Peter today is going to help us make sure we understand that God’s amazing grace when we receive it, gives us hope, and hope is such a powerful thing and if we grab hold of it and allow it, it renews our leaky life and leads to holy living which is like a little bit of heaven on earth.

Some of you know the name of Peter in the Jesus story.  He experienced grace as he walked with Jesus in many different ways.  The grace that Jesus shared with Peter over and over led him to have hope, and out of that grace and hope, he learned the blessings of a holy life.

Peter shares a great word for us out of his first letter he wrote.

Lets look at it and what it calls us to today.  1 Peter 1.  Starting in verse 3

1 Peter 1:3

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

As Peter considers what he is about to share with us, he first says…

Praise Him!

He can’t help it.  It’s too exciting to start with anything else. 

Do you ever feel that way?  We should.  When we consider God.  When we ponder God.  When we notice God.  What we learn about God.

Praise Him!

That’s why we start with singing when we first start Worship on Sunday mornings.  As we all enter the room together after experiencing God during the week…for many of us…We just want to say or sing…Praise Him.

That’s what Peter is doing here.

Praise Him!  WHY???  What is Peter wanting us to know?  First…he wants us to know about…

Grace – An undeserved merit or blessing.

God’s love is undeserved.  We don’t deserve a relationship with God.  We don’t deserve any of the blessings that God has available. 

We could talk for days about God’s grace but two weeks ago on January 14th, Pastor Mike shared a great understanding of this grace that God has for us.  If you haven’t watched it yet, I strongly suggest checking it out! Flex Seal – Week 2 Message.

We praise God as we realize that it starts with grace.  But Peter shows us that Grace leads to hope.

Peter says it this way. 

1 Peter 1:3-4

…Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

We live with great expectation.  That’s hope.  It’s knowing that something is coming.  There is no question about it.  it’s gonna happen. So what is the hope expecting? 

Have you ever received an inheritance before?  It’s exciting when you know that you will be receiving something.  But…when A person’s will and last testament is read, and your name is listed as a person who will inherit something from that person who has passed.  Most times…it’s a bittersweet moment.

Someone has to die for you to receive the inheritance. That’s how it is in our eternal walk with God.

Jesus died to provide the inheritance.
Jesus was raised to life and is the inheritance.

To know about the gift from God that Jesus died for you…again…go watch Mike’s sermon. 

You get to spend forever with Jesus.  The most righteous, loving, caring, strong and powerful, wisest, etc, etc…man/God you could ever hang with.  Forever you will be with Jesus. 

You get Jesus forever!  Can I hear you say Praise HIM!!

For today…that presence of God happens through the presence of God’s Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, because of God’s grace, sets up a campsite in your heart and does life with you. 

Grace leads to Hope…So…we move forward into Holy Living.

Some of you might be saying…that sounds boring.  That sounds stuffy.  No fun. But…Jesus lived a holy life.  Jesus is living a holy life.  It’s what our heavenly lives will be like. As we have more faith in Jesus and as we follow Jesus more and more.

Jesus makes our lives better and he makes us better at life as the Holy Spirit makes us holy.

Holy living is Godly living.  It looks different from those who don’t know Jesus.  Holy living looks like Jesus as we follow Jesus more and more.

Grace leads to hope and that leads to holy living.

Peter continues with our first SO…verse 6

1 Peter 1:6

⁶ So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

Be glad.  Joy ahead.  Sounds good, right?  But…Trials?

Why Trials?  Because we aren’t in heaven yet.  This is a fallen world.  There is sin.  We hurt each other because of it.  Life happens and sometimes we lose jobs.  Sometimes accidents happen.  Sometimes things catch on fire.  There is weather that can get messy.  There is sickness and disease that hurts our bodies.  And ultimately…these bodies die.

Trials will come our way…but did you notice…JUST FOR A LITTLE WHILE.  Why?  Because we are on the eternal plan if we know about the grace and the hope.  Our lives here on earth where we face those trials are very short in comparison to our eternal lives. 

Now…you might be wondering…what does going through trials have to do with holy living?

Well, everyone on earth goes through trials.  No matter if you know Jesus or not, you will face trials.  But those who know Jesus go through those trials differently because of our faith in Jesus.  That’s holy living. 

