From Pastor Perry

1 Peter 2:9–12 (ESV)

A Living Stone and a Holy People

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Notice that we did not choose to be part of the chosen race… “But you are a chosen race.”  God is doing the choosing.  He has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.  We are to walk away from the old ways… the ways of the flesh.  Instead, we are to live to glorify God.

I pray: O Lord, help me to flee the darkness and to seek the light.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:6–8 (ESV)

A Living Stone and a Holy People

⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

       “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

       and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

       “The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

       “A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Jesus is the cornerstone, the founder of the Christian Church.  The cornerstone is the first stone laid when laying a foundation for a building.  I must be cut just right and laid in the right spot, because the cornerstone dictates the angles of the wall and the direction of the building.  The Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord!

I pray: O Lord, Jesus is our foundation for the church and we put our hope and trust in Him alone.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:1–5 (ESV)

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Like infants crave milk, we too should crave spiritual milk… the Word of God, forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven (the Kingdom of God).  If we are not seeking these things, then we have spiritual problems.  We are a living stone, chosen by God.

I pray: O Lord, help me to keep my eyes focused on you and let your Word shape me according to your will, not mine.  Amen.

1 Peter 1:13–25 (ESV)

Called to Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

       “All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

       The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

²⁵    but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Even before creation, God knew that mankind would fall into sin, reject His ways, live only for themselves, and lead lives that result in death and alienation from Him. In His love, before the world was made, He determined to send His Son, the unblemished Lamb, to be our sacrifice. Now through His Word, He calls us to life and sets us apart to His glory and for the service of our neighbor. God shows us our value: He was willing to send His Son for us. Now He calls us to share the Savior with others.

I pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your Gospel, that through Your Son we are born again, forgiven, and given life everlasting. May we rightly praise You for Your infinite mercy. Amen.^[1]

1 Peter 1:8–12 (ESV)

Born Again to a Living Hope (Part 2)

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

We are born in sin and continue to commit sins in this fallen world. By ourselves, we have no hope of salvation or blessings. But God foretold His gracious plans through the prophets. In the fullness of time, He sent His Son to be our Redeemer. He has given us the gift of His Holy Spirit, that we might be brought to faith and persevere in the faith. Through Jesus Christ, we now have a living hope and know the promise of God that we will live in Him forever. We can face any trial or challenge, knowing that we are safe in His care.

I pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, give grace to preachers who proclaim Christ and Your Word. Grant that those who hear Your Word may learn of His all-availing sacrifice on the cross. Strengthen us in our faith in the midst of suffering, that we may gaze upon the glory of our Savior. Amen.^[1]