One to One

1 Peter 3:8,9; 4:7-11 Proveerbs 19:17

Love Each other deeply; Offer Hospitality 

CIT: Love in Action

CIS: How to Walk in Love

SO: The hearer will love one another

Follow along at d1.church/notes.

Intro: One to One. Fifty-nine statements in the New Testament have the words “one another” in them. Jesus starts us with the New Commandment to “love one another.” This is easier said than done. The Leaders who wrote letters to the churches spent time re-affirming this concept in all their writings. Over the next few weeks, we will look deeper into these “one another” statements to see how we can show Christianity as intended. 

Let’s get into the word….

1. The End is near (1 Peter 3:8-9).

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

EXP: The Apostle Peter writes a letter to the church at large. His letter has two major themes. 1. Be an example as Christians at home and as a church. 2. Suffering is part of Christianity. We can read this short passage and take many meanings by understanding these themes. All of us should be of the same mind. Our loving one another should come from a place of sympathy, and we should show it with compassion and humility. We should not repay evil for evil, but with blessing; by doing so, we will be blessed. 

ILL: Sympathetic: feeling, showing, or expressing sympathy. 

Sympathy: the feeling of sorrow or concern for someone else's situation.

Compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and wanting to help them.

Humble: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance. ( having or showing??)

By Peter’s definition, You see another person who is worse off than you in a bad situation, you want to help them, and then you put yourself in a lower position than them in order to do something about it. 

ILL:  There is a lot of talk about Christians on social media that somehow we have missed the mark when it comes to caring for the migrants or homeless. It may be because there is some truth to it. Peter cautions us not to be known for forgetting the needy. God challenged me this year with the New Living Translation scripture Proverbs 19:17: If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you! Basically, God promises that what you give to the poor, he will give it back to you. 

Andy Stanley, a preacher from Atlanta, challenges his congregation with this: Do for the one what you wish you could do for all.

ILL: In Acts 3, Peter and John are walking into the synagogue, and a man who cannot walk is begging for money. Peter looks at him and says, “Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give you!” He commands the man to get up and walk. Sometimes, all we have is prayer. But God can do great things with our prayer.

APP: Sympathy is not the same as Empathy. Empathy means we get into the dirt with them. Peter is saying we may not have done it where we are, but we can still act with compassion and ensure others are taken care of to the satisfaction of God. 

T.S.: Are we known for our compassion and sympathy?

2. Offer Hospitality (1 Peter 4:7-11).

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 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 forever and ever. Amen.

EXP: This portion of First Peter is near the first end of his letter. It appears to be his closing prayer of the letter, but it continues and even goes into Chapter 5 with salutations and admonishments for the Leaders and Pastors. So, for many, this is the end of the letter to be read to the church. But he is giving what can be considered a Household code, ways to live out Christianity personally, but as Paul did in Romans, this is more directed to the Church at large as large parts of Chapters 2 and 3 deal with husbands and wives and children and such. 

Here, Peter sets the urgency of the end times, pray, be sober-minded, and Remember to love one another. He says this line about love covering a multitude of sins. Then, it commands us to offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 

ILL: Let’s tackle this one bit at a time: Love one another because love covers a multitude of sins. 

There have been a lot of writings about this very subject. To believe that agape love can cover sins is contrary to the doctrine of the blood of Christ covering sin. What is a multitude? Like there are many it does and many more it does not? 

On the face, we can note that he is again giving direction to the church that helps us understand how to Love one another as Jesus did us. He uses the key phrases and points us back to things that show this love. Offering Hospitality.

But to finish with love covering a multitude of sins. Peter was saying that when we love another person, we do not even see the parts that are bad about them. 

When Bella (my granddaughter) looks at me when I come home, she does not care what I did at work, who I am upset, or what type of person I have been. To her, all that matters is that I am with her. When we were in love in our school days with people, everyone told us were bad for us, and we did not care. We were in love. 

When God looks at us, he really doesn’t care about what we do all day. He wants to be near us. Because he loves us he makes a way to restore relationships. 

Love is not a substitute for the cross; it is the reason Jesus went to the cross. 

ILL: Offer Hospitality to one another.  

Hospitality: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. 

Peter gives us clues in his letter that indicate the church is under persecution. Because of t the persecution, the church can feel isolated and separate from society. Peter desires the church to offer what they have in the of hospitality to all they encounter. If you are a Christian who was driven out of Rome, then you should be able to find peace in the home of a fellow Christian; if you are a nonbeliever, you should be able to tell the difference in interactions with Christians and others based on how they offer Hospitality. 

ILL: I once attended a conference on International ministry. By that, I mean how we can minister to international students or others who are here for a short time on a visa, etc. Many of them come from countries that do not allow Christianity, but they can be exposed to them through hospitality. By being invited to a meal or coffee, just listening and ensuring an immediate need is taken care of with a welcoming heart.

He was Indian and told about how when students come from India to the US for college or work, it is the duty of all Indian families to house, feed, and help these young men and women. He said he came and lived with his aunt and uncle, people who did not even know him, and he had certainly never known them. They had a room for him, ensured he was fed, made it to school, and had a job for him by the end of the week. When he left that college and went to graduate school, they called another unknown relative and set him up there. He described to us that it was the duty of all Indians to make sure that every one of them had a chance for success. Some even provided seed money for them to start their own businesses. 

While he was describing this process, I envisioned what Peter meant by offering hospitality. We should be making sure that all Christians know they have family they do not know. Who may be in need? We should be prepared with extra rooms and seed money for those who are trying to make a life for themselves and facing persecution for being a Christian. 

APP: We may not get to do the whole live-in-my-house thing, but we can take a person to coffee and find out about their life. We might not get to help them with their next step, but a meal and family time can do everyone good. 

T.S.: Peter explains we should do this without grumbling. God loves a cheerful giver. Then he says this to close:

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 forever and ever. Amen.

You can only give what God provides. You can only serve with the ability you possess. But when you give, even if it is only a prayer.  God will repay.

I want to pray for three groups today:

1. Some of you may have been very judgemental of others’ way of doing Christianity. 
2. I pray that you know that if they proclaim Christ, they are on your team.
3. There are some who need to hear about the seed (the Holy Spirit) God has planted in you and others.
4. Today, I pray that you will be a patient farmer while God causes seeds to Grow.
5. There are those who have heard today for the first time that the freedom they need will come with Confession one to another. 
6. I pray today for repentance and complete forgiveness in your life.
7. There are some who want what God has for them
8. I pray for salvation.