First College and Career Fall 2011 Session

September 7, 2011: Introduction

Group Theme Verse

Philippians 4:8: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (N.I.V.)

Introduction

Weekly Scripture

1 Peter 1:3-12 ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 ¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

 

What does this passage tells us?

v. 3 We have hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

• How is this viewpoint of salvation different from other world religions?

-          Matthew 7:14 ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

v. 4 Our inheritance is eternal

• Dr. Leech example from Timothy Keller Podcast (Treasure vs. Money)[a]
• Two young students who had recently professed faith in Christ came to professor with issue
• They wanted to become missionaries
• Their families were advising them to obtain graduate degrees, work a while, build up some earthly treasure, etc.

-          Professor Leech’s response

o   “We’re on a little ball of rock, spinning through space – it’s called earth – and who knows if we’re going to run into something, but even if we don’t, someday under each one of us is going to open a trap door and everybody is going to fall off. I mean, at the end of your life a little trap door opens up and you fall off the ball of rock and underneath will be the everlasting arms or nothing at all. And you think a Master’s degree is going to give you some security?”

v. 5 God will protect you if you have faith in Him

v. 6-7 We should celebrate even if we have troubles. These troubles help to refine us

•  There are multiple examples in the Bible of people who experienced troubles

v. 8-9  We can experience the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. In the end, our faith will result in our salvation

v. 10-12 Jesus fulfills the prophesies made about him, so much so that even the angels study these texts to learn more about him.

Question to ponder

-          What questions do you have about Christianity, God, Jesus, or in general? Where are you going to answers?

---

[a] http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sites/sermons2.redeemer.com/files/RSS_Feeds/Timothy_Keller_Podcasts.xml