The State & Vision of the Church 2026, 1/4/26

I'd like today for the first sermon of this year

to bring a message on the state and vision of

the church, 2026. Our text is 2 Peter chapter

2 Peter 1:1–11

1 verses 1 through 11. Hear now the word of the

Lord as written by the Apostle Peter. Simon Peter,

a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. to

those who have obtained like precious faith with

us by the righteousness of our God and Savior,

Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to

you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our

Lord, as his divine power has given to us all

things that pertain to life and godliness through

the knowledge of him who called us by glory and

virtue. have been given to us exceedingly great

and precious promises, that through these you

may be partakers of the divine nature, having

escaped the corruption that is in the world through

lust. But also for this very reason, giving all

diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue

knowledge, to knowledge self -control, to self

-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness.

to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly

kindness, love. For if these things are yours

and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For

he who lacks these things is short -sighted,

even to blindness, and has forgotten that he

was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren,

be even more diligent to make your call and election

sure. For if you do these things, you will never

stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied

to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let's ask

God's blessing on our time together. Father,

this is such a rich passage and I thank you for

it. I pray, Lord, that as we consider this and

all that you have for us this morning, I pray

that you would speak to our hearts by the power

of the Holy Spirit. Lord, help us to prepare

for the year that is ahead of us, that we might

be steadfast, strong in faith, obedient to you,

Lord, glorifying you and honoring you and in

all things submitting to you. We pray, Lord,

for your blessing on each one that is here today.

Open up our hearts, illuminate us by your spirit.

I pray that I might teach good and right things

in obedience to you. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. It is the year of our Lord, Anno Domini

2026. A fresh page has been turned on the calendar

and time continues to advance. The glory of Christ's

kingdom becomes brighter and ever more glorious.

And, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

3, we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in

a mirror the glory of the Lord, are... being

transformed into the same image from glory to

glory just as by the spirit of the lord in october

of this year it will be three years since the

lord raised up this congregation and we praise

him for his great glory and grace in his masterful

and wonderful plan providentially bringing Grace

Reformed Church of Weiser into existence. Indeed,

we hope and pray that this will remain a faithful

congregation, not only in our lifetimes, but

in the centuries that lie ahead of us. It is

good from time to time to revisit foundational

principles, stones upon which enduring... local

congregations and churches are built for indeed

we are no longer strangers and foreigners we

are fellow citizens with the saints and members

of the household of god having been built on

the foundation of the apostles and the prophets

jesus christ himself being the chief cornerstone

in whom the whole building being fitted together

grows into a holy temple in the lord in whom

you all You all also are being built together

for a dwelling place of God in the spirit. As

we are being knit together and the building of

the holy temple in the Lord is happening, we

want to maintain the foundation, the truths and

the principles that undergird what we do and

how we worship and how we live. There are many

unknowns before us as we look ahead to this year.

We will likely need to move out of this building

by the end of the year, and we are praying and

trusting that God will provide for us a suitable

meeting place, a building that hopefully reflects

the glory and the majesty of the Lord, but most

of all, a place where God's people meet together

in joyful and reverent worship. For the worship

of God orders and affects everything else in

life. And all actions, all other actions are

downstream of that worship. Revelation chapter

Revelation 14:6

14 verse 6. An angel is preaching to all who

dwell on the earth. What does he say? Fear God

and give glory to him. For the hour of his judgment

has come. And worship him who has made heaven.

And earth. The sea. And the springs of water.

We are the circumcision. Who worship God in the

spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. And have no

confidence in the flesh. Paul says in Philippians

Philippians 3:3

chapter 3 verse 3. When David thirsts for God.

What does he say? He says when he was in the

wilderness of Judah. Oh God. You are my God.

Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh longs for you. In a dry and a thirsty

land where there is no water. So I have looked

for you in the sanctuary to see your power and

your glory. Because your loving kindness is better

than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will

bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands

in your name. This is from Psalm 63. And again

in Psalm 96. Honor and majesty are before him.