And, we go through those trials with Jesus.  We find ourselves surrounded by others who also walk with Jesus.  Our Life Groups pray for us and love on us as we go through those trials. 

That is part of what the joy that Peter mentions here is all about, walking through life with Jesus and with other people who love Jesus…its heaven on earth, even during trials.

And Peter says there is more good that comes out of these trials. 

1 Peter 1:7

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold.

Others will be watching us as we go through these trials.  And they will get to see what our faith in God looks like.  And how God carries us through those trials.

Maybe you have heard it said…

Life is hard, but God is Good!

Did you like Flex Seal – Week 4? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

12 ^1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Galatians 5:19-25

¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Did you like Flex Seal – Week 3? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

There is no formula to start a relationship with God. Did you know there’s not just one way to teach someone the gospel message? When you read the New Testament, you’re constantly reading different prescriptions for salvation. In one place it says believe and you’ll be saved. In another place, it says to believe and be baptized. Another place says repent and believe. Another verse says we’re saved by faith. Jesus told one guy he needed to sell everything he had and give it to the poor to be saved. When the apostles told Gentiles about Jesus they talked about the resurrection, but when they talked to the Jews, they focused on Jesus being the Messiah.

There’s no formula. It’s not a script we memorize. It’s a relationship, and there are many ways to start a relationship. Maybe you met your wife on a dating app, in a bar, or in school, but the ultimate goal was the relationship.

‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭10

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God created us. Then we sinned. So to fix the problem, God has offered to recreate us. Why? So we can do what He created us to do.

There are two ways people try to get to Heaven. Most people think that you get there by being good enough, but God tells us that’s not going to work. The right way to get to Heaven is by faith. We have to trust Him, not our good behavior.

Romans 8:3

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

What does the world say when we go about it the right way? “Oh, that’s too easy…You’re just saying that’s the way to be saved because you want to keep sinning and still go to Heaven.” So they CHOOSE to do it the hard way because it makes them feel more righteous.

That’s what the Pharisees did. They got mad at Jesus because he didn’t follow or obey their laws. Can you imagine! The Pharisees called JESUS a sinner, and that’s what people will do to you if you live by grace rather than by laws.

Do you know what will happen if you try to get saved the wrong way, by obeying rules? You’ll get a lot of smoke and heat…and that’s not Heaven. It’s so hard for me to see all these Jews, Muslims, and all these other religions trying so hard to do the right thing. They’re doing very hard things to try to get to Heaven, and their belief in good behavior is actually taking them to Hell.

Isaiah 64:6

When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.

So I’m going to put the full-court press on today. I don’t want anyone to leave here today without being absolutely positive that they are going to the promised land, that they will spend eternity in Heaven with God. So here’s what I’m going to ask you to do.

I want to ask everyone who is reading this to fill out this out. If today you are ready to stop trying to be good enough to get into Heaven and to put your faith in Jesus instead, would you check that top box and put your contact info in so we can send you some information?

I want to invite you to pray too. Have a conversation with God. You can do it silently, in your mind. God knows what you’re thinking. Talk to Him and thank Him for His grace. If you want to talk to someone about the decision you’re making today reach out to us, we would love to talk with you.

Did you like Flex Seal – Week 2? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

All of us are like a bucket with holes. When we give our lives to God, we’re filled with passion and excitement about our relationship with God, but faster than we want it to Passion fades.

When we’re in a relationship the honeymoon faze is the best…”it’s so cute how she holds her coffee with 2 hands and sips it…then we’re married 2 years, and …”could you PLEASE STOP slurping your coffee!” This happens in our relationships with God.

So, what do we do? We have to go back for more. In order to keep the bucket full we have to pour water into the bucket by coming to church and singing, listening to a sermon, reading a book, and praying. But the cool thing is that Grace doesn’t only forgive us. It seals us.

The longer we’re in relationship with God, the more holes are sealed. We learn Biblical truth and gain confidence. We remove a habit, and it distracts us less. We pray and get peace, but the truth is

We all still have holes.

