From Piggish Ways to Holy Conduct

Read 1 Peter 1:13-22
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. ¹⁴Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. ¹⁵Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; ¹⁶for 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. ¹⁸You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. ²⁰He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. ²¹Through 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 so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.

Read 1 Peter 3:1-8
Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, ²when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; ⁴rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. ⁵It was in this way long ago that the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by accepting the authority of their husbands. ⁶Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her daughters as long as you do what is good and never let fears alarm you.

7 Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honour to the woman as the weaker sex, since they too are also heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

If you were to write a prayer based on 1 Peter 1:16 what would you pray?

Think about what you have inherited from your family.  Not just material things as important as they may be, but your spiritual inheritance.  Make a list of the good, beautiful, and precious gifts you have received that have made you into the person you are.

Did you read the May 30, 2011, issue of Time Magazine? Click HERE to view the article.  What do you make of Nancy Gibbs article about powerful people behaving like pigs?  What is the piggish behavior she describes and critiques?

If you could add some names and faces to the Misconduct Matrix in Time whose would they be.

What has God done to deliver us from the futile ways inherited from our ancestors?

What questions come to your mind about Peter’s exhortations to wives and husbands in chapter 3?

How can men and women nurture their common dignity and show respect for one another?

Do you want to be holy?  What would that mean?

Prayer 

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)
by Dr. M. Craig Barnes (blog posting April 22, 2011)

When you inspired Peter to write these words, you had to know that this is a pretty tough call for us to fulfill.  I would love to say that I want to be holy, but I wonder – is there some besetting sin, some socially appropriate addiction, that I am not about ready to lay down?  No, there is not one.  There are many.  Not only can I not obey the imperative to be holy, I cannot even succeed in honestly wanting it.

My only hope is that you never meant for this to be an imperative.  What if it’s a promise?  I shall be holy because Jesus Christ is holy, and by your Spirit, you are transforming me into his image.  You are not limited by either my sin or my addicted will. Make me holy, O God, for my soul will never rest with anything less.  I know in my best moments that my real desire is for you.  Amen.
 

Half Empty, Half Full, or...

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9

1Pet. 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,  7 so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  8 Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,  9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Questions for Personal Reflection from Steve Sweet

Do you tend to be a "half full" or "half empty" kind of person? 

What difference has Christ made in the way you look at life's challenges?

What promise from I Peter 1:6-9 gives you needed hope for the challenge or challenges that you face at this time in your life?

One point made in Sunday's sermon was this: "God has a way of putting the right person at the right time in our life to encourage us along".  

How has God done this for you, as you look back on your life?

Prayer, "The Prayer of St. Patrick"

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me;

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's hosts to save me

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a multitude.

Against every cruel and merciless power

that may oppose my body and soul.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through the mighty strength

Of the Lord of creation.

Rejoicing in Hope

Read: Ezekiel 37:1-14; 1 Peter 1:1-6a

The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.  He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.  Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”  I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. 

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.  I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD. 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 

To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,  who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice.

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

Remember a time in which you felt hopeless about your life.

How did you rediscover hope for your future?

We talk about being born anew.  Consider John 3 and Nicodemus.

What did Jesus say to him about new birth.

Have you been reborn?

Why was Easter Sunday so important for the disciples?

Would there have been a church if Jesus had not been raised?

Peter talks about a living hope.  What is your experience, strength, and hope?

If someone were to ask you to give a reason for your hope, what would you say?

Peter says that we have been born into an inheritance that will not pass away. 

Are you expecting an inheritance from your family?

When the family will is read, what do you want to hear?

So what is the inheritance kept for us in heaven?

Does the promise of eternal life bring comfort to you?

Rejoice in Hope!

How is it possible to experience joy in the face of difficulties?

Are hope and joy connected?

Prayer

Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Living God, 
you breathe in us 
on all that is inadequate and fragile, 
You make living water spring even 
from our hurts themselves. 
And through you, the valley of tears 
becomes a place of wellsprings. 
So, in an inner life 
with neither beginning nor end, 
your continual presence 
makes new freshness break through.

Amen. 

—Brother Roger of Taize
 

God of our life, 

there are days when the burdens we carry 
chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; 
when the road seems dreary and endless, 
the skies gray and threatening; 
when our lives have no music in them, 
and our hearts are lonely, 
and our souls have lost their courage. 
Flood the path with light, 
run our eyes to where 
the skies are full of promise; 
tune our hearts to brave music; 
give us the sense of comradeship 
with heroes and saints of every age; 
and so quicken our spirits 
that we may be able to encourage 
the souls of all who journey with us 
on the road of life, to your honor and glory. 
—Saint Augustine
 

Taste and See

Read:  Psalm 34:8; 1 Peter 2:2-3

Psalm 34:8 

O taste and see that the LORD is good; 

happy are those who take refuge in him. 

