Manuscript Template
Title: What is my identity in Christ?
Focus Statement: Before God asks you to do something, He tells you who you are.
Function Statement: Even as exiles, we need to remain loyal to who we are and what we are called to do.
Tweetable Phrase: Identity before activity.
Main Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2
Supporting Text:
Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):
Benediction:
Ephesians 2:10 / Ephesians 1:4-5 / 2 Thessalonians 2:13 / John 17:14-18
WELCOME
Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.
Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.
And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.
ME/INTRO - Tension
Have you ever been somewhere where you feel like you don’t belong?
I’d like to tell you two quick stories.
Sales
I grew up with an engineer for a dad building things each summers. We’d design whatever we were going to build, make our own plans, get our own materials, and build it. We’d run into problems, figure out solutions, and typically end up with something very close to what we intended to make. Each summer we made progressively more complicated things.
These summers created in me a very logical mind, that I thought God wanted me to us as an engineer. I went to college, got a Mechanical Engineering degree, and got a job designing custom air conditioners. Very quickly I found out I was extremely board. We weren’t designing anything, engineering in that context was selecting parts from tables and making assembly drawings for technicians.
So … I went back to school to get an MBA and got promoted to Operations Leader. There I was responsible for thinking through and improving the processes that ran our department. I got to work with people (much less boring than computers) and help them figure out how to do their jobs better. I love it.
Until...8 years had gone by and the sales team quit, and I was voluntold into being the Sales Leader. Keep in mind, I had been raised to be very logical, taught to see things in black and white terms. Sales is a world of grey. It is more about confidence, than competence. It is more about being friends with someone than putting forth the best solution. I was told my entire life that I would never be good at sales. Yet...now I was the leader of a sales department that needed to rebuild the team and sell 18 million dollars worth of product per year...and grow.
I worked and worked, averaging over 80 hours per week. I did everything I could to help the team be successful. We built a team, re-build the systems, worked to re-build relationships with the customers, and worked to improve the communication and feedback from the field to the plant. And our numbers were good. We continually beat budget, year, after year, after year.
But even as all this was happening, people kept telling me that I was not the person to lead the sales team. That I was not relational enough, didn’t see enough grey in the world, cared too much about details, etc.
They have a term for how I felt. They call it IMPOSTER SYNDROME. This is where you feel like you don’t belong, even when you clearly do. Despite my success within the role, I never felt like I belonged in sales.
Planet Hockey
Now, for my second quick story. Back in high school I needed volunteer hours, so I signed up to be an assistant coach of a hockey team. I figured if I had to volunteer, I should at least have fun doing it. I helped coach through high school and when I got to college the league gave me my own team to head coach. The spring of 2001, Shawn Killian and Steve Strunk were at the hockey rink and saw me coaching my team. They caught me after practice and asked what I was doing that summer. I had no firm plans. They asked if I wanted to travel the country with them putting on summer hockey camps with their company PLANET HOCKEY. Not sure why I said “YES” or why the people in my life allowed me to say “YES” to traveling the country with strangers, but I went with them.
We went all over the country putting on week long hockey camps. Everyone on staff grew up playing hockey. Most coached. Steve Strunk was actually a former professional player. This felt like my tribe. A group of people I felt like I belonged with.
Until...a few weeks in when we got to Detroit. I was 19 at the time and the group wanted to go across the bridge to Canada (before you needed a passport). I went along with it, not thinking much of it. It never occured to me that they went over there because the drinking age in Canada is 19. They went from club to club drinking all night.
I was very uncomfortable. I had never drank alcohol before. I had no desire to do so. I offered to be the designated driver and suffered through a very long awkward evening. This continued off and on all summer. They would go places and smoke weed. They’d constantly be swearing, watching porn, and doing all kinds of things that growing up in the church I was not comfortable with.
They have a term for how I felt here as well. They call it OUTSIDER. This is where you are fundamentally different from the people around you.
WE - Tension
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like an IMPOSTER, where you didn’t feel like you belonged even though you did?
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like an OUTSIDER, where you were surrounded by people who were fundamentally different than you?
When I’m in those situations, it makes me questions WHO I AM.
Seeing others who make vastly different choices than I do, I am forced to question if the choices I am making are the right ones.
When surrounded by people living differently than I do, I start to lose confidence in the person I am.
I start to feel like a STRANGER among supposed friends.
Have you ever felt like you are a STRANGER, surrounded by people who don’t understand you, living completely opposite of the way you have chosen to live?
Today we’re doing to start a new sermon series based on the book of 1ST PETER called STRANGERS: Following Jesus in a World that Doesn’t Understand Us.
Throughout this series we’re going to
As we begin, please turn with me to [1 Peter 1:1: Sanctuary Bible Page # 980]
We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.
AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.
Let's dive in.
GOD - Text - HEAD
Context
Let’ start in 1 Peter 1:1a which reads:
“1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ"
The book of 1st Peter starts with the author, Simon Peter, telling us WHO HE IS.