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Now

on the first Sunday that we gathered, six families,

six households met at the Hamilton's home on

the last Lord's Day of October 2023. After that

service, in which I preached on hope in the midst

of judgment from the book of Habakkuk, we then

shared a meal together and went around the room

to voice our longings for a local congregation.

Among the desires expressed were these. We desire

a church marked by a high view of God and of

his sovereignty. A church characterized by the

simplicity of the gospel. A church alive with

fervent worship and fervent love among the saints,

producing a rich and a deep fellowship. And a

church set within a larger denominational structure

that provides accountability and oversight, preferably

Presbyterian in polity. I am very grateful that

God has granted us a great measure of all of

these desires, even much more than what we could

ask or think. The church has grown, not only

in numbers, but in a covenantal relationship

with each other, with rich and deep fellowship,

with love for our triune God, Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit, worship that is both reverent and

joyful. And the love of the saints and the fellowship

of those gathered together in Christ in this

local body. And for this we are very, very grateful.

We are humbled. We are blessed beyond measure.

The Lord has added leadership as needed. And

we pray that God would raise up further and faithful

churchmen. men who love Christ's church and who

are well established in faith and doctrine and

will lead their families well, as well as men

who are able and gifted to lead and to serve

in the ministry of eldership or of teaching and

exhortation in the diaconate, but also that every

member Everyone, men and women, boys and girls,

would seek to use the gifts as God distributes

them. Of showing mercy with cheerfulness. Of

being diligent. Of being fervent in spirit. Or

serving the Lord and rejoicing in hope. Of being

patient in tribulation. Of continuing steadfastly

in prayer. And distributing to the needs of the

saints. And being given to hospitality. All of

these. from Romans chapter 12. But even as we

Romans 12 · chapter mention

remember and rejoice in what God has done, we

know that the Lord has added to our number considerably.

And so it is good to look at the first principles,

the foundation stones given in God's word, and

particularly at those mentioned in 2 Peter chapter

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

1, to which we now turn. In verse 1 of this passage,

It is written by the Apostle Peter. He calls

himself Simon Peter, a bondservant and an apostle

of Jesus Christ. This thus means that he is a

servant of the Lord. He is an elder in the congregation.

He calls himself an elder in another passage.

But he also serves with apostolic authority.

Apostolic authority is something special that

was given to the apostles that the Lord Jesus

chose, that he taught, and that were endued with

apostolic power and authority. It was they who

then wrote the New Testament as they were inspired

by the Word and the Spirit of God. And so he

begins this letter just attesting to the fact

that Jesus Christ, has called him to be an apostle.

And he writes to those who have obtained like

precious faith with us by the righteousness of

our God and Savior Jesus Christ. He desires that

grace and peace would be multiplied to all to

whom he is writing in the knowledge of God and

of Savior and of Jesus our Lord. Now Peter is

a general epistle. It is written to the church

at large. to those who are dispersed abroad,

and to all those who have obtained like precious

faith. Peter is not, 1 and 2 Peter are not. like

Corinthians or Ephesians or Galatians or Ephesians

where they were written as specific letters to

specific congregations. No, these were written

for all. And of course, we learn from all. It

just has a different flavor to it than a letter

that was written to a particular congregation.

We learn from that, but we also need to understand

what was going on. We'll see that when we get

into the book of 1 Corinthians, which I plan

to begin very shortly. So Peter is a general

epistle. And the faith is a precious faith. It

is a true one. It is one that is not based on

our works. But it is on the righteousness of

our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Now not all

faiths are equal. For some are the worship of

idols. Or of man's conception of God. Or of perhaps

some aspect of the triune God. But not in the

totality. as God has revealed himself in the

Holy Scriptures. The faith of which you speak

is that which is built upon the apostles and

prophets who wrote as they were moved by the

Holy Spirit. We are, as Jude commands us, to

earnestly contend for the faith that is once

delivered to the saints. We're not looking for

a new faith. We do not expect a new revelation

to come up. No, this is the faith. It has been

transmitted to us from the prophets and the apostles

and it is an enduring one. The faith... which

was written as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

It is the faith is in the pure gospel that was

lived by Abraham. It was testified of by Moses.

