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“The Ark Of Our Salvation” (I Peter 3:18-22 sermon)

Posted on 2019/11/11 by Shawn Thomas

In 1913 there was a great flood in Brazoria County. The three rivers: the Brazos, the Colorado, and the San Bernard, all virtually became one, and the entire countryside was flooded. The streets of Angleton were covered in 3 to 4 feet of water. After three similar type floods in a 6-year period, citizens decided that something needed to be done, and the levee was built that now surrounds our town.

That levee was one of the first things we were shown when we came to Angleton, and Cheryl & I quickly determined that we wanted to live INSIDE this levee! We heard that even in the massive flooding from Hurricane Harvey, and other torrential rains, that the City of Angleton has been “high and dry” due to the levee. Thus the levee has become something like an “ark of safety” for our town’s inhabitants, against the floods that come against our area.

Well, I am thankful for the levee we have around our town — but you know, there is nothing certain in this world. One day that levee may fail, and our town may flood. But thank God, we have an “ark of safety” that will NEVER fail us — the “ark” of salvation He has given us in Jesus Christ! God describes that “ark” in our verses for today in I Peter 3:18-22:

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through them resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged 1913 flood Brazoria County, Angleton levee, ark, ark of salvation, Augustine, baptism, baptism saves you, baptism symbol, Billy Graham apologize to Sodom, blood, Brenton Tarrant good boy, children in the ark, children's salvation, commitment, dad responsibility, decision, depravity, depravity of man, disobedience, evangelism, evil, family, father, flood, Genesis 19:14, Genesis 4:10, Genesis 6:5, God's judgment, good at heart, grace, guilt, Hurricane Harvey, hurricane preparedness, I Peter 3 sermon, I Peter 3:18-22, I Peter 3:21, II Peter 3:9, Jesus, Jesus Christ, judgment, lot, Martin Luther, mom responsibility, mother, now is the acceptable time, patience of God, persecution, Psalm 103:9, responsibility, resurrection of Jesus Christ, Roe v. Wade, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, salvation, salvation by grace, sin, sin nature, thoughts, today is the day of salvation, Where did Christ go in the spirit, witness | Leave a comment

“Christ’s Suffering/Our Salvation” (I Peter 3:18 sermon)

Posted on 2019/11/04 by Shawn Thomas

David McCullough is one of my favorite history writers (I loved his book on the Wright Brothers). One of HIS favorite authors was a man by the name of Conrad Richter, who won the Pulitzer Prize back in the 1950’s for a trilogy about pioneer life in Ohio. McCullough said he appreciated Richter because he wrote about the good that can come out of difficult things — “what Shakespeare called the ‘benefit of ill.’” McCullough wrote that “In his quiet manner, Richter would say that so much of what we experience in love, art, perseverance, wisdom — are born of difficulty.”

That is so true. No one likes to suffer — and yet if we are wise, we will realize that much good can come out of suffering. And it is certainly true that the greatest good that ever came to us, came from the greatest suffering ever: the suffering of Jesus on the cross for us. His suffering brought about our salvation, which our text for this morning reminds us:

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged bring us to God, C.S. Lewis happiness, C.S. Lewis milk and water, C.S. Lewis pleasure, Christ suffered for sins, Christ suffered once, Conrad Richter, David McCullough, death of Christ, draw near to God, evangelism, forgiveness, God, God Father, grace, hapax, hapax legomena, heaven, Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 10:11-12, Hebrews 10:14, Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 9:25-26, hina, Hymn Free From the Law O Happy Condition, hymn It Is Well, hymn Jesus paid it all, Hymn Once For All, I Peter 3:18, I Peter sermon, It is finished, ministry, Moravians sold to slavery, My sin o the bliss of this glorious thought, once, Once for all O sinner receive it, one offering, one sacrifice, purpose, purpose clause, purpose of salvation, relationship with God, repentance, sacrifice, salvation, Sanan Gunan Thai SEAL, sin, suffer, suffering, Thai Navy SEAL died in rescue, Thai soccer team rescue, the benefit of ill, witness, works salvation | 2 Comments

“An Effective Witness” (I Peter 3:15 sermon)

