I just passed through 1 John, you'll have to excuse me, I'm operating on little sleep, and you'll see why that's hypocritical in our service tonight, but... So bear with me a moment. So 1 John, 1 Peter chapter four, boy, I don't know why, what's with me and John today? Out of my mind, all right. We'll get there. First Peter, chapter four. And of course, we're continuing in our exposition verse by verse of First Peter, and so we'll read verses seven through 11. First Peter, chapter four. Verse seven. 1 Peter 4, verse 7. The Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Spirit, writes, But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another, without grudging, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth. that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Let's go to him in prayer. Father, open our understanding this morning. Lord, I suspect that if I'm weary this morning, that there are likely others in this audience maybe just generally weary with life and cares, but maybe even practically struggling with lack of sleep. Oh Lord, give us strength that we didn't even know we had to sit under the word of God, to be conformed to Christ's image as a result. And we pray this in his name, amen. If any man will come after me, Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will save his life will lose it. But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Christianity is a religion of self-denial. And indeed, this is the demand of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't get to have our cake and eat it too, contrary to the assertions of many in contemporary evangelicalism. It is not simply a function of praying a sinner's prayer and having fire insurance. There is a life of self-denial that we enter into when we trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to a life in which we bear our cross daily and follow him. And paradoxically, by losing our life for Christ's sake, we actually end up saving it. I would suggest to you that many people in our culture today are miserable simply because they have nothing to live for outside themselves. They immerse themselves in hours and hours of TV, social media, binge eating, drunkenness, pornography, and yet they're miserable. In seeking only to gratify themselves, they found nothing in life of any real substance. As John tells us, the world and its lusts are passing away. This, of course, ties in with our evening series that we're doing on the Bible and work. The quickest way to misery, dear friends, is slothfulness. If you don't have any profitable labor to pursue in life, then it's entirely possible for you to go days on end without ever doing anything for anyone outside yourself. Yet we have millions of Americans who live a sedentary lifestyle, subsidized by taxpayer dollars, able-bodied individuals receiving checks from the government so that they can spend their time scrolling through social media and eating junk food. But I would tell you, friends, that the Bible calls us to a drastically different lifestyle. And we see it summarized in 1 Peter 4, verse 2. that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. There's a contrast here. The lusts of men on the one side, and the will of God on the other. I wonder which of those pursuits characterized your life this past week. Can you think of any time in the past week in which you deny the lusts of men? Was there a time that you said no to giving a second look at a seductively dressed woman? Was there a time when you said no to gorging yourself with a second helping of dessert? Was there a time when you said no to irrational outbursts of anger or bitterness? If you can't point a time when you said no to the lusts of men this past week, then chances are you're not really living for the will of God or for what pleases God. Verses 1 through 6 of 1 Peter chapter 4 show us the lifestyle of those that are devoted to the lusts of men. Verse 3 calls these people Gentiles. These are the pagans around us who don't know God. What do their lives look like? Verse 3. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. And as we mentioned before, the list that is given in verse three divides the lusts of men into three different categories. There are sexual lusts. lasciviousness, lusts. There are sins of intemperance, excess of wine, revelings, banquets. And finally, there is false worship, abominable idolatries. These words all point to the excess of riot, or we could say the abundance of waste that unbelievers pursue. This is a lifestyle that is completely centered on self. But the text that we began considering last Lord's Day points us to a different lifestyle. This is a lifestyle that is centered not on the lusts of men, but on the will of God. And consider the climax that our passage is working toward in verse 11. Notice the latter half of verse 11, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever, amen. What we are considering here is how to live for the glory of God. And immediately in our text we are struck by how different a lifestyle lived to the glory of God is from a lifestyle of Gentiles, pagans, unbelievers. Whereas the lifestyles of Gentiles abound in unrestrained sex, unrestrained drinking, unrestrained idolatry, the lives of believers are characterized by thoughtful self-control. Again in verse 7, be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. The discussion here is a bit technical, so try to stick with me a moment. But in the Greek of verses seven through 11, there are technically only two commands that are given in this whole passage. And those are the ones that we just read in verse seven. Be sober and watch unto prayer. Now, in our English Bibles, there are several other things in these verses that appear to be commands. For instance, verse eight. Have charity, fervent charity among yourselves. Verse nine, use hospitality one to another. Verse 10, minister the same one to another. But none of those are