Love and brotherhood

1. Brotherly Love as the Essence of the TruthNo. 1 · 1 December 1867 · 15 min read aloud

   Starting from the exhortation “Let brotherly love continue”, the speaker argues that love is the root and object of the truth, and that those who lack it are not of God and will be cut off like unfruitful branches.

2. The Bible’s Influence and Forbearance Among BrethrenNo. 3 · 1 February 1868 · 21 min read aloud · Read: 1 Peter 2

   Observes that the Bible has raised the character of the nation and of individuals, and that progress toward the hope depends on continual submission to the Word and on meeting with the brethren, not retiring from society.

3. Love in the Truth, and Doing GoodNo. 6 · 1 May 1868 · 30 min read aloud · Read: 2 John

   Taking John’s Second Epistle as a letter to an ecclesia, the speaker contrasts the ephemeral loves of the world, which rest on instinct and shared interests, with love in the truth, which begins with the truth and grows in step with love of it.

4. Gifts, Schism and Unity in the EcclesiaNo. 14 · 1 November 1869 · 23 min read aloud · Read: 1 Corinthians 12

   On 1 Corinthians 12, the speaker says the miraculous gifts have ceased but the chapter’s lessons still apply.

5. Charity, Vain Jangling and Unfeigned FaithNo. 15 · 1 December 1869 · 34 min read aloud · Read: 1 Timothy 1

   On 1 Timothy 1, the speaker says Paul’s commission as apostle to the Gentiles still reaches later believers and brings a responsibility with it.

6. Walking in Love Without Silencing the TruthNo. 16 · 1 January 1870 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Ephesians 5

   Taking Ephesians 5 as his starting point, the speaker says that to follow God is to walk in love, and that a man who holds the truth without love is not of God.

7. Doing God’s Will, Not Merely KnowingNo. 21 · 1 June 1870 · 18 min read aloud · Read: 1 Peter 4

   Starting from the griefs of this mortal state and the way sickness and death show what is of real value, the speaker urges the brethren to give themselves wholly to the truth rather than to the pursuits of the flesh.

8. Active Goodness, the Fruit of the TruthNo. 23 · 1 August 1870 · 18 min read aloud · Read: 1 John 2

   Taking 1 John 2 as its text, the exhortation says the aim of the gospel is that believers should not sin but walk as Jesus walked, and puts first the duty of living for the good of others.

9. Christ’s sorrow, the Supper, and daily ScriptureNo. 28 · 1 August 1871 · 24 min read aloud

   The exhortation begins with the origin of the breaking of bread at the last passover, dwelling on Christ’s sorrow before his death and the comfort he gave his disciples.

10. Spirit, Philosophy and the Body of ChristNo. 35 · 1 March 1872 · 24 min read aloud · Read: 1 Corinthians 12

    Reads 1 Corinthians 12 against the situation of the Corinthian believers, who had received the gifts of the Spirit yet were divided, and some of whom, influenced by Greek philosophy, called Jesus accursed while claiming the Spirit.

11. Purity, Kindness and Sharing Christ’s SufferingsNo. 36 · 1 April 1872 · 24 min read aloud · Read: 2 Corinthians 1

    Taking Paul’s opening words in 2 Corinthians 1, the exhortation says that the peace Paul wished the Corinthians rests on purity, and that believers should take comfort only where they are walking in obedience, and repent where they are not.

12. Full Assurance and the Mystery of God in ChristNo. 42 · 1 March 1873 · 22 min read aloud

    Expounding Colossians 2, Roberts describes the comfort Paul desired for the brethren, found chiefly in Christ and also in mutual faith, and argues that true love among believers rests on a shared full assurance of understanding rather than on sentiment.

13. Philemon: Brotherly Love and Christian CourtesyNo. 44 · 1 May 1873 · 21 min read aloud

    Taking Paul’s letter to Philemon as a model, Roberts urges brethren to imitate apostolic warmth in their intercourse and letters: using genuine words of affection, invoking God’s blessing on one another, and thanking God for faithful fellow-labourers.

14. The Son Greater Than Angels; Brethren of ChristNo. 45 · 1 June 1873 · 19 min read aloud

    Expounding Hebrews 1 and 2, Roberts argues that God’s final speaking by a Son, greater than the angels, the prophets and Moses, calls for the more earnest heed to what has been heard.

15. John’s Second Epistle: Love Bounded by the TruthNo. 49 · 1 December 1873 · 16 min read aloud · Read: 2 John

    On 2 John, the speaker distinguishes the worldly and orthodox notions of love from the apostolic love, which is bound up with the truth and issues in obedience.

