Background:
Trials can cause church life to boil down to what matters most.
3 crucial matters of our church:
I. The Matter of Church
.
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
4 characteristics of your church identity that matter:
1. A Chosen
1 Peter 2:6-8
Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. ESV
2. A Royal
1 Peter 2:4-5
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
3. A Holy
4. A People for His Own
II. The Matter of Church
.
1 Peter 2:9-10
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ESV
Two excellent proclamations that matter:
1. Proclaim God called you out of the
2. Proclaim God extended you His
III. The Matter of Church
.
Two areas of church behavior that matter:
1. How you behave in the
1 Peter 1:22
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
1 Peter 2:1
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
2. How you behave in the
1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation. ESV