Leader Training - 1 Peter (Jul 2023)

Grace Christian Church Buderim Small group study series, Term 3 - 2023 Contents Introduction 2 How to use this study guide 1. Living as scatterlings, standing on grace (1:1-2, 5:12-14) 6 2. Living as hopeful losers (1:3-12) 8 3. Live as the Father’s Children (1:13 - 2:3) 10 4. Living as holy stones (2:4-10) 12 5. Living as submissive strangers, Pt. 1 (2:11 - 3:8) 14 6. Living as submissive strangers, Pt.2 (2:11 - 3:8) 16 7. Living as blessed sufferers (3:9 - 4:6) 19 8. Living as calm Christians (4:7 - 5:14) 22 1 Introduction Scattered, strange, and suffering. These are the sorts of things Christians in the mid-60s AD might have felt about themselves when they got this letter from the Apostle Peter. They might be the sorts of things we feel about ourselves as Christians in the mid-2020s AD. Peter’s readers definitely seem to be having a tough time. Perhaps they weren’t experiencing a state-level, organised, imperial crackdown on anyone who identified with Jesus Christ, but the social attitude towards Christians wasn’t a positive one. Christians were an easy and frequent target for verbal assaults, and sometimes more. When Christians did ‘good’, their neighbours called them ‘bad’ (2:12, 3:16). Christians were verbally abused when they didn’t join in the depraved fun-and-games of Roman society (4:4). Christians were ridiculed and made the butt of jokes because they claimed to live for a Jew who was humiliatingly executed on a Roman cross (4:14). Christian servants may even have been given a few extra beatings by their masters (2:20). This attitude towards Christians is understandable. The public good of the Roman world was maintained by everyone paying the necessary homage to the Roman gods. This kind of worship wasn’t just about singing songs and saying prayers; much of Roman worship was about money, food, drink, sex and, of course, the Emperor. This shaped the social and moral fabric of Roman society. When people were transformed by the gospel, and transferred into Christ’s new kingdom, they couldn’t take part in those things anymore. And there would have been a genuine fear that this would displease the gods, and these ‘evildoers’ (2:12), would actually endanger the public ‘good’. Christians were dangerous people! They were social criminals. For Peter’s readers, this created a number of dilemmas. How do you behave as a Roman citizen and be a Christian? How do you participate in your local community and be a Christian? How do you make a living and be a Christian? How do you live with your family (who might not be happy ab1out your new religion) and be a Christian? 2 However, like the problems Peter’s readers were facing, the solutions he offers are perennial too. In the face of constant hum of hostility, he calls us to remember that any suffering we face is temporary (1:6; 5:10). It’s perishable. What we have in Jesus, by contrast, is imperishable (1:4, 23; 3:4). Furthermore, we’re to remember that the difficulties and trials we face aren’t mistakes, or anomalies to be corrected. These are experiences that a sovereign God brings into our lives on purpose, so that we can learn to be more like Jesus – (1 Peter 1:'so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.'7 ESV) And so we’re each called to live holy lives (1:12, 15; 2:5, 9; 3:5, 15), set apart for God in Jesus while we live in the pre-heaven world. But this doesn’t mean shutting ourselves off from the world, it means that our holiness is actually missional – people must see the gospel at work in us in a way that affects them too (2:12; 3:15f). This all part of what Peter calls ‘standing firm in God’s real grace’ (5:12), which is really the key statement of the whole letter. So, what does a Christian look like, who’s feeling the heat of the world around him or her? Do they insist on their rights? Do they oppose worldly authorities by any means, because the end justifies the means? Do they hive off on their own and throw rocks at the surrounding culture? Do they arrogantly assume the moral high-ground, and look down on the unbelievers around them? Do they try to impose heaven on earth? No. In fact, the answer is far simpler. Christians who are feeling the heat of the world around them, a world that holds no love for God, are simply to look like Jesus. 'For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.' (1 Peter 2:21 ESV) We live like Jesus in the present, because our future hope is secure. '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 are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.' (1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV) 3 How to use this study guide You can use this study guide on your own, but this study guide is meant to be used in one of our Grace Community Group Bible study groups. These are small groups with trained leaders which meet in various places around the Sunshine Coast each week. If you’re not part of a group, ask around about joining one or contact the church office.. Each study can be completed in about an hour. This should leave time for fellowship and relationship-building, and prayer. Each study session should also begin and end in prayer: start by asking God to help you understand his Word together, and then finish by thanking him for the things you’ve learned, and asking him to help you put