31:54.759 because I've lived here 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:55.399 multiple times. 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:57.279 But when I was 24 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:58.000 and I moved here, 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:58.779 I didn't know anybody. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.919 And there was a family 00:32:00.919 --> 00:32:01.459 in the church 00:32:01.459 --> 00:32:02.659 that invited me 00:32:02.659 --> 00:32:04.059 and all the members 00:32:04.059 --> 00:32:05.000 of our youth staff 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:05.500 at that time 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:06.379 that were either single 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:08.820 or not from here 00:32:08.820 --> 00:32:11.380 and different friends of ours 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:14.020 through the church 00:32:14.020 --> 00:32:15.100 and through different places, 00:32:15.320 --> 00:32:16.320 they invited us 00:32:16.320 --> 00:32:16.900 into their home. 00:32:17.760 --> 00:32:18.360 And if it weren't 00:32:18.360 --> 00:32:19.140 for the love 00:32:19.140 --> 00:32:21.100 that Jim and Caroline Hess 00:32:21.100 --> 00:32:21.900 showed to me, 00:32:22.220 --> 00:32:23.720 I don't think I would know 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:25.220 what hospitality 00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:26.260 would look like. 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:29.300 I have never felt 00:32:29.300 --> 00:32:31.060 more cared for 00:32:31.060 --> 00:32:32.340 in a church 00:32:32.340 --> 00:32:33.680 than I have here 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:34.300 at Southwood 00:32:34.300 --> 00:32:34.940 in that season. 00:32:36.380 --> 00:32:37.720 That was a time 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:38.520 when I was lonely. 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:39.400 That was a time 00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:40.260 when I was struggling. 00:32:40.840 --> 00:32:41.280 That was a time 00:32:41.280 --> 00:32:42.000 when I was learning. 00:32:42.540 --> 00:32:43.040 That was a time 00:32:43.040 --> 00:32:44.500 when I was unsure. 00:32:45.840 --> 00:32:47.040 And I was invited 00:32:47.040 --> 00:32:48.040 into someone's home 00:32:48.040 --> 00:32:49.780 week after week, 00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:52.020 most Monday nights 00:32:52.020 --> 00:32:53.580 for four years 00:32:53.580 --> 00:32:54.880 that I worked here. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:57.540 And we watched silly 00:32:57.540 --> 00:32:58.600 and sometimes weird 00:32:58.600 --> 00:32:59.440 television shows. 00:33:00.140 --> 00:33:01.480 We always prayed together. 00:33:01.760 --> 00:33:02.720 We always ate together. 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:04.100 And it was beautiful. 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:07.259 And it was a picture 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:07.859 for me 00:33:07.859 --> 00:33:08.980 of how I'm called 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:09.579 to model 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:10.699 that hospitality 00:33:10.699 --> 00:33:11.399 to others 00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:12.519 because of the love 00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:13.419 that I was shown 00:33:13.419 --> 00:33:14.679 through that act. 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:17.119 And so, 00:33:17.219 --> 00:33:19.099 that to me 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:20.000 is one of the ways 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:20.919 that God calls us 00:33:20.919 --> 00:33:22.059 to engage our hands, 00:33:22.139 --> 00:33:23.099 to engage each other 00:33:23.099 --> 00:33:23.779 in this world. 00:33:24.099 --> 00:33:25.179 And it goes on 00:33:25.179 --> 00:33:25.719 in this passage, 00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:26.079 it says, 00:33:26.439 --> 00:33:27.159 it talks about 00:33:27.159 --> 00:33:28.099 how we have gifts, 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:28.459 right? 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:30.140 as each has received 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:30.740 a gift, 00:33:31.160 --> 00:33:32.059 use it to serve 00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:32.539 one another 00:33:32.539 --> 00:33:33.360 as good stewards 00:33:33.360 --> 00:33:34.840 of God's varied grace. 00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:37.180 And whoever speaks 00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:37.900 is one who speaks 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:38.600 with the oracles of God. 