Sermon Tone Analysis

We are returning to our study of 1 Peter.

Peter wrote this letter to encourage believers.

The people he was writing to were like us in many ways.

They were scattered in the world.

They were facing trials of many kinds.

Often, people think of the trials Peter wrote about as Persecution for their faith in Jesus.

That is but one of the trials they faced.

They faced trials in their place of work, trials in the marriages, trials in their personal relationships, trials with-in themselves regarding sin.

They were just like us.

They were facing REAL life in this fallen world.

This book is written to encourage believers who are facing REAL Life.

I am excited to be getting back to this study today.

The Big Idea Today is: The Holy Priesthood.

The last section we looked at was .

One of the things we pointed out while looking at that section was that God gave us the new birth, we were born again, by the seed of the Word of God.

Just like a seed has all that is needed for a plant to sprout and grow, so the Word of God has all we need to sprout and grow as Christians.

So, if the Word of God has all we need, we should crave it, like a baby craves its mother’s milk.

How are we doing with that?

Are we craving pure spiritual milk?

The next section, , begins...

How are you doing today?

Struggling?

Struggling in marriage?

Struggling in other relationships?

Struggling with sin? Struggling in general?

Not finding hope, peace or joy?

How is your time feeding on the Word?

I mean feeding, not just browsing… Are you taking time to look at the promises, the blessings God has promised you in regard to your situation?

Have you fed on the commands, the direction God has given you regarding your life situation?

If not, start feeding.

If you are, keep feeding.

Find the nourishment.

Find the satisfaction that only comes from feeding on the Word.

Find the truth of the promise that whoever is going to Christ will never thirst!

The next section, , begins...

1 Peter 2:4assumes that we are going to Him.

It assumes that we are taking time in His word and in prayer.

It begins

Notice the beginning clause,

“As you come to him,...”

This phrase ties it back to verse 3, and assumes that we are going to Him. “As you come,” may be better translated, “As you are coming,” It is an ongoing, coming to Him.

It is not, Oh, I came to Him a few days ago.

It is continual.

How do we come to Him? Through the Word of God and Prayer.

It assumes that we are taking time to feed on pure spiritual milk.

It assumes that we are reading, studying the Bible and in coming to Him in prayer.

Often, when I find myself struggling with situations or people in life, I have to do a check… Have I gotten so busy that I have neglected feeding on the Word of God?

I find a real correlation between how I am doing in life, and the amount of feeding I get from the Word of God.

How are you doing today?

Struggling?

Struggling in marriage?

Struggling in other relationships?

Struggling with sin? Struggling in general?

Not finding hope, peace or joy?

How is your time feeding on the Word?

I mean feeding, not just browsing… Are you taking time to look at the promises, the blessings God has promised you in regard to your situation?

Have you fed on the commands, the direction God has given you regarding your life situation?

If not, start feeding.

If you are, keep feeding.

Find the nourishment.

Find the satisfaction that only comes from feeding on the Word.

Find the truth of the promise that whoever is going to Christ will never thirst!

However, Peter moves on from this coming to Jesus to have our hunger and thirst satisfied.

He is now speaking of another purpose, another result of our coming to Him.

What is happening as we are coming to him?

“You are being built into a spiritual house...”

As we are coming to Him, we are being built into a spiritual house.

Note: Peter uses an analogy that Christ Himself used when speaking of Himself—a stone.

Jesus also referred to a prophecy in Isaiah about a rock with the builders rejected becoming the chief cornerstone.

Peter refers to that in this context as well.

Jesus referred to Himself as the Stone upon which the church would be built, in .

Jesus also referred to a prophecy in about being a stone upon which many will stumble.

Finally, Jesus referred to about a rock with the builders rejected becoming the chief cornerstone.

Peter refers to Jesus as the living stone — living because He rose again from the dead — upon which we as living stones — we are not dead, but alive in Him! — are being built into a spiritual house, or a dwelling in which God resides.

Paul referred to this as well in , and .

In each passage, it is clear that the focus is not on the individual being the house of God, but rather the group of people being the house of God.

I picture it this way.

Rock wall - one stone is Jesus.

From him the other rocks are positioned and put into place.

One rock does not a wall make.

One rock, does not a house make.

No, it takes all the rocks.

What if one rock doesn’t want to participate.

What if it tries to remove itself… what happens?

What if one rock decides it wants to be in a different position?

What happens?

The rocks around that rock are affected.

As we are coming to Jesus, we are being built into a spiritual house in which God dwells.

Yes, He indwells us individually.

However, it is in a very special way that He dwells in us corporately.

He never meant for us to be alone.

Remember Adam?

What God made the first man Adam, God saw that Adam was alone, and it was not good.

The only part of the creation account that was not good.

God is building us into a spiritual house.

This is an ongoing work in progress.

As He works in us individually, shaping, and perfecting us, He is working in us collectively to make us fit together, to be a unified house in which He makes Himself known in a special way!

Wow!

That makes being together as a church special!

This is why we need each member to be here when we gather.