Transit Church Sermons

Advent means coming or arrival. During Advent we celebrate that Jesus has come and we wait in anticipation that he will come again. One of the great themes of Advent is “Light in the Darkness.” Part of reason why we put lights on our Christmas trees is that Christmas is time where we remember that light came into the world and the darkness could not overcome it. It’s why we have candle light servi...

Often we have a tendency to think that thankfulness is primarily a discipline to be mastered rather than a Savior to be adored. What we see in our text is that thankfulness for the believer is simply the natural response of a life that has been radically transformed by the undeserved, grace of God.

As we conclude this letter, the consistent theme is Apostle Peter’s exhortation of how Christians are to live in the world; especially a world that is hostile to us because of our faith. In Peter’s parting words there are three words in particular that deserve our attention: grace, love, and peace.

Peter gives his closing exhortation to the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor. Of all the things Peter could conclude his letter with, he chooses to exhort them to walk humbly before God, walk in resistance to the devil, and walk in confident assurance of future glory.

In a sense, this entire text is bounded by the need to be humble. And when it comes to the requirement for humility, Peter starts with leadership. He exhorts leaders to a very a very different version of leadership than what's in the culture around us. The adage is "As the leader goes, so goes the church."

Peter is offering a final word on a series of reflections on the reality of suffering in the Christian life and he asks us the question, "How do we prepare for and persevere through suffering and trials?" His answer is a paradox. Peter says, "don’t be surprised by the fire."

Christ's first coming started the countdown to His second coming. Therefore, the end of all things is steadily approaching. We don't know the day or the hour, but what we do know is that we are exhorted to live our lives in light of that approaching day.

The major thread running through this entire book is an emphasis on suffering. And the hard reality of being Christians in a hostile environment, where we are persecuted for our faith, is at the forefront of Peter’s thinking as he writes the words before us beginning in Chapter 4. Peter wants us to understand and to embrace the character, the cost, and the calling of following Jesus. It’s a call t...

In this world we will suffer. We live in a broken world. That’s true regardless if you believe in Jesus or not. Peter previously writes, we’re all gonna experience suffering, and it’s better to suffer for doing good than doing evil. He carries that same idea forward in this text, saying Jesus suffered for doing good to keep us from suffering from our own evil. What Jesus does saves us from ultimat...

In this text, Peter gives the persecuted believers, scattered throughout Asia Minor, a crash course on how they are to respond to the suffering and persecution they are facing. In their hearts, they are to honor Christ the Lord as holy, being ready to give a defense for their faith to their accusers, while also abounding in good works and being willing to suffer for his name’s sake.

Peter unpacks a short exhortation that summarizes everything he’s been saying. And he's focusing on Christian behavior in two directions: First, he provides counsel for how we live toward one another within the local church. Secondly, to how we should relate to those outside the church, especially those who oppose the gospel and persecute believers.

Peter writes to Christian wives who find themselves in marriages where their spouses don’t believe in Jesus. In all probability tha'’s going to mean living with some level of difficulty and tension. This is not a Hallmark Channel romance picture of marriage. This is real world; and he offers real world counsel for marriages under pressure, which makes this passage important. It gives us a message...

In this section of Peter's letter he deals with the practical implications of the gospel. He is presenting an apologetic, aiming to help these young marginalized believers, by the way they live their lives, to show the difference the gospel makes to the world. And in the backdrop of this apologetic is how we should respond to suffering and injustice. Peter informs us — we need grace to suffer.

This has been another hard week in America, as earlier this week we witnessed another altercation on national TV involving the police shooting a black man. In the aftermath of this shooting, two interrelated debates have emerged on news outlets and social media — whether the shooting was justified and whether the outrage was justified. In this sermon, we press pause on our 1 Peter series and ask G...

Thanks to the redemptive work of Christ, the church is no longer of this world as we are citizens of heaven. However, we are still exhorted to be good citizens during our sojourn here on the earth, glorifying God in our submission to, and honor for our governing authorities.

We have been redeemed to proclaim the excellencies of our Redeemer, and that proclamation of His goodness is to be both declared in our lips and demonstrated in our actions. In our text Peter boldly declares that through our good works, former persecutors of the church will see the goodness of Jesus and shift from warring against the redeemed, to joining them in worship of their Redeemer.

1 Peter 2:9-10 -- Whether consciously or subconsciously, we sometimes have a tendency to believe that God exists to serve us and to make much of our names. In 1 Peter 2:9-10, that lie gets shattered as we learn the far greater truth that we are a kingdom of priests, a people for God’s own possession, who have been redeemed out of darkness to proclaim the excellencies of their Redeemer.

1 Peter 2:4-8; One of the overarching redemptive themes of the Bible is our holy God’s pursuit of dwelling in the midst of His people. Thanks to Jesus Christ, our Cornerstone, God’s presence now dwells not in a brick and mortar temple, but in the hearts of every believer, who collectively are the living stones being built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ into the spiritual household of God.

1 Peter 2:1-3 continues the train of thought of the text right before it, where the apostle exhorts his readers to brotherly love. Peter says. if you're going to live for Christ in a world that's increasingly hostile to you because of your faith, don't suffer alone; you have to love each other. Further, you need to do two things: you need to dress the part so that you can battle with sin; you also...

In our text, Peter magnifies the worth and importance of the Word of God in the life of the believer.  It is through both the knowledge of and obedience to God’s Word that the believer is purified from the corruption of sin. In addition to this, Peter reminds his readers that their new birth in Christ came about through their hearing of the preached word of God, the imperishable seed of the gospel...

For the believer, our conduct always flows from our identity in Christ. For the first twelve verses of his epistle, Peter wrote about the indicative of the Christian life i.e. this is now who you are, and all that is yours because of who God is and what He’s done for you in Christ Jesus. However, starting in verse 13, Peter shifts from discussing the indicative to the imperative... answering the q...

1 Peter 1:10-12 continues Peter’s train of thought from the previous verses (3-9). The apostle pauses to explain the role that Scripture plays in our salvation. What we find in vs10-12 are several things Peter highlights about the character of Scripture: themes of salvation and grace, and notably its content pointing to sufferings of Christ and his subsequent glories, "things which the angels long...

1 Peter 1:3-12 is really one long run-on sentence, with three sections – vs3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. To use a word that’s been at the center of current racial tensions, Peter is talking about "privilege." Gospel privilege: the privilege of being the recipients of God's great mercy (past, present and future); of being born again to a living hope. And even though we suffer trials, to have them prove the...

Peter is writing to a group of dispersed Christians who are experiencing rejection, being ostracized, denied certain privileges because of their faith. They’re experiencing suffering for taking a stand for Jesus. This letter emphasizes our Christian responsibility as “sojourners and exile” in a world that desperately needs the influence of the good news of Jesus. Peter exhorts us that Christians s...

One of the words being thrown around in the national conversation over the last couple weeks, and really over the last several decades, is the word injustice -- systemic injustices towards black Americans due to racism; systemic injustices towards black men due to police brutality. We won't debate whether or not these injustices exist in this sermon, but it would be helpful as a church for us to e...