1517 Blogcast

As we conclude our walk through 1 Peter by looking at chapter five today, I’d like to begin at the end. As Peter sends his final greetings, he references his brothers-in-arms, first Silvanus, who wrote Peter’s words, and then Mark, Peter’s faithful companion.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes a famous analogy comparing the universal church and church denominations to a large home with many different rooms:

“I hope no reader will suppose that “mere” Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions — as if a man could adopt it in preference to Congregationalism or Greek Orthodoxy or anything else.

We meet, and affection blossoms. We love each other. We change, and arguments erupt. We stab each other with words. The door slams shut; the lock is bolted. We separate, breakup, then divorce. The threads of our relationship are torn. We’re sinners behaving like sinners. So now what?

When we think about God, each of us has an image come to mind. We expect that God should look and act a certain way. But God’s words in Isaiah 53 highlight a theme that prevails throughout Scripture, a theme that finds its culmination on the cross: God reverses our expectations of him.

There are many examples of friends serving one another in life. Some are extreme and extravagant, but most are ordinary. I’ve heard many stories that have inspired me to look for good friends with whom I can engage and be engaged.

There is some irony in the fact that St. Peter is writing to us about suffering for the sake of Jesus. After all, isn’t this the same man that had a less than stellar record when it came to his own response to persecution and suffering during the ministry of Jesus?

In the past three years, Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research have worked together to survey the theological state of Christians in the U.S. Amongst other shocking discoveries, the project found that the majority of evangelical Christians in the U.S. espouse the heresy of Pelagianism.

Following the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Lutheran Church entered a tumultuous period as an ecclesial game of back and forth was played in the German lands between Lutheranism, Roman Catholicism, and Calvinism, according to the religious proclivities of political officer bearers.

The Lord’s banquet room will not be empty. The wine will flow. The food will be served. Music will play. Conversations will be had. The Lord’s table will be crowded. He will make sure of that. 

The following is an excerpt adapted from “Let the Bird Fly” written by Wade Johnston (1517 Publishing, 2019).