September 22, 2019 -First Peter: To the Pressured and Persecuted Christians

September 22, 2019 The smaller groups in our church community are inside our homes where we go deeper, build friendships, and walk out the Christian life with each other. HOME CHURCH GUIDE + “Breaking the Ice” question (group facilitator) + CHECK-INS: Introduce, check-in + CARE: Needs in the group + COMPASSION: What is the group planning? Are you inviting your neighbours to join in? + GROUP ANNOUNCEMENTS Church-wide, group-only + DIG IN: Discuss questions as a group + END AND HOMEWORK: Final questions, prayer huddles for personal requests. Consider breaking into small groups (huddles) of 2-4, by gender, if large enough. DISCUSSION questions: 1. What kind of inheritance would you like to leave behind? What have you inherited in the past? 2. Reread 1 Peter 1:1-12 out loud with two different translations. 3. Suffering, hope, testing, joy, future, inheritance. What do these words evoke in your mind or emotions? What ideas or experiences come to mind? 4. To be born again is quite the language. Born into a new family, born into a new country, born into a new way of living. Where do you sense you have been most changed by your new Jesus identity? Where do you sense you’re living under the old more than the new? Are there lies you are believing about yourself you want to explore together? 5. What are the unique characteristics mentioned in this inheritance? How does that compare with the inheritance left behind by an extremely wealthy person for his child? 6. Peter speaks of a genuine/pure faith in this passage, how does he describe that? 7. Jesus is described as a living hope. What are some of the ways Jesus offers you a living hope in your life? 8. What is our rejoicing (6) based on? Do you greatly rejoice? When do we tend to rejoice more than other times? 9. The Old Testament prophets are read through the lens of Jesus as Messiah. What does this tell us about one way to approach the Old Testament? 10. The Spirit spoke then and the Spirit is speaking now to reveal and make Jesus real. What are your thoughts or experiences with the Spirit speaking to you or others about Jesus? 11. What do you want to remember from this passage the next time you face trials? Prayer Requests: 1 Peter 1:3-12 SUFFERING NOW, SALVATION LATER This future-oriented and the “already-not-yet” nature of fulfillment has stared in Christ’s first coming, currently lives in His followers, but the fulfillment, climax and conclusion lies in the future. TODAY’S OUTLINE 3-5 Praise to God for New Birth 6-9 Rejoicing through Present Trials 10-12 Witnesses to the Wonder of Salvation “This discourse is meant to aid pressured and persecuted Christians to keep their eye on the prize, and to change in the near future any belief of behaviours that are out of line with living according to Christian hope and Christian virtues” (BW3, 76). THROUGH THE PASSAGE VERSE 3: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, “Our Lord Jesus Christ” We are under the rule of Jesus first. Identity, identity, identity. First allegiance is Jesus. Lord is not a cute religious fuzzy term. Lord makes demands on relationship loyalty first. “According to His Mercy...born again.” John 3, Titus 3.5, (but not elsewhere in Paul, he doesn’t use this, he’s even more radical “new creation”! Outside activity caused the change. (79)), James 1:18, and here. “into a living hope” VERSE 4: and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, “Our inheritance” The Whole Creation Has Been Groaning Matthew 5:5 Jesus says the meek shall inherit the earth. VERSE 5: who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. “are being guarded” “by God’s power” VERSE 6: In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. We can rejoice because VERSE 7: These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Tested more precious than gold VERSE 8: 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, Joy unspeakable and full of glory NOTE: Peter is NOT saying that suffering ITSELF is a cause of rejoicing nor that suffering is redemptive in itself (inherently). VERSE 9: for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. “obtaining the goal of your faith” Komizomenoi literally means “winning for yourselves”. VERSE 10: Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, About this Salvation the prophets... Peter is probably alluding to Jesus saying in Matthew 13:17 VERSE 11: trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. The prophets saw ahead that Jesus would... VERSE 12: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. The Old Testament is read backwards through Jesus’ life. Angels are real spiritual beings that are part of God’s creation. PULLING IT TOGETHER