Sermons from December 2019
Herod’s Horror
Be Loving
Lesson 5
1 Peter 1:22-2:1, Be Loving
Love one another earnestly.
“Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth.” (1:22a), and “Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding world of God.” (1:23), a resulting command flows: “Love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” (1:22b).
Shepherd’s Surprise
Be Holy, for I am Holy
Lesson 4
1 Peter 1:13-21, Be Holy
The thematic verse for this section of 1 Peter is a quotation of Leviticus 11:44. “Be holy for I am holy.” (vs. 16). In conjunction with this call, God has made us a covenant with us, empoweres us, supplies a model, and provides a safety net.
“Be holy” means “behave”.
The Magi’s Quest
Be Great
Have you ever received star treatment? Have you enjoyed an occasion at which you were made the center of attention and all your wishes were catered to? You felt that you were great because you were treated as though you were great.
Every phrase in 1 Peter 1:10-12 tells Christians, though we are exiles and strangers in the world, that we are at the center God’s focus in…
FIRST CENTURY PALESTINE
While Rome ruled the world Jesus was born into his daily life–along with the Jews in Palestine–was a bit removed from that seat of power. Certainly the Roman influence was felt in Nazareth, Jerusalem and throughout Israel, but the Jewish culture and religion dominated locally. This often created culture wars between Rome and Jerusalem and Palestine became infamous as a…
Luke 2:9-11
Be Motivated
Unashamed of the Gospel in a Morally Shameless Society – Be Motivated If we are going to Be Secure (lesson 1) in a culture that has an ever-growing intolerance of our belief system, we need a pep talk-a motivational speech. 1 Peter 1:3-9 is one of the great Christian motivational speeches of all time.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
To understand the first century world and therefore to have a clearer background of the setting of the New Testament it is imperative to be informed about its context–the Roman imperial world. The New Testament is foremost the divine revelation of God, but it is also history and to better grasp the message of the revelation some knowledge of this history is crucial. The…
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