August 20, 2023 | 1 Peter Part 8
August 20, 2023 • Pastor Ken Cline
In today’s continuation of the study of 1 Peter, Pastor Ken says of Christianity: “…you picked the wrong religion.” WOAH! WAIT! WHAT? Ok, ok, I may have taken that out of context for dramatic effect. He does, in fact, have a perfectly good reason for saying it. You’ll just have to listen in to find out. #teaser!
Today’s teaching is actually all about being different. Have you ever felt different? Ever felt like you don’t fit in? Well, for Christians, that comes with the territory. We are children of God and set apart from this world. We don’t think like the world, or talk like the world. In fact, a lot of the characteristics and attitudes we hold to – generosity, love, self-control, forgiveness – can actually run contrary to what the world sees as normal. Sometimes that can make things uncomfortable for us as Christians. In fact, Peter says we are aliens and strangers in this world. So, it should come as no surprise when we face some challenges or push back from people when we live our lives for God instead of for ourselves. Peter actually continues by saying that we should live our lives in a way that draws people to God. Sometimes that means making difficult decisions and not participating in the same activities or with the same people that you have in the past, or not lashing out at someone who wronged you. That’s hard. But it would be infinitely harder to have your friends and family miss Heaven because you wanted to fit in. Listen as Pastor Ken teaches us how to live our lives differently with grace, hospitality, love, forgiveness, and other qualities that make the world stop and take notice. Granted, they may only be looking because they think we’re weirdos, but at least they’re looking. And hopefully what they’ll see is Jesus.