It was lived and prophesied by the prophets,

Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and many, many

others. It is demonstrated by Jesus who gave

his life as an atonement for sin that whoever

believes in him should not perish but have everlasting

life. And it is the faith as taught by the apostles.

Through Christ, Paul tells the Corinthians in

1 Corinthians chapter 16, he says, we have received

1 Corinthians 16 · chapter mention

grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith

in all nations for his name. Actually, that's

from Romans chapter 1, verse 5. We have received

Romans 1:5

this faith, and we are to be obedient to this

faith in every nation. Wherever the gospel goes

out, we are to be obedient to it, even these

many generations later. This does not change.

And now, as 1 Corinthians 16, 13 says, we are

all to take care to do what? To watch. To stand

fast in the faith. To be brave. To be strong.

This is what we are called to do. We have obtained

a like precious faith. It is a historic faith.

One that goes back to the apostles and to the

prophets all the way back to the very beginning

of the book of Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

When God created the heavens and the earth. Number

two, he writes then of the knowledge of the Almighty,

of our God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He says, grace and peace be multiplied unto you

through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our

Lord. Through the knowledge of God and His Son,

Jesus Christ, this grace and this peace is multiplied

to us. It's not just added. It's not given in

a small measure. It's not given in a miserly

or a stingy way. It's divine favor and peace

with the Holy God. Can we have that when we are

sinful creatures and He is holy and cannot tolerate

sin? How is this? How can we have this grace

and peace be multiplied to us? Divine favor and

peace with the one who counts the number of the

stars and he calls them all by name, as Psalm

147 says. This is astounding when you stop to

consider that there's approximately two trillion

galaxies in the known universe with each with

100 to million to 100 billion stars. So two trillion

galaxies and... 100 million to 100 billion stars.

We can't even comprehend these numbers. What

is it? So many sextillion, I believe it's, when

I looked it up, something like that. It's just

an unbelievable array just of the stars. He is

the one, this God, is the one who counts the

number of the stars. This is he of whom Isaiah

writes, saying, have you not known? Have you

not heard? Has it not been told for you from

the beginning? Have you not understood from the

foundation of the earth? It is he who sits above

the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are

like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens

like a curtain. He spreads them out like a tent

to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing.

He makes the judges of the earth useless. Isaiah

40, 21 to 23. This is he of whom David cries

out, Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God,

you are very great. You are clothed with honor

and majesty, who cover yourself with light as

with a garment, who stretch out the heavens like

a curtain. Psalm 104, verse 1 and 2. He is the

Psalms 104:1

I Am, the eternal self -existent one being, for

whom there is no beginning and no end. Even as

the psalmist proclaims in Psalm 147 verse 5,

Psalms 147:5

Great is our Lord and mighty in power. His understanding

is infinite. And dearly beloved, we have the

privilege, the awesome and the incredible position

of coming into the presence of this holy God

through Jesus Christ and of knowing Him. How

can we even begin to comprehend Him? And yet,

Peter says we can have knowledge of him. We can

know him. The one who is before whom, before

whom the heavens and the earth fled away and

all nations before him are is nothing. But he

is the one who is and who was and who is to come.

What can I say when we are just overwhelmed with

such an incredible understanding? of the sovereignty,

the holiness, and the almightiness of this God.

And yet, we can know Him. We can know Him. Grace

and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge

of God. When we see Him for who He is, and we

see ourselves as we are, then indeed how can

we be puffed up or proud or self -sufficient?

But in order to be a faithful church, we must

also love Him. We must love Him. The fragrance

of Christ should be evident and diffused all

around us, as the Word of God says in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 2:14

2, verse 14, Now thanks be to God. who always

leads us to triumph in Christ, and through us

diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every

place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ

among those who are being saved and among those

who are perishing. Therefore, dearly beloved,

as a church, as a congregation, we should not

be known in our community simply because we might

be culture warriors as the term is today or because

we are weird or because of our unique distinctives

we should be known because of our love and knowledge

of god and that we love to worship him and to

know him and that it is our desire to please

him and in that desire we live in covenant with

each other and the triune god This works out

in many ways as we will see in the following

verses. Number three, we get to understand the

divine power and the sufficiency of Christ. We

have seen the glory and the sufficiency and the

awesomeness of God the Father. Now we are looking

at the divine power and the sufficiency of Christ.