He was a Disciple of Jesus. And not just a disciple he was an Apostle which means he was sent by Jesus with full authority to witness to everything he saw when he was with Jesus.
Peter was also one of the three in Jesus inner circle; Peter, James, and John, who Jesus took places He did not take the rest of the disciples
Peter was there when Jesus:
Peter was the only disciple in Matthew 14 to join Jesus and walk on water
Peter acted as the de facto leader of the disciples when Jesus was with them, and led the early church after Jesus ascended
Peter was the one who:
Peter wrote 1ST PETER to all the people who believed in Jesus Christ as their LORD and SAVIOR but were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, living within the Roman secular / pagan society.
Peter wrote this book to encourage these early Christian communities who faced social hostility, harassment, and persecution.
Peter wrote this book to
This week as we look at the first two verses of 1st Peter, we’re going to do our best to empathize with those early Christians who probably felt like OUTSIDERS in their own home towns and see what God has to teach us about WHO WE ARE and WHAT IDENTITY WE HAVE.
After Peter tells us WHO HE IS, in the second half of verse 1 Peter reminds the Christians he wrote this letter to WHO THEY WERE / what IDENTITY THEY HAVE IN CHRIST.
Let’s finish 1 Peter 1:1b
"To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,”
I want to take a look at each of the terms he uses to see what we can learn about the IDENTITY these early Christians had, and what IDENTITY we’re called to have in Jesus.
Elect - WHO - Identity - know who you are
The first term Peter uses to describe the people he is writing to is ELECT (eklektos) - picked out / chosen.
This means that Peter is specifically writing to Christians, people who have responded to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
People that have heard God’s offer of salvation, and accepted it.
When looking at the idea of God choosing, or electing people for salvation, we start to get in some controversial waters.
The bible says the following about God choosing us
This idea of election, of God choosing who receives salvation and who does not, is the church term predestination.
This is a topic, that has divided the church.
People left churches and formed new denominations because they disagreed about this topic.
In fact the college I went to for my engineering degree was a Reformed / Calvinist College. It was called Calvin College. They believe that God predestined the eternal destination of all of us before creation, who will receive eternal life, and who will face eternal damnation. It is worth noting here that we are not a Reformed / Calvinist Church. We are a Wesleyan Church and do not share this view of Predestination.
Whereas the Calvinist view is to the far end of the spectrum of Predestination thinking, the topic of predestination does have a wide range of beliefs surrounding it.
There is a book called
Predestination & Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom
Edited by: David Basinger, Randall Basinger
[Image: Predestination - 4 views - book]
In it they share 4 views on Predestination and the people who championed them.
John Feinberg
Norman Geisler
Bruce Reichenbach
Clark Pinnock
I don’t know if you’ve given much thought to the topic of FREE WILL or PREDESTINATION.
But as you read the bible, just like we find here in 1 Peter 1:1, you will run across passages that will make you stop and think.
As we look at our IDENTITY today, please know that we serve a God
When Moses gave his final sermon to the Israelites after wandering in the desert for 40 years, Moses tells the Israelites this.
Deuteronomy 30:19
“19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”
Moses tells them plainly, that God gives us the choice between life and death, we have a choice, and at some point we have to choose what we believe.
The New Testament echoes this when it speaks about choosing to follow Jesus.
Romans 10:9
“9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is what we here at The Light KC believe. As a Wesleyan Church, we believe in Conditional Election.
Conditional Election: God predestines based on His foreknowledge, meaning He knows ahead of time who will choose to believe in Jesus, but His foreknowledge does not force that choice
Since God is Omniscient, He knows everything. He knows the choices we will make, but God doesn’t force anyone to make any specific choice. To choose to believe in Jesus as our LORD and SAVIOR, or to reject JESUS is our choice to make as part of the FREE WILL that God has given us.
John Wesley puts it this way in his sermon titled “On Predestination”
John Wesley - Sermon 58
The sum of all is this: the almighty, all-wise God sees and knows, from everlasting to everlasting, all that is, that was, and that is to come, through one eternal now. With him nothing is either past or future, but all things equally present. He has, therefore, if we speak according to the truth of things, no foreknowledge, no after knowledge...It is merely in compassion to us that he speaks thus of himself, as foreknowing the things in heaven or earth, and as predestinating or fore-ordaining them...As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than thy ways. I know, decree, work, in such a manner as it is not possible for thee to conceive: But to give thee some faint, glimmering knowledge of my ways, I use the language of men, and suit myself to thy apprehensions in this thy infant state of existence.
What is it, then, that we learn from this whole account It is this, and no more: -- (1.) God knows all believers; (2) wills that they should be saved from sin; (3) to that end, justifies them, (4) sanctifies and (5) takes them to glory.
So Who does Peter say you are here?
So who do you say you are?