1 Peter 2:2-3

Like newborn infants,

long for the pure, spiritual milk,

so that by it you may grow into salvation—

if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, 

and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee."

- Augustine, 354-371

Questions for Personal Reflection from Kathy Sizer

How have you noticed an increased spiritual hunger in society or in yourself?

What are some of the ways you try to satisfy the deep hungers of your life?

Are there any of those things that you need to leave behind in order to long for the true spiritual life?

What do you already do to be intentional about feeding your spiritual hunger and thirst?  What one thing would you like to try?

Prayer, Psalm 42:1-6b

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 

When shall I come and behold the face of God? 

My tears have been my food day and night, 

while people say to me continually, 

“Where is your God?”

These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: 

how I went with the throng, 

and led them in procession to the house of God, 

with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, 

a multitude keeping festival. 

Why are you cast down, O my soul, 

and why are you disquieted within me? 

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, 

my help and my God.

Strangers in a Foreign Land

Read:  Hebrews 11:8-16; 1 Peter 1:1-2 (below)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:
May grace and peace be yours in abundance. 

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

Interpret this statement from Forest Gump: 

"Mama said that life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get."

Have you ever felt like a stranger in a foreign land?

How about in the church? 

What persons or events have shaped your own personal identity and destiny?

Think about Peter’s affirmation of the church:

1. God the Father chose you and destined you.
2. God sanctified us by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ.
3. Chosen, Destined, Sanctified:  God’s work.

What does that say about each of us as members of the church?

What role do we each have in living God’s work in our lives?

The mother cat in the sermon story was on a rescue mission of his kitties.  Have you ever thought of the work of the Good Shepherd 

or mother kitty as God work in our lives 

and our work for each other?

Who keeps bringing you back home?

Go Tell Peter!

It is with great joy that we announce that the tomb is empty!

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Mark 16:1   When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”  4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.  5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.  7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”  8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

What is your earliest memory of Easter Sunday?  Did it have anything to do with church?

Does it matter that Jesus really died and was raised from the dead?

If the story of Easter was proven to be a fiction how would it affect you?  Do you think there would be a church?

In John 21 Jesus restored Peter and reversed his threefold denial. Why was this necessary?

Truth and grace were the foundational realities of the mission Jesus gave to his disciples.  What is the relationship between truth and grace?

What is the mission of the church?

Are we intended to turn inward, enjoy the truth and the grace we have received, and never tell anyone the story?    

Who was it that told you the good news of Jesus Christ?

Name one person you need to tell.

Take a moment as you read this to pray for them.

Alleluia!  Christ Is Risen!

Facing Love at the Cross

April 17, 2011, Passion Sunday

The Scripture reading is from Mark 15:16-39

Mark 15:16   Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.  17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him.  18 And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  19 They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him.  20 After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. 

Mark 15:21   They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.  22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).  23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.  24 And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. 

Mark 15:25   It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.  26 The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”  27 And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.  29 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,  30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  31 In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.  32 Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. 

Mark 15:33   When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.”  36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”  37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.  38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” 

Questions for Personal Reflection from Jerry Tankersley

Can you remember a day in which it was dark as night at midday?

Some of us are afraid of the dark.  Why are we afraid of the dark?

The Gospel text in Mark 15:16-39 tells us that on Good Friday the sun was darkened at noon until 3 p.m.  What caused this?  What was its meaning?

The centurion  who crucified Jesus saw  and heard something that called forth a confession of faith.  What was his confession and what did it mean?

Have you ever experienced spiritual darkness?  How long did it last?  How did it end?  What helped?

Why is the passion and suffering of Jesus important for Christians and the church? 

If Good Friday were the end of the story, how would we feel, or what would we do?

Prayer

"The Crucifix" by Evelyn Underhill

To look at the Crucifix and then to look at our own hearts;

to test by the cross the quality of our love–

if we do that honestly and unflinchingly

we don't need any other self-examination.

the lash, the crown of thorns, the mockery,

the stripping, the nails–

life has equivalents of all these for us

and God asks a love for himself and his children

which can accept and survive all that 

in the particular way in which it is offered to us.

It is no use to talk in a large vague way

about the love of God;

here is it's point of insertion in the world.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

"What Wondrous Love Is This" 

Words: Alexander Means. Music: William Walker, 1835.