Stephen Charnock once wrote, “The goodness of God makes the devil a polisher, while he intends to be a destroyer.” The Lord Jesus warned his followers that the devil has come to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10), yet the Lord has come to bring life and bring it abundantly. Often, we are blind to the spiritual forces at work in our lives. We fail to see that there is a war being waged over our soul. For the devil is actively seeking to undermine the work of God to conform us to the image of Christ. However, by the power of Christ’s victory on the cross each attempt by the enemy to destroy our faith becomes an opportunity for Christians to grow in their faith. We resist Satan’s work by trusting Christ to turn it for our good. To come prepared for the sermon take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 5:5-9, Isaiah 54:7, Mark 14:37-38, Luke 22:31-34, John 8:44;10:10, Romans 16:10, Ephesians 6:10-18, James 4:6-10, and the online article Who Is Our Enemy.

In our passage for this Sunday, the Apostle Peter calls God’s people to the strength of humility in our relationships with the Lord and with His people. While the world “humility” is not so popular with the secular world, there is Spirit-given stability and growth as we become meek and lowly before Him and before one another. Indeed, we’ll see from our verses several secure life lessons as we rest in His love and enjoy Christ-centered relationships. To come prepared for worship, please be in prayer! Meditate upon 1 Peter 5:5-7 and ponder what it means that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Also consider the connection of the call to “humble yourselves under the almighty hand of God” and the trust of “casting all your anxieties on Him.” As you think of 1 Peter 5:5-7, please turn to Philippians 2:1-11 and pray God’s blessings for all of us as we follow Jesus Christ in God’s community of faith.

Every church has leaders. That is not the question. The question we need to ask is, “What kind of leaders should the church have?” Leadership within the church is vitally important for the health of the body and the continued execution of the Great Commission. Yet we often look to the wrong people to lead. We assume that those who make great leaders in the world will make great leaders in the church. People who are commanding generals, successful businessmen, or powerful politicians would seem to be natural leaders within the church. Nevertheless, God’s Word points us in another direction. For the leaders of God’s people are not to be like the leaders of the world but rather are to be servants. The very qualities that make for powerful leadership in the world, run counter to many of the qualities called for in those who would shepherd God’s people. What we will see in our passage for this week is that we can recognize those God has called to leadership in the church by their call, by their character, and by their crown. To come prepared for the sermon take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 5:1-4, Psalm 80, Matthew 20:25-28, John 21:15-19, Acts 20:18-35, and Hebrews 13:17.

It is always difficult to trust someone else’s judgment. When you are in the car with someone who brakes a second later than you, it is difficult not to comment. If you are in a meeting at work and you disagree with the approach your boss is taking, it is difficult to follow his directive. When your doctor gives you medical advice that you don’t agree with, it is tempting to disregard her expertise. And in like fashion, when the Lord ordains something that is difficult or that we don’t understand, often we will question His judgment. We will question whether or not He has our best intentions at heart. Yet as a Christian we are called to entrust the judgment of the Lord over our life. We must be willing to submit to His hand of providence and continue to follow Christ. What we will see in our text for this week is that all Christians are called to trust God’s judgment, not only in this life, but in the life that is to come. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:16-19, Proverbs 11:31, Malachi 3:1-4, John 9:39, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 1 Timothy 1:12, 1 Peter 1:6-7; 5:6, and Westminster Confession of Faith 33.

While suffering is not a popular topic, it is an important one for Christians to study. While there are many who would present Christianity as a path away from suffering, the reality is that all Christians should expect suffering in this life. Jesus promised that His disciples would suffer. In 1 Peter 4 the Apostle Peter, echoing the words of Christ, says that Christians should not think it strange when they encounter suffering. Suffering is a reality in the Christian experience. Nevertheless, we are not to suffer in the same manner as the world. Rather we are called to suffer in a way that reveals our hope in the gospel and our joy in the glory of God. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:12-16, Psalm 73, Matthew 5:11, John 15:20, Acts 5:41, Colossians 1:24, and 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4. I would also recommend the book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, available for free PDF download.

Westminster Shorter Catechism #1 asks, "What is the chief end of man?" The answer: "Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." In our passage for this Sunday the Apostle Peter calls upon all Christians to do just that, to glorify God. He explains that in all things we must bring glory to God through our weakness and Christ’s power. So often we believe that we will bring glory to God and power to the kingdom through our strengths. But Peter says that we bring glory to God when we offer up our weakness and trust in the power of Christ. This is our chief end, not to display our power and ability, but rather through our weakness to display the love, power, and glory of God. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:11, Matthew 5:1-16; 11:25-30, 1 Corinthians 1:20-31, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, and Westminster Shorter Catechism #1.