Exile - WHERE - Loyalty - Know where you loyalty lies
But Peter doesn’t stop with just telling us WHO he’s writing to.
Peter goes on to tell us WHERE the people are that he is writing to and how that location effects their IDENTITY.
The second term Peter uses to describe the people he is wring to is EXILES
Peter is writing to people Exiled to the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
Exiled (parepidemos - strangers - temporary residents)
Peter is writing to Christians who are living in and among people who do not
These Christians faced daily pressure to conform to the norms of the society they are living.
They faced daily ridicule and persecution.
Bear with me, but I think this is going to turn into Church Word Sunday.
We already spoke about Predestination.
I think we also need to talk about another church word - DIASPORA.
The word Disapora (diaspeirein) - to scatter - to sow about
There are three main Diaspora’s in the bible.
When Solomon didn’t obey God’s commands the kingdom of Israel was split into 2; a Northern Kingdom called Israel comprised of 10 tribes; and a Southern Kingdom called Judah comprised of the other 2 tribes.
God gave both Israel and Judah warning after warning through the prophets, but eventually God used neighboring kingdoms to discipline them both for their disobedience and idolatry.
OT - Disobedience led to Israel being conquered and dispersed
The third major diaspora was in the New Testament.
NT - Not following God’s call to Saul’s Persecution
When I think about the Diaspora, about living a life in exile, I think about
But more than that, I think about Loyalty.
When we live in and among people who
We have to choose...who are we going to remain loyal to?
Are we going to remain Loyal to God, like the Old Testament Jews from the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Christians in the New Testament?
Are we going to transfer our loyalty to the local culture like the Old Testament Jews of the Northern Kingdom of Israel?
So I ask you...Who are you loyal to when everyone around you pressures you to compromise your Christian values?
Scattered - WHAT - Calling - Share your witness
So far in the first verse of 1st Peter, Peter identifies WHO he is, WHO he is writing to and the IDENTITY they were called to have as God’s elect.
Peter identified WHERE these people were, in exile, and challenged them to remain LOYAL to God even when pressured and persecuted to conform to the culture around them.
The third term Peter uses to describe the people he is writing to is SCATTERED
Peter wraps up this 1st verse by identifying WHAT these scattered Christians were CALLED to do.
When we find ourselves scattered among people who don’t share our beliefs, we are called to do two things.
The first thing we are called to do when we are scattered to a place where we do not feel like we do not belong is seek it’s prosperity.
Jeremiah 29:4–7
“4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.””
So when you are in a situation where you feel like you are the outsider, how do you respond?
Do you seek prosperity for the people who are living and acting contrary to what you believe is right?
Do you pray for the God to bless them?
But beyond seeking the best for the place God places us, we are called to be a witness.
1 Peter 3:15–16
“15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus calls us to be salt and light.
When we are SCATTERED, we are called to live lives that reflect God’s love to the hurting, lost, broken people around us.
We are called to be a witness.
So, when you find yourself, in a place you do not want to be, how do you respond?
What do you do?
Do you do everything you can to help them be successful?
Do you give a witness to your faith, acting consistent with the values and teaching of the Bible, reflecting the love of God, and showing them that there is a better way to live?
YOU - Takeaway - HEART
The first verse of 1st Peter tells us exactly who Peter is, who Peter is writing to, but also tells us who we are called to be.
Peter writes that we are a people
Peter then writes verse 2, which reads:
1 Peter 1:2
“2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Peter just gets done telling us WHO HE IS, WHO WE ARE, and now he tells us WHAT WE’RE CALLED TO DO.
Peter gives us God’s plan for our lives in verse 2.
Peter ends this verse by writing “Grace and Peace be your in abundance”
Grace was typically a Christian welcome
Peace was typically a Hebrew welcome
But what I find interesting is that he offers these Christians GRACE and PEACE in “abundance”
I think it tells us how much these exiled / scattered Christians needed that grace and peace.
Reading these first two verses, gives me the feeling that these early Christians were experiencing sever persecution for their faith.
So no matter what you are feeling right now...
No matter what persecution you are experiencing for your faith...
No matter how much of an OUTSIDER you feel like in your circumstance...
Know that God’s GRACE and PEACE are with you.
God has you exactly where you are for a reason.
God wants to use you to spread His love and to build His Kingdom.
WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action - HANDS
Let’s learn the lesson from the Northern Kingdom; they were just like us. Chosen, exiled, and scattered...yet when tested they
We are called to be like the OT Southern Kingdom or the New Testament Christians. They were also chosen, exiled, and scattered...yet when tested they
CLOSING
Peter starts this book by grounding us in the IDENTITY we have in Christ.
We need to know our WHO WE ARE before we’re capable of God honoring activity.
So my prayer for all us today is that you leave here confident in WHO YOU ARE, in your IDENTITY within the Kingdom of God
Peter starts this book by asking all of us to be confident of WHO WE ARE and WHAT WE BELIEVE IN?
