Citizens Church Sermons

How are we to endure in the face of religious, social and political turmoil? By humbly surrendering our lives to Christ despite the cost. When the natural instinct is to close our hands—God invites us to open them to his care and command. Scripture: Hebrews 13:7–16

Where do you go when your anxiety hits the limits of your humanity? 1 Peter 5:6-7 asks us to lay down our pride. In doing so, we admit that we are not in control as much as we would like, and God cares about our anxieties more than we ever could. Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6–7

Our love of God directly correlates to our love for others. As the family of God, there is a constant call to deepen our relationship ship with God and with our spiritual brothers and sisters. And we are called to steward and disciple the next generation to remember God’s word. Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

To be a follower of Jesus means Jesus shepherds us. He leads me, guides me, corrects me. And Peter takes this same metaphor and applies it to the elders of a church. Elders should be shepherd leaders. 1 Peter 5:1-5

Suffering has a way of quenching the generosity out of us. When we suffer, we often resort back to selfish ambitions. God invites us to live charitably while suffering, and trust him to care for our bodies and soul. Even in suffering, we hope in the power of Christ, we live obedient lives, and trust God through the process. Scripture: 1 Peter 4

There is often a dissonance between what we believe and what we see. There’s a cost to obey Jesus and obeying Jesus does not protect us from suffering. Is it worth it? This passage reminds us that because Christ was vindicated in resurrection, our faith will be vindicated in His return. Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17–22

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13–17 Peter encourages us to grow in our hope for the future we have in Jesus. These verses remind us that life in exile brings a variety of experiences, but we can face our fears with confident hope, knowing that Christ is Lord.

Christian community by nature is a community that blesses. Peter’s instruction in this passage is that while in exile, we cultivate blessing and peace for everyone, even those who mean us harm. Because the extent we go to bless others is not based on what they’ve done for us, but based solely and fully on what we have received in Christ. Scripture 1 Peter 3:8-12

We live in between the resurrection of Jesus in the past and the return of Jesus in the future. The great hope of the Christian story is that God will redeem his creation. This means we do not live with empty optimism, but with full confidence and hope in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Scripture John 11:43-44; John 5:25

The passage for today calls husbands to honor their wives, and lead them to hope in Jesus, while also reminding all believers that we have been saved by Jesus as beloved heirs of the grace of life. Scripture 1 Peter 3:7

In this passage, Peter is addressing faithful women with unbelieving husbands. There is a kind of beauty that fades, and a kind of beauty that lasts — the beauty that comes from placing all our trust in a trustworthy God and hoping in the One who saves and delivers. It is the kind of beauty that can draw even an unbelieving husband to seek the Lord. With faith like this, our thoughts shift from fo...

In this passage Peter is addressing how to endure sinful injustice. God doesn’t say don’t suffer, he says there is favor to those who endure injustice without sin, entrusting themselves to God. We are called to stand against injustice, but when we cannot, we must remember we serve a greater master, and have a greater freedom in Christ. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18–25

Our politics should be oriented around our allegiance to Jesus, not the other way around. This passage offers a picture of who we are in Christ and a picture of how to engage the political world around us. And the way that Peter phrases this interaction is that Christian’s are to live as free servants. Free servants honor everyone, love the church, fear God, and honor the emperor.  Scripture: 1 Pe...

Living as citizens of heaven means we live as foreigners on earth, and therefore as representatives of the kingdom of God to a non-believing world. We witness to an outside world through what we worship, in a way that either ascribes our ultimate worth in the things of the world or in Jesus Christ. Peter encourages us in this passage to the latter. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12

Part of being in Christ is that we are as close to God as we can ever be, as we are members of the priesthood of believers with Jesus Christ as our great high priest. Living in our priestly identity means we offer our obedience and worship to God Almighty. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-10

Finding our belonging and identity in Christ—our cornerstone—means that we have a godly purpose. And as we live as God’s people, in holy exile, we are called to lean into the church, God’s chosen people, as our family. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4–10

Loving others is a foundational part of following Christ. Jesus himself gave the command in his teachings. The source of our love comes from the abundant love that God has for us, a never-ending, unshakeable kind of love. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22–2:3

This passage shows us where our hope lies—in Christ’s death and resurrection. While we often want to skip suffering and hardship for the reward of life in Christ, we ultimately find the cross comes before the crown. Scripture 1 Peter 1:10–12

This week’s passage begs the question, “How do we live ‘holy’ in exile?” According to this passage, as Christ’s ambassadors living on mission in exile, we are called to a holy standard because we are in Christ. There’s no where we can go in exile where God is not already there. And through Christ we are able to exemplify God’s holiness as we walk through this time in exile. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13...

Because Peter knows suffering intimately, and has embraced the risen Christ, he speaks to a suffering people in a shepherding way throughout this letter. To the Christian, Peter’s inspired words encourage rejoicing, grieving and refining, to know that in our trials, Jesus is near. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9

The book of 1 Peter reminds us that Christ’s resurrection gives us assurance in the presence of our future, imperishable inheritance and hope. The invitation from the word of God is to rest in this truth and to fix our eyes on Christ. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3–5

This week, we begin a new series in the book of 1 Peter. A book that explores many themes, particularly the good news that the defining reality of our life is not our sin, but our Savior. In Christ, we are unconditionally loved as we live as a people in exile. Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-2

As Christians, we should live in the ongoing pursuit of wisdom as we consider how we spend our time, and align it with the ways of God. Wisdom is living in God’s world, in God’s way. Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-21

As we finish out the year, we look at Psalm 23 as a reminder of God’s steadfast love and faithful shepherding of his sheep. When we rest in this knowledge, we find we are content, kept and covered. Scripture: Psalm 23

Jesus speaks of a peace that is “like a sword.” Peace only comes when darkness is pushed back and our allegiances are in Christ. Following the way of Jesus means we become participants in pushing back darkness to make room for the light of peace. Scripture: Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 10:34-39