SERIES: Trust and Obey
Week #5: Perspective and Pursuit
1 Peter 4:1-11
BOTTOM LINE: Having the right perspective and the right pursuit in the midst of difficult times will help us achieve the right result.
MESSAGE PREVIEW:
Peter continues addressing the believers in Asia Minor, sharing with them the challenge and encouragement to live faithfully to God in the midst of their difficult times. When we face difficulty, challenge, or suffering, it’s easy to lose our focus and direction…to keep what’s most important at the center of our life. Facing difficult times is just that – difficult. It’s even harder when we feel there is no purpose and meaning behind it all. This week, we will see how Peter encourages us to keep the right perspective and right pursuit during difficult times, and in doing so, achieve the right result- God being glorified in our lives!
The Right Perspective: Thinking Like Jesus
- Jesus valued faithfulness over ease.
- Jesus valued God’s will over sinful passions.
The Right Pursuit: Living Like Jesus
- Be self-controlled and sober minded
- Love earnestly
- Show hospitality
- Serve others
The Right Result: Glorifying God
1 Peter 4:11 ESV “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Take Away: Are you thinking and living like Jesus today?
ICEBREAKER QUESTIONS
Begin your session with prayer and use the following questions/discussion to get the conversation started…
As you begin this week, take time for a short spiritual check-up. Ask the following question
Q. How would you rate your closeness and intimacy with God over this past week? Please explain your answer.
NOT CLOSE / KINDA CLOSE / CLOSE / VERY CLOSE
Q: What characterizes your life when you feel close to God?
Q: What helps you keep close with God?
Maintaining our closeness and intimacy with God is a challenge that we all face from time to time. The truth is that there are seasons when we feel closer to God than others. The danger comes when that intimacy and closeness with God dwindles over a longer period of time. For some, going through busy, difficult, or challenging seasons helps their closeness with God. For others, it makes it more challenging. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, it’s important to take a spiritual check-up from time to time like this.
As we talk through this week’s lesson, keep in mind how you rated your intimacy with God and think about how the truths we will look at today can help you cultivate a greater closeness with Him.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Read 1 Peter 4:1-11. Ask and discuss the following questions.
Q: In 1 Peter 4:1, Peter writes that we should have the “same way of thinking” as Jesus. How can we know what Jesus thought? From your understanding, how would you summarize the primary focuses and thoughts of Jesus we see in scripture?
Q: How can the desire for comfort and ease keep us from remaining faithful to God in our lives? How have you seen this tension in your own life? What helped you stay faithful in difficult times?
Q: Read Romans 6:11-12. How can considering ourselves “dead to sin” help us choose God’s will over sinful passions and desires? Why is this so important in our life?
Q: Peter encourages his readers to remember that “the end of all things is at hand”. How does living with the end in mind help us stay faithful to God in how we think, live, and love?
Q: How have you seen love “cover a multitude of sins” in everyday life? How can we practice and live out this truth in our lives, especially in this challenging time?
Q: In 1 Peter 4:9, Peter tells us to “show hospitality”. How can we live out this idea in the midst of a global pandemic? Are there creative ways to be welcoming to people while keeping safety in mind?
Q: Peter writes that doing the things found in this passage is important “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” – how does choosing to think and live this way bring glory to God?
Q: What is your personal “take-away” from this week’s message? What is one specific thing the Lord spoke to you this week?
Q: What is your “action step” this week? How are you planning to apply what God has spoken to you?
WRAP-UP:
In 1 Peter 4:10-11, Peter writes about using our spiritual gifts, how God has made us and gifted us, to serve others, especially in the church. One of the things that can be forgotten during difficult times is the importance of serving others. It’s easy to turn and focus on ourselves first during suffering, it’s not best for our life and faith. Serving others is an important part of how we grow spiritually. Take a minute and answer this question:
Q: How has serving others in the church and in the community helped grow you spiritually? What have you learned that you would not have learned without serving others?
The truth is that we’ve been made to make a difference. God has gifted us and we are called to use those gifts to serve others. As we begin meeting in person again as a church, one of the greatest needs we are seeing is for our church to step up and serve. Because of COVID-19, we need more and more people to step up to serve. We are having to do ministry differently than before and this requires more people. This is a great opportunity for you as an individual, a LifeGroup, and our church to reengage in the practice of serving others. Think through these questions:
Q: Am I using my gifts to serve at Bay Area Church?
Q: How can I step up and serve in a needed area as we relaunch our in person gatherings this fall? Our two biggest areas of need are KidMin and Connections.
Q: What can we as a LifeGroup do to encourage one another to serve?
If you are interested in serving or finding out more, please go to www.bayarea.church/go or email cherie.niscavits@bayarea.church for KidMin or julie.hutchinson@bayarea.church for Connections.
As you conclude, take some time to pray for your group. Pray that they would think and live like Jesus. Pray that as they find themselves facing difficulty in life, they would keep the right perspective and right pursuit and that God would be glorified through them.
Here Are a Few Reminders & Announcements:
Worship in person and online beginning August 2nd: Pastor Brian announced earlier this week, that we will begin gathering in person and online beginning Sunday, August 2nd at 9:00am and 10:30am. We will also continue our online only service at 5:00pm. Masks/face coverings are required for all attenders age 10 and over. To join us online go to www.bayarea.church/live.
You can find more details on the Relaunch Plan here: https://bayarea.church/church-wide/in-person-worship-services-begin-august-2/
Drive-Up Prayer – Wednesday, July 29th from 7:00-8:00pm: Need prayer? Then we would love for you to join us for an evening of DRIVE-UP PRAYER! Yep, that’s right… DRIVE-UP PRAYER! Just follow the cones and drive in through the preschool parking lot. Stay in your vehicle and one of our team members will gladly assist you with prayer at your window. Our team will be wearing masks and will be practicing social distancing.
Food Drive- August 6-8 from 10:00am-2:00pm: We are so excited to participate in a “Drive By” Food Drive to support Galveston County Food Bank. Drop Off times will be on August 6-8 anytime between 10:00 to 2:00. No need to even get out of your car, we will have volunteers ready to grab your donations in front of the Student Center Cafe Entrance. Not ready to venture out, no problem…Ship your Online items to 213 6th Street N, Texas City TX 77590 (Galveston County Food Bank is asking that all online donations be gift tagged so they know which group donations came from). Click here for more information: https://bayarea.church/event/?ccbpress_event_id=19417
Reading Plan: Encourage your group to participate in the Psalms Bible reading plan that is posted at www.bayarea.church/live. Also, join us Monday – Friday at 12:00pm on our Facebook page for a live devotion and prayer time with one of our staff.
SCRIPTURES FROM THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE:
- 1 Peter 4:1-11, 1 Peter 3:18-19, Romans 6:11-12, Luke 9:23, John 13:15, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Proverbs 10:12, Philippians 2:4-8,
NEXT WEEK’S MESSAGE: Trust and Obey: Week 6 (1 Peter 4:12-19)