Sunday's Message: Being the Church in a Challenging World (The Church Remembers)

The First Letter of Peter was written to a church which was confronting certain challenges that it neither chose nor wanted. You see, they were living within a society that didn't share their focus and faith; therefore, they were facing the temptation to compromise what they believed, a situation that seems very similar to what we face as we try to be the church of Jesus Christ within a society that doesn't understand our fundamental values and motivation. And that's the reason we'll look at what Peter had to say about how Christians might be the church in a challenging world. 

• The Church Praises (1 Peter 1:3-9) - April 16
• The Church Remembers (1 Peter 1:17-23) - April 23
• The Church Grows (1 Peter 2:2-10) - April 30
• The Church Resists (1 Peter 2:11-17) - May 7
• The Church Follows (1 Peter 2:19-25) - May 14
• The Church Endures (1 Peter 4:12-14: 5:6-11) - May 21

During the second message in this series, we used 1 Peter 1:17-23 to consider how, when faced with a challenging world, the church remembers what God has done. Below is a copy and recording of the sermon. Next Sunday morning, you can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

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You know, late last year, I made a fairly important decision, one that I’d encouraged others to make for a good thirty years but had never gotten around to making myself. You see, sometime around a week before Christmas, I decided to start recording some of my memories. Of course, like I said, for years, I’ve been encouraging others to do this kind of thing, particularly my father who was born during the tail end of the Great Depression and grew up during the Second World War. You see, I wanted him to get down some of those stories, you know his stories, because I know that if it comes down to my memory, most of them will be either completely forgotten or seriously shortened after he’s gone. And frankly, I think that would be a shame.

But you know, late last year, it hit me that the same thing applied to me. And even though I don’t think that my life is nearly as interesting as his, Maggie and her children just might want to hear about some of the stuff I experienced. And so, I started to record some of the things I’ve lived through in my sixty-five years. And although I recognize there’s certainly a chance that those who follow me may never choose to sit down and listen to them, I also know that, if I don’t record them, I’m not giving them the choice. 

And you know, I mention this because today we’re going to talk about remembering, and in particular, how we as the Body of Christ can remember what God has already done for us. Now, as y’all probably know, this is the second message in a new series we started last week dealing with how we can be the church in the face of a challenging world. And during the first message, we talked about how the church can praise, you know, how we can praise God for what God has done and how we can praise God for what the act of praising can do for us. Now that’s what we’ve already done.

And this week, we’re going to look at how, in the face of our world, the church can remember. And just like we did last week and will continue to do through this whole series, we’re going to use a passage from the first letter of Peter as a guide, because, based on how he described them, man, those first-century Christians certainly faced a challenging world to say the least. I mean, just listen to what he wrote to them:

Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.

Count it a blessing when you suffer for being a Christian. This shows that God’s glorious Spirit is with you. [1 Peter 4:12-14, CEV]

You see, this morning, we’re going to focus on 1 Peter 1:17-23, a passage in which Peter offered them and offers us two things that we can remember, both involving something God has done. And for each of them, we’ll talk about what God did and why it’s important for us to remember. Now that’s the plan. 

For example, according to what Peter wrote, in the face of a challenging world, first, the church can remember that we’ve been rescued, you know, that we’ve been saved from something that can really hold us back as we try to do the best we can with what we’ve got. I mean, just listen to what Peter wrote right at the beginning of our passage:

You say that God is your Father, but God doesn’t have favorites! He judges all people by what they do. So you must honor God while you live as strangers here on earth. You were rescued from the useless way of life you learned from your ancestors. But you know you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don’t last forever. You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb. Christ was chosen even before the world was created, but because of you, he did not come until these last days. And when he did come, it was to lead you to have faith in God, who raised him from death and honored him in a glorious way. This is why you have put your faith and hope in God. [1 Peter 1:17-21, CEV]

Now that’s what he wrote. And let’s unpack it a little bit. 

I mean, just think about what God did. My goodness, there we were, living our lives, shaped by what we were taught by the world and holding fast to all those wonderful values that we learned, you know, like how God must play favorites because that’s what we’d do if we were God and how it’s absolutely crucial to fit into our group, even if what we believe is stupid and how those things that should be valued most are the very things we’re told from birth that we can’t take with us. Now that’s what we learned; therefore, that’s what we were. But in spite of that, God chose to rescue us through Jesus Christ. Now, I don’t know why he did it. Man, it wasn’t because we were so smart or because we were so spiritual or because we were so dashingly good looking. Those weren’t the reasons at all. It’s like what Paul wrote to Titus:

God has shown us undeserved grace by coming to save all people. He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave himself to rescue us from everything evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right. [Titus 2:11-14, CEV]

Or, as Jesus Christ himself said, “The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.” [Mark 10:45, CEV]

You see, we need to remember that we were rescued by God.

