1 Pet 4:11 4:11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. One thought:   We get to be instruments of God’s glory when we serve one another.   Three questions:   How are you serving others right now in a way that requires you to trust in God (and the strength He gives)?   How do you feel about serving others?   What is one thing you could do this week to serve others more?   Prayer:   Give thanks for God’s service to us in ...

1 Pet 4:9–10 4:9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.   One thought:   Hospitality that might cause you to complain or grumble must be sacrificial indeed.   Three questions:   What would this have looked like to Peter’s first audience – taking in a brother/sister + family who had been evicted from their house or lost jobs because of their faith?   How do you feel about having others in your home?   What do you think this looks like today?   Prayer:   Acknowledge God’s hospitality towards us, inviting sinners to share in ...

1 Pet 4:7–8 4:7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. 8 Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins.     One thought:   The state of the game clock changes the way you play. We are in the last minutes.     Three questions:   How might it be helpful to be sober-minded/self-controlled before (for the sake of) praying – would it change what you pray for?   Do you see life as short? Or do you just feel like there is no end?   Commit to praying for five minutes every day this week     Prayer:   ...

1 Pet 4:7–19 4:7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. 8 Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Dear friends, do not be astonished ...

1 Pet 4:3–6 4:3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians desire. You lived then in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts, and wanton idolatries. 4 So they are astonished when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you. 5 They will face a reckoning before Jesus Christ who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, so that though they were judged in the flesh by human standards they may live spiritually by God’s standards. One thought:   Living as a Christian ...

1 Pet 4:1–2 4:1 So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, 2 in that he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.   One thought:   Like an abusive relationship – we need to break up with sin. Armed with Christ – we have the power to finally do it.     Three questions:   What contrast is being made in the passage concerning what we are to give our time/energy/thought to?   How do you feel toward your sin? A partner you desperately want to flee from ...

1 Pet 3:18–22 3:18 Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. 19 In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 after they were disobedient long ago when God patiently waited in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you – not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went ...

1 Pet 3:18–4:6 3:18 Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. 19 In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 after they were disobedient long ago when God patiently waited in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you – not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went ...