In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam surveys the decline of social capital in the United States since the 1950’s. Statistically, there has been a decrease in political involvement, loss of membership in civic organizations, and fewer volunteers for groups such as the Cub Scouts or the Red Cross. Putnam uses the example of Bowling to illustrate his point. While the number of people who bowl annually has increased, participation in bowling leagues over the same period of time has decreased. People are still bowling but they are just doing it alone. A similar point could be made concerning church involvement. While people may still come to church on Sunday, overall participation in the community life of the church has decreased. It is more and more difficult to motivate members to serve, to attend events outside of Sunday worship, to give faithfully, or to volunteer for nursery or children’s events. What is driving this decrease in social involvement? Putnam argues that it is the individualization of leisure time. TV, internet, video games, and smart phones have created an environment of leisure that does not require the sacrifice and inconvenience of social interaction. Over time people have been trained to evaluate their social involvement through the lens of personal fulfillment rather than service and community good. The Church however cannot thrive when her members look to their own needs alone. The community of believers needs one another for the Church to go forward in her mission. In our passage for this Sunday, the Apostle Peter outlines for us the call that every Christian has to love and to serve the Church. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:8-11, Matthew 24:9-14, 1 Corinthians 15:10, Ephesians 4:25-32, Hebrews 10:24-25, and Westminster Confession of Faith 25.

Mania, confusion, and hysteria are what we should expect at the end times if we are to believe the film and popular novels which depict this event. How many watched A Thief in the Night and came away horrified about what the end would be like? How many have read the Left Behind Series with the hope that they would not have to live through the events depicted? We might be taught to pray Maranatha (come Lord!), but I think that many of us would prefer that He come later rather than sooner. Notwithstanding the warnings the Bible gives concerning the end times, the overall teaching of the Bible is that Christians should not fear the end times but rather should anticipate the second coming of Christ with great hope and anticipation. In our passage for this Sunday, the Apostle Peter explains that the end is coming. However, the fact of the Lord’s immanent return should lead Christians to clear thinking, rational decisions, and thoughtful prayer. The coming of the end should not bring mania and fear but peace and sobriety. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:7-11, Matthew 25:1-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, 2 Timothy 1:7, and Westminster Confession of Faith 33.3.

What is it that motivates human action and decisions? While there are several factors involved in driving the human will, the Bible simplifies human motivation into two categories: a person is either living to the flesh or to the spirit (John 3:6). By virtue of humanity's fall into sin, we are all born living to the flesh. That means that all of our actions are ultimately motivated out of a desire to gratify the desires of the flesh. We are motivated by passions that are contrary to the will and the glory of God. And to live in this way leads to judgment and destruction. However, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, those who are joined to Him through faith die to the flesh and begin to live to the spirit. Those who live to the spirit are motivated to pursue the will of God. They are desirous of His glory. And though they will one day die to the flesh, nevertheless, they will live eternally to the spirit. How then do we live to the spirit when we are so powerfully influenced by the flesh? What we will see in our text is that to live to the spirit we must see that the way of the flesh is death. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:1-6, Ezekiel 36:22-29, Matthew 26:41, John 3:6; 6:63, Romans 8:4-13, 1 Corinthians 5:5, Galatains 6:8, and Westminster Confession of Faith 13.

How are we to find freedom from the power of sin in our lives? There are some who believe that they can overcome the power of sin through moral self-improvement, an act of the will to align one’s behavior with what is ethical. Others believe that they will overcome sin if they break old habits and adapt themselves to new virtuous habits: replace swearing with blessing, stop drinking alcohol and begin drinking vitamin water, stop watching provocative movies and begin watching spiritual or Christian movies. However, the Bible teaches us that it takes much more than an act of the will or a change of habit to overcome the power of sin. What we will find in our verse for this week is that to overcome the power of sin we must die to sin. There cannot be a gradual break or a replacing of habits. Instead, there must be a complete reversal in one’s way of life through a break with sin and all of its ways. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon 1 Peter 4:1-6, Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 2:20; 5:16-24 and Westminster Shorter Catechism #21 and #22.