Sunday April 26, 2020 – Sermon on 1 Peter 1:13-25
1 Peter 1:13-25 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
A Call to Holy Living
13 Therefore prepare your minds for action;[a] discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21 Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
22 Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth[b] so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply[c] from the heart.[d] 23 You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.[e] 24 For
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you.
*New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This week we’re taking a look at 1 Peter 1:13-25 in which Peter is telling the church how one can live a holy life. We’re discussing specifically the aspect of how we name God and the implications of that naming – God the Father and God the Judge.
I am also invoking my favorite A.W. Tozer line from his book, “The Knowledge of the Holy” – “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
.Next Steps:
#1 – What name do you use for God? Father? God? Lord? Master?
And if it is ‘Father’ – what implications does that imply? Loving? Caring? Protective?
#2 – Continuation – What is your answer to the question: “Why do you love (your) church?” – During this time of pandemic and quarantining, what is it that you miss the most about gathering as the church? This will help us kick off our next sermon series on ‘Why I Love Church” – more details coming shortly!
See you next week, stay safe and may God’s blessings be upon each of you!
Pastor Mark