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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

In Peter’s first letter to the church in Asia Minor, he spends a significant amount of time calling believers to holiness. And in perhaps the most encouraging passage in the entire epistle, he makes a statement that rings with identity for the church. It is my favorite passage in this letter.

See it for yourself in 1 Peter 2:9-10.

1 Peter 2:9-10

In these two beautiful verses, Peter gives some very specific and very encouraging descriptions of the people of God. This passage stands in direct contrast with those who do not believe, and who will stumble over the cornerstone that is Christ. Here, Peter describes the church in some of the most descriptive of terms, and does so using imagery drawn from the Old Testament, from the nation of Israel, who was also God’s chosen people.

Peter uses five phrases here, which we will look at in turn, drawn from two passage of the Old Testament, Exodus 19:6 and Isaiah 43:20-21. These are both passages that Jewish Christians would have been very familiar with, but Peter’s main audience may not have been, being primarily Gentile. Both of these passages speak of God’s great desire to redeem his people, and provide for his people, in return for their faithfulness and obedience. Peter ties them both to the people of the church, and does so beautifully.

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The Heart Of A Champion

Leading With A Great Heart

There are some people out there who just seem to have the heart of a champion. And when it comes to the areas of ministry or leadership, this is an essential quality to have.

The Heart Of A Champion

But how do you develop a heart like that? How do you train yourself to serve like that? What does that even look like?

There are several qualities that exemplify a heart that strives to be great. And those qualities can be seen by looking at the life of Paul the Apostle. In this mini series, we will look at several of the different aspects or qualities that make such a great leader.

As Paul described his own life and ministry in 2 Corinthians, and as he longed to serve and lead the church in Corinth, we catch glimpses of his heart and the concern he had for them as he shepherded them. Paul’s perspective was clear, both in who he was, and how he was to relate to the church in Corinth. And, as a result, he displayed a heart that is worth imitating.

I think there are three reasons we must do our best to develop a heart like Paul’s, for Christ, for the church and for others. Such a heart will make us more effective in our work for the Kingdom of God.

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Coffee Break – 10.17.2016

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1888, the first issue of National Geographic Magazine was released at newsstands. In 1931, Al Capone was convicted on income tax evasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939. And in 1933, News-Week appeared for the first time at newsstands. The name was later changed to Newsweek.

Coffee Break

Some Observations On Hand Pours – If you know me at all, you know my preferred method of making coffee is with a pourover, such as the Hario V60 or the Chemex. In my opinion, there is no better way to brew a cup of coffee, and pourovers draw the most flavors out of the coffee beans. I stumbled across this article via a Facebook page the other day, and it has some very interesting thoughts and observations. I’m not certain I agree with all of them, but they are very interesting to think about.

Four Tie Knots Every Man Needs To Know – If you wear a tie, you need to know how to tie it. But most people don’t seem to know that there is more than one way to tie a tie. Here are four basic knots every man should know and use.

The World’s Largest Model Railroad – As a kid, one of my grandfathers introduced me to model railroading. He was hooked, and I was fascinated. One of these days, it is a hobby I wouldn’t mind pursuing more, but space and time are limited. In the meantime, I can live vicariously through the work of others, like this article about the world’s largest setup. Simply incredible!

Making Medieval Manuscripts – As a fan of books, I found this video to be extremely interesting. The amount of work that went into something I tend to take for granted is overwhelming.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 2:7-8

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

Peter has just given support for his premise by using Old Testament Scripture to make his point, in verse six. In this week’s passage, he adds two more Old Testament passages.

Take a look for yourself in 1 Peter 2:7-8.

1 Peter 2:7-8

In verse six, Peter began to use Old Testament passages to reinforce his point, and described Christ as the cornerstone of the foundation of our faith. He continues to do so with a couple more passages, that drive home his point even further.

Where verse six speaks to those who believe, these two verses speak to those who do not. Peter first quotes Psalm 118:22, a text he was probably familiar with because Jesus quoted it in Matthew 21:42. In fact, Peter has used this passage before himself, in Acts 4:11, when he stood before the Sanhedrin. His point, in both uses, is that the stone that has been rejected, both by Jews and by non-Christians elsewhere, has become the main piece of the foundation, the cornerstone.

The NIV uses the word “capstone” here, because the Greek is different. But a capstone, or a keystone from an arch, would be difficult to stumble over, as Peter’s imagery depicts, so the meaning is probably still focused on the idea of a cornerstone in a foundation.

Next, Peter uses another passage from Isaiah, this time from chapter eight, verse 14. This stone, rejected by the builders, will cause them to stumble and fall. Peter is very clear here. They stumble because they disobeyed the word of God. This illustration is very riveting: the very stone that the construction workers or builders discarded has become something that they continue to stumble over. And, perhaps even more accurately, the cornerstone, which God inserted into place, is a projection that they continue to trip over.

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The Truth About Words

One of the things that I hold most deeply is the authority of Scripture. The Word of God is infallible and inerrant. God’s Word, and his words, are truth.

The Truth About Words

Not too long ago, I was reading a book recommended to me by a friend, New Evangelicalism, by Paul Smith. It was a very interesting and eye-opening book, and gave me a lot to think about.

But in reading it, I came across this passage that just blew my mind: Smith is speaking here about the solid theological beginnings of Princeton Seminary, and identifying some of the fundamental issues that served as the foundation for the college as it started. He states:

Truth was a stable entity best expressed in written language that conveyed one message relevant for all times and in every place. At Princeton, as well as in many nineteenth-century Protestant American churches, the idea was held that persons of simple common sense could rightly understand Scripture. They also held the view that a genuine religious experience grew out of right ideas, and right ideas could only be expressed in written words.

That simple statement, stuck in the middle of a section that propounded upon the inerrancy of Scripture, has bounced around in my mind for weeks.

I see two striking truths in that paragraph.

First of all, words are sacred. Over and over, the Bible tells us that the things that we speak are weighty (See James 1:19; 3:1-12; Colossians 4:6; Ephesians 5:4 for a start). But most of those passages deal with the spoken word, our conversations. Because I was curious, I did a quick search for the words “write,” “written” and “wrote” in the Bible. Did you know that these word appear in English almost 400 times? And that doesn’t include any other variations of the words, or even look at the original languages and compare all the different forms from their roots.