So give your attention now as I read God's holy and inspired word from 1 Peter 4, verses 7 through 11. But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. So, you probably noticed there, right, in the first thing that we see here in 1 Peter 4, verse 7 is this idea of the end of all things is at hand. Now, I don't know about you, but I've seen enough silly movies and such. When you think of the end is near, what do you think of, right? You think of some kind of scraggly looking guy with a beard down to here wearing a sandwich board, right, that says the end is near, repent or what have you and standing out in the street corner being ignored by everybody. That's usually what happens. These doomsday prophets with the sandwich boards. What Peter here is saying is not so much that as he is focusing our attention on the imminent return of Christ so that it will inform how we live in the here and now. So the imminent return of Christ then guides our living, particularly, as you see here, within the Christian community. Because I don't know if you caught it when I was reading it, but there are a lot of one-anothers in this passage. There are at least three or four one-anothers in this passage. That didn't count. But the idea here is how are we to live now As those who have been called out of darkness into light, as those who have been born again to a living hope by the imperishable seed of Christ, how are we to live now, not only in this world, but in this world as Christians? What are we to do as we await the imminent return of Christ? Well, we're going to see it here. that as the end draws near, God is glorified when the church prays for, loves, and ministers to one another. That's the theme of this morning's message. As the end draws near, God is glorified when the church, that's us, those called out of darkness, those called into the kingdom of God, the holy nation of the Lord, as Peter says in chapter 2, when we pray for, love, and minister to one another. Of course, there's hospitalities in there as well, I didn't want the theme to get too long. But hospitality is in there as well, and it's really just an expression of love. We're going to see this then in four parts this morning. Verse 7, we're going to see serious prayer. Verse 8, fervent love. Verse 9, cheerful hospitality. And then verses 10 and 11, mutual ministry. Well, first let's look again at verse 7 as we see here. Serious prayer in verse 7. Peter again writes, As he says, the end of all things is at hand, he then concludes, he says, well, what's the implication? What's the application of that? Well, we need to be serious and watchful in our prayers. And again, Peter is bringing this second part of his letter to a close. You see there in verse, at the end of verse 11, it's sort of like a mini doxology or a benediction there. And then starting in verse 12, which Lord willing, we'll look at next week, he begins his third part of the letter. It's a shorter section. But he begins the third part of the letter. And in the second part of Peter's letter, if you've been with us the entire time, the way the letter is structured is, first Peter tells us who we are, which is we are those, the holy nation, right? The royal priesthood, those called out of darkness into light. How are we to behave in this world? We are to behave as sojourners and exiles, letting our works be done, conducting ourselves honorably amongst the nations, the Gentiles. We see that in chapter two, verses 11 and 12. And then the third part is what we are to expect when we act as we should in this world, and that's going to be suffering. as we've been looking at 1 Peter, it's not like these three parts are so hermetically sealed and siloed that they don't kind of bleed into one another, because we've been looking at suffering all throughout 1 Peter. We looked at suffering last week. We looked at suffering a few weeks back. So there's a lot of sort of overlap in these parts. But here, Peter is bringing this second part of his letter to a close and he wants us, his readers here, to have the end in mind. That the end of all things is at hand. The end, the termination. One translation says the culmination of all things is at hand or is drawing near or is coming near. And of course, this idea of the end speaks of the imminent return of Christ, because that's the only thing left, if you will, on God's to-do list, right? Satisfaction, atonement has been made. Jesus said on the cross in John 19, verse 30, it is finished. The work of atonement is done. He is already ascended to the right hand of the Father. And if you follow the steps through the Apostles' Creed, the next thing on the agenda is the return of Christ in judgment. the imminent return of Christ in judgment. If you've read 2 Peter, you know even then people were scoffing. Peter writes about the scoffers who were like, where's the Lord? He's promised to return and he isn't here. And 2 Peter was written roughly 30 to 35 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So if they were scoffing then, they're certainly scoffing even now 2,000 years removed. But we have to understand, when Peter here says that the end is near, it's not from our perspective. The end is near from God's perspective. Again, the only thing left