The Virtuous Church; 1Pet. 3:8-12

Delivered during the Sunday evening worship service, 02/02/2020. As Peter wraps up his section on respecting authority, and then transitions to a continued discussion of Christian behavior, he maps out a list of attributes that are virtuous in the eyes of the Lord. He gives us five positive virtues and two negative admonitions to help establish the expected behavior for those who are followers of Christ. But this passage is not just focusing on the individual Christian, but also on the fellowship of believers known as the church. And so we have a formula for the ideal church-- a church that no matter how big or how small will reflect the mind and heart of Christ. After analyzing each attribute, we will discuss both the responsibility and the calling of each church member, as together we seek to establish the virtuous church.