Grace Community Church of Ramona Podcast

These false teachers will secretly bring in what Peter calls "destructive heresies". Originally heresy meant "to make a choice", but over time and usage it came to mean "a sect, or party". The false teachers will be divisive because their teachings will cause division and schism within the church family instead of unity (Eph. 4:1-6).

Special Christmas Message 2024

The Old Testament prophecies of the second coming of Jesus are so reliable, Peter encourages his readers to give constant attention to them. They are like lanterns of truth and hope guiding believers through the dark journey of this life. The lanterns will no longer be needed when the light of day dawns, when Jesus comes. And Jesus' coming means a new life for believers has begun like the morning...

How you live your life now will determine your service, your authority and the honor you receive in the Kingdom. Now is the time to learn and take on the kingdom virtues of agape love, brotherly affection, service, humility, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness, diligence, integrity, wisdom, righteousness. Jesus will exalt believers who seek to partake of the divine nature. But He will rebuke those wh...

We believe in a promise that Jesus is literally, physically coming a second time to this earth. Is this promise of such a nature that it warrants such a belief? The answer to this question is based on the premise that a promise is only as good as the one who makes it. This is the issue of our study this morning.

Missions Update, Samaritan Aviation Matt & Jeannine Condon

Disciple making incorporates the entirety of the Christian life, and it is one of the clearest ways that we can show love towards our family and the world. Now that we are clear on what it means to be/make a disciple of Jesus, let's turn our attention to the brief but helpful pattern that Peter gives to us.

In our study today, the Apostle Peter uses clear and powerful language to describe two very different roads a believer could choose to follow.

2 Peter 1:3-8 reveals that Jesus has granted us everything needed to become like Him in character, values, attitudes and actions.  But to what end? For what purpose? We have also discovered that becoming partakers of the divine nature; of possessing the character, values, attitudes and actions of Jesus Himself, requires effort on our part.

As followers of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to become like Christ in character, values, attitudes and actions. This transformation starts with a growing knowledge of Jesus and His promises. Then we are to make every effort to supplement, or add to, our faith with the qualities found in 2 Peter 1:5-7.

Self-control is the war between impulsivity and doing what's right or beneficial. It's the ability to control emotions, impulses or behaviors to achieve a greater goal.

Jesus has granted us everything needed to become like Him, but we must put effort into the process of transformation as well.  The very first principle we see in this passage is that: Becoming partakers of the divine nature; of possessing the character, values, attitudes and actions of Jesus Himself, requires serious effort on our part.

The goal of God's salvation plan for you wasn't completed the moment you trusted in Jesus as your Savior; that was just the beginning. God wants to reform you into the character, values, attitudes and actions of Jesus Himself. This is the message of 2 Peter.

Peter introduced himself, which was usual for a letter, but did so with an unusual juxtaposition. He identified himself with two nouns that could not be farther from each other. He began with the title of "servant / slave" in greek, doulos. This word was used to describe someone who was fully and completely under the authority of another.

As we embark on a study of 2 Peter, it is always so important for us to rightly understand the context. We practice the historical-grammatical approach to interpreting the scriptures, seeking to arrive at the author's original intent and then we can appropriately apply God's Word to our lives.

Down through the centuries of the church, many things have been taught and practiced with regard to water baptism. Some churches sprinkle, some baptize infants, some make baptism a requirement for church membership, some believe baptism is necessary in order to be reconciled to God. This morning I will share what we believe about baptism and why.

Peter concludes his letter to his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ to endure the humiliations that come with suffering knowing a day is coming when God will make all things right.

Wise leadership is a blessing from the LORD especially during times of stress and calamity. Peter calls upon the elders of the churches of Asia Minor to shepherd their church families as they suffer persecution for being Christians.

Persecution is here in the United States and by all indicators, it will increase in frequency and intensity. This is hard for Christians in America because of the support Christianity has enjoyed historically. Those days are gone. We need to learn how to think about and respond to Christian suffering from Peter's instructions to his suffering audience.

How are we to understand this? We're prone to think Peter was saying that the end of the world was near. With the resurrection, ascension and exaltation of Jesus (3:22) God's plan of salvation here on earth entered its final stage that will culminate in the second coming of Jesus. This may well be what Peter had in mind when he made this statement. The point being that in light of the fact that we...

Pagans of the first century viewed Christians as killjoys who lived gloomy lives devoid of pleasure. The pleasures from which Christians of the first century typically abstained earned Christians the reputation of being haters of humanity and traitors to the Roman way of life.

Peter is writing Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, who were expelled from the vicinity of the city of Rome and resettled in remote parts of Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey. They are foreigners living in hostile communities.

Peter wrote to Christians expelled from Rome and resettled in remote parts of Asia Minor. They were foreigners living in hostile communities. Even in a hostile setting like that of Peter's readers, believers can live in such a way as to get along peacefully with their neighbors. Being honest, being respectful, working hard and doing good work go a long way towards garnering good will from one's ne...

When faced with unjust insult and evil, Peter's readers must decide whether to respond in kind out of the old nature and perpetuate strife or to demonstrate the power of God's grace through radically new conduct.

The phrase "with all fear" specifies the way that servants are to be subject to their masters. However, we need to identify the object of that fear. The one they should fear is determined by 2:17 building off of 1:17, where Peter makes the claim that one of the primary motivations for Godly living in a hostile environment, is the "fear" of the Lord.