into practice specific things that have come up as you’ve read and discussed the Bible. Bible readings should be shared around the group, but don’t worry if you’re not confident reading the Bible out loud. Pray about it, and maybe volunteer to try one of the short readings one week. It’s also best if everyone participates in the discussion. Your voice matters! Feel free to share what you think, or what you don’t understand. Ask questions! Just remember, our goal in everything we say is to help one another grow in Jesus (Col 3:16-17). This means we must still be careful to be patient with each other, as well as humble, gentle and interested (see Gal 5:22-23). To make the most of each session, try to read the Bible passages and think about the questions on your own before coming along. Also, make sure you bring a Bible, a pen and this booklet so you can follow along and make notes. 4 1. Living as scatterlings, standing on grace (1:1-2, 5:12-14) Week of Sunday 16-Jul 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it 1. What words would you use to describe your experience of being a Christian in Australia in 2023? Read 1 Peter 1:1-2 2. The words ‘elect’ and ‘exiles’ (v1) don’t seem to fit together. What do you think Peter wants his readers (and us) to understand about their current situation? 3. How is God, as Father, Son and Spirit, involved in the lives of these ‘elect exiles’? What comfort might that have been for them? What about us? Read 1 Peter 5:12-14 4. In v12, Peter tells his readers why he has written this letter. What does he say? 5. Take some time quickly to skim over the whole letter, noticing each time the word ‘grace’ comes up. What does he say about grace each time? 5 6. Think about what you learned in the last question. What does it mean to stand firm in ‘the true grace of God’ in v12? Takeaways 7. In this study, we’ve learned about God’s purpose and plan, and about the need for us to stand firm in his grace as we live as strangers in the world. a. What will this mean for you? b. What will it not mean? 8. What are you eager to learn for your Christian life from our studies in 1 Peter? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 6 2. Living as hopeful losers (1:3-12) Week of Sunday 23-Jul 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it 1. In your own words, describe what God has given you in the Lord Jesus. What difference does this make to your daily life? Read 1 Peter 1:1-5 2. How much does your answer to the previous question match what you’ve just read? Why is that? 3. What, specifically, does Peter say has ‘unlocked’ these blessings? (see v3) Read 1 Peter 1:6-9 4. Why do we need the blessings of v3-5 before we can face the ‘various trials’ of v6-9? 5. What is God’s ultimate goal for you? a. How confident can we be that he will achieve it? Why? 7 b. What part do our present sufferings and trials play in achieving it? Takeaways 6. Look back over today’s passage. Try to group the ideas in the passage under the following headings: Past Present Future 7. Can you think of any examples of past trials that have strengthened your faith? What happened? 8. Name as many trials as you can think of, that you are currently experiencing. How might God be using each of these things to prove ‘the tested genuineness of your faith’ (v7)? If it’s hard to see any purpose to these trials, what might help you? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 8 3. Live as the Father’s Children (1:13 - 2:3) Week of Sunday 30-Jul 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it 1. ‘Hope’ has already been a strong theme in this chapter. If someone was to ask you, “What’s your greatest hope?”, what would you say? Read 1 Peter 1:12-15 2. Look at the phrases and commands that support the instruction to ‘be holy in all your conduct’ (v15). How does the following give rise to the call to holiness? • our current relationship with God • our former way of life Read 1 Peter 1:16-21 3. What is it about the judgement of God that should give us cause to fear (v17)? 4. How do you think is it possible to both fear God (v17) and yet to have faith and hope in him (v21)? Why or why not? 9 Read 1 Peter 1:22-25 5. From what have we purified ourselves? (Look at the previous verses.) For what have we purified ourselves? Read 1 Peter 2:1-3 6. There are two reasons given for them to ‘long for the pure spiritual milk’ (v2). The first is that they are like newborn infants. Looking back over the previous verses, why do you think Peter describes them as infants? 7. Read back over 1:22-2:3. What do you think the pure spiritual milk’ is? What is the result of drinking the milk? Takeaways 8. Would you say that you live each day, conducting yourself with an appropriate fear of God? If not, how might you need to change your view of: • God’s holiness and judgement? • the preciousness of Christ’s sacrifice? