Call to worship:
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?Psalm 56:1-4
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
How does Peter show the connection to Jesus’ suffering and the church’s?
In what ways does Jesus apply His life to ours? How does that hold us in difficulty?
Where do you need to remember that Jesus has been there too, and is with you now?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for the story of salvation that centers on Your Son. We are amazed again at the endless grace of Jesus that grants forgiveness and freedom. May Your Spirit shape us to continually receive, share and show the love of God through everything we say and do.
In the name of Christ we pray, amen.
Notes//Quotes//Slides:
1 Peter 3:13-22
Title: The Pilgrim's Path
“8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh…16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8-11, 16-18)
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
(Matthew 10:28-30)
“A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.… I cannot understand and I cannot explain it. And there has been no one who has explained it.”
- Martin Luther
“The exegetical questions basically come down to these: Where did Christ go? When did he go? To whom did he speak? What did he say? Different answers to each of these questions can be found, resulting in a labyrinth of exegetical options, each of which has no clearly overwhelming claim to certainty, [with one] calculating 180 different exegetical combinations, in theory.”
- Karen Jobes