Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

Have you ever had to raise your voice at someone – not in a sinful, emotional way, but in a protective way? Or maybe there was a dangerous moment in your life when someone raised their voice towards you and saved you from a lot of harm. As we continue our study of 2nd Peter, Peter effectively raises his voice to the church to save them from what would be certain destruction. His warnings are just as important today.

Have you ever been conned? Maybe someone sweet talked you into a deal that sounded to good to be true and then it was. It usually happens because someone gains your trust, but then turns out not to be trustworthy. As it turns out there are those who use the name of Christ, and call themselves Christians only out of greed. Peter has a lot to say about the effect of false teachers. This important message is very relevant for our day.

What causes you to stop and pay attention to what someone is saying? Maybe it’s the seriousness of their voice, or the seriousness of the situation. Peter grabs the attention of his audience by telling them he doesn’t have much time left. That, maybe like nothing else, has a way of grabbing your attention. He had a reminder that was of critical importance for the church. It remains of critical importance for the church.

Sometimes, you will run into someone you haven’t seen in a long time and they will say, “you haven’t changed a bit.” As we age, that’s always a nice thing to hear. No one wants to be greeted with someone saying, “wow, I can’t believe how you’ve changed.” However, what may be true physically is not true spiritually. We should all be changing.

We’re familiar with the expression – “things have gone from bad to worse.” We’ve all seen examples of that. In some ways that was the context of 2nd Peter. Not only was the church dealing with the persecution and sufferings that Peter addressed in his 1st letter. Now, there was a growing tide of heresy and false teaching that threatened the church. There are many parallels to the church today and I hope you’ll join us as we begin a study of 2nd Peter.

Through the centuries the church has gathered in homes and buildings, in temples and tabernacles, or just outside to celebrate the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and the implications of it. This week we gather again, both on Friday and on Sunday, to join in the long line of saints declaring that Jesus is risen.

Have you ever set out to accomplish something but weren’t sure when or if you’d ever finish? Maybe it was when you started college or took that first position in hopes of launching your career. Maybe it was holding your child knowing you had the responsibility of preparing them to be an adult. Jesus was on a long journey. We’ll see just how long it was as we follow him to Golgotha this week to be reminded once again of the most significant moment in human history.

Which do you prefer the original or the sequel? Most of us would probably say the original. However, last week we saw, in some respects, the original wilderness experience. The Israelites failed that test miserably. But many years later there was a sequel to the story. Although instead of all the Israelites there was just one. His time in the wilderness proved much different.

Who likes a lot of rules and regulations? Probably not a lot of us, but if we think more about it, we may come to the realization that rules are designed to give us direction or provide us guidelines to keep us safe. If that is true, then standards may not be bad. All throughout Scripture, we can read God’s standards. We not only get to read the rules, but also read about the benefits of following those rules as well as the consequences of not following them. During this Easter season we are continuing the series titled: From the Garden to Golgotha. This week we will take a stop along our journey towards Golgotha in the Wilderness at Mount Sinai.

The passion of Jesus and the story of Easter began in a garden. Its name wasn’t Gethsemane but Eden. Eden was paradise until the first two people sinned. Their sin unleashed consequences upon all of creation. The most painful consequence was that humanity was separated from God. However, God launched a plan right then to rescue humanity. The climax of that rescue was seen at Golgotha. During this Easter season we are launching into a new series titled: From the Gardn to Golgotha. During this series we’ll be reminded about the seriousness of our sin, and magnificent love of Jesus. Prepare to fall in love with the Savior again.