on the to-do list, if you will, is the glorious return of Christ at the end of the age. And this is an idea that is not just prominent in Peter as he says here, we see this in Paul, we see this in the book of Hebrews, we see this from the book of James and in the book of John. Romans 13, verses 11 and 12. Paul there writes, "...and do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." Then he goes on and says, "...the night is far spent, the day is at hand." So Paul there is talking about how the day of our salvation is near. Now he's not talking about our justification, he's talking about our ultimate salvation when Christ returns. And you could say even now, it's like, well, how near is it? Well, it's one day near. And then tomorrow, should the Lord tarry, it'll be one day near. It is at hand. It is nearer than when we first believed. The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 9, verse 26, he then would have had to suffer, speaking of Jesus, often since the foundation of the world. But now, once, at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Jesus Christ, when He came and died on the cross, that in a sense marked the end of the old age and now we are what the authors of the New Testament call the last days. James says this in chapter 5, verses 8 and 9. You also be patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. I mean, again, you get that language of imminence, that language of nearness. And then finally, 1 John 2, verse 18. Little children, it is the last hour. As you have heard that the Antichrist is coming even now, many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. So, the day of salvation is a day near. The end of the ages. The Lord is at hand. And the last hour. So because of all this, because the end of all things is at near, what are we then as Christians to do? Well, we don't retreat and wait out the storm. That's kind of what was going on in the Thessalonian church. When Paul writes to them, he has to tell them, he's like, yes, the Lord's return is imminent, but there's things that are still going to come, and don't just retreat and wait for the Lord to return and kind of wait out the storm. You may have heard this name, I believe he's long since passed away, but the name of Harold Camping. If you know who Harold Camping is, Harold Camping was very famous for trying to predict the day and the hour. Now what does the Bible tell us about the return of Christ, right? No one knows the day or the hour. Yeah, he kept trying to predict the day and the hour of the return of Christ, and he had many, you know, times. You see this, you know, there was a, I think a famous book that came out in 1988. I think it was like 88 Reasons Why the End of the World is Coming in 1988 or something along those lines. We don't wait out the storm. What are we to do since the end of all things is at hand? We are to be busy being the church in the world. Being the salt and light that Jesus called us to be. Doing our good works for our neighbors so that those who witness our good works will give glory to our Father in Heaven. Again, it's what Peter says Chapter 2 verse 12 conduct ourselves honorably among the Gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers They may by your good works, which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation. That is what we are to do Because the end is near and the first then thing of four things Peter gives us in this passage is Fervent prayer or serious prayer in verse 7. Be serious and watchful. Those two words are relatively synonymous. Be serious and watchful in our prayers. Now, I could say, you know, let's not pray for frivolous things. I mean, the Lord hears all of our prayers, but as the time is approaching, our prayers need to be more serious and more watchful. As we know the time is approaching, we should be praying as we do in the Lord's Prayer, right? We recite it every Lord's Day. We recite the Lord's Prayer. And what are some of those petitions in the Lord's Prayer? Hallowed be your name. May your name be honored and glorified, not just in us, but in the church and in the world. Thy kingdom come. May your kingdom come in its fullness when Jesus returns. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As the angels are doing your will in heaven, Lord, may your will be done in us. May your will be done in the church that your name will be glorified. These are some of the things that we pray for as we are serious and watchful in our prayers. In fact, Peter himself says this earlier in verse 13 of chapter 1, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Again, as I said, Peter continues to sort of bring these themes all throughout his letter. Be sober-minded, be watchful. It's the idea of not being asleep, not being asleep at the wheel. Again, that's a hard word to say. 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 6-8. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation. And then Jesus in chapter 24 of Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25 of Matthew's Gospel, which are, it's very specific because the context of those chapters is Jesus speaking about his own return. And what does he say? He says twice, watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. This idea of fervent prayer. Peter encourages us then as soldiers and exiles to be, in a sense, kind of like on a war footing. To be ready. To be sober minded. To be ready to engage. Not in a physical battle. We're not going to go out there and conquer the world for Christ. But to engage in the spiritual warfare that Paul warns us of in Ephesians chapter 6. Be watchful, be ready, stand and take your stand in the power of the Lord and the strength of His might. And just as Paul there exhorts us to pray at all times, Peter here is exhorting us to pray fervently, to be watchful in our prayers, to pray that the Lord's kingdom will expand, to pray that those who do not know the Lord will come to know the Lord, that their hearts will be open, their eyes will notice the beauties of Jesus Christ, that they will notice their sin and notice that they have a salvation ready for them in Jesus Christ our Lord. Watchful in our prayers. Secondly, Peter here exhorts us to be fervent in our love. That's what we see in verse 8. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins." So as the end draws near, Christians here should have a fervent, earnest, deep love for one another. That's what that word means. It kind of means to stretch out, if you will. It's a word that Peter uses earlier in chapter 1, verse 22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. It's the same word there. We are to love one another fervently. Again, 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 12. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you. This fervent love. Again, it's the summary of the Ten Commandments, really, right? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And that's what Peter here is calling us to. To have a fervent love for one another. To do this above all things, as he says here. Above all things. Before all things. The most important thing is to show love toward one another. Love is the summation of the law. In fact, along with faith and hope, love is what they call the three theological virtues of the church. Faith, hope, and love. That's what Peter Paul says at the end of 1 Corinthians 13. And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love. Why is that? Because love will continue into the new heavens and the new earth. Faith looks forward to that. Faith believes that that's going to come. Hope sets our mind on it. But once the new heavens and the new earth comes, we no longer need faith. We no longer need hope because hope is realized. Faith has been fulfilled. But love will continue. And do not forget that Jesus told his disciples in the Upper Room Discourse in John 13 that he gives them a new commandment, and this is the commandment, that the world will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And the most concrete way to show this fervent love for one another here is through forgiveness. To forgive them their sins, just as God forgave us in Christ, forgave us all of our sins. Love covers a multitude of sins. Peter there is paraphrasing from Proverbs 10, verse 12. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. And again, from Paul's letter to the Corinthian church, love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. Love suffers long. We taught that passage in Sunday schools about a year or two years ago. And really, if you look at 1 Corinthians 13, everywhere it says love, if you just replace the word love with Jesus, you have what that love is, right? Jesus suffers long and is kind. Jesus does not envy. Jesus does not parade himself. Jesus is not puffed up, and so on and so forth. James, the brother of Jesus, in chapter 5 verse 20 says, This is not ignoring the sin, but it's being ready to forgive. Right? And we do so because the Lord was ready to forgive us. Jesus tells his disciples when they ask, how often should I forgive my brother? Seven times. And if you know the story, you know that seven times would be a lot for them. Right? You know? And so, you know, three times is sort of the acceptable pattern. And Peter's like, I'll do it. I'll double it, and then I'll add one. Is that good enough? Will that cover? It's like, if I forgive him seven times, would that be good? And Jesus is like, how about 70 times seven? How about, in other words, don't keep a record? How about just, you know, cover that sin with love? Again, it's not letting somebody run roughshod over us, but it is to release that, because if you don't release that, what is that doing? That's building up in your own heart bitterness, right? It's building up that root of bitterness, and it's letting that person live rent-free where? Right up here, because you are not letting that sin go. Karen Jobes in her commentary on this says, in other words, the fundamental characteristic that enables Christian community to survive is the willingness and ability of its members to love in this way. And which way is that? To cover a multitude of sins. As the end draws near, we want to hold no grudges against one another. And this is how the church displays, if you will, her counter-cultural mindset or attitude in the world around us when we forgive one another from the heart. That's how we show the world who is watching us, right, the world is watching us, how we Love one another when we cover the multitude of sins. This is how we adorn, as Paul will say to Titus, this is how young men adorn the gospel by being willing and ready to forgive. Well, Peter now moves on. First we saw serious prayer, then fervent love. Now he talks in verse 9 of cheerful hospitality. So this is the third thing Peter wants us to focus on as the end draws near. