Series: It’s Time to Grow Up Title: Step 3: Endure Like Jesus
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 2:11-12, 19-25
Supplemental Texts: John 10:1-14, Isaiah 53, Psalm 23
Josh Kleinfeld
Step 1: Have Faith in Jesus
Step 2: Obey the word
Step 3: Endure Like Jesus
How Jesus Endured
No sin (1 Peter 2:22)
No lies (1 Peter 2:22)
No retaliation (1 Peter 2:23)
No threats (1 Peter 2:23)
All Trust in the Just Judge (1 Peter 2:23)
Why Jesus Endured
To give us an example to follow (1 Peter 2:21)
To bear our sins in his body (1 Peter 2:24)
To heal us by his wounds (1 Peter 2:24)
To be our Shepherd (1 Peter 2:25, John 10:11-18, Ezekiel 34:15-16)
How to endure like Jesus
Pray for the persecuted, the enslaved, the abused and disinherited
Stand fast against sin
Receive His healing
Follow his footsteps as Sacrificial Shepherd
Memory Verse:
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10
Resources for greater understanding of the life of the persecuted, enslaved, and disinherited:
www.prayercast.com/prayer-plans.html (use the persecuted nations prayer plan)
Book Recommendations:
Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Message Reflection Questions
Read Psalm 23 as the prayer to open your time of exploring God’s word. Take a couple minutes to be silent after reading the Psalm.
Read 1 Peter 2:11-12 in ESV or KJV. How does our identity as “dearly beloved”... “sojourners and exiles” (ESV) or “strangers and pilgrims” (KJV) help in abstaining from “the passions of the flesh” (ESV) or “fleshly lusts” (KJV)?
Read 1 Peter 2:19-25. What strikes you about what Peter says here?
Peter quotes Isaiah 53 a lot in this passage. How does Isaiah 53:1-9 help you understand the mission and character of Jesus?
In 1 Peter 2:21-25 we see how Jesus left us “an example” to “follow in his footsteps.” Why is it important to follow those steps?
Why is it more commendable to endure unjust suffering than to endure suffering for a wrong/sin we’ve done?
How can we suffer under wicked people without endorsing or approving their wicked behavior?
How does the image of Jesus as “the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls” (1 Peter 2:25) tie all of this conversation together? Read Ezekiel 34:15-16 and John 10:11-18 for further insight.
What is God calling you to do with these thoughts?
As you close in prayer, remember the persecuted church and those suffering in unjust situations. Ask God to help them and you endure like Jesus.
Half-Million Mobilization Prayer Series
We have ended our Lenten Series. But we now begin a 50 day period of prayer between Easter and Pentecost with Nazarenes across the US and Canada.
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