𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣

• Think about one of your favorite possessions (watch, bag, pen, etc.). Would you buy any brand of this item, or do you have a trusted brand? Why do you trust this brand?

• When was the last time you excitedly talked about a favorite food, restaurant, or coffee shop with your friends? What happened as a result of what you told them?

• Have you experienced working on something continuously, even if it is difficult, because of the reward at the end? What happened?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭:𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟮

God’s grace is evident in Peter’s journey of denial and restoration. Despite Peter denying Jesus three times, God used him to advance His kingdom by the fearless proclamation of the gospel with power and conviction (Acts 2:14–36). Peter deeply understood the Holy Spirit’s work in enabling believers to be set apart for God’s purposes. Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance and grace, we are equipped to honor God and reflect His character, just as Peter himself experienced in his journey of denial, restoration, and ministry. Because we are set apart for God and come from a place of grace, here are three things the Holy Spirit enables us to do.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁.

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 . . . 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭:𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟮

Peter was explaining to the early church how the Holy Spirit guided the Old Testament prophets as they sought God about the Messiah that He promised to His people. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s redemptive work was foretold (2 Peter 1:21), assuring us that God’s promises are trustworthy and reliable. We can trust in Christ completely, knowing that His suffering and glory are part of God’s eternal plan to restore us to a right relationship with Him. How has this truth helped you in following Christ, knowing that His suffering, death, and glorification were predicted long ago and were all fulfilled?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭:𝟭𝟮

Just as the Old Testament prophets were guided by the Holy Spirit as they prophesied about Christ, the Holy Spirit enables us today to proclaim the good news that Christ has come. The Holy Spirit does not only give us assurance about God’s plan, but empowers us to preach the gospel boldly. Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance and grace, we are equipped to fulfill our calling, participating in God’s redemptive work and inviting others into the abundant life found in Christ. How has the Holy Spirit enabled you to share your faith with others?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰:𝟭𝟯-𝟭𝟰

Peter encouraged the early believers to rejoice as they suffered as Christ suffered. They could endure suffering knowing that when Christ returns in His glory, they, who have the Holy Spirit of glory, are blessed because they would also be gloriously resurrected. This is also true for us today. Our suffering is a temporary trial that will ultimately lead to the manifestation of God’s glory in our lives. The Holy Spirit’s empowering grace gives us strength and comfort to persevere and rejoice during difficult times, knowing that suffering is not the end of our story. Rather, it is a pathway to eternal joy and glory in Christ. What does 2 Corinthians 4:16–17 tell us about how we are to view earthly troubles and what they are preparing us for?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Reflect on 1 Peter 4:14. Knowing that the Holy Spirit rests upon you, how should this affect your perspective on suffering for the name of Christ? Write your thoughts this week.

• The Holy Spirit guides and empowers us when sharing the good news of Christ with others. How does this affect the way you proclaim the gospel, even in the face of challenges and opposition?

• Reach out to a friend or a family member who needs to find strength and comfort in the Holy Spirit at this time. Set a time to encourage and pray with the person this week.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for deepening your understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in a believer’s life. As you face trials, ask God to strengthen your character and give you patience and perseverance.

• Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you navigate difficult situations and for the grace to rejoice, knowing that suffering is temporary and serves a greater purpose in God’s plan.

• Pray for God to use you to encourage those who are facing persecution and trials for the name of Christ. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s presence and power to be evident in their lives.