Posted on 2019/10/21 by Shawn Thomas

A couple of weeks ago, a group from our church went to Houston see the play “The Hiding Place,” about how Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy were taken by the Nazis into a concentration camp during World War II because they had sheltered Jews. Corrie’s book, which the play was based upon, tells how a friend named Harry was taken away during a raid on the Ten Boom’s watchmaking business by the Nazi-controlled police. She wrote: “Harry kissed his wife. Then he took my hand and shook it solemnly. Tears filled our eyes. For the first time, Harry spoke. ‘I shall use this place — wherever they’re taking us,’ he said. ‘It will be my witness stand for Jesus.’” (The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom, pp. 110-111)

That idea right there: of being a witness for Jesus in whatever you are going through, is a big part of the message of the Book of I Peter. God’s people were being persecuted, but Peter was teaching them that God’s purpose for them in this trial was that they might be a witness for Him. And that’s His purpose for us today, too. Wherever we are, every day, whatever our cirucmstances, God wants us to use what we are going through as “a witness stand for Jesus.”

Last Sunday we talked about how we don’t want to let fear control our lives, but that we should truly make Jesus our Lord – and not be intimidated if He tells us to witness to someone. Peter encouraged us to obey HIM, and not give in to fears that would keep us from speaking — or to give in to fears of ANY kind. This morning, Peter continues that topic of being a witness with verse 15, which talks about how we can really be “An Effective Witness” for the Lord:

“Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

This verse teaches us several things that must be present in our lives for us to be effective witnesses: Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged "The Weight of Glory", 30-second elevator speech, always being ready, assurance, attitude, attitude and witnessing, Betsy Ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, Corrie Ten Boom, CPR, Effective Witness, Ephesians 2 without hope, evangelism, every person you meet, Gail White testimony, gentleness, God's provision, God's purpose, gospel, gospel outline, gospel presentation, hope, I Peter 3:15, I Peter 3:15 sermon, lifestyle, lifestyle evangelism, lifestyle witness, Man's Need, Man's Response, not out to win arguments out to win people, prepared to witness, ready, reverence, Roman Road of salvation, salvation, testimony, The Hiding Place, the hope within you, witness, witness stand for Jesus, witnessing | Leave a comment

“Whom Shall I Fear?” (I Peter 3:13-15 sermon)

Posted on 2019/10/14 by Shawn Thomas

In Marie Beth Jones’ Tales of the Brazos, she tells of Dr. William F. Bruner, who was one of the first doctors who lived in what would later become Angleton. One day Dr. Bruner was called to treat a young man who had suffered a gunshot wound in his hip. The young man told Dr. Bruner what happened: he said he’d seen a shadow on the way to his girlfriend’s house, and he just knew it was his rival for her affections. He’d known his rival might be there, so he had brought a gun for protection. But when he saw the shadow he started running for the woods and reached for his gun. But it was too late: a shot rang out, and he realized his rival’s bullet had struck him.

Dr. Bruner examined the wound, asked about the distance of the shooter. He looked at the pants the man was wearing, and noted the damage to them. Then he looked over the pistol the young man had been carrying for protection. Dr. Bruner’s conclusion: the shadow that the patient had been running from was his OWN shadow, and he had been so panic-stricken that he had managed to shoot himself! (p. 122)

Fear can be very destructive, can’t it? It can cause us to do a lot of foolish and harmful things. Unfortunately, even many of God’s people just live surrounded with fear. And God tells us here in I Peter 3 that if Jesus is our Lord, it should not be this way:

“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. ‘And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,’ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts …”. Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Angleton, Angleton Texas, Apostle John, Christ, Christ Lord, Dr. William F. Bruner, evangelism, fear, fear controls you, fear of death, fear of men, fear of the Lord, Herod fear, homosexuality, I Peter 3:13-15 sermon, I Peter 3:14, II Corinthians 5:11, intimidation, Isaiah 8, Jesus, Jesus is Lord, LGBT agenda, Lordship, Lordship of Christ, Marie Beth Jones, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 14, meaning of lordship, Milton Paradise Lost, mission, missions, peer pressure, persecution, Psalm 27:1, Revelation 1, Romans 3:18, Tales of the Brazos, television, tv news and fear, what people think, whom shall I fear?, witness | Leave a comment

“God’s Rules For Christian Conduct” (I Peter 3:8-12 sermon)

Posted on 2019/10/07 by Shawn Thomas

When George Washington was a little boy, he copied out a document with the title: “110 Rules of Civility,” which was a common school assignment in his day. Because we have Washington’s copy in his own hand, it has become well-known — AND he did seem to try to live by it as well. It has some very practical guidelines for civil behavior, among them:

— Rule #1: Every action done in company, ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.