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:39.180 Whoever serves 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:39.880 is one who serves 00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:40.799 by the strength 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:41.579 that God supplies. 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:43.220 And this reality 00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:45.180 is that we each 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:45.920 have a gift. 00:33:46.360 --> 00:33:47.700 And it's a minimal 00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:48.340 one gift. 00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:48.860 You have a gift 00:33:48.860 --> 00:33:49.640 that God has given you 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:50.180 and you're called 00:33:50.180 --> 00:33:50.720 to use it 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:52.039 to serve the body 00:33:52.039 --> 00:33:52.440 of Christ, 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:53.360 to serve one another 00:33:53.360 --> 00:33:54.160 as good stewards 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:55.220 of what God's given you. 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:56.559 And I know 00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:56.980 some of you, 00:33:56.980 --> 00:33:57.900 if you can imagine, 00:33:58.059 --> 00:33:58.799 if you're familiar 00:33:58.799 --> 00:33:59.660 with the character 00:33:59.660 --> 00:34:03.480 Goofy from the Disney area, 00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:03.880 I don't know 00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:04.480 what you call it, 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:05.099 his franchise, 00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:05.720 I don't know. 00:34:05.980 --> 00:34:06.339 And he's like, 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:06.860 and some of you 00:34:06.860 --> 00:34:07.279 might be saying, 00:34:07.360 --> 00:34:08.019 oh, gosh, 00:34:08.059 --> 00:34:08.840 it's not me. 00:34:09.059 --> 00:34:09.760 I don't, 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.840 I don't have any gifts 00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:11.320 to offer. 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:13.360 This passage reminds us 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:14.440 that each of you, 00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:15.920 no matter what, 00:34:15.980 --> 00:34:16.740 you have something. 00:34:17.699 --> 00:34:18.480 I can't tell you 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:18.860 what it is. 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:19.519 I can't just eyeball 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:19.840 and be like, 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:20.579 service, 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:21.800 hospitality, 00:34:22.099 --> 00:34:22.380 you got, 00:34:22.619 --> 00:34:23.219 oh, you, 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:24.059 yeah, great, 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:24.760 you're a great teacher. 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:25.539 Thank you for serving. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:26.740 I can't do that. 00:34:27.579 --> 00:34:28.500 We're happy to help you 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:29.500 get into like a spiritual 00:34:29.500 --> 00:34:30.019 gifts test. 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:30.579 I've got several 00:34:30.579 --> 00:34:32.280 if you'd like to talk about it. 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:34.320 But the Lord has given you 00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:35.039 a great gift 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:37.059 to look into this community 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:38.740 of people and serve. 00:34:39.659 --> 00:34:40.920 And you're called to use it. 00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:43.539 You're called to use it 00:34:43.539 --> 00:34:44.860 for the sake of the church. 00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:50.199 And to our students, 00:34:50.199 --> 00:34:52.339 as you go off to college, 00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:55.199 you have gifts to use. 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:58.039 Paige, 00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:00.259 this was your life verse. 