Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This sermon was preached on 30/1/2011 Having urged the elders of the congregations to fulfil their responsibilities in times of spiritual difficulties, Peter now addresses the congregational members in general and mentions several important responses that should mark each of them. Given the situation they were facing, which included the likelihood of ongoing persecution, we might be surprised at his first suggestion, which is the necessity of humility. Humility in younger church members Initially, he speaks to the younger members in the congregations (5a) before addressing all Christians about this important topic. As far as his words are concerned, he could be instructing the younger to obey all the older members or he could be telling them to obey their official elders. The context must help us decide which option is more likely. ‘Likewise’ indicates that Peter is still referring to church rulers in this sentence. It looks to me that the apostle wants the younger members to obey th...

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2011 The people of God to whom Peter was writing were facing difficulties. Some had already known the consequences of persecution, and the situation was liable to get worse. We can imagine all kinds of consequences: the fears some may have had of not being strong enough to continue their witness in the face of never-ending opposition; the sorrow and perplexity of those who had lost possessions and, worse, their loved ones; the normal circumstances of church life such as coping with temptations, looking for guidance, seeking for sympathy, provision of spiritual food, and so on. What does Peter do as he proceeds to advise them? He could have repeated an exhortation to look to the Lord, and there is no doubt that the apostle would have stressed the importance and necessity of such a response. Yet he also knew that the Lord uses means, and one of those means is the elders that rule the various congregations of God’s people. In a war, the victory is usu...

This sermon was preached on 25/12/2011 As we know, there are many prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus. Most probably refer to his reign as universal Lord; others refer to his sacrificial death; and a few refer to his unusual birth. It is interesting that Isaiah and Micah, who ministered about the same time, both have predictions about the birth of Jesus. Isaiah predicts that Jesus will be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14) and later mentions that ‘a child will be born to us’, a child who will be the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Father of eternity and the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6-7). Micah here refers to the place where Jesus would be born, mentions several details about him, and informs his listeners of several blessings he can give them. As many of us also know, this passage in Micah was the one that Herod’s religious advisors turned to in response to his question concerning the birthplace of the Messiah (Matt. 2:5-6). They knew where to find the information, b...

This sermon was preached on 25/12/2011 The background to this passage in Isaiah is twofold, as we can see in the preceding chapters: first, there was the reality of divine judgement on Israel by the foreign power of Assyria; secondly, there was the promise of the coming child who would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), and we can another reference to him in Isaiah 9:6-7. In the ninth chapter of Isaiah, those two features or themes continue as Isaiah looks ahead to the coming of Jesus. We can read about the effects of the judgement in the opening verses and then read about the child in verses 6 and 7. The prophet focuses on the geographical area in the north of Israel that was allotted to the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon and mentions that they have been in great darkness. The initial reference may be the fact that they were the first areas of Israel to be taken captive by the Assyrian invaders in about 733 BC. Perhaps the rest of the country wondered what the future was for tho...

This sermon was preached on 18/12/2011 One of the passing comments that can be made about this passage is that rumours were found in the early church. The one that is mentioned here is the rumour that John would not die, but would live until Jesus would return. Now, at the time of writing his Gospel, John was an old man and soon to die. He believed it was important that the source of this rumour be correctly explained, which he does at the end of this chapter. Another passing comment that can be made from this incident is that we are not to be over-interested in the Lord’s purpose for another of his servants. Peter responded to information about his own future by asking what would happen to John (v. 21). In reply, Jesus basically told Peter it was none of his business. What was Peter’s business was the necessity of him following Jesus as closely as he could. We have previously seen that the risen Jesus had already appeared to Peter in a private way. That personal appear...

This sermon was preached on 15/12/2011 We often respond to a situation by asking, ‘What’s the point?’ Sometimes the question indicates curiosity, at other times it points to frustration. I suppose one occurrence that can prompt such a question is the relevance of suffering. Today there are many thousands of Christians who suffer for the faith, and as we are informed about what they are experiencing we may ask, ‘What’s the point?’ Peter gives several answers to the question in 1 Peter 4:12-19. 1. Suffering for Jesus proves the genuineness of their faith (v. 12) The first feature of suffering for the faith that Peter mentions is that it is a test. Peter here highlights one of the benefits of suffering, which is that it will usually reveal whether or not a claim to faith is genuine. Persecution is not the only way in which a person is tested, but it is mentioned frequently in the Bible. It is a fact that in everyday life anything that claims to be valuable has to be tested for g...