In early March I preached on “Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ?” from I Peter 3:13-17. After the final […]
Text: 1 Peter 5:1-4I begin with the words of British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, from an interview with William F. Buckley: “As an old […]
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19The 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.
Text: 1 Peter 2:21-25Throughout history, God has grown and moved his church as his people scattered to diverse locations geographically. This pattern has not changed and believers are still called to grow and expand as a church today, whether we move across national boundaries, ethnic and cultural boundaries, or do church planting in our immediate communities. Beginning with the first generation of believers in the book of Acts, we hear of Phillip, who was emboldened and changed by the power of God as he moved out in obedience to spread the Gospel. Despite severe persecution, great joy descended on those who received the truth that came with power. In this present age, we have the account of the phenomenal growth of the church in China. In 1949 all Christian missionaries were evicted leaving less than one million indigenous believers behind. They faced relentless bloodbaths and eradication. Yet the church grew in the midst of that persecution when determined believers scattered and went underground. The challenge to believers today remains the same—to be willing to be moved out of our personal comfort zones, to walk in faith, to make personal sacrifices, and most importantly, to trust God for our personal well-being and needs.
Text: Acts 8:4-8God uses catastrophe and disasters to scatter the church so that His word can be spread to all parts of the world. We can become comfortable and content in our lives, but God in His sovergn nature does things we are not used to.
Text: Acts 8:1-4If Christ has really been born, why is the world so messed up? Why aren’t things better by now?
Text: Matthew 11:3As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like […]
Text: 1 Peter 2:4-10“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe […]
Text: 1 Peter 1:8-9Today we are beginning a journey through I Peter. I encourage you to crease your Bible open to this little […]
Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and […]
Text: Hebrews 12:1