A Living Hope- A Study Of 1peter

Opener:

Welcome and good morning everyone! So blessed to see everyone here today! This morning we are starting a new sermon series on the book of First Peter. This study will lead us into studying how to suffer well for our faith in the Lord.

You may have heard, recently, NASA landed the rover named Perseverance on Mars. Truly, it is an amazing feat for mankind and will further the study on the planet Mars. That piqued my interest about learning a bit more about our own planet. I want to share a couple things that maybe you are not aware of. The composite makeup of the earth is mostly Iron, Oxygen, Silicon and Magnesium. The earth is covered by 70 percent water and of the 30 percent of land, one-third of this land is actually desert. Because of the earths molten core it creates a sort of magnetic field. This field protects earth’s inhabitants from the Sun’s powerful solar wind rays which could harm us. Beneath the earth surface resides tectonic plates. These plates shift and collide with one another which produce geological activity such as: earth quakes and volcanic eruptions.

Before we begin diving into 1 Peter, I would like to share several interesting facts surrounding this wonderful book. This may surprise you, but this book uses the name of God more than any other letter in the New Testament. This book can be seen as a manual on how we can have an intimate relationship with Christ through living right. The book of 1 Peter was written around early 60 A.D. There was a lot that was going on during this time period as the Roman Emperor Nero was in charge.

Nero was known to be a very harsh man. So harsh that he killed his own mother, his first wife named Octavia and allegedly his second wife. In addition to all of this, he started the great fire of Rome in AD 64 and blamed the Christians just so he could build a posh new palace.

That gives you a little background about the book and the time period. Now let’s learn a bit about our author Peter. Peter was one of the more outspoken disciples. He was one that was very bold in his faith. He was born around 1 B.C and was martyred around 67 A.D. We know that Peter had a wife and kids and was known to be a follower of John the Baptist.

Peter was called into the ministry while working as a fisherman. Fishermen at the time were rough and tough characters. They were unkempt and often used vulgar language. During this time period, fishing was a very physically demanding job and can still be. They had to be somewhat fearless because storms would often kick up while fishing.

I. Peter was called

A. The calling

a. We see that Peter was chosen by Jesus to be one of His disciples in the book of Matthew 4:18-19(NKJV) 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

b. It appears that Peter never met Jesus before this encounter and Jesus walked by Peter and uttered those words: “follow me”

c. When Jesus said those Words, Jesus was asking Peter to leave everything behind. His fishing boats, nets, all the accessories that were needed for the trade, his family. Everything!

B. Peter’s response

a. I love how Peter responded to the Savior. He did not hesitate; he did not try to negotiate the positions terms. He did not question Jesus about how he would support his family while working in this new position.

b. Peter response to Jesus is beautiful, as we continue in Matthew 4:20 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

c. Wow, what an amazing response! How many of us today would be willing to drop everything and follow someone that you just met?

d. Yet, this is exactly what Peter did!

C. Peter’s Qualifications

a. Let me say this before I get too far here, Peter was not called based on his qualifications, his education nor his experience, because he had none.

b. Peter did not go to seminary; he did not have any formal religious training as far as we know. He was a fisherman.

c. Jesus could have easily chosen someone much more qualified than Peter, someone that had more knowledge, and more experienced.

d. The fact that Jesus was willing to choose Peter, really encourages me, it give me hope. Jesus is interested in using ordinary people to accomplish His supernatural plans. I love what John 15:16 (NKJV) 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.