1 Peter 2:1-3 - Us & Them

Recap

As a new family - Children of God

We have the Word of the Lord - Jesus coming out of Love.

1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Weather Change

So Put Away

Malice & Deceit

The nurturing and acting out of grudges against particular people or against society as a whole. (inside or outside the church)

= Revenge

David Chester of Virginia Commonwealth University, along with Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky, started studying revenge. They discovered that a person who is insulted or socially rejected feels an emotional pain. The area in the brain associated with pain was most active in participants who went on to react with an aggressive response after feeling rejected. Chester said, “It’s tapping into an ancient … tendency to respond to threats and harm with aggressive retaliation.”

In a follow-up study Chester was surprised to find that emotional pain was intricately yoked with pleasure. That is, while rejection initially feels painful, it can quickly be masked by pleasure when presented with the opportunity to get revenge. It even activates the brain's known reward circuit, the nucleus accumbens. People who are provoked behave aggressively precisely because it can be a rewarding experience. Revenge really can be sweet.

Hypocrisy

To give an impression of having certain purposes or motivations, while in reality having quite different ones

Church word

Work email

Texting friends

Envy

I want what they have

Slander

To speak against, often involving speaking evil of

Cyber Bulling

Summary: All of these things are how the world treats others. - Put it Away

Vs 2

Like New Born Infants

Feeding time

Long for Pure Spiritual Milk

What you crave

Word/Spiritual - All things (Bible, Prayer, Church, Friends, Books…)

Grow up into Salvation

Our oppressors will likely outlive us

Vs 3

You have tasted the Lord and know that is what you are looking for

Conclusion

Exiles are treated with Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Envy, Slander - daily.

Don’t bond together as they do.

Not us vs. them - Us welcoming them to join us