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. And that word, they're hospitable, is the idea of love of strangers. And again, as we've been saying, Peter uses these words, the love of strangers here. We saw it last week when Those who judge us will consider us strange. That's, again, the idea of a stranger. And he calls us strangers or pilgrims and aliens. So this idea of hospitality is showing love to strangers, opening your home. Peter refers to us as pilgrims of the dispersion. So hospitality then would be a big deal, right? Because if they are considered pilgrims, if they are considered dispersed, right, in Asia Minor, then hospitality would be a big deal for the Christian community. Again, some other passages of Scripture that speak on hospitality. Romans 12-13. Paul there showing again how love is an action, is distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Hospitality is also big in those who are called to eldership in the church, as Paul in 1 Timothy talks about the qualities of an elder. He says, an overseer, a bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, hospitable. And of course, that great passage from Hebrews 13.2, which says, do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. And where does that come from? That comes from, right, the story of Abraham, when Abraham opened up his tent to the three strangers that came to him, and, you know, at least initially, was unwittingly entertaining not just angels, but a theophany, as the Lord was there in his presence. Now again, I want you to think about this for a moment because in the time that Peter is writing, becoming a Christian would most likely have meant being disowned from your family and from your friends. So then being hospitable to one another really can spell the difference between life and death, right? Because if you're being kicked out of your family, if you're being sort of anathematized by society, it is that much more important then for the Christian community to show hospitality to one another. In Matthew chapter 10 ladies we went over this a couple of months ago in Matthew chapter 10 when Jesus sends out the 12 He tells him later on in that chapter. He says do not think that I came to bring peace on earth I did not come to bring peace but a sword for I have come to set a man against his father a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be those of his own household and Now, again, Jesus is not saying that this is something I want to do. What he's saying is that because of the way the gospel is, and because of the countercultural nature of the gospel, it is going to set families against one another. And maybe you might know this if you have come to faith later in life, and maybe you might have experienced some of this ostracization from your family and friends. It is important then for those who are in a sense being kicked out of their families, then that the Christian community surround them and be hospitable. Now, particularly in urban settings, I think this is something that, by and large, I think American culture has lost the art of hospitality. I grew up in Chicago. I went to church most of my adult life in Chicago. And let's face it, the church we went to was in a suburb in which no one that was a member of that church lived in that suburb. It was from all the other suburbs around it. And the only time we really saw each other was on Sunday, Sunday morning, and then you'd come back for Sunday evening, and that was it. And it wasn't that they were unhospitable, it's just that it wasn't part of our DNA. And then I come here, and it's like the first thing I do when the moving truck comes in, I've got a bunch of people here from this church willing to unload my truck. That blew my mind away when that happened. It's like, wow! When I say we've lost the art of hospitality, I'm not speaking here of Emanuel Reformed Church in Sutton, Nebraska, but I think by and large in our culture, we've lost this, right? I mean, if you go to any big city, I think you'll find it hard pressed for people to know who lives next door to them. They know the people they go to school with, they know the people they work with, and they probably are better friends with the people they work with than the people that lives across the street from them, behind them, or next door to them. It's just a reality in urban settings. Our hospitality here, though, as Peter notes, is to be without grumbling. In other words, don't be like, ah, I gotta show hospitality again. I don't have any people in my home. No, with hospitality, without grumbling. In fact, it's interesting, that same word is used in the Old Testament Greek translation to describe what the Israelites did when they were out in the wilderness and didn't have food, didn't have water, they grumbled. So again, Peter using, pulling out images from the Old Testament Exodus generation. Says we need to show hospitality