MY STORY
Who in your life is easy to honor? Why is this?
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO HEAR?
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 1:17)
Identify the four groups of people listed here in your life (everyone, brotherhood, God, the emperor).
Why is it significant that the emperor in power when Peter wrote this, Nero, was one of most corrupt, vulgar, Christian-executing Caesars in Roman history—and the one who eventually ordered Peter's execution?
What does God want us to hear? Based on the passage and the questions above, what "takeaways" do you think God has revealed to you?
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO DO?
How do you honor someone with whom you disagree? Or who is abusing his or her power in a way that's impacting you or people you care about?
Why is it especially important to avoid any gloating during the post-election period?
What does God want us to do? Flowing out of our reading and interpretation, what action does this passage or the Spirit's leading, call us to? Pastor Matt said … "When you become a Christian something changes inside of you. You begin to understand, while you may love it here, and love the people here, you realize there is something missing here. You start to feel like you will never be completely satisfied because the reality is that you don't fit. See there is something in you and something in me that longs for home because home is where everything fits. Home is where you belong. Home is the place the fills the deepest longings of your soul. That is home. And when you become a Christian you realize that this is not home. "
When have you been disappointed by something you wanted for a long time, but it did not live up to your own internal hype?
How would this experience confirm that you were made for something more than just this world?
Post-election, what do you have to celebrate? What losses do you need to fully mourn?
Now that the election is over, what can you do to continue to live as a winsome and attractive follower of Christ in exile in order to win those who may be in a state of spiritual despair?
Extra credit: Read how Daniel loved his brothers and honored the "emperor" in Daniel 6 …
In what literal sense was Daniel a man of God in exile? How did this experience impact his spiritual formation?
How did Daniel demonstrate that he could still honor the "emperor" without compromising his identity in Christ? How did God honor Daniel's courageous decision?
What does God want ME to do? What is the personal application and action step God is calling you, personally, toward?
"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. " C.S. Lewis
Message Notes
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