Emily Bailey

The Minor Prophets: The God of Our Salvation

Pastor Tommy Bailey

Joel 1

The Minor Prophets

• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

The Minor Prophets 

• Timeline: 780 BC – 420 BC
• Two major events:
  • 722 BC – The fall of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
  • 586 BC – The fall of Judah (Southern Kingdom)

1. A time for waking (vs. 5)

“Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Mark 13:35–37

“A Christian congregation is a group of people who decide, together, to pay attention.”

Eugene Peterson, On Living Well

2. A time for lamenting (vs. 8, 13)

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1

“The purpose of confessing our sins is not to render us miserable by simply reminding us what great sinners we are. It is to remind us of what a great Savior we have.”
Iain Duguid

3. A time for repenting (vs. 14)

“Repentance is a return to sanity, an awakening to our desperate need for God’s mercy.” 

Jack Miller

4. A time for reviving (vs. 14, 19)

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Matt Pierson

2 Peter 3

“God doesn’t make junk, and he doesn’t junk what he has made.”
Al Wolters, Creation Regained

 Resources for further study:

• Sam Storms, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative
• Anthony Hoekema, The Bible and the Future
• Jonathan Menn, Biblical Eschatology
• Millard Erikson, Contemporary Options in Eschatology
• R.C. Sproul, The Last Days According to Jesus
• N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope  
• Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained:Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview

3 Truths from 2 Peter 3:

1. God is sovereign over all history

“History is not a random series of meaningless events. It is rather a succession of periods and happenings which are under the sovereign rule of God, who is the God of history.”

John Stott

“The Christian view of judgment means that history moves to a goal…Judgment means that evil will be disposed of authoritatively, decisively, finally. Judgment means that in the end God’s will will be perfectly done.”
Leon Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment

3 Truths from 2 Peter 3:

1. God is sovereign over all history
2. God’s salvation plan = patience with purpose

“The real scandal of this universe is not that there is a hell, deserved by all, but that there is a heaven, offered to all.”

Dane Ortlund

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 2:4

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Hebrews 9:27-28

“For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”
Psalm 90:4

3 Truths from 2 Peter 3:

1. God is sovereign over all history
2. God’s salvation plan = patience with purpose
3. In light of these truths, how should we then live?

“What all this means is that we must indeed be working for a better world now, that our efforts in this life toward bringing the kingdom of Christ to fuller manifestation are of eternal significance.”
Anthony Hoekema, The Bible and the Future

“If we have any hope, our hope is eschatological—that God will at last make this sad, old world new again.”

Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night

“Christianity offers not merely a consolation but a restoration—not just of the life we had, but of the life we always wanted but never achieved. And because the joy will be even greater for all that evil, this means the final defeat of all those forces that would have destroyed the purpose of God in creation, namely, to live with his people in glory and delight forever.”
 Tim Keller, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Ryan Motta

2 Peter 2

“Adam’s first sin was not in eating the forbidden fruit but in allowing the false witness to become a resident of the garden in the first place”
Michael Horton

Four Characteristics of False Teachers

1. Their Method
2. Their Message
3. Their Character
4. Their Mission

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.”
Matthew 7:15

“For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15  

“The problem is not wolves at the door, but termites in the floor”

Os Guinness

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
James 3:1

“False Prophets eye your goods more than your good, and mind more the serving of themselves than the saving of your souls. O they may have your substance; they care not though that Satan has your souls. That they may the better pick your purse, they will hold forth such principles as are very indulgent to the flesh. False teachers are great worshipers of the golden calf.”

Thomas Brooks

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts”
CS Lewis

“And gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.”

Joni Eareckson Tada

How to Build a Stable Faith:

1. We must be rooted in God’s word
2. We must submit our entire lives under God’s word
3. We must rest in God’s saving grace

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of Heaven into every corner of human existence.”
Dallas Willard

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”

Abraham Kuyper

“And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness”
Romans 4:5

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Jim Thomas

2 Peter 1

We nurture a flourishing and fruitful faith when we:

1. Rely on the power of God and His faithful promises v1-4
2. Respond to the exhortation to work out our salvation v5-7
3. Review the evidence of our election v8—15
4. Read the scriptures and remember, it’s all about Jesus v16-21

1. Rely on the power of God and His faithful promises (verses 1-4)

“The list begins with faith and ends with love. That agrees with the rest of the New Testament: confidence in God’s promises is the way we plug into God’s power, and love (even for our enemies) is the goal and sum of life, the light of the world that shows others the way into the kingdom.” 
John Piper

2. Respond to the exhortation to supply our faith with Christian virtues (verses 5-7)

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13

“A holy life isn’t the automatic consequence of reading the right books, listening to the right tapes, or attending the right meetings. It’s the result of a living, loving union with Jesus Christ and a life marked by godly discipline.”
Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God

3. Review the evidence of our election (verses 8—15)

“If you stop and say, ‘I want to know first whether I am elect,’ you ask you know not what…  Christ was at the everlasting council: He can tell you whether you were chosen or not; but you cannot find it out in any other way.  Go and put your trust in Him, and His answer will be — ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.’  There will be no doubt about his having chosen you, when you have chosen him.”
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

“My fear is that as we rightly celebrate, and in some quarters rediscover, all that Christ has saved us from, we are giving little thought and making little effort concerning all that Christ has saved us to. Shouldn’t those most passionate about the gospel and God’s glory also be those most dedicated to the pursuit of godliness? I worry that there is an enthusiasm gap and no one seems to mind.”
Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness

“A holy person’s motivating aim, passion, desire, longing, aspiration, goal, and drive is to please God, both by what one does and by what one avoids doing.”
J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

4. Read the scriptures and keep in mind, it’s all about Jesus (verses 16-21)

“Ultimately it comes down to this, that the real cause of our trouble is failure to realize our union with Christ. Many seem to think that Christianity means that we are delivered in that sense that our sins are forgiven. But that is only the beginning, but one aspect of it. Essentially salvation means union with Christ, being one with Christ.” 
Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Enemy of our souls reminds us of our failures:

• “Though everyone else forsakes you, I never will” 
• “You’ll never wash my feet” 
• “I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t know the man!”

The scriptures and the Holy Spirit remind us of the faithfulness of Jesus:

• “Follow me!” 
• “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
• “Feed my sheep”
• “I will return and set all things right.”

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Tommy Bailey

1 Peter 5

“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…”
1 Peter 1:3-4 (emphasis added)

The hope of the gospel in every sphere of life: 

• Earthly citizenship (2:13-17)
• Vocation and work (2:18-21)
• Relationships (3:1-17)
• Local and global Church (5:1-11)

Marks of a faithful shepherd in 1 Peter 5: 

• Serve willingly (vs. 2)
• Serve for the right reasons (vs. 2)
• Serve with humility (vs. 3)
• Serve as a Godly example (vs. 3)

“Our confidence is not in our love for him, which is frail, fickle and faltering, but in his love for us, which is steadfast, faithful and persevering.” 
John Stott 

“As soon as I answer the question “Am I okay?” with anything other than the promise and provision of my belovedness in Christ, I drift toward anxiety and darkness. Yes, there is a temporary high from the offerings of the world, but after the high fades, the sense of lostness and wandering returns.”

Russ Masterson, Searching for Grace

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 
Psalm 42:11

The character of Satan in the New Testament:

• Father of lies (John 8:44)
• Accuser (Revelation 12:10)
• Tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5)
• Thief (John 10:10)
• Murderer (John 8:44)
• Prince of the world (John 14:30)

“Satan is a lion (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus is a lion (Revelation 5:5). One is on a leash. The other is on the throne.” 
Matt Smethurst

“Jesus binds himself to his people. No expiration date. No end of the road. Our side of the commitment will falter and stumble, but his never does.”

Dane Ortlund, Deeper

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Matt Pierson

1 Peter 4

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”
1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Living a life of “Your will be done”

Steward: Oikonomos—a responsible slave

1. Opportunity of a Steward

“Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

C.H. Spurgeon 

2. Characteristics of a Steward

Characteristics of a Steward of God’s Grace:

• Self-controlled
• Sober-minded
• Loving one another earnestly
• Showing hospitality without grumbling
• Serving one another with the gifts of Grace

Two manifestations of grace found in 1 Peter 4:11:

• Speaking
• Serving

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35

3. Testimony of a Steward

“Real faith is ambidextrous. It can take blessings in one hand and trouble in the other, lifting both in the worship of the God who is worthy of our stubborn trust, complete obedience, and unceasing praise.”

H.B. Charles

“Jesus lost all his glory so that we could be clothed in it. He was shut out so we could get access. He was bound, nailed, so that we could be free. He was cast out so we could approach. And Jesus took away the only kind of suffering that can really destroy you: that is being cast away from God.”
Timothy Keller, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering

No one wants to suffer, but when believers do suffer, they can trust God for their own comfort and sustenance, they can bless and comfort others as they themselves have been comforted, and they can make a powerful statement to the watching world that the God who is faithful in the easy places is still faithful in the difficult places, and is worthy of worship in all places.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
1 Peter 4:19

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 Peter 3

“God created us as social beings. Love is the greatest thing in the world. For God is love, and when he made us in his own image, he gave us the capacity to love and to be loved. So we need each other. Yet marriage and family are not the only antidotes to loneliness.” 
John Stott

1. Our relationship with Christ must come first and He must be our example and guide in all our relationships.
2. The indicatives of the NT provide the unquenchable hope that our relationships can be transformed as we sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.

