Read 1 Peter 1-2
1.What does this text tell you about the character of God?
2. Where do you see God’s love at work in the midst of these verses?
3. What section or verses in the text speak most personally to you?
4. The first two verses of 1 Peter invite us into a posture of blessing. “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” How are you experiencing His grace and peace in abundance?
5. Where, if any, is there a place of longing for His grace and peace to be more fully experienced?
Reflect on 1 Peter 2:9-10, answer the following questions:
6. What is the purpose of these specific verses?
7. In what ways do you see the Church as a fulfillment of these truths?
8. In what ways do you see yourself as a fulfillment of these truths?
Review Exodus 19:3-6, answer the following questions:
9. The Israelites were called to be a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation.”
10. Why does Peter now say these new converts to Christianity are “God’s special possession?”
11. What is the role of a “priest” in the Old Testament?
12. How is that role the same or different today?
13. Why does Israel ultimately reject God?
Read 1 Peter 1:15-16 & 1 Peter 2:11-12, answer the following questions:
14. How specifically is Peter calling the church to live?
15. In what ways do you experience a “war against your soul?”
16. Peter calls the church to live “good lives”. For what is he advocating?
17. How do these verses correspond to the Sermon on the Mount, specifically Matthew 5:14-16?
Read and reflect on the following letter that was noted on Sunday in the sermon.
“I want you to be someone I want to grow up to be like. I want you to step up and live by the Bible’s standards. I want you to be inexplicably generous, unbelievably faithful, and radically committed. I want you to be noticeably better person than my humanist teacher, than my atheist doctor, than my Hindu next-door neighbor. I want you to sell all you have and give it to the poor. I want you to not to worry about your health like you’re afraid of dying. I want you to live like you actually believe in the God you preach about. I don’t want you to be like me; I want you to be like Jesus. That’s when I’ll start listening.
18. How does this letter encourage you, convict you, inspire you?
19. In light of the text how does this letter call you to live, and call you to love?
Read and reflect on 1 Peter 2:13-20
Peter advocates for the church to live holy lives in the midst of suffering.
20. How has God used the faithfulness of others in the midst of their suffering to encourage you?
21. How often do you share your suffering with others?
22. Describe the last season of suffering and with whom you shared it.
Read and reflect of the last verses of 1 Peter 2:21-25
Jesus suffered and His Word to His followers is clear, we too will suffer.
23. How does His example, and His strength compel you to trust Him in the midst of suffering?
24. How does God’s eternal plan, your eternal homecoming, encourage you to persevere in the here and now?
