Love One Another

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Shine Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's word to you on this snowy day.

Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here,

and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community, and as we follow Jesus,

we become convinced that there's no one so good that they don't need God's grace,

and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we turn every week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

We've been studying the book of 1 Peter, and the book of 1 Peter, as I've been telling you, is a letter.

It's a letter written by a man named Peter to churches in the first century A.D. in Asia Minor,

what's now modern-day Western Turkey, and these churches are struggling.

They're struggling because they feel out of place in the world as Christians,

and they're struggling because they're facing opposition in the world for being Christians.

And so Peter writes to encourage and instruct them.

He writes to encourage them that Jesus is worth it.

He's worth living and loving for, and he's worth serving and dying for.

And he also writes to instruct them.

He writes to instruct them how to live as Christians in the world

and also how to respond when they face opposition for being Christians.

Now, the last several weeks, we've been in a section on suffering,

so we've been on the instruction side.

We've been on the side of how to respond when you face opposition for being a Christian.

We're going to turn this week back to the other portion of the instruction,

how to live as a Christian in this world.

We'll be back to suffering next week.

In this section, we're going to look primarily about how it is that we interact as a church together,

as one community.

We've got a lot to cover today, so I'm just going to jump right in.

And I'll say this as we start.

Many people, in fact, we might even say most people,

long for thick and rich community.

You probably long for thick and rich community.

Few people are willing to do the work that it takes to get there.

Many people long for thick and rich community.

Few people are willing to do the work that it takes to get there.

Peter, in this passage, is going to give us some very practical advice

about how to live together in the church.

How can we actually have the type of community that we long for?

We're in 1 Peter 4, starting at verse 7.

And as we come to this, remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold.

And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now, starting at verse 7.

The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly,

since love covers a multitude of sins.

Verse 9.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,

as good stewards of God's varied grace.

Verse 11.

Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God.

Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.

In order that in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Father in heaven, we come asking for your help, as we always do.

By ourselves, we will destroy this community.

And so we ask that you would speak to us by your word,

and you'd move in our hearts by your spirit.

That you would change us into the type of people who build up rather than tear down.

Most of all, we ask that you would soften our hearts,

and you'd open our ears and our eyes,

and that you'd clear our minds.

That we would be able to hear and see and understand and believe

everything that it's written about Jesus in your word.

And so we ask these things in his name.

Amen.

The last several weeks, we've had a variety of challenging theological statements to sort out.

We had the section about Jesus proclaiming to the spirits who were in prison.

That was somewhat challenging.

Last week, we had to deal with what in the world does Peter mean

when he says those who are suffered have done with sin.

And we're not over yet.

So we're starting this passage again with another challenging phrase.

In verse 7, we find out the end of all things is at hand.

This has been something that's been erased as an objection to Christian faith for many years.

It's based on not just this passage, but other passages.

You may have noticed in our preparation for worship, Mark chapter 1,

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand or is near.

Many people have claimed, well, that's great.

Jesus and Paul and Peter all believed that the kingdom of God was near.

And guess what?

We're here 2,000 years later.

Obviously, they were wrong.

Clearly, they were mistaken.

They thought the end of the world was coming.

It hasn't come.

The fact that we're still here disproves Christianity.

It proves that it's not true.

And so what do we as Christians make of that?

What is Peter saying here?

Excuse me.

To understand, I want you to imagine this for a second with me.

Let's say, and this is not just hypothetical,

a report has reached my ears that this has actually occurred in the city of Colorado Springs.

You and a group of your friends decide in one day you are going to watch all three of the Lord of the Rings movies.

Wait.

It's not just the regular Lord of the Rings movies.

You're watching the extended version.

So every single movie is over three or four hours long.

Now, the report I heard about this happening in Colorado Springs,

they also made the recipes from the movie that went along with it,

so they had breaks in between where they could eat.

All I can say is amen.

And let's imagine you're at this event,

and you have finished the first two movies.

You finished The Fellowship of the Ring, three plus hours.

You finished The Two Towers, three plus hours.

And you're about to start The Return of the King.

Can you say,

the end of all things is at hand?

Well, in the sense of time,

no, you're wrong.

The end of all things is not at hand.

The last movie is four plus hours long.

That is the length of two or three movies.

Calm down.

The end of all things is not at hand,

as our human perception of movie time goes.

However, in terms of stage,

the end of all things is at hand.

You have made it to the last movie.

Peter here is not speaking in the sense of human time.

