This week Pastor Jermaine continued our series on 1 Peter with part two: Lights in Dark Times. This book was written by Peter while he was in Rome. Peter (previously named Simon) was one of Jesus’s 12 disciples and wrote this letter to multiple communities of Gentile Christians within Asia Minor.

Pastor Jermaine calls us to live our lives courageously - to honor God and have our lives reflect the Gospel. He gave us four major points to consider:

1- Prepare your mind - "gird up the loins of your mind". Peter encourages us to put all the parts of our mind to following Jesus and doing our duty. We need to disengage our minds from all that would hinder us and prepare ourselves for the challenges we will face in the future.
2- Be sober - Peter exhorts us to maintain a balanced mind, being prudent, careful, tactful, and avoiding distractions. We need to think clearly and decisively and allow our minds to be transformed by God's Word (Romans 12:1-2)
3 - Think Hopefully - Peter calls us to be filled with hope in Jesus Christ and endure with confidence, because the faith-filled life is a marathon, not a sprint. We should meditate on things that are good, true, and beautiful (Philippians 4:8)
4 - Shape your conduct - Peter encourages us to be holy, obedient, and attentive to God's Word. We need to be mindful of our actions and be not conformed t the lusts of the world. We need to break the bridle of the world and its influence! Instead of being concerned with where "the line" is, we are called to "be holy in all of our conduct", for God is holy.

Pastor Jermaine shared that Peter emphasized these points because in times of trial or persecution, we need to "be strong and very courageous" (Joshua 1:8) and fully commit to being holy. Instead of hiding our light with our conduct, we need to let our light shine and reflect God's glory in the earth.