So we keep filling. We want grace to plug every hole, but that doesn’t happen fast. BUT the cool thing is we fill enough holes, that we can start helping other people fill their buckets when they leak. The Apostle Paul said,

2 Corinthians 4:14-18
We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Did you like Flex Seal – Week 1 if so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, we hear Pastor Mike talk about how the New Testament is a balancing act. It’s constantly telling us that goodness can’t save us. The law can’t save us, BUT we should be good because we’ve been saved and what does goodness look like? Well, that’s simple: Extravagant Love The entire law of Scripture can be summed up in one word: love. If you want to know if an action is right or wrong, ask yourself, Is it loving?

No Shave November Week 4 Teaching Text

Galatians 6:11-17

Paul’s Final Advice

¹¹ Notice what large letters i use as i write these closing words in my own handwriting.

¹² Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. ¹³ And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

¹⁴ As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,^[a] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. ¹⁵ It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. ¹⁶ May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.^[b]

¹⁷ From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

Did you like this message, No Shave November Week 4? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, we hear from Pastor Mike as he talks about how we should not focus on the approval of people but on the approval of God. The idea of winning the approval of God is tricky though because our salvation is not contingent on our works. There is nothing we can do to be saved by Jesus.

When we start to believe that we can sanctify ourselves by being good enough, we end up like the Pharisees trying to earn the approval of religious people. So let’s remind ourselves “God Saved you by his grace when you believed.” Ephesians 2:8. God did it. You can’t do it. The Israelites tried it for millennia and now we’re trying. We Can’t. The gospel is called good news because God can and He did. Jesus was perfect for us? His righteousness saves us. Not ours.

No Shave November Week 1 Teaching Text

Galatians 1:10-12

¹⁰ Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. ¹² I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Did you like this message, No Shave November Week 1? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, we hear from Pastor Mike as he talks about resolving conflict. The ability to resolve conflicts is evidence that someone is a child of God and the good news is, we actually have an incredibly helpful outline in Scripture about how to handle conflict. Watch or listen and learn how Jesus teaches us to resolve conflict.

Acts Week 7 Teaching Text

Acts 15:4-10 and 19

⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?

¹⁹ “…It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Did you like this message, Acts Week 7? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, we watch some scenes from a movie called Yesterday. It’s a modern day parable of inspiration, grace, and faithfulness.

At The Movies 2022 Week 3 Teaching Text

Luke 5:29-32

29 Later,  Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But  the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly  to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Did you like this message, At The Movies 2022 Week 3? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, hear Pastor Mike give a message about wearing Christ. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. Either they want to lead a group, serve a group, or enjoy the company of a group. No matter what the reason is, we all want to be a part of a group. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:12 that God chose us and that we should clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Energy Source Week 5 Teaching Text

Colossians 3:12-24

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

¹⁶ Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Instructions for Christian Households

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

²⁰ Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. ²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.^[a]

Did you like this message, Energy Source Week 5? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

In this teaching, hear Pastor Mike give a message about what gets us into Heaven. There are some Christians still teaching that we need to obey a bunch of man-made laws to be saved, but we’re free from that. Don’t let religious leaders use man-made laws to control you. Paul, in Colossians 2, is asking why would we keep following old laws that have been removed? Our new life has begun! We don’t wait until Heaven comes to start celebrating the freedom that comes in Christ. We are free from sin now!

Energy Source Week 3 Teaching Text

Colossians 2:11-23

¹¹ When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.^[a] 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ In this way, he disarmed^[b] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. ¹⁷ For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. ¹⁸ Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels,^[c] saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, ¹⁹ and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

²⁰ You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ²¹ “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? ²² Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. ²³ These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Did you like this message, Energy Source Week 3? Check out more of our Sunday teachings here.

This week Pastor Mike uses movie clips from Let Him Go.

Teaching Text

John 5:1-9

13Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. ² Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,^[a] with five covered porches. ³ Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.^[b] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

⁹ Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,

Learn more about At The Movies 2021 teaching series HERE.

Be sure to drop your kids off at New Life Kids so they can experience a kid-friendly At The Movies 2021 where Pastor Darci will base her teachings on a theme from famous kid-friendly movies.

Did you know you can see what your child will be learning each week during New Life Kid’s At The Movies 2021 by going here?