— Rule #4: In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet.

— Rule #38: In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician if you be not knowing therein.

— Rule #9: Spit not in the fire … nor set your feet upon the fire — especially if there be meat before it (!)

These are just some good, practical, things that will help you be considerate of others, and get along with other people in society – we would probably benefit from observing some of these rules today!

And that’s similar to what we find here in our passage today in I Peter 3:8-12. With these words, Peter concludes this whole section we’ve been studying on Christian living. In it he has talked about how we should be a good witness by the way we live towards the government, at work, in our home with our own family, etc., and now he ends this section with a general admonition for ALL of us as God’s people, on the way we should ALL live as a witness to ALL people, all of the time; especially in the church, but also outside as well:

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

For, ‘The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good. He must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’” Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged "Going Deeper With God", answered prayer, attitudes, blessing, brotherly love, C.S. Lewis, Christian home life, church, church family, church family life, church relationships, confession, daily quiet time, deeds, demons, devil, domestic life, George Washington's Rules of Civility, gospel, Greg Frizzell, harmony, hindered prayer, holiness, holy life, home, horizontal relationships, humility, I Peter 3:8-12, I Peter sermon, II Corinthians 2:11, imperative, imperative of holiness, kind-hearted, love, marriage, MasterLife, philadelphia, plan of salvation, prayer, Psalm 34, relationships, relationships church, repentance, revenge, Rules For Christian Conduct, salvation, sanctification, Satan, Satan's schemes, schemes of the enemy, Screwtape, screwtape letters, sin, sumpathos, sympathetic, temptation, thoughts, words, Wormwood | Leave a comment

“Living Your Faith At Home” (I Peter 3:1-7 sermon)

Posted on 2019/09/23 by Shawn Thomas

Many of us are familiar with the famous story, “Rip Van Winkle.” Last year for the first time I really read the story in Washington Irving’s Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon. In it he describes Rip Van Winkle: “He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man … for husking Indian corn, or building stone-fences … In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible.”

That’s a pretty good description of some people, isn’t it? They’re ready to do anything for anyone — except their own family! It shouldn’t be that way — especially for those who claim to be Christians. I Timothy 5:8 says if you don’t care for your own household, you’re worse than an unbeliever. True religion starts at home. Listen: how we live towards our own family says a LOT about how real our faith is. Too many people live one way at church, and another way at home, and God says it is not to be that way. Your faith should very much impact the way you live at home, and the way you treat your husband, your wife, your children, your parents — every family member you have. There should be no disconnect between church and home. Your faith should impact the way you live in your home. And that is exactly what we see here in I Peter 3:1-7.

Now we should put this all in a little bit of context, which will help us understand everything in this passage better. If you go back to I Peter 2:12, you remember Peter told us “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles.” He says, people in the world are saying bad things about you as Christians, so you be extra careful to LIVE in a way that is a good witness to them. Then he said in :13 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” — be a good witness by submitting to authority wherever you are: at work, towards the government, and in your family. Even when you suffer, like Jesus did for us, do it as a good witness, trusting God. THAT is the context which brings us to this passage. Chapter 3 really just continues these same ideas from I Peter 2, except now it applies them to the HOME. He says live this same way as a witness at HOME. Christianity always starts at home. Our first mission field is where we live. So God speaks here to both men and women about how to live out our faith at home: Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family Life, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged appearance, beautiful woman, beauty, Billy Graham, children, clothes, daily Bible reading, discipline, disciplines, duties, Eliab, Ephesians 5, Ephesians 5 love wife, evangelism, exercise, faith, faith and family, faith starts at home, family, family life, family sermon, fellow heir, freaking out, God sees not as man sees, gods, husband, husband love, husband spiritual leadership, husbands, I Corinthians 13 love, I Peter 2:12, I Peter 2:23, I Peter 3:1, I Peter 3:1-7 sermon, I Peter sermon, I Samuel 16, I Timothy 5:8, inner beauty, It's My Turn Ruth Graham, kids, live out your faith at home, love, makeup, marriage, ministry, mom freaking out, outward appearance, outward beauty, Plutarch, Proverbs 11:22, responsibilities, Rip Van Winkle, Ruth Graham, sacrifice, salvation, Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, submission, submit, trust, trust God, trusting God, understand wife, understanding, Washington Irving, weaker vessel, wife equal, wife submit, wife witness, witness, witness at home, wives | Leave a comment

