Sermon Snippets with Max Taylor

1 Peter 3:1-6   This passage focuses on the kind of person a wife should be, it is completely focused on her character above her appearance, possessions, and showiness. This is not how the world typically measures a person’s worth, but it is what God is concerned with. According to this passage, a wife should be (1) arranged under her husband, (2) adorned in the heart, (3) ascribed with humility,...

1 Peter 2:21-25    Christ is the greatest example of suffering, and He endured all of it without ever reviling, threatening, or complaining against God. As Christians, we are called to follow suite. We must be willing to suffer in order to follow Christ because, as Jesus said, the servant is not greater than his master. May we consider the cost of discipleship and determine to sacrifice whatever n...

1 Peter 2:18-21   What an encouragement to know that Jesus can relate to all of our suffering! There is a suffering that we are called to endure and a suffering that we should escape from, and we will touch on both of those in this episode. If you suffer unfairness or slight mistreatment, we are called to endure that with patience for the sake of the testimony of Christ. But I want to be clear tha...

1 Peter 2:13-17   What does it mean to be submitted and who should we be submitted to? The basis of our submission must be a yielding to God. From that will flow our submission to one another, to the government, and even submission through persecution. I hope we will not view submission as a bad thing, it is a beautiful description of what we are to be as the family of God. We will continue with t...

1 Peter 2:9-12   We are chosen (not ordained to be saved, but entrusted with the highest of callings) to demonstrate the very brightness and nature of God. We are called to be kings and priests unto God. And as such, we must abstain from our sinful tendencies. Prone to wander, the composer wrote. This passage shows us that we are to see the holiness of God, show forth the holiness of God, and then...

1 Peter 2:4-9   What a depiction of the saved. We are built upon this rock that is Christ and joined together into a spiritual building in order to show forth the nature and very essence of God. This is why we must walk in the light. This is why we are called to be holy. I hope this short episode somehow encapsulates the amazing calling we have as the building of Christ and the awesome responsibil...

1 Peter 2:1-3   This is one of the simplest lessons of God’s Word, and yet it has some of the deepest and farthest-reaching implications on our lives. The more we seek and pursue the Word of God, the more we experience the satisfaction and goodness that only God can bring. Trust in God’s promises produces assurance of our salvation produces growth out of the carnal and sinful habits of the flesh p...

1 Peter 1:21-25   Here we see a snapshot of the Christian life in four steps: (1) hearing the truth from the Spirit, (2) obeying the truth through belief, (3) purifying our souls from sin, and (4) loving the brethren sincerely. The passage turns from this description of the Christian life and our hope in God to assurance of salvation. God’s Word is the fountain of our salvation (see also 1 John 3:...

1 Peter 1:18-21   The ‘Gospel’ seems overused and trite today after it has been featured in the titles of so many mini movements and become a rallying cry in some Christian circles. Many are understandably confused as to what the gospel actually means due to its overuse and misuse. In some cases, the word has been used to mean almost anything. But the Bible gives us a clear look into the original...

1 Peter 1:13-17   The gospel is such an unsearchable gem, and as we look at it we are faced with the challenge to not forget the splendor of the gospel, not let it slip, and not neglect to share it. Today we are moving on to the two-part call of the gospel that has to do with soberness. We are called first to hope and second to be holy as God is holy. What a privilege to be called a child of God!...

1 Peter 1:10-13   “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). God has given us a magnificent treasure called salvation, and that is what we are being reminded of today. The plan of God is something that has been wondered about for thousands of years, especially before history was made on the cross. And now we ar...

Zechariah 11:4-17   I hope this brief study from one of my favorite minor prophets encourages you to pursue Christ. He is exponentially better than anything else this world has to offer us.

1 Peter 1:6-9   “The Christian's joy is bound up with love to Jesus: its ground is faith; it is not therefore neither self-seeking or self-sufficient" [STEIGER]. Our salvation carries us through our suffering. So often how we come to know what is real is by going through these times of heaviness and hardship. That is when our faith is refined, being much more precious than gold that perishes. Our...

