"Passion and Holiness - Part 2"

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 1:13-17

How can we preserve the passion that characterized our early life as a new believer?

1. Don’t be afraid of deep, careful and hard thoughts (1 Peter 1:13).

2. Have a global perspective—world view thinking about everything (1 Peter 1:13).

3. Think about what happens after you die (1 Peter 1:13).

4. Do what Jesus did, follow God— be peculiarly different (1 Peter 1:14- 16).

5. Fear Him (1 Peter 1:17).

Discussion Questions

What are the five indicatives from the introduction in 1 Peter 1:1-12?

2. How is your experience of the Christian life different than it was when you first believed? Do you wish you still had it?

3. Why are flat screens dangerous to our ability to concentrate? What about linear thought?

4. Why is holiness almost the same as happiness? What is holiness? What is happiness?

5. Are we as enthusiastic as we should be about the Gospel, heaven, know- ing God, being with other believers? What can we do to change that?

6. What is the fear of God and why do some try and redefine it? Does the phrase “fear of God” bother you?

7. Read James 2:14-26 and Luke 9:23-27; 12:9. It appears as if our lives are not characterized by bearing witness to that which should be the most important thing about us. Then are we really believers? 1 Peter 1:8-9 characterizes the Christian faith as loving and inexpressible joy. When we experience something that makes us so happy that words fail us, we still make the effort to tell others about it: a trip to Yosemite, Alaskan cruise, etc. Should we warn those who think they are believers but do not share their faith that they need to take a look at the quality of their faith? C.f. Matthew 7:13-29; 2 Corinthians 13:5.