First Peter Series
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, 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. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 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.
~ 1 Peter 1:3-7
~ 1 Peter 1:3-7
Beginning in the winter of 2016, the sermons will focus on the book of First Peter. First Peter is a letter written by the apostle Peter to encourage early Christians to live faithfully and humanely in a faithless and inhumane world. The letter emphasizes our Christian responsibility as “resident aliens†in a world that desperately needs the influence of the good news of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christians shouldn’t be surprised or ashamed to suffer for doing the right thing in an often contrary and hostile world. Rather we should be like the Lord Jesus Christ, who entrusted Himself to God in the midst of His suffering. We can be sure that God will use our suffering to strengthen and purify our faith, as well as to demonstrate the truth of beauty of the gospel to the watching world.