Embrace Weird | 1 Peter 4:1-11 Notes
What would you do if you knew the world had only six months left? Panic, party, or prepare?
We actually do know the end is coming… not by science, but by the clear promise of Christ’s return. The question isn’t if Jesus will come back, but when. And more importantly: how should we live in light of that certainty?
Living Between Two Comings
We live between Christ’s first coming — his perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection — and his promised return in judgment and restoration. Because of what Christ has done, we no longer live for human passions but for the will of God (vv1-6), and that already looks strange to those around us. This in-between time isn’t for anxious speculation or reckless abandon. In 1 Peter 4:7–11, Peter gives us four practical, counter-cultural priorities for these last days.
“The end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7a). So what do we do?
1. Pray for One Another (verse 7)
“therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7b ESV)
Prayer doesn’t look impressive. You have to stop other things to do it. But Peter makes it a priority precisely because the end is near. Clear heads, awake hearts — self-controlled and sober-minded — so we can come to the sovereign God who holds history and the timing of Christ’s return in his hands. We pray for one another to stand firm, and for a world that needs to know grace is available now in Jesus.
2. Love One Another (v8)
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV)
“Above all”, this is a priority. “Keep”, it’s hard work. Many have been hurt in Christian community, and it’s easy to withdraw. But love that covers sins doesn’t mean ignoring evil. It means refusing bitterness, leaning toward forgiveness, breaking the cycle of wounded feelings and payback. We do this because God has loved us like this in Christ — he didn’t sweep our sins away, he paid for them.
3. Be Hospitable to One Another (v9)
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9 ESV)
Hospitality is costly — time, money, emotional energy. The key shift is from ownership to stewardship. Our homes belong to God. The question isn’t “How do I protect my space?” but “How can I use what God has given to serve others?” It doesn’t have to be fancy. A simple lunch, takeaway on the couch, a picnic in the park — powerful expressions of Christlike welcome.
4. Serve One Another (vv10-11)
Whatever you’ve received from God — time, skills, gifts — use it for others. Bigger than rosters and formal roles, it’s a posture of readiness to meet needs in Jesus’ name, so that “in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (v. 11).
Looking Up and Looking Around
The first martyr, Stephen, shows us what this looks like. As stones hit him, he looked up and saw Jesus ready to receive him — then looked around and prayed for his killers. Eyes fixed on Christ made him more, not less, concerned for others.
The end is near. Christ will return. Until then — pray, love, open your life, serve. Ordinary faithfulness that, in light of the end, becomes wonderfully counter-cultural.
Will you look up to Jesus — and look around at those he’s given you to love?
Deacon Stephen – image from ourchurchspeaks.com
HOME GROUP QUESTIONS
[Download 1 Peter 4:1-11 Study PDF]
KICKOFF
Imagine you are leaving Brisbane in 3 months to move to the other side of the world. What would your priorities be during your final 3 months?
What stood out to you from the sermon, and what questions did it raise?
Pray for our time in God’s word.
BIG IDEA: LOOK UP
1 Peter 4:1–11 teaches that because we live in the last days between Christ’s first coming (his suffering, death, and resurrection for our sins) and his second coming (certain return to judge the living and the dead), Christians are to “look up” — fixing their hope on Jesus — and so live as a gospel‑shaped, counter‑cultural community in these final days: turning from old passions to God’s will, and prioritising prayer, earnest love, hospitality, and service to one another.
Read 1 Peter 4:1-11
- What strikes you from the passage?
From 1 Peter 4:1-6
- How we live while we wait for Jesus to return matters. What are the contrasts between the old life and the new life Christians are called to adopt?
- Peter says people are surprised when believers don’t join in their lifestyle, and they malign them (vv 3–4). Where have you felt that pressure or mockery? How does knowing Jesus will return—and has already borne your judgment at the cross—help you stand firm?
Verse 7 marks the turning point: because “the end of all things is at hand” and godliness in these last days really matters, Peter moves from the big gospel frame to very practical “one another” commands that should shape everyday Christian community.
PRAY (from verse 7)
- What does this verse suggest about the kind of prayer life Peter expects Christians to have in the last days?
- What most often undermines your “self‑control” or “sober‑mindedness” when it comes to prayer (distraction, tiredness, screens, worry, sin, etc.)?
LOVE (from verse 8)
- What do “above all” and “loving one another earnestly” tell us about the priority and intensity of Christian love?
- Personal Reflection: Is there a specific hurt or failure you’re still holding onto? How could you move toward “covering” it with Christ‑like forgiveness?
HOSPITALITY (from verse 9)
- In Peter’s context, what might “show hospitality to one another” have looked like among scattered, suffering believers?
- Why do you think Peter adds “without grumbling”? What does that imply about how hospitality can feel? What’s one practical way you can show hospitality this week?
SERVE (from verses 10-11)
- According to these verses, where do our gifts come from, and what does that mean for how we view and use them?
- How could you more deliberately use those gifts to serve people in our church family this month, “by the strength that God supplies,” so that God gets the glory?
Prayer: In response to the passage.
Vision Prayer: Father God, by your grace, enable our church to be a city of refuge within the city of Brisbane. Empower me this week, by your Spirit, to offer one person the refuge, security, and hope found in Christ Jesus. Amen.