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:00.699 This, 00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:00.859 this, 00:35:00.859 --> 00:35:01.599 this verse, 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:02.939 this reminder 00:35:02.939 --> 00:35:04.679 that we all, 00:35:04.879 --> 00:35:05.480 every one of us 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:06.319 have something 00:35:06.319 --> 00:35:06.980 to offer 00:35:06.980 --> 00:35:07.699 to pour out 00:35:07.699 --> 00:35:08.659 into God's kingdom, 00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:10.099 to labor, 00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:10.879 to get dirty, 00:35:10.939 --> 00:35:12.019 to get our hands 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:13.500 and feet involved 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:14.299 in the work 00:35:14.299 --> 00:35:15.099 of the church. 00:35:15.099 --> 00:35:16.319 And it's true 00:35:16.319 --> 00:35:17.219 of all of our students 00:35:17.219 --> 00:35:17.839 that they're not 00:35:17.839 --> 00:35:18.880 just the church 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:20.360 waiting around. 00:35:20.619 --> 00:35:21.219 We say this 00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:22.179 occasionally, 00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:23.219 not as regularly 00:35:23.219 --> 00:35:24.019 as we ought to, 00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:24.619 but, 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.360 but you're not just 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:26.059 the church in waiting. 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:27.239 You're the church now. 00:35:27.239 --> 00:35:28.759 You have something 00:35:28.759 --> 00:35:29.539 to contribute, 00:35:29.699 --> 00:35:30.899 something to offer, 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:34.019 something to live out 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:35.239 as God's grace 00:35:35.239 --> 00:35:36.000 has been poured out 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:36.579 onto you. 00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:38.579 You can offer it 00:35:38.579 --> 00:35:40.239 to the God 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:40.979 of the universe 00:35:40.979 --> 00:35:42.579 as a sacrifice 00:35:42.579 --> 00:35:43.159 to him. 00:35:44.839 --> 00:35:45.119 And, 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:45.739 and Peter, 00:35:45.919 --> 00:35:46.679 as we finish up, 00:35:46.979 --> 00:35:47.579 says this, 00:35:47.779 --> 00:35:48.679 who is all this for? 00:35:48.819 --> 00:35:49.279 He tells us 00:35:49.279 --> 00:35:49.939 who this is for. 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:51.439 Again, 00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:52.319 this is why I pointed, 00:35:52.399 --> 00:35:53.479 I pulled out this book, 00:35:53.799 --> 00:35:54.079 Jesus, 00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:55.039 um, 00:35:56.039 --> 00:35:56.939 show me Jesus 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:57.300 by, 00:35:57.720 --> 00:35:57.960 uh, 00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:59.200 if you're looking for it, 00:35:59.240 --> 00:35:59.880 Jack Klumpenauer, 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:02.119 is because all this 00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:03.619 is for God himself. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:06.119 Here in these last verses 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:06.720 is in order 00:36:06.720 --> 00:36:07.840 that in everything 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:09.740 God may be glorified 00:36:09.740 --> 00:36:10.820 through Jesus Christ. 00:36:11.460 --> 00:36:12.639 To him belong glory 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:13.260 and dominion 00:36:13.260 --> 00:36:13.659 and another, 00:36:13.720 --> 00:36:14.019 dominion, 00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:15.019 another word for power 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:16.200 forever and ever 00:36:16.200 --> 00:36:17.440 that he has all the power. 00:36:17.579 --> 00:36:18.460 He is the one 00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:20.360 who deserves all of this. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:21.900 That there's nothing 00:36:21.900 --> 00:36:22.900 that we're doing 00:36:22.900 --> 00:36:24.039 as we do these things, 00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:24.740 as we were given 00:36:24.740 --> 00:36:25.320 these instructions, 00:36:25.420 --> 00:36:26.079 as we're encouraged 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:26.679 to live out our 00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:27.139 Christian lives. 