He is speaking in the terms of stages

when it comes to the way that God has been working in the world.

Think about this for a second.

There are lots of stages in the Bible.

First of all, we had creation.

Creation was followed by Abraham.

Abraham was followed by the patriarchs.

Patriarchs were followed by the nation of Israel and Egypt.

Then they were leaving Egypt.

They left Egypt.

They came.

They had to conquest the Promised Land.

That was the stage.

Then they had a stage in the Promised Land

where they were ruled by judges.

After they were ruled by judges,

they were ruled by kings.

When they had the kings,

it was a united kingdom,

then a divided kingdom.

After it was a divided kingdom,

there was before the exile,

and after the exile,

and then finally they were looking

during the time when there was no word from God,

and finally Jesus came.

There's a lot of stages.

The last stage is here.

That is the sense in which

the end of all things is at hand.

If you remember from 1 Peter 1,

and I'm going to turn back there,

we had verse 21,

which told us,

maybe it's verse 20,

he was foreknown before the foundation of the world,

but was made manifest in what?

In the last times,

for the sake of you.

Both the recipients and the reader,

and us today,

so the recipients of this letter in the 60s AD,

and us in 2020,

are living in the last times,

in the sense that we are in the last stage

of God's plan of redemption.

Both of us look back,

all those other stages are done.

There's no new stage that's happened.

We're in the age of the church,

as some people might call it.

We're in the age after Jesus has come.

So all of us,

in that sense,

are in the last times.

But we do know,

wherever we are,

in that last movie,

we haven't gotten to the battle of the Black Gates.

But all of us are in the last times.

So in that sense,

Peter is telling them,

the end of all things is at hand.

It's the same sense in which Jesus means it.

The same sense he tells them,

in our preparation for worship,

repent and believe the gospel,

for the kingdom of God is at hand.

With that being said,

everything that follows here

is going to be in light of that.

How do we live,

knowing that we're in the last stage

of God's plan of redemption?

The first thing he tells them

is that they need to be in prayer.

Again, verse seven,

be self-controlled and sober-minded

for the sake of your prayers.

This would be the opposite,

self-controlled of what we've seen before.

And there's a focus

and a certain way of thinking.

They need to remember and know

that they're in the last stage

of God's redemption.

Knowing and remembering that's going to focus them.

It's going to remind them

that they need to pray.

And then it's going to help them

understand how to pray.

Perhaps they're praying

that they would be faithful

to 1 Peter 3.15,

that they'd be able to give an answer

for the hope that's within them.

Maybe they're praying

for their friends who don't know Jesus,

knowing that the end is near,

that they also would repent

of their sins and believe.

Maybe they're in the midst of suffering

for righteousness' sake

and they need to pray

that God would give them

the strength to continue.

No matter what it is,

they're praying

with an understanding

of what's going on right now.

We could tie this back

to last week as well

and say,

if they don't believe

the end is at hand,

why would they not engage

in the sorts of things we discussed?

If there's no future,

why would you not seek

as much pleasure as possible?

Well,

because the end of all things

is at hand.

So,

be self-controlled

and sober-minded

for the sake of your prayers.

There's an expectation

that if we understand

the reality of where we're at

in God's plan

for the world,

that we will not

become complacent,

but instead we'll be faithful

in praying to him

for the help that we need

and what we hope to see

happen before his return.

And so,

how do we live

in light of the fact

that the end of all things

is at hand?

First of all,

we are praying

with that in mind.

Having covered prayer,

Peter moves on

for the rest of this passage

to how it is

that we exist together

as a community.

If we're going to be

experiencing the kind of suffering

that's come in the previous passages

and that we'll discuss

in next week's passage,

we're not going to make it alone.

If the end of all things

is at hand,

we're not going to be able

to do it by ourselves.

And so,

this is where Peter begins

to give us incredibly

practical advice

for how we can have

a rich and thick

and strong community.

first,

verse 8.

He says,

above all,

so apparently this is more important

than anything else,

keep loving one another earnestly

since love

covers a multitude of sins.

Now,

in what sense

does love cover

a multitude of sins?

It's probably here

in the sense that Proverbs

Proverbs 19:11

chapter 19,

verse 11 talks about.

In the book of Proverbs,

it says in that verse,

it is a man's glory

to overlook

an offense.

It's to a man's glory

to overlook

an offense.

Some translations say honor.

There's a variety

of different strategies

that we have

for dealing with conflict.

One of them is overlooking.

