Church Of The Lost Sheep

Respect and Order " For the Lord’s sake, submit yourselves to every human authority—whether to a king as supreme, or to governors sent by him for the punishment of those who do evil and the praise of those who do good. For this is God’s will, that you silence the ignorance of foolish men by doing good." 1 Peter 2:13-15 [This is the  39th  message of this series] This lesson is intended for mature believers (or adulting believers). For a more orderly study, please go through all the previous messages first, if you haven't yet. 1 Peter [This will be the  9th  of a  series  within a series] Living the Blessed Life Peter instructed the first church (among other things) to respect aurhority. Respect Respect used to be more respected and more commonplace. Today is has all but become obsolete -- even the word has lost it's meaning. We hear people say respect is earned or respect begets respect. People do not even respect themselves, so how do we expect them to res

Suffering for Doing Good "Finally, all of you, be like-minded , be sympathetic , love one another, be compassionate and humble . Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing , because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing ." 1 Peter 3:8-9 [This is the  31st  message of this series] This lesson is intended for mature believers (or adulting believers). For a more orderly study, please go through all the previous messages first, if you haven't yet. The Apostle Peter gave a rundown on how to live a blessed life. All of us wants a life of blessing. And preachers have often equated God's blessing with wealth and health. It does, but that is not the essence of it and it involves much more than that. It involves  things that aren't about earthly riches, possessions, fleeting happiness, earthly fame, influence or power.  Blessing God's blessing is more about the things that are unseen and thi

"But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect ." 1 Peter 3:15 [This is the 7th lesson of this  series ] Everything about the new creation in Christ is summed up in one word -- love. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Loved God loved us regardless of who we are and what we have done. He loved us first. And gave us the power and the opportunity to love Him back in return, and love others including the most unlovable person in the room with us -- ourselves. Grace This love is called grace. We did not earn it. We do not deserve it. It is a gift. Why? So we do not go overboard , take credit or think we have no need of God. Oh and believe me, we need God, every minute and every second of the day. Teach Why? Because we are