without grumbling. And hospitality really is just another outworking of loving one another fervently. As Christians, we should excel in this. This should be our desire. Again, Karen Job says, in a hostile world, the church is to be a place of safety and well-being for its members, a place where common beliefs unite more than differences divide. I always find it interesting because the church is like one of those, because the church is built by God, right? We know that. The church is sovereignly built by God and he brings us together in these congregations. And you may not see it so much in a setting like this, which is a rural church, and most people here have grown up with each other, known each other all your lives. But again, you think about it in an urban setting, and people who come to church here, this is like God's way of bringing these people together that, let's face it, by and large, you probably would never have chosen on your own to associate with some of those people, right? This is a God-building thing. To make that more accessible, we show hospitality, because let's face it, what unites us, despite our differences, is greater, because we have the Spirit within us. We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are justified in His sight by faith. That unites us more than any other differences, whether they're political, whether they're economic, whether they're social, or anything like that. Well, finally, let's look at verses 10 and 11, mutual ministry. This is the fourth and final exhortation as we await the end. Mutual ministry to one another. Now, what we have here in these verses, and I'll read them in a moment, is Peter's sort of discussion or contribution to the discussion on the spiritual gifts. You really see it more deeply in Romans chapter 12, 1st Corinthians chapter 12, a little bit in Ephesians 4. Here's Peter's description or contribution to this. So he says, as each one, verse 10, has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. So first note there that he says everyone has received a gift. If you are a Christian, if you've been born from above by the Holy Spirit, you have been endowed with a charisma, a spiritual gift. Something with which that God gives us so that we can minister to one another in the church. Paul says in Romans 12, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. And he goes on from there. 1 Corinthians 12, verse four, there are a diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit who gives them. Again, if you've been born again by the Holy Spirit, you have a spiritual gift. And our gift has been given for the building up and the edification of one another. It's interesting because in that discussion of the spiritual gifts, Paul is critiquing the Corinthian church because they were sort of emphasizing the flashy gifts like tongues and prophecy and healings and kind of denigrating the other gifts like service and other things like that. That's why Paul in his discussion there talks about, you know, if one is an eye, he can't say to the ear, so on and so forth. But then in chapter 14, he says this here in verse 12, he says, Not for the puffing up of yourselves, not for So you can demonstrate, oh, what a great spiritual gift I have. The idea of that gift is given so that the church can be built up and grown together as we build up one another, loving one another. And that's why here Peter says that the proper use of these gifts is to minister. That word there, we get the word deacon from it. To serve, to minister to one another. Gifts aren't to be hoarded. Gifts aren't to be lorded over one another. They are to be in service to one another. And why is that? It's because the Holy Spirit here, Peter says, the Holy Spirit distributes these gifts. So if anyone, and then we are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. A steward is one who has been entrusted with something and is meant to manage that. You see that again in another parable that Jesus gives at the end of Matthew 24, he talks about the good steward who, when his master is away, sees to the servants that are under him and feeds them and takes care of them. And he talks about the wicked servant who's like, well, the master's away, so what am I going to do? I'm going to beat the servants. I'm going to sit in the hot tub. I'm going to be sipping Mai Tais and whatever. And then the master comes in an hour when he doesn't expect it. Same thing with the parable of the talents. The Lord has given us a gift. We are to use it for the betterment of His kingdom. And then Peter goes on in verse 11 to describe broadly. He doesn't get into the detail that Paul does in 1 Corinthians 12. He just, he kind of breaks them down into two groups. You've got the speaking gifts, if anyone speaks, and then the serving gifts, if anyone ministers. And here's the thing, it's like, if you have a speaking gift, you have to speak as the oracles of God. In other words, What I do up here, which is a speaking gift to preach and to teach, I have to do so as if I'm speaking forth the oracles of God. It is not my opinion you want to hear, and it's not my opinion you should want to hear. What you should want to hear is God's word proclaimed to you in a way that you can understand it and