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 10 4. Living as holy stones (2:4-10) The week of Sunday 06-Aug 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it To understand this passage — with its living stones and spiritual houses, its chosen peoples and royal priesthoods — we need to remind ourselves of all that has gone before. It’s a long story, but it includes God choosing Israel out of all the nations of the world to be his own people, with the ultimate purpose of blessing the whole world through them. This one nation was to be different from all the rest, set apart for God’s purpose and plan (i.e. holy). Yet there was a condition (“if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant”), and Israel as a nation did not fulfil it. Let us take up the story at this point by turning to the prophet Isaiah, who was writing towards the end of this sorry tale. Israel is about to receive the final blow of punishment from God for all her apostasies, Baal-worship, injustice and wickedness. Read Isaiah 8:1-15 1. What is the Lord about to do to Samaria and Judah—that is, the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel? 2. The Lord is often referred to in the Psalms as a ‘rock’ of salvation (e.g. Ps 18:2, 46), but what sort of rock has he become now for Israel? Read Isaiah 27:12 - 28:19 Isaiah also prophesies something better for the future. As well as his gloomy warnings that God is about to send his people into exile, and destroy Jerusalem and the temple, Isaiah also envisions a future restoration. 11 3. What sort of ‘stone’ is God laying? What will God do in the future (‘in that day’)? Read 1 Peter 2:4-8 4. A “living stone” is a strange idea, since a stone is usually about the most lifeless thing you could imagine. Why do you think Peter describes Jesus as a “living stone”? 5. What function does this particular stone have? What part of the building is it? What sort of building will the finished project be? 6. What reactions do different people have to the stone? What is the result for them? Read 1 Peter 2:9-10 7. List all that believers in Jesus Christ now are, or have received, according to these verses. Takeaways 8. As believers in Christ, we have been made into a new people who should ‘offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (v5). What sins do you need to put away so that you can live in this way? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 12 5. Living as submissive strangers, Pt. 1 (2:11 - 3:8) The week of Sunday 13-Aug 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it 1. What causes our lives to be no different to the culture around us? Read 1 Peter 2:11-12 2. What might Peter mean by ‘passions of the flesh’? How might we ‘abstain from’ them? Read 1 Peter 2:13-17 3. To whom should we submit in these verses? What two reasons are given for why we should submit? 4. What is the purpose of human government, according to these verses? 5. Look closely at v15-16. What potential problem do you think Peter might be addressing here? 13 Read 1 Peter 2:18-25 6. With what attitude should slaves submit to their masters? How does this relate to the previous verses? 7. How is the example of Christ similar to the situation of the slave, with respect to: • innocence? • submission? • suffering? Takeaways 8. Are there good things you could do in your community that would help silence opposition to the Gospel? 9. In what ways do you find it hard to submit to authority? How does this passage both challenge and motivate you to do so? 10. How do we know the difference between a sinful desire to resist authority and a submission to God which requires us to oppose civil authorities when necessary? (See Acts 4:19) Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 14 6. Living as submissive strangers, Pt.2 (2:11 - 3:8) The week of Sunday 20-Aug 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it When we come to the Bible, we bring with us many attitudes, values, long-held beliefs and prejudices. There are few areas in which this is more obviously the case than marriage. And so we come to 1 Peter 3:1-7, which contains marvellous and encouraging teaching for us about God’s good ways regarding marriage. 1. When we read instructions for husbands and wives in the Bible, we can be tempted to feel uncomfortable. Why do you think these passages make us feel uncomfortable? Why are they so controversial? Read 1 Peter 3:1-6 2. Verse 1 alerts us to the fact that what follows is a continuation of chapter 2: wives are to submit to their husbands ‘likewise’ (v1). But ‘like’ what? To what guiding principle in the previous verses is Peter referring? 3. What are the differences between the adornments of v3 and v4? What can help us to see the items in v4 as more desirable and valuable than the items in v3? 15 4. How does the example of Sarah in verses 5 and 6 support Peter’s argument? 5. Look back over these seven verses. What do they teach us about how a woman relates to God? Peter has some much briefer advice for husbands—perhaps because men need things to be kept simple! Again, he opens with the word “likewise”, continuing his train of thought that no matter what our role or station in life, we should maintain such good and blameless conduct that we put our pagan neighbours to shame. Read 1 Peter 3:7-8 6. What two characteristics of their wives are husbands to keep in mind? 7. What do you think Peter means by “in an understanding way” and “the weaker vessel”? 8. Why do you think failing to understand and honour your wife would hinder your prayers? 9. Of the five exhortations in v8, which do you have most difficulty with? What can you do about it? 16 Takeaways 10. (If you are married:) How do these verses challenge your own marriage? How do they affect your behaviour, attitudes and prayer life? 11. (For everyone) How could you pray for the married couples in your church? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 17 7. Living as blessed sufferers (3:9 - 4:6) The week of Sunday 27-Aug 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it When we come to a passage like 1 Peter 3:9-22, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the apparent difficulty and complexity of some of its verses. The ideas move along fairly smoothly until around v18, and then we plunge into deep water — with Christ ‘proclaiming to the spirits in prison’, disobedience in the days of Noah, and salvation through baptism with a good conscience — only to emerge on the other side in chapter 4, seemingly where we left off. What about the ‘spirits in prison’ (v19)? There are numerous difficulties here, and again, the issue is clouded by controversies, such as the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory. What is it all about? There are numerous options that have been presented by interpreters and commentators down the centuries. The two most popular views are as follows: 1. That after his death, Christ went and preached to those who had disobeyed in the time of Noah, and who were now locked up as spirits in Sheol or hell, proclaiming his triumph to them (and the vindication of God’s plans and salvation). 2. That after his death, Christ went and preached his victory to fallen angels, who had sinned in the time of Noah by sleeping with human women (Gen 6:1-4). Each of these options has its merits and problems. These options seem to have the most going for them, as they emphasise Jesus’ victory (see v22) . What is clear, and what needs to be emphasised as the main point of this difficult passage, is that the spirits in prison/Noah reference is being used by Peter as an example to his readers from the past, to encourage them (not confuse them!) in the present. It shows that God will vindicate his people and save them out of the midst of judgement. 18 Read 1 Peter 3:9-12 1. When responding to mistreatment or insult, what should we: • not do? • do instead? 2. What reasons or motivations does Peter provide for this sort of behaviour? Read 1 Peter 3:13-16 3. Peter’s readers may have had reason to fear mistreatment and even persecution, but following on from v12, why should they not fear? 4. If we had been writing v15, we might have written, ‘But always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason why you believe what you do’. Yet Peter describes it instead as ‘the hope that is in you’. How does this fit with what Peter has been saying so far in his letter (especially in chapter 1)? Read 1 Peter 3:17-22 5. How is the suffering of Christ: • similar to ours? • different from ours? 6. Given that some parts of v18-22 are hard to understand, try to summarise how they encourage us to persevere in doing good and to endure suffering. 19 Read 1 Peter 4:1-6 7. What was the past behaviour of Peter’s readers? 8. What is the Gentile reaction to the new behaviour of Peter’s readers? Takeaways 9. Are you living a life which invites questions about your hope? How can you prepare yourself to give an answer to those who ask you to explain your hope in Christ? 10. Are there situations in your life where doing good will lead to suffering? a. How do you naturally react in these situations? b. How does this passage challenge you? Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 20 8. Living as calm Christians (4:7 - 5:14) The week of Sunday 03-Sep 2023 Start your time together by praying. Ask God for help understanding his Word, and the will to put it into practice. Think about it 1. Do you ever think about the end of this world, when Jesus comes back? What do you think it will be like? Read 1 Peter 4:7-11 2. In these verses, Peter urges Christians to prayer and active love for one-another. Why are these so important in light of ‘the end of all things’ being at hand (v7)? Read 1 Peter 4:12-19 3. Why should Christians not be surprised by the suffering they experience? (v12-13) 4. In v14-18, what new perspectives on the present and the future does Peter offer for a.) those who obey the gospel, and b.) those who don’t obey the gospel? How might this new perspective change your view of suffering for Christ? 5. How does Peter encourage Christians to face suffering in the present, in v19? What do you think this might mean for you, practically-speaking? 21 Read 1 Peter 5:1-11 6. In 4:17, Peter introduced a new perspective on the sufferings experienced by Christ’s church. Why is he so concerned, then, for the character of church leaders in v1-4? Does this change the way you might pray for your church leaders? 7. Why does Peter emphasise the value of humility so much in these verses? (v5-6) What benefit is all this humility to the church? 8. Why do you think Peter is more concerned that we resist the devil (v9), than that we resist suffering or opposition? Takeaways 9. What have been the most important lessons you’ve learned from 1 Peter this term? What difference will these make in your life? What needs to change? What do you need to persevere and persist in? Share these with your group. 10. As you close, remind one-another what it means to ‘stand firm in the real grace of God’ (v12). Prayer time Use the space below to write down your prayer points. 22 23