Living In Exile (1 Peter 1:1-12)
Living In Exile
1 Peter 1:1-12
Normally in this space I write a short message to help you prepare for this coming Sunday's passage. But this week I'd like to take the opportunity to help you prepare for the message's for the next couple of months as we begin a new series in 1 Peter.
Even though it's almost 2000 years old, 1 Peter is a letter that could be written to churches in America today. It addresses Christians who feel out of place in a world that holds different values than they do. Peter's goal is to encourage them (and us) in their faith, even when it seems like the whole world has a different concept of value, success, and meaning.
As we jump into this series, here are five things you could do to make your investment in 1 Peter more profitable in your life:
1. Read 1 Peter. Okay, I know that one is obvious, but it's still the best place to start. And I don't mean just read it once - read it continually now through the rest of the series (the end of March). What if you read one chapter a day (1 Peter has five chapters), then once a week read the whole thing in one sitting? And the next week tried it again in a different translation? How much more hope (1 Peter's central theme) would mark your life in three months?
2. Choose key verses to memorize - 1 Peter is filled with rich passages to commit to memory, including 2:8-9, 3:15, and 5:6-7. As you read 1 Peter, I'm sure ones will stick out to you as well.
3. Watch this video to get an overview of the whole book - The Bible Project produces these very helpful short animated videos to give a bird's eye view of biblical books for free.
4. Join a life group - There are a number of great groups at Grace that can help you understand the Bible better, including a couple men's and women's groups that focus on the sermon passage of the week.
5. Buy a commentary or invest in a Study Bible to help you understand more of what 1 Peter is all about - There isn't one gold standard commentary on 1 Peter I'd recommend (you can see a pretty helpful list here), but of the ones on my shelf I find Karen Jobes' volume the best. For Study Bibles, both the Zondervan NIV Study Bible and ESV Study Bible are excellent.
May God use the words of 1 Peter to shape you in a Christlike way in 2021!
- Bob
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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 honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
-1 Peter 1:1-12