Verse three, as his divine power has given to

us. all things that pertain to life and godliness,

through the knowledge of him who called us unto

glory and virtue. As adopted children of God,

having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we

then are recipients of Christ's divine power,

that of Jesus our Lord. Now this is not referring

to his authority, which indeed he has and is

attested to a number of places, such as in the

Great Commission. All authority has been given

to me in heaven and earth, Jesus says. But the

word here is not referring to his authority,

but it's to his power, as of a force and a strength.

It's the word power. dunamis the greek word dumina

dunamis which we we can get just a slight picture

of it when we realize that the english word for

dynamite is taken from this you know a lot of

power and strength okay but this of course is

so much more than that so don't think it just

is in dynamite i'm just using that as a relating

point it is not a force that of strength it is

a word used of resources of armies, of performing

miracles, of influence and moral power and excellence

of soul. We are the recipients of the divine

power of Jesus Christ. And he is sufficient for

us. By his own power, he has bestowed on us everything

necessary for a real and genuine life, even a

happy life and godliness. In speaking of this

here, in this passage, this godliness, all things

that pertain to life and godliness, the idea

of godliness is the idea of worship. That is,

well to worship. Worship rightly directed. In

being given all things pertaining to life and

godliness, we are able to live and to worship

in a way that pleases Him. Because His divine

power has enabled us. and he has given to us

all things necessary. Again, Peter emphasizes

the knowledge of him who has called us by glory

and virtue. The knowledge of him. So what is

Paul's supreme desire? If we look over at Philippians

Philippians 3:9

3, verse 9, we see him encapsulating his desire.

What is it? To gain Christ. and to be found in

him, not having my own righteousness, which is

from the law, but that which is through faith

in Christ, the righteousness which is of God

by faith, that I may know him, and the power

of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his

sufferings, being conformed to his death, if

by any means I may attain to the resurrection

from the dead. Now this is no name it and claim

it. This is not just an easy believism where

you just say, yes, I believe and nothing changes.

No, Christ... takes us from the depths of sin

and depravity. He washes us clean from our sins.

He renews us. He adopts us and calls us to know

him and brings to us a most glorious condition

to his glory and to his virtue, his excellence,

and his moral goodness. Jesus is able to do all

of this. And he does do this for us. For he is

fully sufficient for all that is needed to bring

us into this wonderful state. We all have sinned.

We have fallen short of the glory of God. We

have missed the mark. There is no way that we

can pull ourselves out of the muck and of all

the other junk and make ourselves clean. But

we have been justified freely by his grace. Through

the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom

God set forth as a propitiation by his blood.

Through faith to demonstrate his righteousness.

This takes away all boasting from us. Because

it is the work of Christ. We cannot look around

and say look what I. Now we can be tempted to

do so, but we're not looking rightly when we

do. When we see God in all of his holiness, and

when we see Jesus who has equipped us and brought

us to this place, when he has given to us all

of these wonderful things, and he has equipped

us, he has given to us all things that pertain

to life and to godliness through the knowledge

of him, then we must confess we are not worthy.

We are not worthy of this. We cannot boast except

we boast in him. As glorious as all of this is,

and it is truly glorious, there is yet more in

this passage. And we go to verse 4. Peter says,

by which, and he's referring to the divine power

and the knowledge of Christ, by which has been

given to us. Exceedingly great and precious promises.

That through these ye might be partakers of the

divine nature. Having escaped the corruption

that is in the world through lust. I don't know

that we can fully understand how is it that we

as Christian believers are partakers of the divine

nature. That is such. And a packed statement.

