PASTOR'S CORNER

  1 Peter 5:12-19 Jesus walked a different path in His incarnation, and He calls us to do the same without reservations, and opposition, as His children.  How should the believer respond to suffering?  The word suffering and its results are used 21 times in this epistle. So this indicates that Peter has a lot to say about suffering to comfort exile believers.  Why? At this time, Nero was having Christians covered with tar and burned at the stake to light up his garden.  These Christians needed to hear that suffering was part of the will of God and that they should not be shocked by it.   How should we respond to suffering by our culture & friends for our belief system?   How should we respond when sometimes even our families don’t understand us?   Peter talks about this in the closing of this letter. (v12-v19) you can sort of say this is Peter’s last instructions to suffering well.  It is good to remember that it was P...

  1 Peter 4:7-11 The Church was established for this purpose!  Truth was meant to be lived, not simply talked about and then ignored.  The visible church is a manifestation of God’s goodness and grace through the gospel confession.  The believer’s suffering is a visible display of preserving grace in one’s life as we suffer for righteousness sake.  When Peter wrote this letter he didn’t tippy toe around biblical truth and realties with the saints who were suffering for Lord’s sake.  Peter goes right to heart of the matter and addresses it clearly, and precisely, so that we will respond to Biblical truth in a right manner.  Peter gives the church/the believer some urgent commands to obey, to be followed in our suffering, with one simple goal to remember.  This life we live in the flesh is short and eternity is forever.  So the body of Christ is called to do something as we wait  for His return or our departure.  The simple ...