00:36:27.319 --> 00:36:28.319 We're not doing so 00:36:28.319 --> 00:36:29.099 so that we might 00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:30.319 pump ourselves up. 00:36:30.399 --> 00:36:31.039 We're not doing so 00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:31.759 so that we might 00:36:31.759 --> 00:36:32.779 build up, 00:36:32.859 --> 00:36:33.039 uh, 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:33.319 you know, 00:36:33.319 --> 00:36:34.379 to level 94 00:36:34.379 --> 00:36:35.139 super Christians 00:36:35.139 --> 00:36:35.899 and we can all 00:36:35.899 --> 00:36:36.319 walk around 00:36:36.319 --> 00:36:37.500 with like our shoulders 00:36:37.500 --> 00:36:38.259 like real wide 00:36:38.259 --> 00:36:38.539 and we're like, 00:36:38.619 --> 00:36:38.759 yeah, 00:36:38.779 --> 00:36:39.599 we're super Christians. 00:36:40.839 --> 00:36:42.099 It's so that we 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:44.839 might offer back 00:36:44.839 --> 00:36:45.379 to God 00:36:45.379 --> 00:36:46.099 what is his. 00:36:47.859 --> 00:36:48.759 I'll close with 00:36:48.759 --> 00:36:50.319 Romans chapter 12 00:36:50.319 --> 00:36:52.299 so that this might be 00:36:52.299 --> 00:36:53.079 what we do 00:36:53.079 --> 00:36:54.259 as we leave this place. 00:36:54.260 --> 00:36:56.200 therefore, 00:36:56.520 --> 00:36:57.620 I urge you, 00:36:57.720 --> 00:36:58.540 brothers and sisters, 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:01.260 in view of God's mercy, 00:37:02.080 --> 00:37:03.640 offer your bodies 00:37:03.640 --> 00:37:05.240 as a living sacrifice, 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:07.660 holy and pleasing to God. 00:37:08.220 --> 00:37:09.260 This is your true 00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:10.280 and proper worship. 00:37:10.440 --> 00:37:11.320 Do not conform 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.620 to the pattern 00:37:12.620 --> 00:37:13.280 of this world, 00:37:13.740 --> 00:37:15.400 but be transformed 00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:17.200 by the renewing 00:37:17.200 --> 00:37:17.800 of your mind. 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:20.039 this is God's word 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:21.480 reminding us 00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:23.280 that we have put 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:24.000 our trust 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:24.840 in a God 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:26.000 who saves us 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:27.539 and that we offer 00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:28.620 all these things, 00:37:28.720 --> 00:37:29.420 all these actions, 00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:30.440 all these things we do 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:31.860 back to him 00:37:31.860 --> 00:37:33.140 as an offering 00:37:33.140 --> 00:37:34.640 to our good 00:37:34.640 --> 00:37:35.539 and gracious 00:37:35.539 --> 00:37:36.280 Savior. 00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:37.680 Let's pray. 00:37:38.740 --> 00:37:39.380 Father, 00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:39.900 we're grateful 00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:41.260 for our time 00:37:41.260 --> 00:37:41.840 this morning. 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:43.100 Lord, 00:37:43.140 --> 00:37:43.539 would you 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:44.740 bless us 00:37:44.739 --> 00:37:45.639 as we seek 00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:46.439 to honor you 00:37:46.439 --> 00:37:48.000 in our lives. 00:37:48.099 --> 00:37:48.819 May we remember 00:37:48.819 --> 00:37:50.179 that you are a God 00:37:50.179 --> 00:37:50.759 who cares 00:37:50.759 --> 00:37:52.559 about all of us, 00:37:52.699 --> 00:37:53.679 not just parts, 00:37:53.819 --> 00:37:54.479 not just pieces, 00:37:55.099 --> 00:37:56.159 but you desire 00:37:56.159 --> 00:37:57.839 to holistically engage 00:37:57.839 --> 00:37:59.639 with our hearts, 00:37:59.779 --> 00:38:00.399 our minds, 00:38:00.399 --> 00:38:01.579 and our lives. 00:38:03.659 --> 00:38:04.199 Lord, 00:38:04.259 --> 00:38:05.139 would you bless us 00:38:05.139 --> 00:38:05.679 today 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:06.899 so that we might 00:38:06.899 --> 00:38:08.279 honor and glorify you 00:38:08.279 --> 00:38:09.859 in all that we do. 00:38:10.519 --> 00:38:11.159 We pray this 00:38:11.159 --> 00:38:11.799 in Jesus' name. 00:38:12.579 --> 00:38:12.859 Amen. 00:38:12.859 --> 00:38:12.979 Amen. 00:38:12.979 --> 00:38:13.019 Amen. 00:38:13.019 --> 00:38:13.059 Amen. 00:38:13.059 --> 00:38:13.099 Amen. 00:38:14.739 --> 00:38:16.299 For more information, 00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:17.579 visit us online 00:38:17.579 --> 00:38:18.879 at southwood.org.