How confident are you?
Is today the day that you need to make a bold declaration of your IDENTITY, where you put your FAITH, and commit to yourself that you will never CONFORM to a world growing farther and father from God?
PRAYER
Will you join me in prayer...
SONG
As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who feels God calling them to respond to today’s message.
If today is the day that you put your faith in Jesus, please come see me afterword. I’d love to walk with you as you start your new life in Christ.
You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.
BENEDICTION
John 17:14–18
“14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
This week...
Quick reminder...
I hope you have a great week.
Go in peace.
You are dismissed.
DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)
In what ways can we remind ourselves of our identity as 'God’s elect' when we feel like outsiders in our surroundings?
How does acknowledging our identity in Christ empower us to face challenges in a culture that may not share our beliefs?
What practical steps can we take to ensure our loyalty to God, especially in environments that pressure us to conform?
How can understanding that we are called to 'seek prosperity' for those around us, even amidst differences, change our approach to community engagement?
In what ways can we act as witnesses to God's love in our daily lives, especially in a world that often feels hostile to our faith?
How can you identify situations in your life where you feel like an outsider and what role does your faith play in these moments?
What does it mean for you personally to embrace being a 'stranger' in a world that often doesn’t understand your beliefs?
How can you make choices that reflect your loyalty to God when your peers may have different values?
In what ways can you actively seek the well-being of those around you who may not share your faith?
What are some ways you can share your faith gently and respectfully with friends who might be skeptical or indifferent about God?
Title: What is my identity in Christ?
Focus Statement: Before God asks you to do something, He tells you who you are.
Function Statement: Even as exiles, we need to remain loyal to who we are and what we are called to do.
Tweetable Phrase: Identity before activity.
Main Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2
Supporting Text:
Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):
Benediction:
Ephesians 2:10 / Ephesians 1:4-5 / 2 Thessalonians 2:13 / John 17:14-18
WELCOME
Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.
Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.
And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.
ME/INTRO - Tension
Have you ever been somewhere where you feel like you don’t belong?
I’d like to tell you two quick stories.
Sales
I grew up with an engineer for a dad building things each summers. We’d design whatever we were going to build, make our own plans, get our own materials, and build it. We’d run into problems, figure out solutions, and typically end up with something very close to what we intended to make. Each summer we made progressively more complicated things.
These summers created in me a very logical mind, that I thought God wanted me to us as an engineer. I went to college, got a Mechanical Engineering degree, and got a job designing custom air conditioners. Very quickly I found out I was extremely board. We weren’t designing anything, engineering in that context was selecting parts from tables and making assembly drawings for technicians.
So … I went back to school to get an MBA and got promoted to Operations Leader. There I was responsible for thinking through and improving the processes that ran our department. I got to work with people (much less boring than computers) and help them figure out how to do their jobs better. I love it.
Until...8 years had gone by and the sales team quit, and I was voluntold into being the Sales Leader. Keep in mind, I had been raised to be very logical, taught to see things in black and white terms. Sales is a world of grey. It is more about confidence, than competence. It is more about being friends with someone than putting forth the best solution. I was told my entire life that I would never be good at sales. Yet...now I was the leader of a sales department that needed to rebuild the team and sell 18 million dollars worth of product per year...and grow.
I worked and worked, averaging over 80 hours per week. I did everything I could to help the team be successful. We built a team, re-build the systems, worked to re-build relationships with the customers, and worked to improve the communication and feedback from the field to the plant. And our numbers were good. We continually beat budget, year, after year, after year.
But even as all this was happening, people kept telling me that I was not the person to lead the sales team. That I was not relational enough, didn’t see enough grey in the world, cared too much about details, etc.
They have a term for how I felt. They call it IMPOSTER SYNDROME. This is where you feel like you don’t belong, even when you clearly do. Despite my success within the role, I never felt like I belonged in sales.
Planet Hockey
Now, for my second quick story. Back in high school I needed volunteer hours, so I signed up to be an assistant coach of a hockey team. I figured if I had to volunteer, I should at least have fun doing it. I helped coach through high school and when I got to college the league gave me my own team to head coach. The spring of 2001, Shawn Killian and Steve Strunk were at the hockey rink and saw me coaching my team. They caught me after practice and asked what I was doing that summer. I had no firm plans. They asked if I wanted to travel the country with them putting on summer hockey camps with their company PLANET HOCKEY. Not sure why I said “YES” or why the people in my life allowed me to say “YES” to traveling the country with strangers, but I went with them.
We went all over the country putting on week long hockey camps. Everyone on staff grew up playing hockey. Most coached. Steve Strunk was actually a former professional player. This felt like my tribe. A group of people I felt like I belonged with.
Until...a few weeks in when we got to Detroit. I was 19 at the time and the group wanted to go across the bridge to Canada (before you needed a passport). I went along with it, not thinking much of it. It never occured to me that they went over there because the drinking age in Canada is 19. They went from club to club drinking all night.
