Third Sunday of Easter

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 1:17-21

Other Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-47 and Luke 24:13-35

 

  1. What does Peter mean by living in “reverent fear of God” (v. 17)? Read Proverbs 1:1-7.

 

  1. In our American culture, what are some of the “empty [ways] of life” that our ancestors have handed down to us? (For a better idea of what Peter has in mind by that phrase, confer Ecclesiastes 2:20-26.)

 

  1. Our worship theme was “victory over despair.” Some despair over this question, “Why would God create a world in which he knew sin and evil would happen?” How would you use verse 20 to help give someone victory over such a despairing question?

 

  1. Verses 18 and 19 helped Martin Luther explain which part of the small catechism?

 

  1. Peter says, “Your faith and hope are in God” (v. 21). Which parts of this text help strengthen your personal faith and hope in God?

 

 

  1. He means it in the sense that Proverbs often uses it with believers – a deep respect and awe of who God is and what he does. When we have a deep respect and awe of God because he is a holy God, we live disciplined and wise lives.

 

  1. Specific answers may vary, although it is easy to notice similarities between the work-a-holic attitude of Ecclesiastes and our non-stop, work-a-holic culture in America. Any way of life that places value on anything or anyone outside of Jesus Christ and God’s Word is empty.

 

  1. God’s plan to save us from sin and deliver us from evil in this world has its roots in eternity before time began. His plans of salvation and for you are not just some scrambled backup plan-B.

 

  1. The Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed which says, “I believe that Jesus Christ… has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.”

 

  1. Answers may vary. But especially in the season of Easter, focus on what Peter ends with: God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified him. That’s the proof that God the Father has judged Jesus’ work of salvation and deemed it complete for you.