Now,

if you never have conflict,

you're not overlooking.

You're just very

passive aggressive.

But,

in the variety

of conflicts

that happen,

sometimes the option

is to know,

you know what,

I'm just going to take

this one on the chin.

Not every conflict

is worth pursuing.

Not every way

that someone else

hurts you

is worth pursuing.

There's a lot of things

that all of us do

in the church

that hurt each other.

I've done things

that have hurt some of you.

Some of you

have done things

that have hurt me.

Some of you have done things

that hurt each other.

And at some point,

we decide

what is worth fighting over

and what isn't.

We're going to be

sinful people

in this world.

We're going to hurt

each other.

And there's certain things

that are at such a small level,

we've just got to let it go.

That's love.

That's what it looks like

to love one another

earnestly from the heart.

We love someone else

so much

that we're just

sometimes willing

to say,

you know what,

that person,

they really get on my nerves.

I don't like the way

that they articulated that

or said that.

But I also love them.

And I'm not going to

call a foul

every time there's a foul.

I'm not a referee.

A mentor of mine

explains it this way,

living in life

is sort of like

being in an airport.

And there's all kinds

of people with backpacks

that they have on.

And often,

they move around

and they just whack you

right in the face

with their backpack.

They have no idea,

right?

All of us

have baggage.

And all of us

have more baggage

than we realize.

I have another mentor

who says that

many of us think

that we have

carry-on baggage

in our lives

when really we all

have checked baggage.

That causes us

to hurt each other a lot,

sometimes unintentionally.

Living in the church

means as we love each other,

sometimes we make the choice

to overlook that.

And that's the godly thing to do.

Some of us

are real strong personalities.

And the way we say things

just grates on other people.

Sometimes we just overlook that.

We hear the heart

behind what someone's saying.

Some people have been

really hurt in the past

by people that resemble us.

And they're going to

take that out on us

even though it's not our fault.

We'll pay other people's

debts for them.

Sometimes we overlook that.

recognizing that sometimes

we whack people

in the face too.

With our backpack

that's larger

than we realize it is.

If we want to have

rich and thick community,

we keep loving

one another earnestly,

letting love

cover

a multitude of sins.

Next, verse 9.

This is a list, by the way.

It's just a list

of practical instruction

for the church.

Show hospitality

to one another

without grumbling.

Now, it'd be quick

to think

in our Western American context,

it'd be easy for us

to think this is primarily

about having people

over to your house

and maybe you would grumble

because you'd have

to clean up the house

and that would create

some work

and you're the one

hosting the main dish

so you're spending money

you wouldn't otherwise

be spending.

And there's all kinds

of ways in which

you're put out

by showing this hospitality.

And so don't grumble.

Now, it's certainly

not less than that

in this passage

but it's probably

much, much more.

If you think about

this church for a second,

if they're suffering

for the name of Jesus Christ

and they're living

in this culture

that's hostile,

there's probably

all sorts of needs

that they have

that involve hospitality

that are not just

having someone

over to their house

for dinner.

They probably need

a worship space.

Well, who has

the biggest house

in the church?

There might be

needs for gatherings

of groups.

Maybe someone

needs shelter.

Maybe,

and this really

gets to the heart of it,

this is after a section

about suffering

for the name

of Jesus Christ.

Maybe someone

needs hospitality

because they've chosen

to do what's right.

Think about this

for a second.

We have someone,

let's say,

in our congregation

they choose

that they're going

to do what's right

and therefore

they lose their job

and they're no longer

able to pay their rent.

Who are they going

to stay with?

Us.

They're staying with us.

They're staying

with one of you.

Imagine another situation.

Someone is in

a sinful relationship

and they're living

with someone else

in that relationship.

They convert

to Christianity

and they realize

we can't be

under the same roof

anymore.

However,

we signed a lease

together and I'm

legally obligated

to continue paying

this lease

with this other person

for the next three months.

I can't get out of it

but I also have to

leave this house

for the sake of righteousness.

Where are they

going to live?

They're living

with you.

Let's say

someone's a

1 Peter 4,

1 through 6

sort of person.

They're celebrating

the passions

of the Gentiles

and they've

come to realize

that Jesus calls

them to something

different

so they repent

of their sins

except

they no longer

have anywhere

to go on Friday

night because

they used to be

what did it say

verse 3?

They used to be

at orgies

and drinking parties.

Now they're not

there anymore.

Where are they

going on Friday

night?

Your house.

