The Proper Response to Our "Alien" Status

Gary DeLashmutt

1 Peter 2:4-10

Peter encourages the believers who are experiencing some persecution for following Jesus. He calls them to expect and embrace societal rejection, just as Jesus did while here on earth. He tells them to focus on their privileged status with God, because we have constant access to Jesus, through whom we are God's priests. We will never be disappointed that we trusted in Him and our opponents will ultimately fail. We are members of God's royal family, because we have received His mercy.

Good News in Bad Circumstances

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 1:12-18

Paul marvels at how God powerfully uses what to our eyes is a disaster but in God's eyes is an opportunity. Paul's imprisonment was not a serious setback but an incredible opportunity to spread the Gospel to all reaches of the Roman empire through the guards chained night and day to Paul. God is not hindered by the things that to us look like obstacles.

Embracing a Lifestyle of Love:Toward Non-Christians Part 1

Gary DeLashmutt

Colossians 3:17-4:1

Spiritual maturity is facilitated by receiving and focusing on God's love toward God, toward other Christians and toward non-Christians. This teaching focuses on sharing God's love toward non-Christians through our actions and deeds in our social roles among family, work, neighbors and community. Showing our love through our deeds will lead to sharing the source of our love. It opens doors for sharing the Love of God through Jesus.

Guarding and Sharing the Treasure

Dennis McCallum

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Paul exhorts Timothy to the treasure which had been entrusted to him. The treasure is the biblical truths Paul has been teaching him. Paul wants him to teach what the Bible teaches and emphasize what it emphasizes. Every believer has also been entrusted with these treasures. Truths like grace need to be guarded. The best way to guard the truth is to entrust it to many others. This is why discipleship is serious business.

God's Ambassadors

Lee Campbell

2 Corinthians 5:17-6:10

The Bible describes Christians as being God's ambassadors, devoted to God's mission and representing Him to those who don't yet know Him. If we're in tune with the wonderful gift we possess as His children, and grateful for it, we will naturally seek to tell others about the opportunity to receive Christ. We will be most effective at sharing Christ when we cultivate sincere, caring relationships with others, when we cultivate our character, and when we focus on God's love for us, and not the other person's response to this message.

Mission Drift

Mike Sullivan

John 20:19-21

In a culture of heated debate it's easy for Christians to drift away from the main mission of the the church: to share the good news of forgiveness through Jesus' death on the cross, and to persuade people to consider it. Mission drift can easily happen during certain times, including when in "survival mode," when in great wealth, and when we focus only on doing good works. It's important to acknowledge the tendency to drift, and continually focus on our identity--"in Christ"--and the true mission of sharing Christ with a world in need.

A Life that Demands an Explanation

Ben Foust

1 Peter 3:8-16

True Christian behavior leads to unusual qualities in our culture--brotherly love, compassion, humility, a love for enemies, and other distinctions?that will prompt people to ?demand an explanation,? sometimes in a hostile way. While this reaction can be difficult, we can be confident that God sees and will take care of us. We should be ready with an ?explanation,? shared with gentleness, that God wants a relationship with everyone, but also that there is ample evidence to put your trust in that.

Keeping the Heat Off, Continued

Dennis McCallum

1 Peter 3:1-9

We are so far removed from the culture of the time of this passage that it is hard to realize how radically liberating this was for women especially. The Bible has a high view of women, unlike the widespread view at the time. God calls women daughters and co-heirs with Christ. Jesus was the only rabbi to include women as his disciples. Peter calls for a different approach to marriage where the husband does not view his wife as a laborer or commodity but as an equal partner whom he serves sacrificially. Successful marriages that follow the Bible's view will really stand out in this fallen world.

God's Building Project

Scott Risley

1 Peter 2:4-10

Peter calls his audience to commit themselves to the Christian community that God is building, that is the church. The church is not a place or an edifice built by human hands but is the people of God coming together in in living, breathing community. The only way to join this church is to believe in the one God sent to save us from our sin, his son Jesus Christ. The purpose of this body of believers is to tell everyone all that God has done through his son Jesus.