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Aug 16, 2020

Strange Resilience

Strange Resilience

Passage: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Speaker: Patrick Lafferty

Series: Strange Faith

Keywords: persecution, judgment, trial, surprise, sufferings, insult

Christians experience opposition unevenly in this world. Where you are has a lot to do with the kind and degree of opposition you face. But wherever our strange faith is publicly manifested and advocated for, some kind of opposition--even subtle kinds--is bound to happen. How are we to think of any kind of opposition? Moreover, how are we to respond to it. You might say Peter has been building to this idea ever since he began his letter. You might say his most animating impulse for writing was to encourage one thing in his hearers: resilience.

8.16.20 GMR Online Service from Grace Mills River on Vimeo.

Order of Worship

PRE SERVICE: 1 Peter 4:12-13
CALL TO WORSHIP: Philippians 3:8-11
PRAYER: The Lord’s Prayer
OT READING: Isaiah 43:1-5
NT READING: Matthew 5:10-12
CENTRAL TEXT: 1 Peter 4:12-19 ESV
MESSAGE: Strange Resilience
BENEDICTION: Deuteronomy 31:6
POST SERVICE: 1 Peter 4:19

Readings & Lyrics for Outdoor Worship Service

Children's Lesson

READINGS & Scripture

PRE SERVICE: 1 Peter 4:12-13
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

CALL TO WORSHIP: Philippians 3:8-11
LEADER: 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

ALL: 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

PRAYER: The Lord’s Prayer
ALL: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

For Thine is the Kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever Amen.

OT READING: Isaiah 43:1-5
LEADER: 1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;

NT Reading: Matthew 5:10-12
LEADER: 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

CENTRAL TEXT: 1 Peter 4:12-19 ESV
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

BENEDICTION: Deuteronomy 31:6
LEADER: 16 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you.

ALL: He will not leave you or forsake you.”

POST SERVICE: 1 Peter 4:19
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • Psalm 31:5
  • Psalm 89:49-52
  • Ezekiel 9:6
  • Amos 3:1-2
  • Matthew 5:10-12
  • Luke 6:26
  • Luke 23:46
  • John 15:20
  • Romans 2:9
  • 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
  • 2 Timothy 3:12
  • 1 Peter 1:7
  • Hebrews 11:26

Illustrations


Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexamenos_graffito

 

  • 1st century “graffito” of a man apparently at the foot of the cross of Jesus, who is depicted with a mule’s head. The rendering mocks someone named Alexamenos for worshipping Christ: “Alexamenos worships his God.”

  • Inview Media album: 8.16.20 Album

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

 

  1. Ever been bullied? Ever been a bully? Tell us a story of either experience. If the former what did you feel, how did you respond? If the latter what was beneath that? What were you after?
  2. Has your belief in Christ ever cost you--ever subjected you to ridicule, false accusation, ostracism, or otherwise? If so, what were the circumstances? Describe the experience. What was their motivation or reason(s) for opposing you as they did? How did you handle it? Are there any lingering effects? 
  3. Peter makes a difference between suffering as a Christian and suffering for wrongdoing. How might a Christian confuse the opposition they experience for their own uncharitableness with opposition for being a Christian? Why must we keep that distinction clear?
  4. Peter tells us to entrust ourselves to a faithful creator in the face of opposition. It happens that the word entrust there is the same word Jesus uses in his dying breath: Unto your hands I commit (entrust) my spirit (Luke 23:36). While Jesus represents the most extreme form of entrusting oneself to God, what are other forms?

 

QUOTES:

 

  • . . .all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. . . . - 2 Timothy 3:12
  • Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. - John 15:20
  • . . .the condition of being despised and rejected, slandered and persecuted, is as much a normal mark of Christian discipleship as being pure in heart or merciful. - John Stott
  • 1. Treat people like human beings, not political abstractions.
    2.     Criticize to uplift & empower, never to tear down, never to destroy.
    3. Root everything you do in love & compassion.      @CValdary
  • Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. - Acts 5:42
  • “We feel obligated to tell you that there are among us a certain number of Jews, But, we make no distinction between Jews and non-Jews. It is contrary to the Gospel teaching. If our comrades, who’s only fault is to be born in another religion, received the order to let themselves be deported or even examined, they would disobey the order received and we would try to hide them as best we could.” - A letter written during WWII to the local contingent of Nazis from the city’s church of French Huguenots in Malcom Gladwell’s  David and Goliath
  • Maybe we have difficulty seeing the weapons of the spirit because we don’t know where to look, or because we are distracted by the louder claims of material advantage. But I’ve seen them now, and I will never be the same. - Malcom Gladwell, David and Goliath
  • Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat. . . . but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. - Luke 23:32

BOOKS / DOCS:

 

 

 

SERMONS / TALKS: