1 & 2 Peter: Our Living Hope
Pastor Jim Thomas
1 Peter 2
4 urgent exhortations that promote growth in God’s salvation:
- Hunger for the Word (v 1-3)
- Come to Christ, worship Christ and proclaim Christ (v 4-10)
- Live as aliens and strangers (v 11-20)
- Follow Christ (v 21-25)
Five practices to help you grow in God’s salvation:
- Refocus your aim
- Renew your intention to loving obedience
- Redirect your affections
- Reorder your priorities
- 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
Discussion Questions
- How does the Kingdom of God manifest itself in your attitude, actions and work ethic?
- What do you do with your spare time? Where do you spend your resources?
- Are we talking about the mighty deeds of God?
“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!