actually verbs in the original language. And so what I would suggest is that really any of these other commands are rooted in what we see in verse seven. We must be sober and we must watch unto prayer. And so if we do not have clear and watchful minds that are actively engaged in prayer, we will not be able to obey the other commands in this passage. In a very real sense, friends, watchful prayer is foundational to everything else in the Christian life. If you wanna evaluate the health of your Christian growth, go to your prayer line. That's the root of all else. And so I would urge you, of course, if you didn't catch the message last week, to listen to it on Sermon Audio, because what we discussed there is foundational to what we're examining this morning. Everything in this passage, as we've indicated, points to the glory of God. And we quoted this passage before, we've probably quoted it multiple times from this pulpit, but 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do what? All to the glory of God. And this is the burden of this text. The point that Peter is driving across is this. As the church, we must pursue a God-glorifying life together in anticipation of Christ's imminent return. As the church, we must pursue a God-glorifying life together in anticipation of Christ's imminent return. Now in verses 7 through 11 of 1 Peter 4, we find three indispensable features of a life that is lived to the glory of God. And last week we considered the first feature, a God-glorifying perspective. Let me remind you of verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand. A perspective that glorifies God considers the imminent return of Jesus Christ. All things are rapidly moving toward their intended goal of Jesus' glorious appearing and establishment of His kingdom. This God-glorifying perspective should result, secondly, in a God-glorifying lifestyle. We considered the first characteristic of that lifestyle last week. A watchful lifestyle, notice again in verse 7, be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. We're to have clear heads, sound judgment, and a wakeful, watchful spirit, specifically for the sake of our prayer lives. So a watchful lifestyle. Now, as we move into new material, let's consider next, the next characteristic of a God-glorifying lifestyle is a loving lifestyle. A loving lifestyle, look with me, The first part of verse eight. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves. Now, we have to remember that the English language has undergone significant changes in the 400 plus years since the King James Version was originally translated. And so when we think of charity, our minds immediately go to organizations such as the Salvation Army or the Red Cross. But listen to one of the definitions that Noah Webster gives for the word charity in his 1828 dictionary. He says, quote, in a general sense, love, benevolence, goodwill, that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow man and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God and universal goodwill to men. So the idea here, really the word charity is the word love in this context. The Greek word is agape. This is the self-sacrificial love that flows from God himself, this love that is so prevalent throughout the New Testament. Now, this is not the first time that Peter has urged his readers to love one another. If you go back to chapter one in verse 22, Notice what Peter says here. He says, And this love here is rooted in the fact that his readers are brethren, they're brothers in Christ. He goes on to explain in verse 23, If we belong to Christ, we have a common experience of being regenerated. We've been born into God's family. And so as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must love one another. Our Lord told us, John 13 in verse 35, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if what? If ye have love one to another. Now notably, In 1 Peter 1 and in 1 Peter 4, both places, Peter urges his readers to have a love that is fervent. There's a certain intensity about the type of love that believers are to have for one another. This is a type of love that is willing to go the second mile, that willingly expends itself for the sake of others. The Greek word originally conveyed the idea of stretching oneself out I remember when my wife and I were married, the pastor who officiated our wedding preached on Romans chapter 13 in verse eight. Owe no man anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Now think about it, friends. Love is a debt that we all owe to one another in the family of God. If you ever ask the question, how much should I love my brother or sister in Christ, there's a simple answer to that question. And that's this, you should love that brother or sister more than you do now. Because there's an ongoing, accumulating debt of love that we have for one another. Whenever Mark Monte sees me, my old pastor, he always encourages me, love your people. And there's an awareness that no matter how much I love the people in this church, I could always love you more. None of us, dear friends, have yet loved one another in the same way that Christ loved us. 1 John 4, 11, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Our love mirrors the love that God has for us, and yet we recognize we fall so short of that standard, don't we? Notice, friends, how Peter describes this love back in our text, this love or this charity as it's translated here. He says that this is to be demonstrated above all things. Now, Peter's not exaggerating here. Above all other obligations is the obligation for us to love one another. And isn't that what our Lord has already told us? If you look back in Matthew chapter 22, Matthew chapter 22, our Lord already made this clear. One has to wonder if Peter is meditating on these very words as he gives this instruction here. Matthew 22 verse 35, then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is likened to it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophet. You might know that the Jews of Jesus' day counted 613 different commands in the Old Testament law. Jesus said, if you want to boil it all down, if you want to summarize those 613 commands, it comes down to two. Love God and love your neighbor. Now, interestingly enough, if you go over to 2 Peter a moment, Peter demonstrates the supremacy of love in his second letter as well. In 2 Peter chapter 1, you have this list of virtues that occurs in chapter 1, these things that we are to add to our faith. Notice how this list is enumerated, beginning in verse five of 2 Peter chapter one. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness. What's the last item? Charity. Charity or love, agape love, that's the climax that everything here is working toward. Now friends, I fear that there may be a number of churches in the United States that are sound doctrinally. You would never hear of a hint of moral or spiritual compromise from those fellowships. Those are churches that have great discernment. They wouldn't tolerate false teaching for even a moment. And yet, many of those churches could fall under the stern rebuke of our Lord Jesus Christ. You say, well, Brother Nick, how do you know that? Well, I know that because that's what we find in the book of Revelation, isn't it? Consider what our Lord says to the church at Ephesus, Revelation chapter two and verse two. I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars, and hast borne and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee. What is it that our Lord had against the church at Ephesus, because thou hast left thy first love. We remember the church at Ephesus was a church with great spiritual heritage. The Apostle Paul himself spent two years there. Timothy spent much of his ministry setting things in order in that church. And this rich heritage resulted in a church that was characterized by labor, by perseverance, by discernment. This is a church that fought vigorously against false teaching. And yet Jesus says, you've left your first love. As I look out on this audience this morning, I see Christians here that are mature, that are discerning. There's probably nobody here that's reading books by Joel Osteen. you have high personal standards of conduct, you wouldn't tolerate heretical teaching from this pulpit for even a moment. But oh friends, let me urge you, beware lest you leave your first love. Don't grow cold in your love for God, and don't grow cold in your love for one another. Now, as we come back to our text, why is it so important to have fervent charity among yourselves? Well, Peter gives a rationale here in verse 8. Notice the second half of verse 8. He says, Now Peter seems to be referring here to a passage in the book of Proverbs. So let me invite you, you might wanna hold your place there in 1 Peter 4, but if you turn back a moment to Proverbs 10. Proverbs 10 in your Old Testament. Proverbs 10 and look at verse 12. Proverbs 10 and verse 12. Solomon here writes, hatred stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins. Now Solomon here gives two different outcomes. The outcome of hatred is strife. When we lack love for one another, the result is conflict, warring, dissension, fighting. The outcome of love, however, is the covering of sin. Now, we have to understand that when Solomon speaks of love covering sins, when Peter says the same thing, they are not speaking in an ultimate sense. We cannot pay for our own sins or for the sins of a brother in Christ by showing love. The only love that atones for sin is the love of God. 1 John 4, verses 9 and 10, in this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him here in his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. And that word propitiation, as we've mentioned before, deals with appeasing the wrath of God so that God can then show his favor toward us. My personal testimony is that of the old hymn writer. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, friend, I wonder, are you trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ to save you from sin? Friend, there is no other payment. The works of your hands can never fulfill the demands of God's holy law. The only hope you have is the perfect blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Oh friend, let me urge you this very day to turn from your sins and to place your full confidence in Jesus Christ. And you know, right now, even as I'm preaching this message, you there in your seat can call on the name of the Lord. You can cry out and say, Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner and I can never obey the demands of your law. But right now I turn from my sins and I trust in you. I believe that you lived a perfect life. You died on the cross and you rose again from the grave. Friend, you can experience the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, when Peter cites this passage from Proverbs, what is he referring to? If this is not some kind of act of atonement for our sins in an ultimate sense, what is he talking about here? Well, again, I would refer you to the contrast that you see here in Proverbs. Hatred stirs up what? What do we see here in Proverbs? Stripes, conflict, et cetera. But love does what? It covers sins. In other words, love promotes the opposite of strife. Love is willing to forgive my brother's faults and shortcomings and sins. Love doesn't hold on to grudges or bitterness. I'm reminded of what Paul says in Ephesians 4.32, and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. If we look over in 1 Corinthians 13 a moment, this is the famous love chapter. Again, our King James uses the word charity, but the Greek word agape is used throughout this text Of course, in verses one through three, Paul has demonstrated the futility of using any kind of spiritual gift apart from love. Notice what he says then in verse four. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. True Christ-like love isn't keeping score of our brother's offenses. Rather, true love endures through thick and thin. It's not quickly provoked to anger. It keeps on hoping for the best of our brother, even when our brother falls short or behaves very badly. Now, we should understand that we're not talking here about a love that just ignores serious sins in a brother's life. We're talking about a love that is so involved in a brother's life that it is actually willing to lovingly restore that brother in his walk with the Lord. In fact, I want you to notice how James uses this very same text. If you go over to James chapter five. James chapter five. And notice the very end of the book of James, starting in verse 19. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sin. Contrary to how some preachers have used this passage, this is not a passage about soul winning, quote unquote. James here very clearly identifies his readers as brethren, and he says, if any of you do err from the truth, this isn't about winning lost sinners to Christ. This particular passage is about restoring true brothers in Christ who err from the truth. And the loving thing to do when that happens is not just to sit idly by and say, well, I guess the Lord will work on that person. No, we're called to reach out and restore that brother in his walk with the Lord. So the lifestyle that glorifies God, it's a watchful lifestyle, it's a loving lifestyle. Thirdly, it's a hospitable lifestyle, a hospitable lifestyle. Come back to 1 Peter. Notice what we see in verse nine. Peter writes, use hospitality one to another without grudging. Now, we talked about the changes that have taken place in the English language since the original publication of the King James. Charity is one of those words that has evolved. Hospitality, however, is one word that communicates about as clearly now as it did 400 years ago. listen to Noah Webster's definition, the act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward or with kind and generous liberality. That's the idea of hospitality. This would have been especially important in Peter's day. They didn't have Holiday Inn in Peter's day. The inns that existed at that time often had shady reputations. They were often dangerous places. Many times they were fronts for prostitution. And so traveling missionaries would usually not stay in those types of facilities. They would trust that the Lord's people would provide them with hospitality. Now it's very interesting that there are two entire books of the New Testament that are devoted to the theme of hospitality. And there are two books that are very small, sometimes they might be ignored perhaps by us, but it's 2 and 3 John. 2 John is dealing really with the negative side of hospitality. The addressee of 2 John is identified as the elect lady. We're nowhere given her specific name, but evidently this elect lady was extremely generous. She wanted to open up her home to all kinds of traveling preachers. But John has to warn her that there are many false teachers abounding who deny the doctrine of Christ. And he warns this dear lady that she should not extend hospitality to false teachers. In fact, she shouldn't even bid them God's speed lest she herself participate in their evil teaching regarding Christ. 3 John gives us the flip side of that. Third John is addressed to Gaius, who was a hospitable man who also, like the elect lady, wanted to care for traveling missionaries. But Gaius had to deal with a man in the church named Diotrephes, who was banning all hospitality toward Christian missionaries, even including the Apostle John himself. Now human nature always tends toward extremes. We naturally tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater. And so John has to give the flip side of what we see in 2 John. Yes, we must refuse to extend hospitality to false teachers, but we must liberally show hospitality to true teachers of the word. The book of Hebrews gives us a particularly poignant exhortation regarding hospitality. Some of you Maybe if committed it to memory, Hebrews chapter 13, verse two, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained, who? You kids know it? What's the next word? Angels, yeah. You say, Brother Nick, do you think that could happen today? I don't see why not. Certainly the author of Hebrews had the expectation that even some of his readers might encounter that particular type of scenario. Now this theme of hospitality is found not only in scripture, but also in the early writings of the church following the New Testament. In fact, probably the most significant Christian writing after the New Testament is 1 Clement. And this was Clement of Rome writing to the church at Corinth. And in that epistle, the writer there urges his readers to demonstrate hospitality, and he points to two significant Old Testament figures, Abraham and Rahab. Abraham, you'll recall in Genesis chapter 18, showed hospitality toward those angelic visitors that he received. And as we come to learn, one of those visitors is actually the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, what is commonly called the angel of the Lord. Rahab showed hospitality toward the two Israelite spies that came under her roof by protecting them from the authorities that were seeking to do them harm. These examples, they reveal to us that hospitality is more than simply letting someone under your roof, though certainly it includes that. Rather, these examples show the need for generous kindness toward visitors, preparing meals, In the ancient culture, it would have included washing feet, certainly various ways in which you could watch out for the welfare of guests. Really, hospitality includes the types of activities that are enumerated by our Lord in Matthew chapter 25. You remember when Jesus is describing the judgment of the sheep and goats. He says in verse 35 of Matthew 25, for I was in hunger, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. And of course, Jesus goes on to explain that those that he's addressing, they did this because of their treatment of his own people. In this context, the nation of Israel. Now we must say a word about the word hospitality itself. The Greek word that is translated hospitality actually comes from two other Greek words. There's one of those words that means brotherly love or brotherly affection. And the other word means stranger. And so the word originally referred to, love, demonstrated toward strangers. And indeed, we do have other biblical data that would suggest the importance of that. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 34. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. But when we see Peter's instructions in verse Peter chapter four, the command really goes beyond showing kindness to strangers. Now, why do I say that? Well, notice in our text in verse nine, use hospitality. What are the next three words? One to another. And really, as you look in the context, Peter is addressing the relations that take place among his readers. Verse eight, above all things have fervent charity among yourselves. Verse 10, as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another. And so Peter is speaking of hospitality, especially toward fellow believers and especially toward fellow members in the local assembly, the local church. It's critical to notice the attitude with which hospitality is to be demonstrated. The end of verse nine, What? Grudging. Most translations render this as without complaining or without murmuring. One gives a more positive outlook on this, cheerfully. And we're reminded, friends, that although man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. He doesn't just see the hospitality. He sees why we do the hospitality. You remember 2 Corinthians 9, 7? Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth what? A cheerful giver. Well, I guess I have to invite so-and-so over for a meal. I guess I have to give so-and-so a little bit of gas money. I guess I have to volunteer to watch those kids for a couple hours. No, no, no, no, no. You get to invite so-and-so over for a meal. You get to give so-and-so a little bit of gas money. You get to watch those kids for a couple of hours. Hospitality is a privilege. It's all part of serving one another, as we see in verse 10, minister the same one to another. How is it that we can avoid that kind of spirit of drudgery, of complaining, murmuring, as we show acts of hospitality? Well, it's ultimately by remembering that the Lord himself sees our acts of kindness. And we can have the confidence that he will indeed reward us in heaven. Consider our Lord's words in Matthew chapter 10 verse 40. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his Now, if you look at hospitality just in terms of the here and now, hospitality is often an inconvenience. You think of that parable that Jesus tells. You've got the guy, he's got the wife asleep, the kids are asleep, and the guy comes banging on the door asking him for bread in the middle of the night that he can give to a friend. Well, that's an inconvenience, isn't it? But if we look at it through the lens of eternity, we see it in an entirely different view. It's not just an inconvenience. It's not just something that interrupts the television program that we're trying to watch. But it's actually an opportunity to show kindness in the name of Christ and to receive eternal reward for doing so. Oh, friends, there is so much more to consider than the here and now. We have a faithful God who sees all things, who knows all things, and who impartially judges all of mankind. And the assurance we have is that there is no act of kindness done toward a brother in Christ that will go unrewarded. When we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, I imagine that we will be shocked at all the small acts of kindness that we did, that our Lord noticed, and the far-reaching effects that those acts of kindness had on the body of Christ. Friends, the rewards that we receive for those acts of kindness might come sooner than we think. In fact, in the truest sense, the reward is just around the corner. Remember what we saw last week. The end of all things is at hand. Friends, Jesus is coming soon. He's going to reward. We're gonna stand at the judgment seat of Christ. And I know that that teaching, I mean, that could be kind of a hammer to bludgeon the church, right? And there is a sense in which that's a sober reality, but there's also an encouragement to that. That there will be the gold, the silver, the precious stones that aren't burned up, that there's reward for that, friends. You know, friends, how that ought to motivate us, not just to have love in our hearts, but what Peter indicates is that that love that is in the heart must be poured out very concretely in acts of hospitality. What is it that the Lord might be leading you to do? I know how these things go. We get the thought in our head, right? Yeah, you know, I ought to invite so-and-so over for a meal. And you know, that thought just kind of circulates in your head and you never do it, right? I think we've all had experiences like that. Well, why not do it, right? Let this message be the encouragement you need to step out and do it, to give that person that gift card, to invite that person over to your home, to show kindness in some specific way. And friend, in doing that, we can fulfill the law of Christ. Father, we thank you for the wonderful time that we've spent considering the need for fervent charity among one another, the need to show hospitality. Oh, Father, give us the determination to do that for the honor and glory of Christ. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. But this time, we're going to be observing the Lord's table together. Of course, I know we've mostly got our home folks here, so you are well acquainted with how this works.