Daily Dose of the Word of God - 1 Peter 1: 1-5

Rachel Klooster & Billy Heschl

Transcript

Rachel Klooster  0:07

 
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. It's Tuesday, February 18 and this is Billy Heschl reading for Rachel Klooster. We are getting into the Word of God with the Eat this Book series, and this week we are talking about the epistles, or letters in the New Testament. Today's reading comes from 1 Peter 1, 1 through 5. This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Rachel Klooster 0:34  

I am writing to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive the salvation which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

Rachel Klooster 1:31  

This letter is from Peter, the disciple of Jesus, to Christians scattered across Roman provinces. These Christians were living in communities that did not share their Christian beliefs. Peter wrote this letter to them to encourage them and help them stay strong in their faith. What kind of words does he use to encourage them? God the Father knew you and chose you, God’s Spirit has made you holy, you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, great mercy, great expectation, priceless inheritance and God is protecting you by his power. Peter also says, “May God give you more and more grace and peace.” That sounds great! I could use more grace and peace, how about you?

Rachel Klooster 2:10

When we accept Jesus, we can have these promises too - great expectation for what is to come and a priceless inheritance kept in heaven for us. I would really love to know some specifics about what that means. But, God leaves a lot of that as a mystery to us (for now). The Message says verse 5 like this: "The day is coming when you’ll have it all - life healed and whole." That sounds pretty good to me!

Rachel Klooster  2:49  

Let's pray. Thank you God for giving us life and inheritance in heaven. Thank you Jesus for redeeming us. Thank you Holy Spirit for making us holy. In Jesusname, amen.