Sermon Tone Analysis

! /Big Idea: As Children of God we have a hope, now and in the future./

The most important message we should be reminded of , each and every day, and proclaimed to he whole world is the message of  HOPE.

Hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.

!! Background and Setting of Peter’s Letter

When the city of Rome burned, the Romans believed that their emperor, Nero, had set the city on fire, probably because of his incredible lust to build.

In order to build more, he had to destroy what already existed.

The Romans were totally devastated.

Their culture, in a sense, went down with the city.

All the religious elements of their life were destroyed—their great temples, shrines, and even their household idols were burned up.

This had great religious implications because it made them believe that their deities had been unable to deal with the destructive fire and were also victims of it.

The people were homeless and hopeless.

Many had died.

Their bitter resentment was severe, so Nero realized that he had to redirect the hostility.

The emperor’s chosen scapegoat was the Christians, who were already hated because they were associated with Jews, and because they were seen as being hostile to the Roman culture.

Nero spread the word quickly that the Christians had set the fires.

As a result, a vicious persecution against Christians began, and soon spread throughout the Roman Empire, touching places N of the Taurus mountains, like Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1:1), and impacting the Christians, whom Peter calls “strangers.”

They needed spiritual strengthening because of their sufferings.

They needed hope!

Thus the Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this epistle to strengthen them.

\\ !

/1.    / /We are Chosen for a purpose./

/ /

/Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,/

 

/To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:/

!! Peter, the Apostle of Jesus Christ

                   - His Authority

!! To God’s Elect

-         Gentiles

-         Their Status

·        Strangers~/Sojourners~/Pilgrims - Dispersion

·        Scattered - Dispersion

 

*Peter reminds them of their Covenant relationship with God ~/Trinity:*

-         /Chosen by God/

-         /Sanctified by the Holy Spirit/

-         /Purified by the blood of Jesus /

-         /Set apart for Service./

/Sprinkling is a sign of setting one apart for service – Aaron as priest./

/ /

/Spurgeon writes: Whomever the Father elects the Spirit sanctifies unto obedience, and the Son redeems and sprinkles with His blood./

/Barclay writes: It is the purpose of God that the Christian is called.

It is by the work of the Holy Spirit that his life is hallowed towards God.

It is sprinkling of the blood of Christ that he is cleansed from past sin and dedicated to future obedience to God/

/ /

*/Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Roms 5:1-5/*

*/ /*

/1.    //Grace – Free favor of God/

/2.    //Peace – The result of Grace/

*/ /*

Because of the work of salvation we can have peace.

With out the Grace of God, you will never know the peace of God.

\\  

! /2.   //Christ, the Foundation of Hope!/

/3//Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ//!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a *living hope* through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, /

* *

1.     Praise or Blessed

2.     Great Mercy

3.     New Birth

4.     Living Hope – not a dead hope

5.     Through Christ

 

! the key message of Peter to us all is the m/essage of a Living HOPE given to us through Jesus Christ/.

!

/3.   //This World has a Hopeless Future.

Why?

It is hopeless because it rests on man’s ability and not on Christ./

Some years ago a hydroelectric dam was to be built across a valley in New England.

The people in a small town in the valley were to be relocated because the town itself would be submerged when the dam was finished.

During the time between the decision to build the dam and its completion, the buildings in the town, which previously were kept up nicely, fell into disrepair.

Instead of being a pretty little town, it became an eyesore.

Why did this happen?

The answer is simple.

As one resident said, “Where there is no faith in the future, there is no work in the present.”

The world has a dead hope.

We build space stations to escape to outer space, we take drugs to escape to inner space.

Secular psychology has failed

Look at the local paper and you can read stories of hopeless: Aids, War, Sexual immorality, child abuse .As /Job 11:20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp/

/Eph 2: 12..without hope and without God in the world.

/

The world puts its hope in things which bring no hope: wealth, intelligence, possessions, in a leader, in a job… /Illustration from scripture turn to /

\\ *Luke 12:16-21 The Parable of the Rich Fool *

 

And he (Jesus) told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do?

I have no place to store my crops.' 18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do.

I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all *my* grain and *my* goods.

*/19/**/And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years.

Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry/**/./**/"/*

' 20"But God said to him, 'You fool!

This very night your life will be demanded from you.

Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21*"/This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."/*

o       God gave him a good crop – /he did not thank him/

o       Astute businessman – /he sees needs bigger barns./

o       So he plans for the future – /Without God/

o       So he can take it easy later – /False hope/

!

/4.   //Our Inheritance is kept for us by God.

Verses 4,5/

/4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5*who *through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time /

/ /

*Our inheritance is one of:* Life, righteousness, joy, peace, perfection, God’s presence, Christ’s glorious companionship, rewards, and all else God has planned.(v.

5; cf.

Matt.

25:34; Acts 26:18; Eph.

1:11; Col. 1:12; Heb.

9:15; also Pss. 16:5; 23; 26; 72; Lam.

3:24

!! And this inheritance has some lasting qualities:

‘*never perish’*:*.*

The inheritance is not subject to passing away, nor liable to decay.

The word was used in secular Greek of something that was unravaged by an invading army (cf.

Matt.

6:19–21).

*‘never spoil’:* This word means unpolluted, unstained with evil.