This week we looked at what it means to be a Christian and how that may bring resentment, abuse and condemnation from the world. We also talked about how the only way to stay faithful to Jesus was to be like him and keep our eyes focused “… on the joy set before [us].” An inheritance, Peter says, that will never rot or spoil! We also thought about how we are called to bless others with everything we have so this week, during Community Group, we are asking everyone to think about and write down everything we own … all of our gifts, talents, time, possessions and think about how we can serve others with those things to the glory of God!

When we set apart Jesus as Lord, we have both a reason to no longer fear, and a firm foundation for hope.

Ruth and Eddie have been married for over 63 years and counting. That is a feat in and of itself! During and interview Ruth explained how many times people have asked her whether she ever thought about divorcing her husband, Eddie. She humorously responded, “Divorce? eh, seldom if ever. Murder … often!”

Marriage itself is on the rocks in our cultural milieu. Divorce rates are rising, vows are shifting from “… ‘til death do us part…” to “… as long as our love shall last”. It’s gone far enough that now you can, in certain places in the world, be married to someone for a fixed term of ‘X’-amount of years! Is this what marriage is all about? Is this the way that God has created and ordained marriage to function?

This week we’ll be looking at 1 Peter 3:1-7, one of the most contested passages in the Bible which speaks about marriage and the distinct but complementary roles that men and women play in the marriage relationship. You won’t want to miss it so please join us this Sunday or download the podcast here. Can’t wait to see what God will want to teach us this week and we continue to explore what life looks like as the people of God living on the mission of God for the sake of the world.

One of the most common objections to Christianity is all the ridiculous rules.

Really though, a lot of the rules are popular: “Love thy neighbour”, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”, “care for widows and orphans” (or expanding its meaning: all people in need). So where is the problem really?

As we come to the first steps of practically applying what the the bible asks of us in 1 Peter, we come to language that puts requirements and commands on our behaviour. But these commands are only possible with the Gospel as the foundation and framework.

Listen in this week to hear how the Gospel shapes how we live practically.

So you’re at a party. You’re mingling with a cold drink in hand and you stumble into an already-happening conversation. They ask you to tell them a little about yourself. They want to know you. What information will you give them? Often the few things that top the list are name, occupation, and marital status. In our culture so often these are the things that define us. We all base our identity on something, someone, some job, or some bank balance.

As someone who follows Jesus, what do you base your identity on? And if you aren’t a Christian, what do you base your identity on? Who are you?

Peter is on a mission to help us form a healthy identity as the people of God in community. This week he will place a vision ahead of us that says: “once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10b) You don’t want to miss out as we continue to dig through the book of 1 Peter as he helps us to be different from the world, for the good of the world, to the glory of God.

So, who are you?

One of the religious words that gets thrown around is Holy.

There is holy water, holy buildings, holy people…

People say holy a bit differently. They pronounce ‘holy’ in a posh accent.

But what is holiness? How do we become holy?

And why does holiness matter?

1 Peter deals with holiness. It says that Christians not only are holy but should be holy.

This week at Resolved we will be looking into what Peter says about holiness. Why not join us?

What is the one thing we all need in this world?

Is it love?

Is it money?

Is it ambition?

One of the things many sociologists say we need more than anything is hope.

It is when all hope is gone that partners quit the marriage.

It is when all hope is gone that a person succumbs to cancer.

But when hope is there, amazing things happen.

The question we must have is where do we find our hope?

Is it in the things of this world or things that transcend this world?

It is interesting at the end of Joshua 1 how much the Israelites buy into the common vision that God gives Israel. They buy in so much that if anyone hinders the progress of the vision, that person should be put to death (Joshua 1:18). This shows how much they were united in a common vision and purpose.

Jesus in John 17 prays that Christians would be united in the truth. But why? I am sure there are many reasons but one is that united organisations are more effective at pursuing the mission that they are on. A church that is united, where all members are going the one way, is a church that will do great things.

At Resolved we need to be united around a common vision. We want God to use us to impact Sydney so that many people come to know and love and serve Jesus.

In this, unity is key.

Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus?

A kids gets born in a stable in the middle east to a teenage mum and her peasant husband two thousand years ago and yet we still celebrate his birth?

Who was this child?

What did he do that made his life so significant?

Here is how the apostle Paul speaks of this child:

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

And,

 ⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷ but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

Pretty special child, eh?

Can you have just enough Jesus so that he is your Saviour but not your Lord? The answer to that question is a resounding ‘No’. But it seems like so many of us have forgotten that relationship with Jesus brings with it a changed heart which brings repentance.

John the Baptist talked about repentance. He said that in light of the fact that Jesus is coming, we should all repent. That is, we should turn away from following our way of doing things and turning to God and living his way in all areas of our life. Martin Luther said that a Christian is forever repenting, that is to say that we are always turning back to God for forgiveness and trying to live his way more and more.

So let us not live in a way which suggests that we can have enough Jesus to be our Saviour without him being our Lord. But instead, let us continue to repent.