MESSAGE NOTES: Sticks & Stones 2.0 – Chosen
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be
self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus
Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you
had when you lived in ignorance.” (1 Pet 1:13-14)
“For though we
live in the world, (*) we do not wage war the way the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On
the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (*)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:3-5)
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is
written, “Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:16)
“Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:16)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)
Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially,
live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” (1 Pet 1:17)
“Abba, Father!” (Rom 8:15)
“For you know that it was not with
perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty
way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Pet 1:18-19)
He was chosen before the creation of the
world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him, you
believe in God [i.e., know Him] who raised him from the dead and glorified him,
and so your hope and faith are in God.” (1 Pet 1:20-21)
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from
the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of
imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Pet 1:22-23)
If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he
is a liar. [and it’s not just about hate, because = ] For anyone who does not love
his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he
has given us this command: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1
John 4:20-21)
For you have been born again, not of
perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of
God. [i.e., Jesus]. “All men are like grass, and all their glory like the flowers of
the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands
forever.” (1 Pet 1:23-24)
SMALL GROUP REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Sticks & Stones 2.0 – Holy
(1 Pet 1:13-25; 1 John 4:20-21; 2 Cor 10:3-5; Lev 11:44-45; et al)
1. Q: Does your family have some unique rules or habits or traditions? When you were
growing up, did your household do things differently than other families? How did you feel
about it? How would you like your family now to be different or unique?
2. see 1 Pet 1:13-14 … Q: What does it mean to “prepare your mind for action”? Why is this
important to God? What’s the difference between someone who is self-controlled and
someone who isn’t? How do you feel around a person who isn’t? How do you feel around
someone who is? Why does this matter to God?
3. see 1 Peter 1:13-14 … Q: What does it mean to “set your hope fully on … when”? What
practical difference does it make when your hope is set on heaven?
4. see 1 Peter 1:16 … Q: The word “holy” means “set apart” – why is it important to
understand this? When God says to be holy because He is, what does that mean? Is holiness
more or less than moral purity? In what way?
5. see 1 Peter 1:17-19 – Q: What’s the difference between obeying God as Father and
obeying Him as master? How does the phrase “precious blood” factor into the call to be
obedient to the Father? What is God wanting us to grasp? Why does it matter?
6. see 1 Pet 1:22-23 … Q: What is the most important way we can obey God, according to this
passage? What does it mean to love one another “deeply, from the heart”? How is this distinct
from lesser loves?
7. GOING DEEPER - see 1 John 4:20-21 … Q: Is it possible to obey God’s command to love one
another without coming together in local communities of faith? What would John say?
8. COOLDOWN … ask God in prayer to capture your heart with love for His church.