And I’ll tell you why that’s important. When we remember what God has done, in other words, when we remember that at one time we were all messed up by a lot of garbage we were taught by our world and when we remember that, without our permission or help, “[we] were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb” [1 Peter 1:19, CEV], when we remember this, now we’re able to live. And you know, Peter explained what that living was all about. You see, we’re able to live with faith. As he wrote in the passage we looked at last week:

You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.

You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy you are to be saved. This is why you have faith. [1 Peter 1:5-9, CEV]

I’m telling you, when we remember that we’ve been rescued, we can live with faith. But that’s not all, we can also live with hope. Again, as Peter wrote right at the beginning of this letter:

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear. [1 Peter 1:3-4, CEV]

You see, as the song says, “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” And because of that, I can live with faith and hope. Brothers and sisters, believe the Good News, we were rescued by God. And in the face of our challenging world, that’s the first thing we can remember. But that’s not all.

Because second, according to Peter, the church can also remember that we’ve been redeemed. In other words, we haven’t just been rescued; man, we’ve been changed, and this is something we need to remember too. I mean, just listen to what Peter wrote in the rest of our passage:

You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart. Do this because God has given you new birth by his message that lives on forever.  [1 Peter 1:22-23, CEV]

Now that’s what Peter wrote, and just think about what God has already done. Man, he’s given us a new birth, a new beginning, a new start. Remember, just a minute ago, we read that “God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on.” [1 Peter 1:3b, CEV] You see, for Peter, we’ve been born again, but let’s be clear, it’s not because of any decisions or promises we’ve made. And certainly not because we’ve given God our lives or hearts or minds or any other internal organ we know he’s not going to collect anytime soon. No, this new birth, this new life, this redemption was given by God: period, close the book, Elvis has left the building. And it was communicated to us right from the beginning through God’s own message, through his own words. It’s like what Peter wrote in this second letter:

All of this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying attention until daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts. [2 Peter 1:19, CEV]

Now that’s what we’ve already been given by God. And I’ll tell you, if that’s not good enough, this life and this message will live on forever. It’s like what Peter will say in the two verses that follow the passage we’re looking at this morning:

The Scriptures say,

“Humans wither like grass,

and their glory fades

    like wild flowers.

Grass dries up,

and flowers fall

    to the ground.

But what the Lord has said

    will stand forever.” [1 Peter 1:24-25a, CEV]

You see, I think we need to remember that we’ve been redeemed by God.

And here’s the reason why it’s important. When we remember, when we remember that we’ve been given new life and when we remember that we’re reminded of this gift whenever we take the time to read a message that will “live on forever,” we’ll be able to do something we may have never been able to do before. Man, we’ll be able to love others. But I’m not talking about an emotion, you know, what we feel. I’m talking about a decision, what we choose to do. You see, we’ll be able to show the kind of love about which Paul wrote when he said this to the Corinthians:

Love is patient and kind,

never jealous, boastful,

proud, or rude.

Love isn’t selfish

    or quick tempered.

It doesn’t keep a record

    of wrongs that others do.

Love rejoices in the truth,

    but not in evil.

Love is always supportive,

loyal, hopeful,

    and trusting. [1 Corinthians 13:4-5, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote. And when we appreciate what God has already done for us, we’ll be able to show this kind of love earnestly and sincerely. As a matter of fact, we’ll be able to do exactly what Peter told us to do when he wrote, “Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.” [1 Peter 4:8, CEV] Or as Paul told the Romans: Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good.” [Romans 12:9, CEV] You see, God has given us new life, a reality grounded in his message to us. And because of that we can now sincerely love. Brothers and sisters, trust the Good News, we were redeemed by God. And in the face of our challenging world, that’s the second thing we can remember. 

Now, at the beginning of the message, I told y’all that I decided to begin getting down some of my memories. Well, since I started on December 19, I’ve recorded fifty-one, with each running about ten to twenty minutes. Of course, I’ve already done what you could call the low hanging memories; therefore, I doubt that I’ll be able to keep up that kind of pace. 

But you know, in light of our passage this morning, I think there’s a couple of things even more important for us to remember than how we celebrated Easter in the mid-60s or the different cars we’ve owned and places we’ve lived. You see, we can remember that we’ve been rescued by God; therefore, we can really live. And we can remember that we’ve also been redeemed; therefore, we can sincerely love. This we can do. And so, I think I’m safe in saying that, in the face of a challenging world, the church can remember.