“Returning To The Shepherd” (I Peter 2:25 sermon)

Posted on 2019/09/16 by Shawn Thomas

I saw the cutest video this week: a farmer in Wales (United Kingdom) had his whole flock of about 250 sheep get out of the field they were supposed to be in, and they went into another field, which they knew (from repeated scoldings) they were not to be in. The farmer knew what they would do when he confronted them, so he videoed it. The sheep were scattered all over this field — but as soon as he pulled up on his ATV and said “Get outta this field!,” they all took off running in the same direction, back to their home field where they knew they were supposed to be.

Well, the Bible repeatedly says that we as mankind are just like sheep. Sheep tend to go astray — even when they know they shouldn’t! — and we as God’s sheep do the same thing too. Thank God He gives us an opportunity to come BACK to Him through Jesus Christ. Peter uses this picture of the straying sheep here in :25 of Chapter 2:

“For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

Last week we saw how I Peter 2:24 teaches us about the “Substitutionary Atonement” of Christ. We saw how this Substitutionary Atonement was explicitly taught in Isaiah 53, which is the passage Peter quotes here. He goes on then in the next verse, I Peter 2:25, to give us an illustration of what it means for us to come back to the Lord, and again this illustration comes right out of Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53:6 says “All we like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” We see again in that verse the “substitutionary” aspect of what Jesus did for us: it says “the iniquity of US all,” “fell upon HIM.” And the picture Isaiah uses there, of us being like “sheep who went astray,” is the picture Peter uses here to describe what happens to us in our salvation: Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged conviction, eternal life, evangelism, Franklin Graham, Franklin Graham testimony, God relationship, I Peter 2:25, I Peter 2:25 sermon, Isaiah 53:6, John 17:3, knowing God, Lesean McCoy Andy Reid, lostness, Luke 15, Prodigal Son, Psalm 51:4, Puritans, relationship with God, repent, repentance, repenter, return, return to the Father, Romania, Romans 3:23, salvation, sheep, sheep straying, sin, sin against God, sin and salvation, straying, substitutionary atonement, The Lord is our shepherd, Valley of Vision | 2 Comments

“The Substitutionary Atonement” (I Peter 2:24 sermon)

Posted on 2019/09/09 by Shawn Thomas

In 2018, an ISIS terrorist took a young woman hostage in southern France, threatening to kill her. In a bold move, a police officer, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, offered to take the place of the young woman. The terrorist let him swap places with her, and later stabbed him in the neck and killed him. After his death, it was revealed that this police officer had not long beforehand rededicated himself to his faith in Jesus Christ. Where did he get this idea of dying in someone else’s place? He got it from Jesus — because the Bible tells us that is exactly what He did for us on the cross:

“and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

This verse talks about one of the most important elements of the Christian faith; right at the heart of what we believe as Christians, what theologians call the “Substitutionary Atonement” of Jesus for us. Simply put, it means that Jesus died in our place; He “swapped places” with us — like the policeman did for that woman in France — and died for our sins on the cross. Let’s look together at what this verse teaches us about this “Substitutionary Atonement”: Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine/Theology, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged ask Jesus into your heart, atonement, Becky Thatcher, capital punishment, change, Christ crucified, Christianity, cross, cross of Christ, die to sin, doctrine, Elizabeth Nel, evangelism, Exodus 13 lamb, forgiveness, good works, I Peter 2:24, I Peter 2:24 sermon, Isaiah 53, ISIS, It is finished, It Is Well, Leviticus 14, life change, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, Mark Twain, Old Testament, on the cross, paid in full, repentance, sacrifice, salvation, sanctification, sin, substitute, substitutionary atonement, tetelestai, the cross, the word of the cross, theology, Tom Sawyer, transformation, Winston Churchill, witness, witnessing, works | 2 Comments