And yet Peter goes right on. It's like, and we

need to stop. What is this? That we are partakers

of a divine nature? That God cleanses us through

Jesus? And that we are made, we are renewed?

We are made alive? We are made to be able to

serve him? And through this that we receive a

divine nature? We are partakers in it? Having

escaped the corruption that is in the world through

lust. This is astounding brothers and sisters.

The wonderful promises given in all the scripture.

Through and in Christ come to his church. To

the children of God. Who believe in Jesus Christ

through faith. Now these promises are spoken

of in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20. Like

2 Corinthians 1:20

this. He says. For all the promises of God are

in him that is in Christ. They are yes. and in

him, amen to the glory of God through us. That

means when we look at all of the great and glorious

promises of God in every part of the scripture,

including the Old Testament, in Christ, they

are yes and they are amen. And it is to us. Through

these truths and promises, you are made a partaker

of the divine nature which transforms you. So

what is this? You escape the corruption of your

mind and will that come through concupiscence,

through wrong desires, through cravings and longings

for what is forbidden or for lust is the word

that is used here. But this is much more than

sexual lust, although that is included. It encompasses

all disordered desires and inclinations toward

forbidden things. Lust is one form of it, but

concupiscence is a bigger word. It's a big word,

but it encompasses the whole, the whole of wrong

desires and cravings and longings for what is

forbidden. We escape the corruption of our mind

and will that comes through that, and instead...

We feed on Christ. We are partakers of the divine

nature. How do we feed on Christ? Well, we feed

on Christ through his word and through the sacrament.

Word and sacrament. We see this, John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh

profits nothing. The words that I speak to you

are spirit and they are life, Jesus says. And

then John 6, 53 and 58, and also 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10:16

10, verse 16 and 17, talk about the sacrament,

and that is the cup of blessing which we bless.

We say this every Sunday. Is it not the communion

of the blood of Christ, the bread which we break?

Is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

For we, though many, are one bread and one body,

for we all partake of that one bread. And so

as we read God's word and it's illuminated, to

us by the Holy Spirit. And as we partake of the

sacraments together and thus we together are

experiencing the presence of Christ with the

word and the sacrament and we are made partakers

of the divine nature. We are transformed into

his image. 2 Corinthians 3. But we all, with

unveiled faces, I used this before, but I'm going

to do it again. We are transformed as we behold

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, and thus we

are transformed into that image from glory to

glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. I go

through all of this from 2 Peter because I want

to show you the rich inheritance that you have.

This is what we are striving for, brothers and

sisters. This is what we are looking for. This

should be the experience of every child of God

and of every local congregation. Where we bow

before the Lord, we experience his grace to us,

we have the word in the sacrament, and we are

filled with the Holy Spirit and become partakers

of the divine nature. Well, What are we to do

with all of this? I've just laid out here in

this first half hour of this sermon just all

of the glorious position that we have in Christ.

This position and how this affects us as a congregation.

But Peter does not stop there. As a faithful

pastor and shepherd, which he is, he goes on

and he drives the point home. Because he now

comes and says, in light of all of this, now

what are you to do? What are you to do in light

of this great truth? You're not going to work

yourself into salvation. No, you've received

it. You've been adopted. But what are you to

do? Do we just sit around and rejoice? Oh, God

is great. God is good. We thank him for all of

these blessings. Or do we labor on his behalf?

And here's what Peter says. He says, therefore,

for this reason, with all diligence, add to your

faith these things. That is, you are to pay attention

and you strive to develop these qualities, the

qualities of the children of God, the qualities

of faithful congregations. As James 2 As James

says in chapter 2, verse 18, he says, I will

show you my faith by my works. I will show them

to you. I will demonstrate them to you. We are

not saved by our works, but we are to demonstrate

that faith by our works. And so he goes on here

and he says so. Add to your faith, giving all

diligence. You add to your faith these things.

I'm going to go down through them fairly rapidly.

They're worthy of great study and of great expansion,

but I don't have time to do that today. One is

that you add to your faith virtue. What is this?