I was very uncomfortable. I had never drank alcohol before. I had no desire to do so. I offered to be the designated driver and suffered through a very long awkward evening. This continued off and on all summer. They would go places and smoke weed. They’d constantly be swearing, watching porn, and doing all kinds of things that growing up in the church I was not comfortable with.
They have a term for how I felt here as well. They call it OUTSIDER. This is where you are fundamentally different from the people around you.
WE - Tension
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like an IMPOSTER, where you didn’t feel like you belonged even though you did?
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like an OUTSIDER, where you were surrounded by people who were fundamentally different than you?
When I’m in those situations, it makes me questions WHO I AM.
Seeing others who make vastly different choices than I do, I am forced to question if the choices I am making are the right ones.
When surrounded by people living differently than I do, I start to lose confidence in the person I am.
I start to feel like a STRANGER among supposed friends.
Have you ever felt like you are a STRANGER, surrounded by people who don’t understand you, living completely opposite of the way you have chosen to live?
Today we’re doing to start a new sermon series based on the book of 1ST PETER called STRANGERS: Following Jesus in a World that Doesn’t Understand Us.
Throughout this series we’re going to
- see what it looks like to live as God’s people in a world that is growing farther and father away from God.
- discern how God calls us to follow Jesus when the culture around us doesn’t share our beliefs and values.
As we begin, please turn with me to [1 Peter 1:1: Sanctuary Bible Page # 980]
We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.
AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.
Let's dive in.
GOD - Text - HEAD
Context
Let’ start in 1 Peter 1:1a which reads:
“1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ"
The book of 1st Peter starts with the author, Simon Peter, telling us WHO HE IS.
He was a Disciple of Jesus. And not just a disciple he was an Apostle which means he was sent by Jesus with full authority to witness to everything he saw when he was with Jesus.
Peter was also one of the three in Jesus inner circle; Peter, James, and John, who Jesus took places He did not take the rest of the disciples
Peter was there when Jesus:
- Mark 5:37 - Raising of Jairus’ Daughter
- Matthew 17:1-2 - The Transfiguration
- Mark 14:33 - Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion
Peter was the only disciple in Matthew 14 to join Jesus and walk on water
Peter acted as the de facto leader of the disciples when Jesus was with them, and led the early church after Jesus ascended
Peter was the one who:
- Acts 2:14-41 - Preached at Pentecost leading 3,000 to put their faith in Jesus
- Acts 3, 5 - Performed Miracles
- Acts 10 - Unified the Jews and Gentiles within the church through his vision and visit to the Roman centurion Cornelius
- Acts 15 - Council of Jerusalem - Defended the doctrine that salvation comes through grace alone, not adherence to rituals and laws
Peter wrote 1ST PETER to all the people who believed in Jesus Christ as their LORD and SAVIOR but were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, living within the Roman secular / pagan society.
Peter wrote this book to encourage these early Christian communities who faced social hostility, harassment, and persecution.
Peter wrote this book to
- encourage those who were suffering,
- to further shape these believer’s Christian identity,
- to promote honorable living in a society that didn’t share the same values,
- and give hope to people who probably regularly felt like giving up.
This week as we look at the first two verses of 1st Peter, we’re going to do our best to empathize with those early Christians who probably felt like OUTSIDERS in their own home towns and see what God has to teach us about WHO WE ARE and WHAT IDENTITY WE HAVE.
After Peter tells us WHO HE IS, in the second half of verse 1 Peter reminds the Christians he wrote this letter to WHO THEY WERE / what IDENTITY THEY HAVE IN CHRIST.
Let’s finish 1 Peter 1:1b
"To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,”
I want to take a look at each of the terms he uses to see what we can learn about the IDENTITY these early Christians had, and what IDENTITY we’re called to have in Jesus.
Elect - WHO - Identity - know who you are
The first term Peter uses to describe the people he is writing to is ELECT (eklektos) - picked out / chosen.
This means that Peter is specifically writing to Christians, people who have responded to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
People that have heard God’s offer of salvation, and accepted it.
When looking at the idea of God choosing, or electing people for salvation, we start to get in some controversial waters.
The bible says the following about God choosing us
- John 15:16 “16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
- Romans 8:29–30 “29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
This idea of election, of God choosing who receives salvation and who does not, is the church term predestination.
This is a topic, that has divided the church.
People left churches and formed new denominations because they disagreed about this topic.
In fact the college I went to for my engineering degree was a Reformed / Calvinist College. It was called Calvin College. They believe that God predestined the eternal destination of all of us before creation, who will receive eternal life, and who will face eternal damnation. It is worth noting here that we are not a Reformed / Calvinist Church. We are a Wesleyan Church and do not share this view of Predestination.
