NHCC Sermons & Teaching PodPoint

1 Peter 2:9-12, 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. 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.
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As we begin to look at the second chapter of 1 Peter, we recognize that we are called to grow in salvation. We begin as infants. From there we “are being built up” into a spiritual house. The implication is that we should grow in Christlikeness, by learning to put aside sins.
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What a high and holy calling we have in Christ! It’s amazing, that God can take often misguided and clueless people like us, yet dress us as living stones, and make us a part of this global spiritual temple that He’s been erecting for 2,000 years.
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We should frequently revisit and recite these truths Peter teaches about our identity (for the enemy of my soul often comes and flails with lies about our identity.) But we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood and a holy nation—even though in our time on earth we are but strangers, sojourners, and exiles.
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The sobering truth we must face is: if we will be living as royalty in eternity, then it would be wise to start attempting to live that way now.

1 Peter 1:14-16… As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Verse 15 and 16 can seem daunting, at first. The command to be as holy as God seems like an impossible task. But God isn't giving us a hopeless requirement. It's helpful to look at the passages Peter is quoting from to better understand what the word "holy" means to God.

God's desire for His people was to be like Him, and He is holy. That's still His desire. The holiness commanded here is found in what Peter has already written in this letter. That is, God has already made us holy in Christ. He has already set us apart and saved us. Now he calls us to make choices that reflect who we already are.

In other words, Christians are called to change our conduct to fit our identity. As holy people, we shouldn't be "okay" with our sin. We shouldn't accept falling into the old patterns. We are to act as holy people act. Will we make perfectly sinless choices in this life from here forward? No. We still rely on God's grace and forgiveness.

James 4:14b, What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

At the beginning of 1 Peter, the author, one of Jesus’ disciples, reaches out to a community of believers spread throughout the known world. It’s likely these believers were Gentiles and citizens of the Roman Empire, but Peter calls them “God’s elect exiles.” They are God’s chosen foreigners who have been scattered and dispersed throughout the Empire and, their other shared experience was that they had been enduring all kinds of hardship.

Every believer in Jesus is an exile. No Christian has citizenship in this world because God has chosen to give us a Kingdom in Him. Peter adds we’ve been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for both obedience and sprinkling with blood (1 Peter 1:2). Each of those phrases is another way to tie Gentiles into the story of God’s chosen people.

Because of these things, it is inevitable that we will face different kinds of hardship, but those hardships themselves can serve a purpose in our pursuit of holiness. The sobering truth is that if we never deal with hardship, we may not be pursuing a life of holiness strenuously enough.

Timothy 2:13, …if we are faithless, He remains faithful—
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Join us this Sunday as we kick off a new sermon series over the book of 1 Peter entitled "Holy Living in a Hostile World." In a society that often opposes our beliefs, this series will explore how we can live out our faith boldly and authentically.
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In this first week, Frank presents an introduction to the book, the circumstances surrounding its writing, as well as a look at the author himself, Peter, and how his relationship and calling from the Savior affected him as a follower of Jesus Christ. Circumstances that help to shape his message to Christians then and today.
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Since this week’s message is merely the introductory message, it would be a great chance for you to invite someone not only this week but next week as well as we start digging into the Word in a little deeper.

Acts 4:20, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
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Easter (Resurrection Sunday) has ended. The pictures have been taken to commemorate the day. Perhaps, families have gathered and now gone home. A week is passed and now we head back to church on Sunday.
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Of course, the significance and impact of the Christ’s Resurrection has not diminished. The promise that was fulfilled in the empty tomb has not suddenly become nullified, nor has the miracle somehow lost its amazement.
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But has anything changed for us? Admittedly, we would hope so, but that really truly depends on us. The aforementioned significance and impact on those first century Christians was obvious. They simply could not stop talking about it and telling others about it. Why? Because the power of the Resurrection was and is life-changing. The truth of it begs for testimony from those whose lives have been changes and for those whose eternity has been secured.

Revelation 21:5, And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
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One of the incredible truths about Christ’s resurrection is that it confirms for us that such resurrection is not only possible, but promised through His grace. Of course, until that time comes when we have resurrected bodies, we have the opportunity and directive from the Father to be more like Christ.
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As Frank will illustrate on Sunday through his message, when we accept Christ’s offer of forgiveness, we are not done. We continually work toward becoming more and more a reflection of our risen Savior.