They're coming

to your house

to play

Bananagrams

with you

because otherwise

they don't have

community.

Let's think

about one more.

Someone converts

to Christianity

and they're kicked

out of their house.

I had a friend

this happened to

by the way

here in the United States.

Parents disown them

so you cannot live

here anymore

as a Christian.

Happens at 10 p.m.

by the way.

Whose door

are they knocking on?

Our door.

They're knocking

on our door.

And what would be

tempting in that

situation?

Maybe you're sharing

a bathroom with

someone you don't

want to be sharing

a bathroom with.

Maybe it's just

less space

for a limited

amount of time.

What does Peter

tell us to do?

Show hospitality

to one another

without grumbling.

In fact,

this will probably

be something

that's more and more

relevant for the

American church.

Now I do say

this sometimes.

Don't hear what

I'm not saying.

I'm not saying

you as a Christian

are obligated

to provide housing

for anyone

who needs housing

and hospitality

for anyone

who needs housing.

I'm not saying

there are not

boundaries.

I'm not saying

any Christian

who makes that

demand on you.

What I am saying

is that if we

call people

to suffer

for righteousness

sake,

we need to be

prepared to give

them the resources

necessary for that

obedience

as a community.

If we call

someone to

righteousness sake,

we can't say,

hey,

you've got to

leave that

relationship

and you can't

live there

anymore.

Good luck

finding a place.

No,

we say,

you have to

leave that

relationship

and you can't

live there

anymore

and so-and-so

and so-and-so

and so-and-so

all have rooms.

And while you

figure things out

or while that

lease ends,

they are going

to back you

up on that

as you follow

Jesus Christ

in faith.

Many people

want thick

and rich

community.

Few people

are willing

to do

what it

takes.

Okay,

verse 8,

we're covering

over sins.

Verse 9,

we're showing

hospitality to

one another

without grumbling.

Verse 10

now,

as each

has received

a gift,

use it to

serve one

another as

good stewards

of God's

buried grace.

There's a couple

things going

on here.

First,

God gives

people gifts.

He gives

them abilities

to serve

one another

and the

church.

Second,

those gifts

are buried.

God's

buried grace.

Not everyone

has the

same gift.

Whatever

your gift

is,

use it

to serve

the body.

Another

angle on

that might

be,

if you're

serving,

the body

in a way

that's

not your

gift,

you've

got to

be open

to someone

saying,

hey,

this is

not your

area of

strength.

Maybe you'd

be better

serving over

in this

area.

If you're

not a

friendly

person,

you probably

shouldn't be

on the

greeter

team.

Use your

varied gifts.

Maybe you're

good at

administration,

you need

to be in

a different

area.

If you're

a really

friendly

person,

but you're

terrible at

administration,

you probably

need to be

on the

greeter

team.

Just not

running it.

Serve God

according to

your

gifts,

your

varied

gifts.

Second,

make it

about

God.

Verse 11,

whoever

speaks as

one who

speaks

oracles

of God,

whoever

serves as

one who

serves by

the strength

that God

supplies.

So we're

serving the

church with

our gifts,

the actual

gifts that

we have.

We're open

to being

redirected to

the place

where we're

actually strong

rather than

serving in

an area

that we're

weak,

and then

we do

it in a

way that's

actually about

God.

So there's

two kinds

of gifts

that are

here.

We're talking

about people

that are

speaking and

people that

are serving.

People that

are speaking

speak as

oracles of

God.

In other

words,

if you're

a preacher

or a

teacher,

you're not

called to be

a life

coach.

You're not

called to

preach your

personal opinions

about things.

You are

called to teach

the word of

God.

That's part

of the reason

that we have

sequential

expositional

preaching at

this church.

We can't

avoid passages

of scripture.

We're sticking

with the text

and the verses

that God

has given

us so that

those who

speak would

speak oracles

of God

rather than

speaking about

themselves.

We could

expand this.

Maybe it's

not just

preachers and

teachers,

but speaking

in general.

Maybe you're

in a small

group.

Maybe you're

in a one-on-one

relationship with

another person,

and they're

discipling you and

helping you.

The person who's

doing the

discipling needs

to be speaking

God's truth,

not their own

opinions.

Speaking about

God rather than

themselves.

Whatever we're

doing, however

we're serving,

we're serving in

a way that

brings honor and

glory to God.

The one who

serves by the

strength that God

supplies, and here

we have the

purpose, in order

that in everything

God may be

glorified through

Jesus Christ.

