3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to
death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,
3:19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in
prison
3:20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in
the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few,
that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
3:21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a
removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good
conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
As I am beginning to prepare for this sermon, the question that I
would like to discuss is, Why did Jesus have to suffer? PastorWalt
These spirits in prison, can they be compared to modern day spirits
that harm us. Don't we have to go through some sort of spiritual
death in order to free ourselves from these spirits? As in a
marriage, don't we have to die to "self" in order to become alive to
the spirit of "coupleness" within the marriage. As Jesus suffered
and died and went to Hades and rescued these souls and brought them
up into heaven, doesn't our suffering for righteousness sake cause a
cleansing of the evil spirits, a deadening of the desire for the
evil spirits so that out souls can someday be rescued and indeed sit
at the throne of God. bdj in wisc.
I am tryring to bring I Peter and Genesis together in a sermon
dealing with what appeals to God? I Peter 3:21 " ..but as an appeal
to God"
What appeals to God? or What does God find appealing?
A people who come throught the floods of life and start new.
A people who by His promise and our acceptance of that promise
through our baptism. Find new life.
As this is the Lenten season I will attempt to place all of this in
the context of our understanding of the cross and resurrection.
I am tryring to bring I Peter and Genesis together in a sermon
dealing with what appeals to God? I Peter 3:21 " ..but as an appeal
to God"
What appeals to God? or What does God find appealing?
A people who come throught the floods of life and start new.
A people who by His promise and our acceptance of that promise
through our baptism. Find new life.
As this is the Lenten season I will attempt to place all of this in
the context of our understanding of the cross and resurrection.
I too am working with Genesis and the epistle, but am taking a bit
different approach. God's covenant promise to Noah was to never
again destroy the earth by flood. But Noah, (who it must be
remembered was saved along with his family because he was the only
righteouss man around) couldn't wait to get off the ark to start
sinning. (Read the rest of the story in Genesis) No matter how good
we appear to be, we can never not sin again. The New covenant in
Christ by the power of the resurrection is the only way God can say
"never again." It is truly by the grace of God and not our own
efforts that we are saved. RevEv in Kansas
As I prepare for this sermon, there is a prevailing theme that is
moving through not only this one, but all of this week's lectionary
texts: Blood & Water. In fact, that is the title for my sermon this
week. In our day, those images of blood and water carry with them
the most dire of images. Blood: violence, death, shootings. Water:
floods in Mozambique, Hurricanes. But God takes these elements of
death and destruction and transforms them into images of redemption
and eternal life.
Jerry in College Station
"What appeals to God? or What does God find appealing?"
Amos 5:24 "Let justice roll down like waters and righreiusness like
an everflowing stream."
Isaiah 58:6 "Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds
of injustiec, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed
go free, and to break every yoke?"
Micah 5:14 "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does
the Lord requre of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and
to wolk humbly with your God."
Just to name a few .....
peace, DWR
The title I'm using for my sermon is "The Extent of God's Love." I
believe that is what the text is trying to communicate. That in
Christ, God works reconciliation and redemption.
It is through the blood of Christ that we recieve salavtion (1 Peter
1:18). His sufferings, the just for the unjust, were endured that he
might bring us to God.
No expense was to great. No sacrifice to large. God's love knows no
boundaries!
I plan to use both Genesis and Epistle reading, preaching on the
topic, "Safe from Destruction." In general, I want to explore the
guarantees we have when living in a covenant relationship with God.
Covenant does not grant use insurance from harm from the forces of
nature or fire insurance in this life. It is insurance from the
fires of Hell. TN Mack
Errata: The sentence should read "grant us insurance." TN Mack
I like the emphasis on "in order to bring you to God". I don't want
to get into the technicalities of how Jesus brings us to God, but
focus on the point. The story of God's covenant with Noah, and the
story of Jesus' baptism and beginning his ministry share the same
point: the bring us to God. It is not just the pastor's job to be
close to God. Everyone has that possibility in Jesus Christ.
DGinNYC
