Being Set Apart Makes it Hard to Blend In

First Covenant Church of Willmar

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Being Set Apart Makes it Hard to Blend In

April 23, 2023 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • 1 Peter 1:15–23

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We have in our New Testament two letters written by the Apostle Peter to early Christians. These Jesus followers lived in a time when Christianity was considered little more than a sect of Judaism. The society these believers lived and worked in cared nothing about their faith in Jesus as God’s Messiah. They didn’t have established places to gather, bound collections of favorite songs, or even the New Testament books to study. But they did have the Holy Spirit and the experience of New Life in Jesus. They knew that they were changed by God, that the world they inhabited wasn’t their forever home; and that their eternal reward awaited them when Jesus returned and their final salvation was realized. They recognized that the Holy Spirit was changing them from the inside out. The result was that they no longer fit into the old world they had been born into. Born-again believers in Jesus have accepted that they are now holy unto the LORD; they are set apart by God, for God. However, being set apart makes it hard to blend in. Christians are set apart by God -- their lives are built on a foundation of God’s grace and mercy. God then constructs something new and beautiful on this foundation of salvation, but it remains strikingly out of place in an old world.

In preparation for this Sunday, read 1 Peter 1:15-23.

More from Living My New Life In an Old World

"Stick Together to Stand Out"

May 14, 2023 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • 1 Peter 3:8–17

As we prepare to wrap up our current series, Living My New Life in an Old World, we consider the Apostle Peter’s words to some of the churches he knew were in the midst of hard times. Peter understood that these young believers would need encouragement to stay true to Christ as the pressures from their unbelieving society pressed against them. Peter recognized that for these churches to both survive and evangelize their world, they would need to rely heavily on the Holy Spirit and the community of fellow believers. They must remain connected, do good and seek peace. It would be their actions of faithful obedience that would both hold them together as a redeemed people and expand their witness. This Sunday, we will be looking at 1 Peter 3:8-17.

"Under Construction" Communion Sunday

May 7, 2023 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • 1 Peter 2:1–11

The letter of 1st Peter was written to encourage early Christians in what is now modern day Turkey. These Christians were mostly poor, many were slaves. Most of the believers were not of Jewish descent and would have fallen into the broad category of “Gentiles.” For centuries, the Jewish people understood their identity as “God’s chosen people.” They were to be a nation of priests in a defiled and broken world. They were a holy nation, set apart by God and for God. In 1st Peter, chapter 2, the Apostle would make a stunning claim: These Gentile believers were now God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession! This was accomplished through Jesus Christ who had been rejected by the Jews, but now has become the cornerstone for God’s redemptive work. This week, we are continuing in 1 Peter 2:1-10 as we celebrate Jesus, the “Living Stone,” and consider what it means that we too are living stones in a cosmic construction project that began 2000 years ago and continues today. Join us this Sunday as we worship our LORD and Savior and partake in Holy Communion.

Saved Into a New Life

April 16, 2023 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • 1 Peter 1:3–9

The Bible contains two letters written by the Apostle Peter to socially disenfranchised Christians. His appeal is for them to live steadfastly as those saved by Jesus Christ with faithfulness, holiness, and love. For Peter’s readers, they had been born again into a new life in Jesus; yet they were living in an old world steeped in darkness and sin. Because of this, they can anticipate persecution, resentment, and hatred from the world. Peter begins his letter by emphasizing the hope and joy Christians have through salvation. We are saved from sin and death into righteousness and eternal life! The Christian’s inheritance is not found in this old world. Our values and priorities are not to be dictated by this old world. Our devotion and dedication are not to this old world, but to the Kingdom of Heaven. In preparation for this Sunday, read 1 Peter 1:3-9.