Focal Passage: Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-8 

The suffering of Christ on Calvary is impossible for us to fully understand. The Son of God who laid aside His glory (Philippians 2:6-7) and took on our flesh (John 1:14) experienced all our temptations (Hebrews 4:15), and went to the cross to satisfy holy justice (II Corinthians 5:21) by paying the sin debt for everyone who would look to Him by faith (Isaiah 53:3-10).

On the cross, the Son who is coequal and coeternal with the Father experienced abandonment, a painful break in the fellowship they had always shared. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: 1 Peter 4:1-11  

When I was in elementary school I received a report card every six weeks. In addition to the fear and trembling activated by the grades, there was a preprinted set of behavioral concerns that teachers could mark each grading period. Multiple times I earned a checkmark by the box reading, “Needs to refrain from unnecessary talking and movement.” It was a convenient way for teachers to say, “Troy needs to stop goofing off and do his work!” 

Thankfully, a few marks for bad behavior in elementary school did not wreck my life. The intervention of godly parents regularly pointed me toward God’s expectations! In a much more critical scenario, Peter exhorted his readers that enough time had been spent “doing what the Gentiles choose to do” (I Peter 4:3).  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 3:13-22 

As Christians our lives should draw a clear line between good and evil. Our suffering should be for the sake of righteousness and our testimony should affirm the same truth. First Peter 3:15 puts “Lord” first (the emphatic position), revealing the Lordship of Christ to be first and foremost in Peter’s mind. Nothing calls us to righteous living like worshiping Christ as Lord. 

When we set apart Christ as Lord, understanding that the title refers to His active authority and not just part of His name, we submit every aspect of life to His command. Nothing is outside His Lordship! His glory seen in His finished work on the cross becomes the reason for our hope. When we wave the banner of the cross and not human philosophy or efforts, our message answers every objection with gentleness and respect and disarms the enemies of the cross (v. 16). [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 3:1-12  

Submit is not a dirty word, but some Christians have tried hard to redefine it. As Jerry Vines said, “they use our vocabulary, but not our dictionary.” Ephesians 5:21 tells us we should submit to one another “in the fear of Christ.” 

If our lives are guided by the worship of Jesus, our attitudes should match. Instead of fearing that we will be disadvantaged, we live by the conviction that God’s way of doing things is the best way to them, even when our flesh stages a protest.

Peter makes it clear to wives that submission means more than following the leadership of their husbands. While recognizing the husband’s call to be the spiritual leader of his family is critically important, it can be done superficially by a wife whose heart is filled with resentment.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 2:11-17, 21-25 

Most transient people have one thing in common – they travel lightly. How often have you seen a hitchhiker pulling a wagon? They tend to have the clothes on their backs and only a few very portable possessions, because they know they are just passing through. 

Peter addressed his readers as “strangers and exiles” in this world and exhorted them to “abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul” (2:11). He understood that the more we are attached to this world, the more likely we are to be pulled into its temptations. Unlike the transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau who wanted to demonstrate his self-reliance and “suck the marrow out of life” (Walden), we are called to harness this life for the glory of God. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 2:1-10  

Have you ever noticed the singular focus of a baby’s diet? While we as adults are scarfing down pizza, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese and an endless list of other foods that are not good for us, newborn babies simply want milk (or a close substitute). 

Give them a few months and they will be willing to expand their pallets a bit. Give them a few years and they will become walking garbage disposals downing anything that brings smiles to their faces. It does not take long for the fallen nature of children to become evident.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 1:13-25 

I learned a hard lesson on conformity before I reached the age of ten. However, I was past twenty before I realized that conformity was the problem. It happened one day when I was pushing my toy tractor through our gravel driveway. 

Between my excessive speed and the size of the gravel, one of my front wheels made a sudden turn and snapped off. After a thorough scolding from my father for being so hard on my toy, I sadly pushed it aside to plow no more. Although it was later replaced, no other childhood tractor was as impressive as it was. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I Peter 1:3-12 

An earthly inheritance is simply the reception of someone else’s stuff, usually after their death. An inheritance can be so highly valued (either real or perceived) that people build their lives in anticipation of receiving it. 

I grew up near a family that courted a neighbor’s property for three generations! The man who finally inherited the sizable estate died before he could enjoy it. An earthly inheritance is received by someone who either spends it or eventually bequeaths it to someone else. Either way, you can’t take it with you when you die. 

Our spiritual inheritance in Christ is a complete contrast to an earthly inheritance. It cannot be given to you by someone else, because only Jesus can provide the gift of eternal life. Furthermore, God will give the same inheritance to countless people who place their faith in Christ. This inheritance becomes ours by way of the new birth.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Leviticus 26:1-13 

When I was young the Coca-Cola company created a contest that challenged customers to find four bottle caps with each having a word that created the phrase, “Coke the real thing.” As you might imagine, my older sister and I examined every Coke cap we could find but could only spell, “Coke the thing.” The “real” was nowhere to be found. 

I don’t remember how much prize money was at stake, but if we had won we would have spent it quickly. I have often reflected on that childhood treasure hunt and now realize the lesson was worth more than the prize. 

Countless vendors offer lots of things as the solution to life’s longings, but how much of it is real? Church, let’s look in the mirror. When someone new steps into your worship or ministry activities, do they see a product or experience being peddled or do they see authentically transformed lives submitted to the lordship of Christ? [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Leviticus 16:1-10, 29-30 

Liberal theologians reject the idea that God would sacrifice His own Son as our substitute (II Corinthians 5:21) to appease His own wrath toward sinners, calling it “slaughter house religion” that is beneath the loving God of the Bible. Yet even a cursory reading of the Old Testament law reveals a people whose lives centered around the sacrificial system. 

The unfolding of Old Covenant revelation exalted a Suffering Servant (Isaiah 3) who would suffer and die for the atonement of His people. Instead of contradicting the loving nature of God, the Bible paints the picture of the epitome of a loving God who would die to deliver sinners from their iniquities and make them righteous in His sight (I Peter 2:24).  [Read more…]