𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Tell us how you answered this question when you were young: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Did this eventually change?
• Tell us about a time when you felt special. What made you feel that way and how did you respond?
• Do you have a favorite story that has a redemption arc or complete turnaround of circumstances? Tell us about it.


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: “𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘡𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦,” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 “𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟲–𝟴

Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering persecution and rejection because of their faith in Christ. In their frustration and discouragement, the apostle Peter reminded them: Jesus is our cornerstone, and those who believe in Him will not be put to shame. In Christ, we can be stable and sure regardless of our circumstances. What does Jesus being our cornerstone mean for us who believe?

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗱.
𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟰–𝟱

Peter encouraged believers with the truth that we are set apart as a holy priesthood from the sinful world. Even as we live in the world, we are to reflect God’s holiness, putting away all sin—malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander (1 Peter 2:1)—for He who called us is holy (1 Peter 1:15). The world will look at us and treat us differently. But as God’s holy priesthood, we have been given direct and full access to Him. We are at the forefront of offering sacrifices and praises to God. How does this encourage you to pursue a holy life?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆.
. . . 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. . . . 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟱, 𝟵

In Christ, this is who we are to God: a spiritual house, a holy and royal priesthood, a chosen race, a holy nation, God’s own people. It is the blood of Christ that marks us as His people. We no longer have to live for only ourselves, looking out for our own interest, or treating each other as enemies. In Christ, we don’t have to fight for our place because we each belong to His family and now we pursue a higher purpose and calling. This means we can protect each other’s identity as we live in a community of loving, life-giving relationships and pursue holiness together. Who are you walking with? How are they helping you live out your identity in God?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟵

Ultimately, our being set apart and our new identity help us live out our purpose in Christ. We are called to proclaim His excellencies throughout the earth. This is our mission, and we do this by going out to preach the gospel, pointing others to Christ, our cornerstone and salvation, and living lives that reflect His goodness. In pursuing God’s mission and proclaiming His excellencies, we continue to follow Jesus and walk in community. How does following Jesus and fellowshipping with other believers lead us to fishing for men and reaching the lost? Why do we need all three in discipleship?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Now that we are set apart for Christ, are there areas in your life that need to be surrendered to Him? How can you reflect His holiness in these areas?
• How are you living out your identity in God? What are some of the hindrances to this? What is one thing you can do this week to begin overcoming these obstacles?
• To whom do you think God is calling you to proclaim His excellencies? How can you prepare yourself to do so in the coming days?


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for setting you apart as His child and for the purpose He has called you to. Pray that you will endure in your identity in Him and persevere in His calling.
• Ask God to continue to remind you of your identity in Him and that you have a spiritual family that will help you walk toward Christlikeness.
• Pray for the people you want to share your testimony with or preach the gospel to. As you seek Him, ask God to give you compassion, boldness, and the right words to say.