So no matter

what we're doing,

whether we're

speaking or we're

serving, we're

doing it so that

God would have

honor and

glory, which

means we have

to separate our

ego from our

service.

We have to

separate our

ego from our

service.

We have to

question our

motivations.

Am I doing

this for the

glory and honor

of God?

If we're doing

it for the

glory and honor

of God, we

won't have

self-congratulation.

We won't say

things like,

man, even just

to ourselves,

man, I'm so

glad I'm the

one doing that

and so-and-so's

not doing it

anymore because

they did a

terrible job, but

I'm really good

at this.

That's not

bringing honor

and glory to

God.

That's bringing

honor and glory

to you.

We know we're

not bringing

glory to God

when we say

things like,

man, church is

just so lucky

to have me.

Or we decide

what our gifts

are, right, and

there's no other

place we can serve.

I have to serve

in this way.

Well, it's not

about God

anymore.

I have to do

this.

No one ever

gives me the

credit or the

honor that they

don't understand

how important I

am.

That's not

serving by the

strength that

God supplies.

We know it's

no longer about

God and his

strength when we

can't hear feedback

about what we're

doing.

If no one's

able to give

you criticism

in your

service, to

provide constructive

feedback to

encourage and

also help you

understand ways

it could get

better, it's

not about God

anymore.

In fact, the

gospel is what

allows us to

not get

everything right.

Part of the

gospel is this

profound humility

to realize,

okay, I'm so

bad that Jesus

had to die.

So there's

probably a few

things that I'm

still getting

wrong.

And there's

ability to

laugh at

yourself, right,

and say, man,

that's right, I

didn't even see

that, I

really messed

that up,

didn't I?

Glad God's

gracious enough.

When we

really understand

God's love for

us in the

gospel, when we

understand how

serious sin is,

and when our

goal is to

bring honor and

glory to God,

we are going to

be humble people

in our service.

we'll be able to

receive feedback and

criticism.

We'll be able to

hear, hey, actually

this isn't maybe the

right fit for you in

this particular

service.

Oh, it's not the

right fit?

Well, I'm just

interested in serving

God, so where's the

area I can best serve

God?

And I know I'm

imperfect, right?

That's what the

gospel tells me, so

of course there are

things I'm not good

at.

And God's going to

give me the strength

no matter what

comes.

There is a rich

humility that comes

with understanding

the gospel.

Humble enough to

admit there's things

you're not good at.

Humble enough to

risk doing the

things you're good

at.

And sometimes

fail.

One way to fall off

the path, by the

way, is to be really

good at something and

withhold that from

everyone.

I've talked about

people serving in

areas where they

shouldn't be serving

or people serving

but not serving for

the glory of God but

serving for their own

glory.

There's also having a

tremendous ability and

a gift but thinking,

but what if it's not

good enough or it's not

perfect?

God's given you a

gift.

Use it to serve the

body.

If you're afraid it's

not going to be good

enough or it's not

going to be perfect or

maybe it might lead to

some conflict, it's not

about God's glory

anymore.

If it's about God's

glory, then you use

your gift knowing at

times you're going to

mess up.

And the gospel's big

enough to cover that

up.

By the way, hopefully

you're in a community

where love covers a

multitude of sins.

And you're able to

trip and make some

mistakes and God is

still glorified.

Harry Truman says

this,

it's amazing what you

can accomplish if you

do not care who gets

the credit.

It's amazing what we

as a church can

accomplish if we don't

care who gets the

credit.

If we are,

verse 10,

as each has received a

gift, use it to serve

one another as good

stewards of God's very

grace.

You want to be a good

steward.

Another way of thinking

about it would be this,

and we're in the context

of suffering, right?

That's what's coming next

week, that's what came

the last several weeks.

When you're up against

the weight of suffering,

it is too large of a

weight for one person to

lift.

We need the entire

community working

together.

It's the difference

between what someone

who's doing, who's

working out, would tell

you the difference

between an isolated

exercise and a compound

exercise.

If I'm doing a bicep

curl, that's an

isolated exercise.

I can't lift a lot of

weight.

If you're doing a

bench press, that's a

compound exercise.

You can lift a ton of

weight, but you need all

the parts of the body.

The challenges that we

face as a church

suffering in this world

is too heavy for anyone

to lift on their own.

If you're bicep curling

60 pounds, man, you're

really strong, that's

impressive.

If you're bench

pressing 60 pounds, you're

not really strong, that's

not very impressive.

