Fbc Eugene

Life is hard. Hurt can run deep, especially when it’s intentionally inflicted by another person. Suffering plays a central role in the life of a Christian. It’s essential to our spiritual development as followers of Jesus and can be the source of great blessing for us and others. In our text in this sermon, Peter shares several insights that reveal how we can have a blessed life, no matter how much it may hurt. Read 1 Peter 3:13-18 to prepare.

Pew Research surveyed 10,000 American adults over a 20-year period (1997-2017) and found that the polarization of our society in 2017 was at a 20-year high. The division is even greater today. Jesus called his people to be peacemakers—to stand in the gap of conflict. Today, Christians have an unprecedented opportunity to bless one another and their host communities (as spiritual aliens and exiles) with a clear and compelling picture of what Jesus' love looks like, in the midst of intense conflict. Please read 1 Peter 3:8-12 to prepare for this sermon.

Listen in on this sermon as Josh Bidwell gives a message about being a Faith Filled Follower to reset our minds and our hearts - less on the details of our lives, and more on the Savior OF our souls!

It’s not surprising that the most primal human relationship in God’s creation—the loving, life-long, one-flesh union of one man and one woman in the sacred bond of marriage—is the source of such dehumanizing pain. The world, our flesh, and the devil have so badly misconstrued the majesty of marriage, we cannot read Peter’s instruction about godly submission in marriage without it raising our hackles. Ironically, this sermon was preached on Valentine’s Day, and, once again, we will see what Peter does and does NOT teach about Christ-like submission in a broken world. Please read 1 Peter 2:21-3:7 to prepare

Peter’s next point on Christian submission to authority is especially difficult, not because of what he says, but because of what he doesn’t say. If we are honest, we would have to admit that a passages like 1 Peter 2:18-20 is confusing, if not embarrassing. We believe the Bible is God’s word, so why doesn’t Peter emphatically denounce slavery as an insidious evil? Good question. In pre-civil war days, pastors in the south preached from passages like this to justify the enslavement of Africans—a very dark and heinous time in American history. In this sermon, we will answer this troubling question and see what Peter is and is NOT saying in this passage.

There are parts of the Bible a preacher would just as soon skip. This next section in 1 Peter (2:13-3:7) qualifies. He starts with submission to political leaders, even the ungodly ones, then slaves submitting to their masters, even the harsh ones, and finally wives submitting to their husbands, even the disobedient ones. All kinds of hot buttons, here! As a 22-year-old pastor in my first church, I will never forget the elderly lady who walked up to me after a service. I could tell she wasn’t happy. She said, “Young man, I enjoyed your message, until you got to meddlin’. Peter begins meddlin’ with us in his letter. In this sermon, we will focus on submitting to governmental authorities in 2:13-17. Oh boy…

Those who know and follow Jesus, are an enigma to those who don’t. We are God’s children with his very life in us. We are God’s holy priests capable of offering up spiritual sacrifices pleasing to him. Yet, we are still at war with sinful desires within us and capable of committing great evil. At best, we are a mixed bag. What is more, even at our best, we will be repudiated by the world which is unable to make sense of us spiritually. Yet, some who initially repudiate us may be drawn through our good deeds to faith in Christ. But this conflicting response to us is not surprising, because Jesus himself was an enigma. In this Sermon, while reading in 1 Peter 2:11-12 and 20b-25, we will learn a central truth about following Christ’s example that helps us respond well to hostile authorities, a difficult marriage, and society in general over the next two chapters. Please meditate on these two passages in preparation for the message.

From the beginning, God wanted all of humanity to be holy priests serving him on earth. Adam and Eve were commissioned to care for and keep the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15), terms used later of the holy work of priests at the temple. After humanity fell in sin, God chose Israel to be a nation of priests (Exodus 19:5-6), but they refused. So, the sacred privilege was bestowed on a single tribe within Israel—Levi. Through Jesus Christ, God’s original plan for the priesthood of all believers is being realized in the Church (1 Peter 2:9). In this sermon, we will explore the honor and privileges we bear as holy priests in God’s kingdom and how the local church should be the most safe, healthy, and personally esteeming community on earth. To prepare, please read 1 Peter 2:1-10.

One of the most well-researched human motives is our need to belong. God hard-wired us to form and maintain positive, stable interpersonal relationships. When a sense of belonging is threatened, it can lead to destructive emotions, such as anxiety, depression, and jealousy, which only further isolate a person from others. As God’s elect exiles in a world to which we no longer belong, we are not exempt from being enslaved by these destructive emotions that erode our individual lives as well as the unity and fellowship of a church family. In his first epistle, the apostle Peter reveals how we can enjoy a deep sense of belonging even as resident aliens in a society where we are marginalized and viewed with contempt. As God’s redeemed people, we have implanted within us a capacity to grow in a love that enables us to not only survive but to thrive as spiritual exiles. Please prepare by reading 1 Peter 1:17-2:3.