1 Peter 1:5-7   As I have thought about last episode, I have come to change my definition of assurance of salvation, and I want to clarify how I think assurance is defined throughout Scripture. I hope this episode gives us a better understanding of assurance before we continue looking at our position in Christ. My hope is that this also challenges you to think deeply about these things. There is n...

1 Peter 1:5-7   Caveat: some of my opinions and thoughts expressed in this episode change in the next episode.   There is an important difference between eternal security and assurance of salvation. Our eternal security is objective and rooted in God’s unchanging promises, but assurance of Salvation is subjective, depending on our feelings, and prone to change just as our emotions change. Even whe...

1 Peter 1:1-5   Peter starts out this magnificent book with a celebration of salvation from God “for you” (vs 4). This opening section is almost like a personal thank you note to the Lord for the abundant mercy whereby He has begotten us again. This is what our hope lies in, it is what our inheritance lies in, this is our salvation!

Introduction   We will cover a few more introductory facts before jumping into the first passage of this book next week. You won’t want to miss this background material to this fascinating general epistle! The three main goals of the author are (1) to inspire hope in the people of God, (2) to impart spiritual wisdom to God’s people, and (3) to instruct us in our daily lives. Starting into 1 Peter...

Introduction   Welcome to our new study in the general epistle of 1 Peter! Today we will begin by talking all things Peter and drawing some key lessons from his life as an apostle, contribution to the Scripture, and message to us. I’m so glad you are here, and I hope you make it a point to join us each week as we embark on this pursuit to understand the book of 1 Peter. I know you will be encourag...

Daniel 12:5-13   Season 1 Finale! Our study of Daniel concludes with a great encouragement about our future. We may not understand God’s plan in this life, but we will understand finally. There is coming a day ultimately when there will be no more mystery to the people of God, but we will know God and know His ways. Until then we study and seek after God and ask for wisdom, but on that day we shal...

Daniel 12:1-4   As we close this final prophecy, we get a brief description of the coming tribulation when God puts the focus back on Israel. This passage also shows the eternal contrast between those who have eternal life and those who will suffer eternal judgment. These are vastly different futures. We need to awake to the realities of what is coming before it is too late.

Daniel 11:31-45   History—and prophecy—has a tendency to repeat itself. In the description of the rule of Antiochus Epiphanes, we see parallels to the times we are about to face. But this is not all negative, we are given the task of being testimonies for our Lord in these dark days and we have the promise of His imminent return to motivate us to make the most of this time. Remember that what we h...

Daniel 11:21-35   Three times in this section of verses the phrase “time appointed” appears. God has set specific times in which He will judge the world for its sin. During this short time in which we live, we are confronted with the ultimatum to either repent of our sin or be lost in the judgment and wrath of God. We either deal with our sin or we are done. The days of God’s wrath are drawing nig...

Daniel 11:5-20   It is a good reminder for us that God is operating in the background throughout all the events of human history and of our individual lives. Thank you for listening this week despite my sickness, I am looking forward to recovering and being able to spend more time in Bible study and sharing from the book of Daniel!

Daniel 11:1-4   As we embark on this lengthy vision, we are reminded that God sees the end from the beginning, even when all we can see is our own perspective. It is amazing to think that much of what Daniel describes in this prophecy has already been fulfilled. This is comforting because we know that all that God has promised will be fulfilled, it is only a matter of time.   Enjoy listening to bo...

Daniel 10:1-21   When it comes to spiritual warfare, we must remember several things: (1) God is sovereign and more powerful than our spiritual enemies, (2) we will face spiritual attack and should be prepared with the armor of God, (3) spiritual warfare can take many different forms including long periods of seeming silence from God, (5) we are not to address the spiritual wickedness, but are to...