God has called us to

compound exercises as a

community.

He's not called us to

isolated exercises.

And so we serve one

another as each has

received a gift.

in order that in

everything God may be

glorified through Jesus

Christ.

To him belong glory and

dominion forever and

ever.

Amen.

And so there's two

things here.

Talk about this first,

that God's glorified.

We've talked about how

that works practically.

Of course, it's always

tempting, right?

When we see success in

ministry, we're serving in

any area of the church,

whether it's speaking

oracles, whether we're

serving with our hands

and our abilities.

As humans, we're always

tempted to bring glory to

ourselves and not to God.

I told you several weeks

ago, a couple weeks in a

row, the story of

Corrie Ten Boom, and

she's going to continue

to teach us a little bit.

After all her suffering in

the Nazi concentration camp,

she went on to have an

amazing speaking career.

And at some point,

someone asked her, how do

you handle all the praise

that you receive?

How do you stay humble

and centered on God?

And she said this,

when people come up and

give me a compliment,

Corrie, that was a good

talk, or Corrie, you were

so brave, I take each

remark as if it were a

flower.

At the end of each day, I

lift up the bouquet of

flowers I have gathered

throughout the day and say,

here you are, Lord.

Lord, it is all yours.

When we serve in a way

that brings glory to God,

we recognize that he's the

one who's given us the

strength.

And so we take the praise

that other people give us,

we bring it to God, and we

say, here you are, Lord.

It is all yours.

And finally, we do it by the

strength that God supplies,

that God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

I mentioned earlier that we

have more baggage than we're

often willing to recognize

or admit.

We're also more flawed and

less gifted than often we

think.

Most of us are good at one

or two things.

I read someone say this

once, and after that, it

just kind of all falls apart.

If you see someone who's

amazing at one thing, you

think, man, that's an

incredible person.

They're probably terrible at

15 things.

And so as we serve, we're

not resting in our own

strength, but on the

strength of God, knowing

that when we accomplish

something of spiritual

significance, it's only

because of God's power

working through us.

And so that allows us and

other people to give honor

and glory to God.

The story that best

illustrates this that I know

of comes at the very end of a

book named Cinder Church, and

it's a book, a story about a

donkey.

This donkey is the donkey that

Jesus rode in on Palm Sunday,

and this is a story about the

next day for that donkey.

He'd come in.

Jesus was riding on him.

Things were great.

It goes like this.

The little donkey awoke with a

smile on his face.

He had been dreaming of the

previous day.

He stretched and then happily

walked out into the street,

but the many passersby

simply ignored him.

Confused, he went over to the

crowded market area.

With his ears held high with

pride, he strutted right down

the middle of it.

Here I am, people, he said

to himself.

But they stared in confusion,

and some angrily struck him

to drive him away.

What do you think you are

doing, you donkey, walking

into the marketplace like this?

Throw your garments down, he

said crossly.

Don't you know who I am?

They just looked at him in

amazement.

Hurt and confused, the donkey

returned home to his mother.

I don't understand, he said

to her.

Yesterday they waved palm

branches at me.

They shouted Hosanna and

hallelujah.

Today they treat me like I'm a

nobody.

Foolish child, she said gently.

Don't you realize that without

him, you can do nothing?

You can do this ministry with

God's help, so give it all

you've got.

You can't do this ministry

without God's help, so be at

peace.

It's in one verse recorded in

John's gospel.

I am the vine, you are the

branches.

If a man remains in me and I in

him, he will bear much fruit.

But apart from me, you can do

nothing.

And earlier in his gospel,

remember John told us he must

decrease.

He must increase, but I must

decrease.

God gives us gifts, but he's

the one who gives us the

strength.

And he gives it to us so that

we would bring service to each

other and honor and glory not to

ourselves, but to him.

And so how do we have rich and

thick community?

We understand that we're in the

last days, and so we pray to God

with that in mind.

We're quick to forgive and cover

over the sins of others.

We serve showing hospitality

without grumbling because we want

the community's good more than our

own.

And finally, we use our gifts

humbly to serve others and to

serve God.

Praying to God and serving one

another.

Please pray with me.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you

for your word, and we thank you for

this community that you've given us at

Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian

Church.

We ask that you would work the

gospel deep into our hearts so that

we'd be more and more humble and

more and more eager to serve, not

for our glory, but for yours, and

that you would use that to draw us

close to you and to draw others to

yourself.

We ask these things in the mighty

name of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.