“In His Steps: When We Suffer” (I Peter 2:19-23 sermon)

Posted on 2019/09/03 by Shawn Thomas

Cheryl & I love to read and watch the old Agatha Christie detective stories, so last year we each read her autodbiography. In it Mrs. Christie tells of a teacher at her girls school growing up. She said she couldn’t remember her name, but that one day in class, in the middle of the math lesson that day, this teacher suddenly said: “All of you … every one of you — will pass through a time when you will face despair. If you never face despair, you will never have … known a Christian life. To be a Christian you must face and accept the life that Christ faced and lived; you must enjoy things as He enjoyed things; be as happy as He was at the marriage at Cana, know the peace and happiness that it means to be in harmony with God and with God’s will. But you must also know, as He did, what it means to be alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, to feel that all your friends have forsaken you, that those you love and trusted have turned away from you, and that God Himself has forsaken you. Hold on then to the belief that that is not the end. If you love, you will suffer …” and she said that suffering part of of a real Christian life. (Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, p. 150)

There is a lot of truth in what that teacher said. If we are really following Jesus, then we will face times, like He did, when we will suffer. Last week we saw that in EVERY area of our lives, we are to “trace the pattern” that Jesus left as an example for us. That is a general principle that applies to every area of life. But this command comes in the context of suffering (:19-20) and in the next verses he shows us just what Christ’s example WAS which we are to imitate when we are persecuted or suffer for righteousness:

:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
:22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

How can we follow Christ’s example when we suffer as Christians? Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Agatha Christie biography, an eye for an eye, become like Christ, Christian life suffering, Christians and persecution, Christians and suffering, Christlikeness, commit to God, despair, discipleship, do not be overcome by evil, do not take your own revenge, entrust to God, faith, following Christ, foolish suffering, fret not, godly suffering, holiness, holy, I Peter 2:19-23, I Peter 2:20, I Peter sermon, I will repay says the Lord, in His steps, In His steps suffering, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joe McKeever, Lord of the Rings, love your enemies, Matthew 26:50, Matthew 5 sermon on the mount, meekness Psalm, never take your own revenge, payback, persecuted for Jesus, persecution, Proverbs 20:22, Psalm 37, revenge, ring of power, Romans 12:17, Romans 12:19, salvation, suffer, suffering, suffering for Jesus, trust, trust God, trust in the Lord and do good, turn the other cheek, why did God do this?, you can't fight the enemy with his own ring without turning into an enemy | Leave a comment

“In His Steps” (I Peter 2:21 sermon)

Posted on 2019/08/26 by Shawn Thomas

There were many different college football teams represented here
today: we had Longhorn fans, and Aggie fans; Houston and Baylor — even a few Sooner fans — and many others. There are a lot of college football teams to follow and despite each of our own team preferences, there’s not really a “wrong” choice — they’re all good, and fun to follow.

But in life, there is only ONE allegiance that is more important than any other, and that is Jesus Christ: the One who shed “This Blood” for us — and we are to follow HIM. Our scripture for today says:

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”

This verse comes in the context of how God’s people should respond to suffering, and we are going to look at the Christian response to suffering next week. But for today I want to us to just look at the general idea this verse gives us, that Jesus has called us to follow “In His Steps.” Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham Lincoln suffering, Carl Sandburg Abraham Lincoln, chastening fell upon Him, children, Christ suffered, Christian motivation, church, college football, discipleship, enemies, example, follow, follow Me, following Jesus, go to church, hardship, humbling, hupogrammo, I Peter 2:21, I Peter 2:21 sermon, imitation, in His steps, Isaiah 53, Jesus example, Jesus suffering, life, marriage beliefs, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Matthew 4 follow Me, ministry, motivation, no condemnation, pattern, persecution, personal response, respond, Romans 8:1, RSVP, sacrifice, salvation gift, submit to authority, suffering, trace, wrath of God | 2 Comments