Wednesday in the Word

In this episode, we turn to 1 Peter 2:1–10 and consider what it means to be “living stones” built on Christ, the cornerstone. Instead of being told we are tiny and insignificant in a vast universe, Peter insists that believers are woven into God’s long-planned project: a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, and a people for God’s own possession, called to stand firm on Jesus in the midst of trials. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Peter’s call to “put away all malice… and all slander” and to crave the “pure spiritual milk” of God’s word like newborn infants who know where real life is found 
• How early growth in faith—“tasting that the Lord is good”—should lead us to keep longing for more wisdom, maturity, and transformation
• The Old Testament background behind Peter’s language about the cornerstone, including Isaiah 28, Isaiah 8, and Psalm 118, and how those passages pointed Israel to trust God rather than worldly security 
• Jesus as the “living stone” rejected by human builders but chosen and precious to God—and why some stumble over Him while others find in Him a secure foundation
• What it means that believers are being built into a “spiritual house” and “holy priesthood,” offering spiritual sacrifices through Jesus rather than gathering around a physical temple
• How Exodus 19’s language about a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation” is now applied to the church as God’s chosen people in Christ 
• The rich identity Peter piles up in verses 9–10: chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, people for God’s own possession, called out of darkness into His marvelous light
• The connection between this identity and the earlier call to holiness, godly fear, and sincere love for one another in 1 Peter 1:14–25 
• How remembering God’s long, steady plan in Christ helps us reinterpret suffering—not as proof that God has forgotten us, but as part of His work to establish us securely on the cornerstone

After listening, you’ll be invited to see your life as part of something far larger than your present circumstances. You’ll come away with a firmer sense of who you are in Christ—a living stone in God’s dwelling, a member of His royal priesthood, and someone who has received mercy—and be encouraged to face hardship with confidence that the cornerstone will stand and, with Him, so will you. 

Series: 1Peter: Living as aliens and strangers

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In this episode, we look at how a living hope in Christ is meant to reshape every corner of our lives. Working through 1 Peter 1:14–25, we trace Peter’s argument that what we truly believe about God’s holiness, Christ’s costly redemption, and our new birth will inevitably change what we desire, how we live, and how we love one another. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How Peter connects hope and holiness: why a new identity in Christ calls us away from old desires formed in ignorance
• What it means to be holy as God is holy—set apart, distinct, and marked as belonging to Him in all our behavior
• The role of godly fear: caring most about God’s verdict, not human opinion, while trusting His mercy and goodness
• The staggering cost of our redemption, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a spotless lamb
• How remembering the cross exposes both the seriousness of our sin and the depth of God’s grace
• The privilege of living “in these last times,” when God’s eternal plan in Christ has been made clear for our sake
• Why genuine faith in the God who raised and glorified Jesus leads us to place our hope and confidence in Him alone
• The link between obeying the truth and learning to love fellow believers earnestly, steadfastly, and from a pure heart
• How our new birth through the living and enduring word of God creates a love that is meant to endure, not fade with our emotions
• Peter’s contrast between our fading human glory and the word of the Lord that remains forever—and what that means for our priorities and relationships 

After listening, you’ll see more clearly how hope in the gospel is not an abstract idea but a powerful reality that reshapes desires, loyalties, and relationships. You’ll be invited to take both your sin and God’s mercy seriously, to live with a joyful reverence before the One who judges impartially, and to lean into a persevering love for God’s people that reflects the enduring word by which you were born again

Series: 1Peter: Living as aliens and strangers

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In this episode, we turn to 1 Peter 1:1–13 to ask a simple but searching question: Where is your hope actually set? Peter writes to men and women living as “elect exiles,” people who feel out of place because they belong to God, and he gives them a gospel-shaped perspective—a “living hope” rooted not in circumstances, success, or self, but in the mercy of God and the sure inheritance kept in heaven for them. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How modern ideas of “locus of control” intersect with Peter’s call to a distinctly Christian perspective on life and suffering
• What it means to be “elect exiles” who are both chosen by God and strangers in the world
• The rich Trinitarian greeting in verses 1–2: foreknowledge of the Father, sanctification of the Spirit, and obedience to Jesus Christ marked by “sprinkling with his blood”
• Old Testament covenant imagery and how Exodus 24 sheds light on Peter’s language of obedience and sprinkling
• The new birth into a living hope—how the resurrection of Jesus changes our orientation to the future
• Peter’s description of an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, and what it means that God guards us through faith until we receive it
• Why God uses trials as refining fire: not to weigh our worthiness, but to reveal and strengthen genuine faith that is “more precious than gold”
• The paradox of Christian joy that coexists with real sorrow, as we love and trust a Christ we have not yet seen
• The unique privilege of living on this side of the cross, experiencing realities the prophets longed to see
• Peter’s urgent exhortation in verse 13 to “prepare your minds for action,” be sober-minded, and set your hope fully on the grace to be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ

After listening, you will see your present hardships in a new light—not as random misfortune or proof that God has forgotten you, but as part of His merciful work to anchor your heart in what cannot be lost. You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of Christian hope, a firmer sense of your identity as a chosen outsider, and a renewed call to set your mind and your expectations on the grace that is coming in Christ. 

Series: 1Peter: Living as aliens and strangers

Most people fail at Bible study because no one ever taught them how. Bible Study Boot Camp fixes that: one short email a day for a week, plus a worksheet you can use on any passage for the rest of your life.

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In this introductory episode to our new series on 1 Peter, we step back to meet the man behind the letter: the Apostle Peter. We trace his story from fisherman on the Sea of Galilee to foundational witness of Jesus Christ, and consider how his encounter with Jesus in Luke 5 reshaped his identity, priorities, and understanding of what it means to follow the Lord. 

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why 1 Peter mattered so much in the life of the teacher—and why it still matters for us today
• The background of the letter: Peter’s authorship, the role of Silvanus, and the setting in Rome under Nero
• What it means that Peter is “an apostle of Jesus Christ” and how apostolic authority served the early church
• Key moments from Peter’s life in the gospels that reveal his personality, strengths, and failures
• The calling of Peter in Luke 5: Jesus stepping into Peter’s ordinary world, the miraculous catch of fish, and Peter’s confession of sin
• How Jesus redirects Peter from catching fish to “catching people,” offering a new purpose more valuable than financial or worldly success
• A picture of discipleship as walking side-by-side in real life—serving, learning, and growing together in Christ
• An invitation to move from seeing Jesus as merely “teacher” to embracing Him as “Lord,” whose words bring true life

After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer picture of who Peter is, why his voice carries such weight in the New Testament, and how his story prepares us to hear his letter with fresh ears. You’ll be encouraged to examine what you’re chasing in your own life, to seek relationships that foster real spiritual growth, and to follow Jesus with the same wholehearted surrender that led Peter to leave everything for the sake of the words of life. 

Series: 1Peter: Living as aliens and strangers

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The Epistle to Philemon is a private letter written by the Apostle Paul. Along with the letter, Paul returning Onesimus, a slave who ran away from Philemon. This letter appeals to Philemon to take the right action and free Onesimus, but it speaks volumes to us today about how to live our daily lives.

Previous: 01 Philemon: How to be a hero, part 1

Series: Philemon

Most people fail at Bible study because no one ever taught them how. Bible Study Boot Camp fixes that: one short email a day for a week, plus a worksheet you can use on any passage for the rest of your life.

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