This virtue here is a word that speaks of exhibiting

valor and moral excellence, as in a godly energy.

Or even manliness. And the pursuit of a course

of thought, action, and feeling. So you do this.

You go about to add to your faith these things

with a godly energy. We're going to go for this.

Let us go for this as a congregation. As we look

at the year ahead of us. Let us develop our faith.

Let us abound in the virtues in all of these.

As a congregation. Both in our personal lives.

And into one another. So there's virtue. Valor.

Moral excellence. There's knowledge. We are to

grow in the knowledge of the word of God. And

of the Christian religion. With moral wisdom

that translates into right living. And so I encourage

you to read. To study. To think. To hear the

word. To go after the knowledge of God. Of course,

this also includes prayer. But we are to add

to our knowledge. Add virtue to our faith and

then add knowledge. The third is, this must be

done with self -control. This is the virtue of

one who masters his desires and his passions.

He is self -controlled. He or she, I should say.

Number four, we then add to that. Perseverance.

Perseverance is a steadfastness and an endurance

not swerved from your purpose and your loyalty

to God and the Christian faith even by the greatest

trials and sufferings. Trials and sufferings

are hard. They are difficulty. You might experience

in this year great difficulties that shake you

to the very foundations. Do not. let it swerve

you from your constancy and your faithfulness

and your love for God and your love for the saints.

Be faithful in this and persevere. Be steadfast

and endure. To this, we are also to add godliness.

This godliness, one of the good English word

for it is that of piety. It's reverence and respect

for God. and his word and of course this includes

the reverent and the right worship of God from

the heart to this then we are to add brotherly

kindness and love these two are very very close

but the word brotherly kindness is the word Philadelphia

y 'all have heard of the city of Philadelphia

do you know why it was named that it was to be

the city of brotherly love named that by I believe

it was William Penn Philadelphia is the Greek

word for it. It's the love which Christians cherish

for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

We are to add brotherly kindness to our faith.

And this is coupled together with agape, that

is fervent love, brotherly love, affection, goodwill,

and benevolence one toward another. And so I

have a few things to just follow up on this as

we look over to add all of these things. How

does this impact us then in the church? One of

the things to watch out for as the years roll

on is that of stagnation in relationships. Where

relationships just kind of become stale or commonplace.

When we don't stop and consider the glories of

our Christ and the blessings of our brothers

and sisters. Watch out for stagnation in relationships,

where we just kind of get easy with each other,

but then we just kind of just grow a little distant.

Maybe we have other interests, and so just these

things come, and we don't have that fervent love

of the saints, one for another. Watch out for

that, for stagnation. Keep it fresh. We are blessed

with a rich and covenantal life with one another

in the life of the body. Let us maintain in a

freshness and an intense love for one another.

And sometimes this means doing hard things. Sometimes

this means approaching one another, working through

difficult situations. Sometimes it means confronting

sin. Sometimes it means taking a meal to someone.

All sorts of things are involved in this, but

we need to have that love burning in our hearts,

not only for God, but also for his people, especially

those within our congregation. Each Lord's Day,

as we gather to worship, let us renew our covenant

with God and with each other. We renew it. We're

here for each other. We love one another. We

will do hard things for each other. We will help

bear each other's burdens. We will pray for one

another and exhort one another. This also means

greeting one another. And it also means welcoming

the visitor and the stranger, being interested

in them. Yes, you can do this even if you're

shy. And no, this is not just for the elders

and their wives. This is... For all. We are to

welcome. Welcome those who come in. Make sure

that you greet them. Say hello. That is part

of the covenantal love. That needs to abound.

And splash out to others. Because our faith.

In that way. Our belief. And our knowledge of

God. Is to be one that rejoices. One that reaches

out to others. And pulls them in. Draws them

in. With love. And care. We can do this in welcoming.

We should also greet and get to know the other

members of the congregation. How will you have

fervent love for one another if you don't know

each other? And so, in our fellowship meal, seek

out someone you don't know well and sit with

them, showing interest in them and their lives.

