Soul Food Series

Sermon for 10/17/2010

1 Peter 2:1-3 Soul Food

HoHum:

Have children come up front.

Do you see this cooler? This is what I used to take to work when I preached in NC and when I worked for a time at Wal Mart. My wife, Crystal, would put my lunch in it.

Let's see what I have for lunch today. Here are some chips. Oh, here are some cookies. Let's see what else… here is a candy bar. (Whatever junk food is in the cooler) Hey, do you think Crystal would pack me a lunch like this? No way! This is all junk food! Do you know what would happen to me if I ate a steady diet of junk food like this? I would become weak and sickly and not be able to do much work. This junk food does not have the nutrition needed to grow a strong, healthy body. Our bodies need the nourishment we get from meat, bread, fruits and vegetables. No one can survive for long on a junk food diet.

No one would think of feeding their body a steady diet of junk food. And yet, many people feed their minds with a steady diet of junk food every day. They feed it with TV, movies, magazines, bad music and other junk. They never give their minds the real nourishment that it needs to be strong, healthy and growing. They never feed it with the Word of God. We get our nourishment from the Word (the Bible). Let's pray.

WBTU:

A. G series: Grace, Good News, Group and today it is Growth.

B. 2 Peter 3:18- Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

C. What does that mean and how do we do it?

Thesis: Let's talk about growth this morning.

For instances:

I. How "Not" to grow.

A. Be filled up with junk.

1. When it comes to doing work on a computer, a simple rule applies: garbage in, garbage out. If someone programs garbage in, the computer can give it a neat appearance, but the end product is still garbage. Our minds are the same way. If our minds are fed garbage, filth, pollution, junk, the end product can only be garbage.

2. Philippians 4:8- whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

B. Keep on sinning.

1. Peter gives a list of sins to avoid (Vs. 1):

a. Malice- This is just a general word for evil. People with malice have desires for all kinds of wrong things that fill ‘em up, fill up their minds and their longings so they cannot grow.

b. Deceit- It can be a word used for “fishhook,” because nothing is more deceptive to a fish than a baited hook. Set aside all evil and all that is deceptive or dishonest.

c. Hypocrisy- someone that’s not real, not genuine, phony, fake.

d. Envy- It means to want what others have, they have a better situation than mine and they don’t deserve it, which leads to grudges, bitterness, hatred, conflict.

e. Slander- speaking unkindly, gossiping, and being malicious.

f. If we desire deceptive things, hypocritical things, if our minds are filled with envy, if we think evil of everybody else, and we get pleasure slandering other people – if that’s the pattern of our lives, then our desires are polluted, and we will not grow in Christ Jesus.

2. Is this all the sins that need to be avoided? No, all sin needs to be avoided. Peter here is narrowing in on sins that lead to broken relationships, which lead to unloving attitudes. 1 Peter 1:22- Love one another deeply, from the heart.

3. Anything that leads us away from the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ needs to be gotten rid of. How do I get rid of my sins?

4. First, need to focus on what is good? What is good? Vs. 3- The Lord is good. Where do we learn about the Lord? In his Word, the Bible. Hebrews 6:5 talks about those who have tasted the goodness of the word of God. As we focus on the Bible we see the plan of salvation. Give plan of salvation.

5. 1 Peter 1:22- Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth… 1 Peter 1:23- For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

6. "The Bible will keep us away from sin, or sin will keep us away from the Bible."

II. How to grow (Vs. 2)

A. When a baby is born, it is instinct for that baby to want to latch on and get the milk from the mother or from a bottle.