Suffering has a way of quenching the generosity out of us. When we suffer, we often resort back to selfish ambitions. God invites us to live charitably while suffering, and trust him to care for our bodies and soul. Even in suffering, we hope in the power of Christ, we live obedient lives, and trust God through the process. Scripture: 1 Peter 4

There is often a dissonance between what we believe and what we see. There’s a cost to obey Jesus and obeying Jesus does not protect us from suffering. Is it worth it? This passage reminds us that because Christ was vindicated in resurrection, our faith will be vindicated in His return. Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17–22

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13–17

Peter encourages us to grow in our hope for the future we have in Jesus. These verses remind us that life in exile brings a variety of experiences, but we can face our fears with confident hope, knowing that Christ is Lord.

Christian community by nature is a community that blesses. Peter’s instruction in this passage is that while in exile, we cultivate blessing and peace for everyone, even those who mean us harm. Because the extent we go to bless others is not based on what they’ve done for us, but based solely and fully on what we have received in Christ.

Scripture 1 Peter 3:8-12

We live in between the resurrection of Jesus in the past and the return of Jesus in the future. The great hope of the Christian story is that God will redeem his creation. This means we do not live with empty optimism, but with full confidence and hope in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

Scripture John 11:43-44; John 5:25

The passage for today calls husbands to honor their wives, and lead them to hope in Jesus, while also reminding all believers that we have been saved by Jesus as beloved heirs of the grace of life. Scripture 1 Peter 3:7

In this passage, Peter is addressing faithful women with unbelieving husbands. There is a kind of beauty that fades, and a kind of beauty that lasts — the beauty that comes from placing all our trust in a trustworthy God and hoping in the One who saves and delivers. It is the kind of beauty that can draw even an unbelieving husband to seek the Lord. With faith like this, our thoughts shift from focusing on our outward appearance to longing to reflect the likeness of Christ. Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-6

In this passage Peter is addressing how to endure sinful injustice. God doesn’t say don’t suffer, he says there is favor to those who endure injustice without sin, entrusting themselves to God. We are called to stand against injustice, but when we cannot, we must remember we serve a greater master, and have a greater freedom in Christ. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18–25

Our politics should be oriented around our allegiance to Jesus, not the other way around. This passage offers a picture of who we are in Christ and a picture of how to engage the political world around us. And the way that Peter phrases this interaction is that Christian’s are to live as free servants. Free servants honor everyone, love the church, fear God, and honor the emperor. 

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:13-17

Living as citizens of heaven means we live as foreigners on earth, and therefore as representatives of the kingdom of God to a non-believing world. We witness to an outside world through what we worship, in a way that either ascribes our ultimate worth in the things of the world or in Jesus Christ. Peter encourages us in this passage to the latter. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12