Whereas the Calvinist view is to the far end of the spectrum of Predestination thinking, the topic of predestination does have a wide range of beliefs surrounding it.
There is a book called
Predestination & Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom
Edited by: David Basinger, Randall Basinger
[Image: Predestination - 4 views - book]
In it they share 4 views on Predestination and the people who championed them.
John Feinberg
- God ordains all things
- God determines what happens, but human beings still act freely because they act according to their own desires and choices.
Norman Geisler
- God knows all things
- God knows the future perfectly, but His knowledge doesn't force human beings to choose what they choose.
Bruce Reichenbach
- God limits His power
- If humans are genuinely free, God must voluntarily refrain from determining their choices.
Clark Pinnock
- God limits His knowledge
- God knows:
- everything that has happened,
- everything happening now,
- everything that can happen,
- every possible future,
- and every creature's possible choices.
- But if God has created genuinely free beings, some future decisions haven't yet been determined. Therefore: There isn't a definite future fact there yet for God to know.
I don’t know if you’ve given much thought to the topic of FREE WILL or PREDESTINATION.
But as you read the bible, just like we find here in 1 Peter 1:1, you will run across passages that will make you stop and think.
As we look at our IDENTITY today, please know that we serve a God
- that did CHOOSE you
- that loves you soo much that He gave His son as a ransom for your sins
- that takes the first step toward a relationship with you, but doesn’t force you into anything
- that gave you FREE WILL
When Moses gave his final sermon to the Israelites after wandering in the desert for 40 years, Moses tells the Israelites this.
Deuteronomy 30:19
“19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”
Moses tells them plainly, that God gives us the choice between life and death, we have a choice, and at some point we have to choose what we believe.
The New Testament echoes this when it speaks about choosing to follow Jesus.
Romans 10:9
“9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is what we here at The Light KC believe. As a Wesleyan Church, we believe in Conditional Election.
Conditional Election: God predestines based on His foreknowledge, meaning He knows ahead of time who will choose to believe in Jesus, but His foreknowledge does not force that choice
Since God is Omniscient, He knows everything. He knows the choices we will make, but God doesn’t force anyone to make any specific choice. To choose to believe in Jesus as our LORD and SAVIOR, or to reject JESUS is our choice to make as part of the FREE WILL that God has given us.
John Wesley puts it this way in his sermon titled “On Predestination”
John Wesley - Sermon 58
The sum of all is this: the almighty, all-wise God sees and knows, from everlasting to everlasting, all that is, that was, and that is to come, through one eternal now. With him nothing is either past or future, but all things equally present. He has, therefore, if we speak according to the truth of things, no foreknowledge, no after knowledge...It is merely in compassion to us that he speaks thus of himself, as foreknowing the things in heaven or earth, and as predestinating or fore-ordaining them...As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than thy ways. I know, decree, work, in such a manner as it is not possible for thee to conceive: But to give thee some faint, glimmering knowledge of my ways, I use the language of men, and suit myself to thy apprehensions in this thy infant state of existence.
What is it, then, that we learn from this whole account It is this, and no more: -- (1.) God knows all believers; (2) wills that they should be saved from sin; (3) to that end, justifies them, (4) sanctifies and (5) takes them to glory.
So Who does Peter say you are here?
- You are someone that God choose to create
- You are someone that God loves so much that God allows you choose to love Him back, or to choose to reject Him
- You are someone, that like all of us, has to make a choice with eternal consequences, to believe in Jesus as your LORD and SAVIOR, or to reject Him
So who do you say you are?
Exile - WHERE - Loyalty - Know where you loyalty lies
But Peter doesn’t stop with just telling us WHO he’s writing to.
Peter goes on to tell us WHERE the people are that he is writing to and how that location effects their IDENTITY.
The second term Peter uses to describe the people he is wring to is EXILES
Peter is writing to people Exiled to the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
Exiled (parepidemos - strangers - temporary residents)
Peter is writing to Christians who are living in and among people who do not
- believe what they believe
- value what they value
- act like they act
These Christians faced daily pressure to conform to the norms of the society they are living.
They faced daily ridicule and persecution.
Bear with me, but I think this is going to turn into Church Word Sunday.
We already spoke about Predestination.
I think we also need to talk about another church word - DIASPORA.
The word Disapora (diaspeirein) - to scatter - to sow about
There are three main Diaspora’s in the bible.
When Solomon didn’t obey God’s commands the kingdom of Israel was split into 2; a Northern Kingdom called Israel comprised of 10 tribes; and a Southern Kingdom called Judah comprised of the other 2 tribes.
God gave both Israel and Judah warning after warning through the prophets, but eventually God used neighboring kingdoms to discipline them both for their disobedience and idolatry.
OT - Disobedience led to Israel being conquered and dispersed
- God used Assyria:
- In 722 BC, God used Assyria to conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel
- Assyria moved 10’s of thousands of Israelites throughout the empire as a policy to stop rebellions.
