Pastor's Corner: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

  Pilgrim Living: How we Persevere in a Fallen World I Peter 4:1-6 Introduction : The invasion of Ukraine  has caused many to flee, seeking refuge for their families in neighboring nations. We've also heard of those who have chosen to stay behind, among them Christians and missionaries. They feel their actions will be a testimony to the people that God has sent them to serve. And so, with their neighbors, many remain in harm's way, to suffer, as least for now, with their friends.       Peter wrote this letter to “ God’s elect, strangers in the world …” Even though they were chosen, he makes it clear in 1:6 that “… for a little while, you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials …” It’s only for a “little while,” relatively speaking, because we were created for eternity, and the future that God has planned for us is better than we can possibly imagine. We’ve called this series “Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World” because the idea of living in the world as an exile and f

Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World: Always Ready ! I Peter 3:13-17 Introduction : Over thirty years ago, I participated with the church I was pastoring in NJ, as a counsellor in the Billy Graham Crusade in the Meadowlands. There were training sessions to help with the crusade in which a survey was given... One question asked, " What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing ?" The answers were surprising. Nearly ten percent said they were too busy to remember to do it. Almost thirty percent felt they lacked the information they needed to share. More than ten percent felt their own lives were not speaking as they should. None said they didn’t really care. But by far the largest group, more than half, were those whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react ! Peter has been saying that since God is watching over us (v.12) we should boldly be about His work!          We are not all evangelists, but we are all witnesses. One approach to sharing that ta

  Pilgrim Living: The Message, The Mission, and the Master                                                   I Peter 3:18-22 Introduction :  First Peter , this little letter written by Peter to believers, elect exiles scattered among the nations , has been our focus, except for Advent, since August . We are still on track to finish before Easter. God is using Peter to speak to us as well, as Pilgrims living in a fallen world. He is writing to encourage us as followers of Jesus to persevere, to have hope, to live a “good” life, and to continue to proclaim the message of Jesus.  The attitude he calls for was expressed by Cyprian, the north African church father from the middle of the third Century A.D., who wrote this in a letter to a friend, It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the