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“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

“Your Witness Under Authority” (I Peter 2:13-20 sermon)

Posted on 2019/08/19 by Shawn Thomas

When General Douglas MacArthur was stationed in the Philippines, he was given an order to survey the whole area of Bataan, the jungly, mountainous peninsula at the mouth of Manila Bay. Another officer on his staff saw the order and said: “Why, that’s a job for a young engineer officer and not for a brigadier general; What are you going to do about it?” MacArthur replied, “Obey it, of course. It’s an order. What else can I do?” And he left his headquarters and personally mapped forty square miles of that malaria-infested terrain. (William Manchester, American Caesar, p. 132)
When he did that, MacArthur showed his men the kind of obedience he wanted from THEM as he led them, and he also demonstrated his character, in being willing to submit to authority.

Last week we ended the message by saying that God wants His disciples to SHOW the world by their good behavior that the accusations people make against us are false, and to be a good witness for Him. Now he follows that up with some specific applications: Just what are we to do, specifically, to be good witnesses? It’s interesting that the very first thing he talks about is the way we are to witness through our submission to the authorities in our lives: Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 5, authority, Biblical submission, boss, Caesar is Lord, children, Christos Kurios, Daniel 1, discipline, Ephesians 1, evangelism, exceptions to submission, family, Franklin Graham, gay pride soccer jerseys, General Douglas MacArthur, government, honor the king, hupotasso, I Peter 2:13-20, I Peter sermon, Jaelene Hinckle, Jesus is Lord, Kurios Kaiseros, Law, Lordship of Christ, Nero Caesar, obedience, parents, police, President of the United States, proper role of government, render to Caesar, respect, respect authority, respect for the office, respect teachers, Roman emperor worship, Romans 13, Romans 13:1-6, Ruth Graham It's My Turn, school, submission, submission to authority, submit, supervisor, tax, teachers, U.S. women's soccer, we must obey God rather than men, William Manchester American Caesar, witness, witness of submission, workplace | Leave a comment

“You’re Not From Around Here” (I Peter 2:11-12 sermon)

Posted on 2019/08/12 by Shawn Thomas

Our daughter Libby grew up in Oklahoma and Louisiana, but since she has been married and in the ministry, she has lived in some different parts of the country, where they talk differently, and do things differently. She and Josh were serving in a church in New Mexico and she had gone to the jewelry store to get her ring cleaned, and she was talking with the worker, and after a few minutes he looked up and said, “You’re not from around here, are you?” They could tell by the way she talked she wasn’t from there: she said “y’all;” her letter “a” would take 2-3 syllables, etc. People can tell, by the way you talk, and often times by the way you do certain things, when “you’re not from around here.”

Well, there is a very real sense in which people should be able to look at us as God’s people, and say “You’re not from around here, are you?” Because as Christians, our eternal home is not here. We live in this world, but we are not “of” this world. Our language should be different; our actions should be different. People should be able to look at the way we live, and the way we talk, and say “You’re not from around here.” NOT because we dress in old fashioned ways, and say “thee” and “thou,” but because there are things we do not say; there are things we do not do — and there are things we do that no one but a Christian would. Because of that, people should be able to tell that we are not “of this world.” We “aren’t from around here.”

Last week we saw that when we make Jesus the Cornerstone of our life, that the Lord makes us into “The People of God”, with a number of great privileges and responsibilities. Now, in :11-12, he shares one of our most important responsibilities as God’s people, which is the life we are supposed to live in the world:

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

These verses serve as an introduction to the whole next section of I Peter, which focuses on glorifying God by the way we live, as His people. We’ll get into more of those specifics in coming weeks, but for today let’s look at this overview in :11-12 about our behavior as the people of God: Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged "Show me now", abstain, abstinence, body temple, care, children's choir, Christian "hate speech", Christian behavior, Christian life, Christian living, discipleship, Eliza Doolittle, enemies, evangelism, family, grace, holier than thou, holiness, homosexuality, hypocrites, I Corinthians 6:12, I Corinthians 6:19-20, I John 2:3-4, I Peter 2:11-12, I Peter sermon, imitation, joy, legalism, libertine, libertines, libertinism, lifestyle evangelism, lifestyle witness, living in a fishbowl, love, lust, marriage, My Fair Lady, persecution of Christians, repent, repentance, responsibility, salvation, sanctification, Show me!, witness, worldly lusts, You're not from around here | Leave a comment

“The People of God” (I Peter 2:9-10 sermon)

Posted on 2019/08/05 by Shawn Thomas

I noticed from our very first days in Angleton that there is a palpable state pride here in Texas that exceeds what I have felt from the people of any other state – and I love it! The people of Texas are an interesting mix. I am reading the book Lone Star, by T.R. Fehrenbach, which is considered by many to be the best history of Texas, and it relates how people from all these different backgrounds: American Indians, from Mexico, from the plantations of the Old South, from Tennessee and the midwest, and immigrants from Germany and Ireland — all came together to form this one great people now called “Texans.” And it IS a great state, and a great people. Cheryl & I are glad to be here.
But as great as it is to be a member of the Great State of Texas, there is an even greater citizenship — and that is to be “the people of God”!