- They mixed the people from each conquered nation so they would intermarry, eventually losing their national identity.
- And it worked, the Israelites mixed with local populations and the nation of Israel slowly disappeared
- They became known as the 10 lost tribes.
- God used Babylon:
- Later in 586 BC, God used Babylon to conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
- Babylon had a different policy.
- They moved the leaders, craftsman, and wealthy Jews to Mesopotamia, stealing the best and the brightest to work for them.
- But even exiled in Mesopotamia the Jewish people of the Southern Kingdom kept their religious identity alive, refusing to mix with the local people.
- They were OUTSIDERS, but did not compromise in the way they lived among the Babylonians.
The third major diaspora was in the New Testament.
NT - Not following God’s call to Saul’s Persecution
- Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, Jesus gave the disciples the command to spread the GOSPEL to the ends of the earth in Acts 1:8
- The disciples didn’t, they stayed in Jerusalem
- God used Saul to scatter the Christians throughout the world
- This started when Saul gave permission, the bible says “holding the coats” to the people who killed Stephen
- Saul then started traveling the region persecuting Christians, arresting them, throwing them in jail, or even having them killed
- To escape the persecution, Christians fled Jerusalem, bringing the gospel with them everywhere they went
When I think about the Diaspora, about living a life in exile, I think about
- Where God wants me to be.
- Who God wants me to live in and among.
- Who God wants me to bring His witness and His word to.
But more than that, I think about Loyalty.
When we live in and among people who
- think differently than we think
- value different things than we value
- act differently than we act
We have to choose...who are we going to remain loyal to?
Are we going to remain Loyal to God, like the Old Testament Jews from the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Christians in the New Testament?
Are we going to transfer our loyalty to the local culture like the Old Testament Jews of the Northern Kingdom of Israel?
So I ask you...Who are you loyal to when everyone around you pressures you to compromise your Christian values?
Scattered - WHAT - Calling - Share your witness
So far in the first verse of 1st Peter, Peter identifies WHO he is, WHO he is writing to and the IDENTITY they were called to have as God’s elect.
Peter identified WHERE these people were, in exile, and challenged them to remain LOYAL to God even when pressured and persecuted to conform to the culture around them.
The third term Peter uses to describe the people he is writing to is SCATTERED
Peter wraps up this 1st verse by identifying WHAT these scattered Christians were CALLED to do.
When we find ourselves scattered among people who don’t share our beliefs, we are called to do two things.
The first thing we are called to do when we are scattered to a place where we do not feel like we do not belong is seek it’s prosperity.
Jeremiah 29:4–7
“4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.””
So when you are in a situation where you feel like you are the outsider, how do you respond?
Do you seek prosperity for the people who are living and acting contrary to what you believe is right?
Do you pray for the God to bless them?
But beyond seeking the best for the place God places us, we are called to be a witness.
1 Peter 3:15–16
“15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus calls us to be salt and light.
- We are to be like Salt, drawing out the best God honoring aspects of whatever culture God has placed you in
- But we are to be like Light, just like the light of a lighthouse serves as a warning ships, we are to be a light to non-believers warning them of the dangers of living a life without God, pointing them toward the best / safest path, a life following Jesus
When we are SCATTERED, we are called to live lives that reflect God’s love to the hurting, lost, broken people around us.
We are called to be a witness.
So, when you find yourself, in a place you do not want to be, how do you respond?
What do you do?
Do you do everything you can to help them be successful?
Do you give a witness to your faith, acting consistent with the values and teaching of the Bible, reflecting the love of God, and showing them that there is a better way to live?
YOU - Takeaway - HEART
The first verse of 1st Peter tells us exactly who Peter is, who Peter is writing to, but also tells us who we are called to be.
Peter writes that we are a people
- CHOSEN by God with an IDENTITY grounded in Christ
- EXILED to a places with people who live vastly different than we do, while being called to remain LOYAL to God
- SCATTERED to places full of people ignorant of God, called to be WITNESSES to God’s love
Peter then writes verse 2, which reads:
1 Peter 1:2
“2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Peter just gets done telling us WHO HE IS, WHO WE ARE, and now he tells us WHAT WE’RE CALLED TO DO.
Peter gives us God’s plan for our lives in verse 2.
- The Origin of the Plan: “Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God.”
- Everything starts with God choosing us, and with us accepting that invitation to follow
- The Instrument of the Plan: “Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.”
- God then sends His Spirit to dwell within us, shaping us to have a Christ Like Character
- The Purpose of the Plan: “For obedience to Jesus Christ.”
- As the Spirit does His work of sanctifying us, we are empowered to respond by obeying Jesus, living the life that He calls us to live.
Peter ends this verse by writing “Grace and Peace be your in abundance”
Grace was typically a Christian welcome
Peace was typically a Hebrew welcome
But what I find interesting is that he offers these Christians GRACE and PEACE in “abundance”
I think it tells us how much these exiled / scattered Christians needed that grace and peace.
