Pastor Gary Faith Baptist Church

1 Peter 1:20-25 - What is the hope of the resurrection? We have a new life in Jesus, we have new strength to live the Christian life and we have a meaning that transcends this life. Peter at one time was fixated on this life, but now he understands that we live this life with eternity in mind. 

1 Peter 1:13-21 - There are three motivations for us to live a holy life, the ransom, the blood and the lamb. The truths of the gospel trump emotionalism as a reason to live our lives for Jesus. 

1 Peter 13-17 - What is holiness? Peter tells us that we should be holy as God is holy. How do we become holy and what does that mean. Pastor explains three ways in which we should have a mind for holiness. 

1 Peter 1:10-12 Do you know that we are a privileged people? We are witnessing what the prophets and the angles would of liked to witness. The prophets did not understand the suffering Savior even though they wrote about him. The angles cannot experience the grace of salvation, thought they would like to. 

1 Peter 1:6-9 - Is it possible to have joy even though we are experiencing the pain of suffering? The answer is yes, not because of the pain but because of what it can produce in us. Peter had learned that suffering was not bad, but had value in that it purified his faith.

1 Peter 1:5 - How can we make it to the end of our faith? Often times we sin and fail to live up to what we should be as Christians. But the truth is that it is no dependent upon us or our power, but on the power of God!

1 Peter 1:1-4 - When Peter first followed Jesus he looked forward to the glory that would follow him as he witnessed Jesus ascend to the throne and restore the glory of the kingdom of Israel. What he did not understand was that suffering comes before glory. Now he writes this letter to the scattered churches and reminds them that the celebration is coming, but we will have to suffer first. 

Psalm 6 we read about David's heart and how he cried out to God as he was suffering. But not only was he suffering, he was in distress about his relationship with God and the enemy having victory over God's people. Yet he knew that if he would cry out to God, God would hear him. Do we cry out to God so that we can be closer to him? Do we cry out to God in order that his work will be done on this earth?

How can we have a successful marriage? The only way is to follow the instructions or the laws of marriage. Genesis 2:23-25 instructs us on the four laws of marriage. 

2 Corinthians 5:10, Philippians 3:10-14Christians have been forgiven for their sins because of the blood of Christ. But all Christians will appear before the judgement seat of Christ. We will give an account for how we live our lives and we can gain rewards by being faithful to Jesus.  We can also lose rewards by not finishing the course.