Christ Covenant Church In Mesquite

Contend for the faith means agonize deeply and fight intensely for the gospel of God's grace delivered by the apostles and received by the church.

Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the beginning God created teh heavens and the earth; in the end God will re-create the heavens and the earth in Christ. Come further up and further in to the new heavens and new earth.

It is often said that eschatology shapes ethics: that our expectations of the future shape our experience in the present. If that is true, then we should be able to tell what we are looking for by what we are living for.

The impatience of the scoffers leads to their condemnation, but the patience of God leads to our salvation.

Who are the dogs and pigs in this text? Are they authentic Christians or counterfeit Christians? Did the Shepherd lay down his life for them?

“Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.” -- Charles Spurgeon

She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (1 Peter 5:12-14 ESV)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you. (1 Peter 5:1-2 ESV)

Noah and his family were saved from a perverse generation by the flood, and they were saved from the flood because they were in the ark. Likewise, you and your children may be saved from a corrupt generation and the empty traditions of your forefathers in Christ through baptism.

Peter uses Psalm 34 to teach Christian exiles how to survive in the world. Psalm 34 is a psalm of deliverance. On the one hand, it is doxological—a word of praise (34:1-10). On the other hand it is pedagogical and ethical—a word of moral teaching (34:11-22). To survive in the world exiles must worship God and live according to hsi word.

Wives, Peter’s command to be subject to your own husbands is a call to walk in the steps of Jesus. Likewise, husbands, Peter’s command to show honor to your wife is a call to walk in the steps of Jesus.

"And we know that for those who love God he works together all things for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

To help us make the transition from Mark’s Gospel to 1 Peter we will hear Peter’s message to Cornelius' household. The gospel tells the story of Jesus accomplishing redemption for all his people. The gospel also tells the story of the Holy Spirit applying redemption to all the people for whom Jesus poured out his blood.

In this text Peter "eulogizes" God the Father for two main reasons: (1) for giving us new birth and (2) for guarding us for salvation according to his mercy and power.

To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion...according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

“There is a rhythm, a pattern to our Christian experience: suffering leads to glory; trial leads to victory; hardships are the pathway to maturity.” (Sinclair Ferguson, Children of the Living God, p 81)

The Spirit is radically Christ-centered. His primary objective is to reveal Jesus Christ to the world, especially to all God's elect strangers. The same Spirit who revealed Christ to the prophets, also revealed Christ to the apostles. And the same Spirit who revealed Christ to the apostles and prophets also reveals Christ to us.

Easter Sunday: The crucified Christ is the suffering servant of the Lord. The resurrected Christ is the sovereign Shepherd of his people.