“God will go to great lengths for you. He will pursue you no matter what.” Pause and let those words from Pastor MIke’s latest sermon seep into your soul. Jonah is not the only runaway in need of rescue. Praise Jesus for pursuing us with relentless love.
If you haven’t had a chance to catch the online worship experience this week, you can do so here.
Personal Devotional
This weekend Pastor Mike talked about God’s heart behind suffering. I Peter 1 is another chapter of Scripture that delves into Christian suffering.
Read I Peter 1:1-9
What can we deduce about Peter’s audience from verse 1? How might we be able to relate to these believers in a special way as we have experienced our own “dispersion” of sorts through this pandemic?
In light of the trials these believers were enduring, where does Peter direct their attention in verses 3 and 4? List the three words he uses to describe our inheritance in verse 4. Briefly jot down a definition of each adjective.
Choose one of the following ways to summarize verses 6-9 in your own words: write a poem based on these verses, rewrite them in simple language a child could understand, bullet point the main ideas, or be a grammar superstar and diagram those sentences!
Read I Peter 1:10-21
Verse 13 urges us to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us in Christ. Where are you tempted to set your hope? How has this led to disappointment?
Why should we take personal holiness seriously according to verses 18 and 19? What are some practical ways believers can grow in holiness?
Read I Peter 1:22-25
According to verse 22, what is the practical outworking of a pure obedience to the truth? Would you describe your love for others as earnest and/or pure? Why or why not?
Verses 24-25 remind us of two categories: the imperishable and the perishable. Draw a line down a sheet of paper, or in your journal, and on one side of the page make a list of things that are perishable — those things in your life that consume your attention, but that will not last forever. On the other side of the page, list all the things that are imperishable for believers in Christ. Close in prayer, surrendering the perishable things you cannot control, and praising God for the imperishable hope you have in Him.
Grace Communities: Sermon Discussion Questions
Pastor Mike explained that suffering is neutral in and of itself. What makes suffering good or bad? Share an example from your life or the sermon to illustrate.
Read Psalm 34:18, Psalm 145:18, and James 4:8. According to these verses, what is God’s posture toward us when we walk through painful seasons?
How have you experienced the “nearness” of God in difficult seasons?
One of our House Rules at Grace Church is Genuine Family: Grace frees us from performance and lets us live unafraid. When you walk through trials, do you tend to press in toward church or avoid community? Why is it important to rely on brothers and sisters in Christ when we face difficult seasons?
How have you experienced freedom in repentance?
GraceStudents 5th/6th Grade
Word of the Week—Repentance
If you’ve been in church for a while, you’ve probably heard the word “repentance.” But do you know what it means? Three of the answers below are common misconceptions about repentance. Only one of them is the correct definition. See if you can spot it!
Repentance means…
- Doing the right thing
- Saying “sorry” when you do the wrong thing
- Doing something good to make up for doing something bad
- Turning away from sin and turning toward Jesus
If you guessed “4,” you’re correct! Imagine if you cheated on a test. It would be wise to admit you cheated and apologize to the teacher. But that’s not necessarily repentance.
It would be a nice gesture to give your friend a candy bar to make up for looking at his answers. But that’s also not repentance.
Repentance literally means to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus. So first you look at what you’ve done (cheated) and recognize that it is sin. Then you turn your back on it by telling God, “I’m sorry for cheating. I know it was sin against you, and I don’t want to do that anymore!”
Next, you start taking steps toward Jesus. For example, you could tell your parents what you’ve done, and ask them to help you study next time. You could read your Bible so you have strength to resist the temptation to cheat. You could ask your teacher to move your desk away from others so it’s easier to obey Christ. When you’re taking a test, you could pray and remind yourself that even if you fail the test, you are still loved by God. Repentance means actively turning your back on sin, and taking a next step toward Christ.
GraceStudents (7-12 Grades)
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to download the Zoom app on your device so you can tune in to our live GraceStudents service every Sunday night! For more information and links, head to the calendar.
