Seaside Church Sermons

In the 2nd week of our look at Anxiousness, we look into His Sovereign Remedy for our anxious and worried hearts through the lens of Peter's story, Jesus' teaching in John 14 & 15, and a close look at what work He has already done on our behalf to "Prepare" the way for us to come home.

Anxiousness defines so many of our lives that it seems inescapable - a burden that we will always bear. So when Peter takes us again to his story, we are reminded that he too struggled with this. As we look at 1 Peter 5.5-7 through the lens of John 13 & 14 we find a new way to view our cares, worries and anxieties - through Him.

It's far too easy to make these guys one dimensional. The younger has always been rebellious. The older son has always been judgmental. The truth is that we don't know much of the backstory, or much of anything about them at all. Unless we see that Jesus is talking about us. It's then that we realize that it's, well, it's complicated. This is one of the greatest stories ever told - a parable with life, breath and heart crushing love & mercy. It's isn't just a story of one son, but two. Not just a story of broken sons, but of a Father who loves them regardless of their need, rebellion and distance. It's a story of two sons learning what a Father is really like. It's a story of men & women like us, learning to follow and trust Him - no matter where or how we are.

As we are called to live standing in protest to the broken and failing world around us, we face those who may not so much in favor of us calling broken what we call to be broken. This may cause us to be relegated to the outside of social, personal, and family circles. It would be far to easy to stay there - but instead He call us to follow Jesus in the Way of Jesus - back into the fray. We must stand in protest for those who are but a few degrees different than we - wholly created by God, but trying desperately to stay clear of His kingdom. We look at the story of the Prodigal Sons, seeking to see how we too are broken, but at our core He has fixed us, and is maturing us through discipline, maturing and love to make us into instruments to declare abroad His mighty deeds to those still in the darkness.

As we continue to look at Peter's story and his heart to encourage, reprove and spur fellow believers on in their journey to follow Jesus, we are once again faced with suffering. This particular passage deals with suffering in a unique way - as a testimony & confirmation of Who & what they believe in. It is a confirmation that they are following in Jesus' way, that the Holy spirit is in us, and fulfilling the will of the Father for their lives. We look deeper at what it means to follow Jesus - what is the will of God for our lives, and how our view of who He is and the future that He promises affects our view of the world and those who revile us for what we believe.

Air=Grace Gas=Christ Spark=Love

Walking through one of the toughest passages in the Bible, we look at the context carefully in 1 Peter, asking the question - what is the story to this point? How can we see this in light of what Peter has been telling us about a creative, diverse, & vast God? How does His work in our lives lead us to live dynamically in the midst of seemingly routine and rote life? Awareness of what it means to follow in steps - and constantly seeking after the Great Shepherd as He leads us to God.

As part of our life in Jesus, we are often faced with persecution and suffering because of Who we represent in our lives. Like Peter's story in Acts 5, we must count that suffering as a blessing - a confirmation of the external evidence of the hope that is within us. As we continue through 1 Peter we are looking at how we take advantage of the Kingdom opportunities that He provides via relationships, work, community. Are we setting ourselves up to answer question that they are not asking? Are we living our lives to proclaim the mighty deeds of God?

What does life look like when it is lived zealously for the good things God has called us to? Suffering might come - but what is the end of that suffering? What is the real harm that men might do to us? And what are the obstacles keeping us from living in light of who we are in Christ in the world around us?

What should biblical submission really look like? This has been the question that has been worked and re-worked over the last 2000+ years. It would be difficult to prove that the time has done us much good. In the Kingdom, the purposes of marriage must be covenantal, and in being covenantal, they must have a redemptive thread that runs through each and every corner of those marriages. What does it look like for a woman with an unbelieving husband? A believing one? And what is all this about, gentleness, peacefulness, and watching what you wear? And what about the husband? We tackle these questions this week - historical, culturally and practically.

We've all tried hard to make a go of the Crhistian faith - often fonding ourselves running around the same track over adn over again, hoping that at one magical moment it will all fall together. When it doesn't we either give up and walk away, or hide what is really true about us. But there is another way - the only way, the way of Christ. As we celebrate Easter 2011, we have landed in the center of the 1st Letter of Peter, looking at the example of humility and servant hood found in Jesus. It is not just suffering that He calls us to follow Him - rather it is in trusting God in the midst of every circumstance - including this life we have been born anew to in Him. The question remains - as it has fr many of the weeks we have been in 1st Peter - how will we respond in light of the work He has finished on our behalf?