Sometimes there's a work day for the men in doing

something. It's a good way to get to know one

another well as you work side by side. I'm glad

to see the ladies' meeting starting again and

just the fellowship there that is happening and

the older women teaching the younger women. That

is a good thing. Lord willing, this month we're

going to start our first. We're going to have

a men's meeting, just a gathering together. Maybe

have a campfire and we'll be able to visit together,

get to know one another. We can talk about issues

or problems that someone is facing and we can

look at... at some type of a study together.

And we'll vary that from month to month as we

begin that here in the month of January. And

then, how do we encourage this fervent love and

this brotherly kindness? We do it by being hospitable,

inviting others into our homes, working together

in the projects, and living life together. Well,

Peter goes on then, and he says, for if these

things, all of these things here that I just

mentioned, faith, virtue, knowledge, self -control,

perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness,

love. If these things are yours and they abound

in you, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful.

Barrenness and unfruitfulness is undesirable.

We don't want to be barren and unfruitful. But

rather, as we seek after these things, we will

not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge

of Jesus. You want to grow in your faith? You

want to grow in the knowledge of Jesus? Love

His people. Add to these things, all these things.

And you will grow in your knowledge of Christ.

He goes on to say, therefore, brethren, be even

more diligent to make your call and your election

sure. For if you do these things, you will never

stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied

to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom

of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. One other

thing that I would like or one other application

that I would to make in that I come back again

to what I mentioned earlier and that is our life

together begins with joyful and reverent worship.

And it flows downstream of that. So I'm going

to give a few more applications of this. One

is do not casually miss or neglect the Lord's

Day meeting. make it your point that whenever

possible of course there's sickness and there's

travel but whenever possible be there be there

at the lord's day meeting to worship our lord

together and to fellowship with his saints with

the people of god this is the renewal of our

covenant with god and with each other we worship

the lord in the beauty of holiness now also as

It's given a couple times in the New Testament.

Elders and teachers are to stir up these gifts

of the congregation. That's what I'm doing right

now. But we're also commanded to stir up love

and good working in one another. So it's not

only for elders and teachers. It's also for one

another. So consider these passages. Hebrews

10 and verse 24. Let us consider one another

in order to stir up love and good works. not

forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

You see the thing right there is assembling together.

When we come together, there's a love, there's

a unity, there's the word, there's sacrament,

there's all of the things, there's the blessing,

there's the meal together. All of this together

stirs up love and good works. which is why he

says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves

together as the manner is of some, but exhort

one another, and so much more the day, so much

more as you see the day approaching. And this

is where exhortation to one another should not

just come from the elders and teachers. It also

should come from each other, blessing and encouraging

and exhorting one another. Paul tells Timothy,

he said, I remind you to stir up the gift of

God which is in you through the laying on of

my hands. And then Peter in chapter 3, he says,

Beloved, I now write to you the second epistle,

in both of which I stir up your pure minds by

way of reminder that you may be mindful of the

words which were spoken before by the holy prophets.

and of the commandment of us, the apostles of

the Lord and Savior. Right there, it covers the

whole thing. The prophets and the apostles, we

stir up your pure minds through the word of God

and through exhortation. Lastly then, as we are

a worshiping people, as we are this holy temple

that God is building right here in this small

town, Let us then take the gifts of God and the

knowledge of God that we have and that we will

continue to receive and let us take it out into

the world. I remember a preacher preaching a

sermon one time entitled Love with Shoes On.

We take all that God has blessed us with. And

that God will increase in us throughout this

year. And then we take it out into the world.

We take it out in the way, in the relationships,

in business. We take it out in hospitality. We

take it out in the care of the poor and in love

for Christ's church and in love for the community

in which we're placed. And we take it out in

prayer and in your families and with a zeal for

God. and for his church. Not a misguided zeal,

for there are some who have misguided zeal, but

in a transformed, holy zeal that affects all

of our life. Let us go forth then, encouraged

by the word of God for this year. May it be a

year of great blessing, of a growth and increase

in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ in

this congregation. In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let's pray.