Sermons

If you could ask Jesus to do one thing what would you ask Him to do? Most of us would ask Jesus to bring some kind of peace or healing in our lives. Part of the good news of the gospel is that Jesus can and will bring His renewing power to us. What can be lost on us is how He does that. Through this passage we will see that Jesus renews things not primarily through other-worldly signs and wonders, but by working in and through His disciples as we live a new kind of life: a cross-shaped life.

One of the most glorious and yet most difficult relationships in life is marriage. Some people, because of the difficulty, have grown jaded and calloused and given up. In this passage, Peter will lead us into the heart of what difference faith in Jesus makes in all this. A disciple of Jesus develops a cross-shaped life, and this life transforms marriage from a power struggle to a relationship of sacrificial love.

One of the challenges of understanding the Bible comes from translating ancient customs into modern life. But a reality that transcends time and culture is one that Peter introduced to us last week: life under authority. That theme continues this week but with a more everyday focus, and a more life-shaping outcome. How does being a disciple of Jesus shape how we live under authority, even under unjust authority? Peter will show us that our discipleship to Jesus will develop a cross-shaped life.

Politics and government might be the most heated topic of our shared life today, and it’s one we as Christians need to understand in the context of God’s Word. Of all that Scripture says, there isn’t much that directly speaks to government and our life as Christians under it, however this passage in 1 Peter is one of the clearest and most direct teachings. Peter says we should submit to all human authority as God’s free people, which isn’t difficult to understand, but hard to apply.

Is a Christian’s life supposed to change? If so, how is that change possible? What is life with God meant to look like here and now? In 1 Peter 2:11-12, Peter urges his listeners to live as redeemed people who reject their former ways and live in this world for God’s glory.

Guest Speaker Adam Jones

Relationships can carry a lot of extras with them. Extra people, extra priorities, extra experiences. For a Christian, there is no more important relationship than the one we have with Jesus. We know that our relationship and acceptance with Jesus is based solely on our faith, but once our faith is placed, are there any other extras that come along with this relationship? This week, Peter will help us see that indeed our relationship with Jesus does carry with it a few extras. Even though at first these extras might seem challenging or intimidating, in truth they are a great blessing. And as we see that, Jesus wants us to joyfully and wholeheartedly own them for ourselves.

One of the great joys as a parent is watching your children grow up. It can be truly amazing to observe a tiny infant grow into a capable, conversant teenager. From this week’s passage, Peter will affirm this joy of development but, as he does, we’ll see that those in focus, those who are growing up, are us. Peter reminds us all of the amazing claim the Bible makes about Chrisitians; that through our faith in Jesus, we have been born again into a new life. And like a newborn baby, the goal is for us to grow up in this new life. And we do that by seeking more and more of one who’s given this life to us: Jesus.

An experience we likely all share is some kind of second-guessing major decisions in our lives. Usually it happens after something goes wrong or things don’t turn out the way we thought they would. None of us likes to live with a nagging doubt or insecurity. We want the assurance and peace that comes with confidence. This is especially true when it comes to matters of faith. In this passage, we’ll see that God wants to assure us that we can have complete confidence that placing our faith in Jesus is the right choice.

A hallmark of the Christian life is joy; a contented, happy, exuberant sense of being. Usually when we think of joy, we think of momentous occasions or experiences that call for celebration. But the unique and hard-to-believe thing about Christian joy is that it is also found in somber, distressing, and even sad moments. The big question is, why? How? As Peter will show us, it has everything to do with the future that comes after those times, as well as the one who has secured that future for us.

It’s become cliché to say that we are living in a unique time in history nationally and globally, but that’s because it’s true. We live in confusing, changing, and tense times. With so much change and uncertainty, how do we live into our Christian life faithfully? Answering this question is one of Peter’s highest aims with his letter and from the beginning, we see that it all starts with our identity: understanding and owning who we are in Christ.