Sermon series

Strangers in a Strange Land (1 Peter)

A Survival Kit for Tough Times

We come this morning to the end of our series on I Peter. This is the 24th and final message. We started on the last Sunday of July and we end on Mother’s Day. It was summer when we started and we end with summer not that far away. In my first sermon I said […]

Take Me to Your Leaders

In early March I preached on “Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ?” from I Peter 3:13-17. After the final service that morning, a first-time visitor came up and thanked me for my sermon. In the course of the conversation, he made an interesting comment: “You don’t seem to have a care in the world.” […]

Never Be Surprised by Hard Times

I begin with the words of British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, from an interview with William F. Buckley: “As an old man, looking back on one’s life, it’s one of the things that strikes you most forcibly—that the only thing that’s taught one anything is suffering. Not success, not happiness, not anything like that. The only […]

The Day Before the End of the World

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace […]

Going Against the Flow

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough […]

The Triumphant Christ

This is the hardest passage in the New Testament. That’s what my Greek professor said when we were studying I Peter in seminary. I recall him saying that there are so many possible views about these verses that it is impossible to be certain what they mean. The problem partly relates to the Greek text […]

Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ?

Are you prepared to suffer for Christ? For most of us, the answer is no. For most of the Christians in the world, the answer is yes. “Christianity was born in a world of totalitarianism … it was not strange to be persecuted. What is strange historically, is that we are not” (John Piper). For […]

How to Inherit a Blessing

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must […]

Unhindered Prayers

Quick now, what well-known actor said the following: “I don’t like danger. I’m not a womanizer. My happiest moments are when I’m at home with my wife or in the company of a couple of good friends. I don’t covet wealth. I do want to be able to end my days in dignity and leave […]

Inner Beauty

What is inner beauty that lasts and how do we get it? In today’s quest for physical beauty amidst a burgeoning population of aging Boomers who are finding it difficult to reconcile the ravages of time on their bodies, surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures are seeing explosive growth in this country. This craze is not particular only to celebrities and socialites but now includes the rest of society who can afford the cost of the procedures. We all want to look good, but all external and applied adornments will fail sooner or later. The Bible puts forth a better goal of the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. There is power and value in this inner beauty that all women can acquire. Scripture gives us a solid example of such beauty in the Old Testament character of Sarah. She was a woman of recognized great beauty in her society but Scripture credits her with a greater inner beauty of character that was more commendable and precious to God, described in First Peter, chapter three. Here, all Christian women are called to be “daughters of Sarah,” to emulate her lasting beauty of character quality and attitude. Ultimately for women, the beauty of eternal value is like that which Jesus demonstrated in his submission to and hope in God, in doing what is right without giving way to fear. This is true beauty in God’s sight.

In His Steps

The Christian walk is synonymous with innocent suffering and pain, through which Christ our Lord suffered and died. He left us all an example of how to follow him in this. A Christian’s call to this behavior goes against the grain of his human tendencies: to suffer unjust treatment without retaliation, trusting only that God would be the judge of things ultimately. Jesus lived the sacrificial life to which he calls all his believers. It is a life that leads to the cross, and he has modeled how to live this sacrificial life for us. When we suffer unjustly, we share in a tiny portion of what happened to him. When we are mistreated, we are to turn the other check, bless those who curse us, and return good for evil. We are not to retaliate, not to threaten, not to get even. Jesus showed us how to live, and he showed us how to die. This response is a miracle in itself and is under girded and made possible only by the gift of grace from God.

When Doing Right Gets You in Trouble

“Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you […]

Serving God in an Unbelieving World

We are to submit to all those in authority over us. As Americans, when we read that we are to submit to the king, we tend to dismiss that thought since we haven’t had a king since 1776. What does Peter mean when he says we are to submit “for the Lord’s sake"? It means that there is a direct connection between the people in authority over us, and God who is the Ultimate Authority.

How Your Life Can Change Those Around You

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (I Peter 2:11-12). […]

Welcome to the Priesthood

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, […]

Got Milk?

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (I Peter 2:1-3).   This is a passage with huge implications […]

Love One Another Deeply

I have three things on my mind that I want to talk to you about. These are really three different things, and apparently unconnected, but perhaps by the end of the message, you will see there is a common thread running through all of them. 1) The Election on Tuesday There is a deep divide […]

Living in the Fear of God

After a six-week break, we are returning to our study of I Peter. I want to begin by reminding you that Peter wrote this letter to believers scattered across ancient Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Widely separated and facing persecution, Peter encourages them to stand fast in the grace of God in spite of their trials. […]

Get Your Mind in Gear

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all […]

What Angels Wish They Knew

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It […]

Loving the Unseen Christ

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:8-9).   My text is a lovely passage […]

God Must Be Praised in Fiery Trials

On April 5, 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo for his resistance to the Nazi regime in Germany. For several years he had spoken out against the Nazis, and eventually it caught up with him. As he saw his country sliding into the abyss, he felt that he could not remain […]

God Guarantees Our Salvation

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power […]

Strangers in a Strange Land

Today we are beginning a journey through I Peter. I encourage you to crease your Bible open to this little book because we’re going to be here for several months. We’re going to go through this epistle verse-by-verse so that we can discover what God is saying to us today. Here’s a suggestion: Read 1 […]