apply it. in your lives, and that the Holy Spirit can then apply it to your lives. And the same thing with serving gifts. If you have a gift of service, and it doesn't mean it has to be necessary service in the church, we see service can be done at any point throughout the week. And I hear of many, many stories of our church serving one another behind the scenes, and that's a wonderful, wonderful thing. And of course the purpose of this ministering to one another is that in all things God may be glorified. And it's not just in the working of the gifts. I think that idea of all things God may be glorified applies to all of this. As the end is approaching, as we pray serious and watchful, as we love one another fervently and show hospitality without grumbling and minister to one another, in all these things God is glorified through Jesus Christ. to whom belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. In other words, God is glorified through Christ because Christ is the one who died to make this possible, was ascended to heaven and sent the spirit who then gave us these gifts and then we use them for the glory of God. So gifts are given to the church to build up one another and to bring glory to God. God is glorified through Christ and God is glorified when his church prays, loves, shows hospitality, and ministers to one another. So as we bring this to a close, beloved, the end is at near, not just of the sermon, but the end is also near of the return of Christ. We are in the last days according to Jesus. And what is our posture as that day approaches? We are to show the watching world a better way. We show the world a better way through our being the church to one another. As we do the one another's, what we are showing the world is that there's a better way. There's a better way than trying to seek glory in this life, and that better way is through humility. Suffering unto glory, humiliation unto exaltation. We show the world a better way by being the church to one another. So then the Christian life is, to use a fancy $5 word, is eschatologically focused. It is focused on the goal. It is focused on the end. That's why the author of Hebrews says, as we lay aside, right, in chapter 12, as we lay aside all the sin that hinders us, we are to run the race with our eyes fixed on the goal, which is Jesus Christ. The end then colors and shapes how we are to live in the here and now. We don't retreat to our rooftops as the world burns, nor do we Christianize the culture for Christ's return. We live honorable lives among the nations, the Gentiles, and then we love and serve one another in the power that Christ, through his spirit, supplies. And again, I just want to focus, again, that sort of that doxology or benediction at the end of verse 11. that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belong the glory and the dominion. You might have a footnote that says, or the sovereignty forever and ever. It's kind of what Peter says at the end of chapter three. There, in verses 21-22, there's also an antitype which now saves us, baptism, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to him. When Christ was resurrected and ascended into heaven, he received dominion and power and glory forever and ever. Christ is the King. He is at the right hand of the Father. Christ is the King and he will return in glory. That's why Peter says, the end of all things is at hand. And he will return to judge the living and the dead. We are united to him by the Holy Spirit through faith. And as we suffer in the flesh, as he says there in chapter four, verse one, as we suffer in the flesh, we follow in his footsteps. being sober in our prayers, loving and forgiving one another, showing hospitality and ministering to one another with our gifts. And we're here and about in a moment going to see the Lord's own hospitality to us, the Lord's own love to us as he shows us this love through the commemoration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. So as we bring this to a close, let us pray. Father in heaven, Lord, we are reminded that the end of all things is at hand. It does not mean that we should retreat. And wait for the imminent return, but we are too. Be about the work that you've given us to do as the church loving one another, praying fervently. being given to hospitality and showing that love through hospitality, forgiving one another, and serving one another with the use of our gifts. Lord, we know all of this is possible because of what Christ has done for us on the cross. And by the giving of that Holy Spirit, Lord, your Spirit empowers us, your Spirit has gifted us, and your Spirit, Lord, directs us to these things. Lord, we know that we will not do these perfectly. We will struggle. We will fail. But Lord, we know that we can come to you in forgiveness, knowing that this is the way we strive to live. Knowing that you, Lord, have shown us the way perfectly and have died for our justification. So Lord, we now as we get ready to celebrate that inauguration of the new covenant in which we have the forgiveness of our sins. Lord, we pray that we will come to your table humbly and with faith to receive from your hands the means of grace. We pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.