God’s instructions for imperishable beauty in wives v1-6: 

1. Actions 
2. Adornment
3. Attitude
4. Attentiveness

“She served her husband as her master, and did all she could to win him for You, speaking to him of You by her conduct, by which You made her beautiful … Finally, when her husband was at the end of his earthly span, she gained him for You.” 
Augustine

God’s instructions for believing husbands v7:

1. Engagement
2. Understanding
3. Respecting
4. Honoring as joint heirs

“Rarely will we agree on all the topics of marriage. Rarely will we agree on the exact proper use of money, or the exact proper amount of sexual intimacy, or the exact proper way to handle the children. God did not design everyone to agree exactly on all these matters. Rather, God redeems and enables husbands and wives to reflect Christ and the Church amidst their disagreements, and to grow in love for one another under every circumstance. This love tends to be expressed through gracious speech, humble listening, eagerness to serve, and longing for Christ to be magnified in our marriages.”
Dr. John Henderson, Catching Foxes: A Gospel-Guided Journey to Marriage

God’s relationship instructions for ALL believers v8-9

1. Be harmonious
2. Be sympathetic
3. Brotherly
4. Kindhearted
5. Humble in spirit
6. Not vengeful or vindictive
7. Giving blessings

“The Christian community, when it is working properly, offers men and women a way of being related to one another that cuts across all the things that divide us… There is nothing else in human life that levels distinctions and creates new relationships like the knowledge that one has been saved by grace.”
Fleming Rutledge, Means of Grace

“Satan wants us to shape our relationships around what he is doing in the world. God wants us to shape our relationships around what the Lord Jesus has already done for us.”
An unnamed Palestinian pastor in Bethlehem, quoted by Christopher J. H. Wright at Langham Partnership Vision weekend 2024

“It is the cross that allows us, no, demands of us, that we put down our weapons and let go of our anger. There God’s righteous anger against us was appeased.  Now he calls us to the same forgiveness, so that our relationships are ruled by grace and kindness rather than bitterness and revenge.”

Richard Gibson, The Consolations of Theology

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 Peter 2

4 urgent exhortations that promote growth in God’s salvation:

1. Hunger for the Word (v 1-3)
2.  Come to Christ, worship Christ and proclaim Christ (v 4-10)
3.  Live as aliens and strangers  (v 11-20)
4.  Follow Christ (v 21-25)

Five practices to help you grow in God’s salvation:

1. Refocus your aim
2. Renew your intention to loving obedience
3. Redirect your affections
4. Reorder your priorities
5. Rely on the Holy Spirit

“We must actively cultivate a Christian life. Holiness is not a condition into which we drift.” 

John Stott

“Holiness is always the saved sinner’s response of gratitude for grace received.” 
J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

“Holiness is not ultimately about living up to a moral standard. It’s about living in Christ and living out of our real, vital union with him.” 
Kevin DeYoung

“The holiness of the church means that life, as well as truth, marks Christ’s church; the behavior of Christians in the world must be remarkable enough to cause grudging admiration, astonished curiosity or threatening hostility.”
Edmund P. Clowney, The Church

“My confidence today that God will accept me if I die now is not based upon my experience of the Spirit’s unfinished work within my life but is based upon the completed work of Christ upon the cross.”
Alistair Begg

• Let us grow in God’s salvation.
• Let us taste of the kindness of the Lord.
• Let us return, over and over again, to the Guardian and Shepherd of our souls!

1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope

Pastor Tommy Bailey

1 Peter 1

“We may hear our hearts say, “It’s hopeless!” but we should argue back.”
Timothy Keller

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! 

A Panoramic View of the Christian Life

1. Past: We have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. (vs. 3)
2. Present: We are called to a life of holiness by the power of the Spirit. (vs. 2, 15)
3. Future: We can live with joy in light of eternity with Jesus. (vs. 5, 6, 7, 13)

“Legalism makes believers think that God accepts them on the basis of what they do. Licentiousness makes believers think that God does not care what they do. Both errors have terrible spiritual consequences.”
Bryan Chapell, Holiness by Grace

A life growing in holiness is a life of deepening love for God.

“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve Him, boldness to share Him, and contentment in Him.”
J.I. Packer

“The most powerful form of spiritual warfare is obedience.”
Dallas Willard

Examples in 1 Peter of personal transformation through the gospel: 

• Fearful people can grow in faith (3:14)
• Lusting people can become pure (4:4)
• Deceitful people can become truthful (2:1)
• Greedy people can become givers (5:2)
• Tyrants can become servants (5:3)
• Angry people can become gentle (3:15)
• Anxious people can have peace (3:14)
• Prideful people can become humble (3:8)
• Grumbling people can become thankful (4:9)

“Hold everything earthly with a loose hand; but grasp eternal things with a death-like grip.”
Charles Spurgeon

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!