In our study of 1 Peter, we are laying the foundations of the purpose of persecution and suffering of the church.  In this sermon, we examine more of the total falleness and the total redemption of creation, begining with the Christian.

1 Peter prepares the early church for the coming persecution.  In this sermon, we cover the rebirth of the Christian, who is then able to "see the kingdom" for how things are supposed to operate under the government of God. It is essential that the Christian know who they are in Christ, so that when persecution comes, they are able to stand knowing they are empowered by God's kingdom.

Peter wrote to the early church warning them of the persecutions to come.  All of his warnings speak specifically to issues that we are now facing today with the rise of Communism and Islam here in the West.  But Peter didn't just think these things up on his own, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he reiterated what Jesus Himself told the disciples.

What does the victorious church look like?  It is one that is faithful to the word. Here Paul concludes Romans with a description of the faithful, victorious church.

What does a successful church look like.  As Paul concluded Romans, he gave greeings to the brethren, the small community of faithful beleivers.  But he also gave warning about the false teachers.  A successful community of believers has love for the brethren and turns away false teachers.

Paul used his Roman citizenship against his persecutors.  We here in America have many more rights than Paul did, it is time we utilize our rights against our persecutors.

Paul wrote to the Romans as mature Christians.  He gave them meat, not milk.  This gives us tremendous insight into the nature of the word of God and its ability to mature Christians in its faithful preaching and hearing.

In this sermon we study the power that the word of God has on a person's life.  Jesus uses His word, both Old and New Testaments in order to affect change in the life of the believer.

Any given church is filled with differing opinions.  How are we to handle these opinions?  What would happen if the church decided not to disagree with things that are irrelevant?  How much further could we go in terms of expanding the Kingdom of God rather than expending our virtue fighting the brethren?

With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is important to know and understand where the ideas came from, who preached these ideas, and how they have been applied.  This sermon is just a taste of the history and writings of those who were there.