16. Love Christ: His Character and Coming GloryNo. 51 · 1 February 1874 · 23 min read aloud

    Beginning from the breaking of bread, the speaker describes the love of Christ as the strongest motive among men and sets out the many sides of his character, which are all to be imitated, not only the gentle ones.

17. Ignorance, Forbearance and the Place of SistersNo. 56 · 1 July 1874 · 24 min read aloud

    Taking Paul’s words ‘If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant’ (1 Cor. xiv. 37), it urges that the truth must not be governed by pusillanimity or misplaced charity, and that the ‘bearing’ of the strong with the weak in Romans xv. concerns matters outside the faith and not its doctrines and precepts.

18. Paul’s Exhortation: Holiness, Love and Liberal GivingNo. 62 · 1 January 1875 · 27 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 32, 1 Thessalonians 4

    Taking comfort from the psalm read, the speaker turns to Paul’s example and to 1 Thessalonians, urging the brethren to abound more and more in a walk that pleases God.

19. Israel’s Empty Worship and Salt Without SavourNo. 77 · 1 August 1876 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Isaiah 58

    Taking the apostolic call to behold the goodness and severity of God, the speaker says Israel’s sacrifices and feasts were rejected because they lacked love to God and care for neighbour, and that believers who rely on knowledge, baptism and breaking of bread without these may fall into the same position.

20. Paul as the Appointed Pattern for BelieversNo. 102 · 1 December 1878 · 27 min read aloud

    Starting from the proverb that he who walks with wise men shall be wise, the speaker says that society dismisses Paul as obsolete, whereas Christ chose him and he repeatedly told believers to follow his example.

21. Paul as Model: Recognition of GodNo. 103 · 1 January 1879 · 22 min read aloud

    Taking up the apostle Paul as the model Christ has set before disciples, the exhortation dwells on his constant, practical recognition of God in all he did, shown in his use of “if the Lord will”, his appeals to God as witness, and his habit of prayer.

22. Life’s Brevity, God’s Mercy, and Husbands and WivesNo. 122 · 1 August 1880 · 23 min read aloud · Read: 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 3

    Begins from the passing of human generations and the vanity of present life, and sets against it the hope and ‘abundant mercy’ of 1 Peter 1, which promises relief from every present trouble.

23. The Rechabites and Obedience to CommandmentsNo. 134 · 1 October 1881 · 27 min read aloud · Read: Jeremiah 35

    From the interview between Jeremiah and the Rechabites, who obeyed their father’s command to drink no wine while Israel disregarded God’s, the speaker draws the lesson that the words of a man are obeyed and the words of God are not.

24. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians: Knowledge and FruitfulnessNo. 136 · 1 January 1882 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Colossians 1

    Taking the first chapter of Colossians, the exhortation says Paul gave thanks for the brethren because of their love to all the saints on account of the hope laid up for them, and that this is the love believers should have, not an attachment to personal qualities.

25. Appeal for Relief of Persecuted Russian JewsNo. 138 · 1 April 1882 · 24 min read aloud

    The exhortation proposes a collection that morning for the Jews suffering persecution in the Russian empire, on the ground of the general command to do good to all men and, above all, because they are Abraham’s descendants, the nation to whom the promises belong.

26. Doing God’s Will: Mercy, Works and ForgivenessNo. 142 · 1 August 1882 · 29 min read aloud

    Starting from the frequency of ‘the will of God’ in the apostolic writings, the speaker takes the reading in Isaiah, where a ceremonially religious Israel is reproved for lacking mercy and kindness to others.

27. True Agnosticism and Charity Toward the WeakNo. 147 · 1 June 1883 · 24 min read aloud · Read: 1 Corinthians 8

    Taking 1 Corinthians 8, the speaker says knowledge by itself puffs up, and that Paul and modern science agree nothing can be known of the ultimate nature of things in the philosophical sense.

28. The Jews God’s Monument: Helping IsraelNo. 152 · 1 January 1884 · 26 min read aloud

    The speaker says the ecclesia has the honour of uniting that morning to do good to Israel after the flesh, and that God’s friends must not add to the affliction of a people scattered as foretold.

29. Equal with the Angels: Confidence, Joy and DoingNo. 157 · 1 June 1884 · 26 min read aloud

    Starts from the prospect of being made equal to the angels and notes that Christ says not all who are called will be chosen.

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