Last week we saw how Jesus Christ is either the Cornerstone or the Stumbling Stone for every person. Now in :9-10 Peter continues, and he talks about those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Cornerstone, and he says: “BUT YOU …” and he begins to talk about us as the people of God:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

These verses tell us about how the followers of Jesus Christ have now become “The People of God”: Continue reading →

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“Jesus Christ: Cornerstone or Stumbling-Stone?” (I Peter 2:4-8 sermon)

Posted on 2019/07/29 by Shawn Thomas

When Cheryl & I were on vacation a couple of weeks ago, the church we attended had a report from a mission trip. One of their goals on the trip was to put new tile down in a room of the mission church building. But they reported that it was so difficult, because none of the walls, or floors were square with each other! It’s hard to make improvements to any place, when its very foundation was not put in straight.

But as important as it is to have a good foundation in a physical building, it is even MORE important to have the right foundation in your spiritual life, and in the church. Paul says in I Corinthians 3 that there is only ONE foundation that can be laid, spiritually, that will last, and that is Jesus Christ. You must make sure that HE is the foundation of your life. (As we have the baby/parent dedication today, what we are really committing to is that we will have Jesus Christ as the “foundation” or “Cornerstone” for each of these homes.) Our passage for today talks about how Jesus is the “Cornerstone” for a successful life, or family, or for a spiritual church. And yet, many reject Jesus as the Cornerstone. He must be one or the other for each of us: either “Cornerstone,” or “Stumbling Stone,” as I Peter 2 shows us:

“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God though Jesus Christ.
For this is contained in scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’
This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,’ and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;’
For they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 17, baby dedication, baby dedication message, biblical marriage, C.S. Lewis Lord Liar Lunatic, children, cornerstone, definition of cornerstone, discipleship, Ephesians 2:19-21, evangelism, faith, heaven, I Peter 2:4-8 sermon, I Peter sermon, Jesus, Jesus and marriage, Jesus Christ, Jesus cornerstone, Jesus stumbling stone, marriage, Mars Hill sermon, Matthew 21:42, Psalm 118:22, rejected, Romans 9:31-33, salvation, stumbling block, stumbling stone | Leave a comment

“God’s Purpose For Your Life” (I Peter 2:4-5 sermon)

Posted on 2019/07/22 by Shawn Thomas

One of the most common questions people ask in life is, “What am I here for?” If you think we have just “evolved” from nothing, then there IS no good answer for that. A genuine atheist will tell you that the hard truth is, there just IS no meaning at all to life. I read recently where atheist psychiatrist Ralph Lewis wrote: “Atheists do not believe that life is inherently purposeful or meaningful.” There just IS no “purpose” or “meaning” to a life if it didn’t come from God.

But if there is a God, which we believe, then He has created us for a reason, and there IS a meaning and purpose for your life. And if there is, and we believe there is — then there is nothing more important for you than finding out what that purpose IS! And God SHOWS us what that purpose is in our scripture for today, I Peter 2:4-5:

We will talk some more about Jesus as the “living stone” and “the Cornerstone” next week. But for today, I want us to focus on what this says here about God’s people as being “living stones.” What has God called us for? What is His purpose for you as one of His people? Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Aslan, atheist meaning of life, C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia, choir, church building, coral reef, Ephesians 2 dead in sin, evangelism, Exodus 30, gift of God eternal life, Hebrews 13:15, I Peter 2:4-5, I Peter 2:4-5 sermon, incense, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lion Witch Wardrobe, living stones, Matthew 1:6, Matthew 24, meaning of life, new building, Peter rock, prayer, prayer as incense, Psalm 141:2, Psalm 5:3, purpose, Queen Jada, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 8:3, Romans 6:23, salvation, sinners prayer, spiritual sacrifices, spiritual temple, stone statues, Temple, temple of God, the church, the church is not the building, Thomas Lord Fairfax, wages of sin is death, worship God at the lake, Writing by Stephen King | 2 Comments