Reading these first two verses, gives me the feeling that these early Christians were experiencing sever persecution for their faith.
So no matter what you are feeling right now...
No matter what persecution you are experiencing for your faith...
No matter how much of an OUTSIDER you feel like in your circumstance...
Know that God’s GRACE and PEACE are with you.
God has you exactly where you are for a reason.
God wants to use you to spread His love and to build His Kingdom.
WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action - HANDS
Let’s learn the lesson from the Northern Kingdom; they were just like us. Chosen, exiled, and scattered...yet when tested they
- shifted their loyalty away from God,
- they mixed with the local people and culture,
- and as a result they had no influence.
We are called to be like the OT Southern Kingdom or the New Testament Christians. They were also chosen, exiled, and scattered...yet when tested they
- remained loyal to God,
- they witnessed to the goodness of the God who created them,
- and they were used to spread that Good News throughout the world
CLOSING
Peter starts this book by grounding us in the IDENTITY we have in Christ.
We need to know our WHO WE ARE before we’re capable of God honoring activity.
So my prayer for all us today is that you leave here confident in WHO YOU ARE, in your IDENTITY within the Kingdom of God
- You are God’s elect - chosen by God to be part of His family - All you have to do is accept that invitation.
- You are an exile - living in a world that is more and more hostile to the values and life that God calls us to live - You have to choose to remain LOYAL to God, and resist the pressure to conforming to culture.
- You are scattered - given the opportunity to be a witness to Gods love and grace to a world that need is - Are you witnessing to the non-believing people in your lives?
Peter starts this book by asking all of us to be confident of WHO WE ARE and WHAT WE BELIEVE IN?
How confident are you?
Is today the day that you need to make a bold declaration of your IDENTITY, where you put your FAITH, and commit to yourself that you will never CONFORM to a world growing farther and father from God?
PRAYER
Will you join me in prayer...
SONG
As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who feels God calling them to respond to today’s message.
- Maybe as you think about … your IDENTITY - you need to come up and commit or re-commit your life to following Jesus Christ as your LORD and SAVIOR.
- Maybe as you think about … your LOYALTY - you need to come up and repent of all the ways that you have conformed to culture and drifted from God,
- Maybe as you think about … your CALLING - you need to come up and commit to act on the call that God gives each of us to be His witness to non-believing people in our lives.
- Or maybe, you heard this message and you haven’t yet put your faith in Jesus as your LORD and SAVIOR. Maybe you need to pray to God
- Admitting that you are a sinner and need forgiveness
- Verbalizing your Belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died on the cross paying the penalty for your sins, and rose from the dead on the third day giving your hope of an eternal life with God in Heaven.
- Confessing that Jesus is your LORD and SAVIOR
If today is the day that you put your faith in Jesus, please come see me afterword. I’d love to walk with you as you start your new life in Christ.
You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.
BENEDICTION
John 17:14–18
“14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
This week...
- Let’s stop letting culture define who we are
- Let’s instead have an unwavering confidence in who God says we are
- God’s elect - chosen to be part of God’s family, but given the free will to accept of reject that invitation
- A people in exile - living in a world that is drifting farther and father from God, yet called to live lives loyal to teachings of Jesus
- A scattered people - commissioned to be witnesses to Love and Grace of God to a culture that doesn’t know Him
Quick reminder...
- Men’s Group - Tuesday at 7 PM
- Daring Faith - Wednesday at 6:30 PM - Programming for all ages
- Young Adults - Wednesday at 6:30 PM
- Women’s Group - Kicks off Thursday at 7 PM
- If you’re new, please fill out the card in the seat back and stop by our info desk, or see me. We’d love to say “hi” and get you know you a bit better.
- If you’d like to get more information about taking your next step of faith, fill out the card in the seat back and give it to me or turn it in to the info desk.
I hope you have a great week.
Go in peace.
You are dismissed.
DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)
In what ways can we remind ourselves of our identity as 'God’s elect' when we feel like outsiders in our surroundings?
How does acknowledging our identity in Christ empower us to face challenges in a culture that may not share our beliefs?
What practical steps can we take to ensure our loyalty to God, especially in environments that pressure us to conform?
How can understanding that we are called to 'seek prosperity' for those around us, even amidst differences, change our approach to community engagement?
In what ways can we act as witnesses to God's love in our daily lives, especially in a world that often feels hostile to our faith?
How can you identify situations in your life where you feel like an outsider and what role does your faith play in these moments?
What does it mean for you personally to embrace being a 'stranger' in a world that often doesn’t understand your beliefs?
How can you make choices that reflect your loyalty to God when your peers may have different values?
In what ways can you actively seek the well-being of those around you who may not share your faith?
What are some ways you can share your faith gently and respectfully with friends who might be skeptical or indifferent about God?