Elect Exiles

Colton White

Sunday, January 5th, 2025

The Apostle Peter opens his letter to believers scattered across the Roman Provinces by calling them “elect exiles.” The question that we will answer is: what does Peter mean by that phrase? Peter attaches the phrase to four prepositions in verse 2: Elect exiles "...according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." Elect exiles "...in the sanctification of the Spirit." Elect exiles "...for obedience to Jesus Christ" and, elect exiles "...for sprinkling with His blood." Peter is reminding these believers that God has caused them to be elect exiles. He will sustain them during their time as exiles, and the goal of their exile is to worship Jesus through their obedience.

Living Hope

Colton White

Sunday, January 12th, 2025

What does it mean to be "born again"? How does being born again change our future? Those are the questions we will answer in these verses. First, we need to identify what exactly Peter means by the phrase: “born again.” Then once that is established, we can see the rest of the text unfold. We see that we now have a living hope, meaning, when we look to the future our hope is surely alive. It is not dead. It is not absent. It is not missing. It is alive! How do we know this? Because Jesus is alive! He rose from the grave and, for the born again person, there is an inheritance that is kept in heaven.

The Mingling of Joy and Grief

Colton White

Sunday, January 19th, 2025

Peter starts off this section by reminding the believers, scattered across the Dispersion, that there is reason to rejoice! Before he begins to talk about suffering and trials, he reminds them that, because of their new life in Jesus, they can rejoice! Specifically, they can rejoice in the midst of their trials and sufferings. Throughout our lives we will experience the mingling of joy and grief. We get a glimpse of the final joy that is coming in the midst of the various trials of our lives.

What's Your Purpose?

Kevin Brown

Sunday, January 26th, 2025

Peter was an apostle of Jesus and an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry on earth. He is writing to dispersed believers. Those believers were enduring some very difficult times. It was hard to follow Jesus. This is a letter of encouragement to continue to love Jesus in spite of their sufferings. There's joy in salvation, so live it out! This doesn't just apply to the believers living 2000 years ago. This applies to us today. By God's grace, all believers should have joy in spite of their circumstances.

Prophets and Angels

Colton White

Sunday, February 2nd, 2025

Have you ever searched diligently for something? You look in every corner, every crevice, under every pillow? This is what the prophets did with the Scriptures in regard to the coming Christ. Peter admits that the things he is saying are not novel ideas, and that he did not make them up. It is all there in the Old Testament. Sure, at times, they might not have fully understood, but there is a thread that leads through every book in the Old Testament to the death and resurrection of Christ.

Called to Holy Action

Matt Oberhelman

Sunday, February 9th, 2025

As we reach the conclusion to Peter’s introduction, we now enter into the “so what” portion. He tells us to do two things — 1) Prepare our minds for action, and 2) Set our minds clearly on the grace that is coming. We should be filling our minds with the things of God, which both prepares and transforms the way that we think about our current and future circumstances.

Fear in the Exile

Colton White

Sunday, February 16th, 2025

What does it mean to be judged by our works? We are told that salvation comes by faith, so what role and connection do works have with faith? In our lives, there should be evidence of a certain kind of conduct; a conduct that is driven by specific motivations. Specifically, a conduct that is driven by the grace of Jesus, by whom we are ransomed.