Living Stones

May 7, 2014

Dear City Calvary,

Last Sunday, in 1 Peter 2:4-12, we talked about the greatest building project of all time, which Peter refers to as the "spiritual house."  

 * The foundation is Jesus - the "living", "chosen and precious cornerstone".  

 * The spiritual house is made of believers - the "living stones" that "are being built into a spiritual house".  

 * Those serving in the house are also believers -  the "holy, royal priesthood".

This means you are a vital and needed part of His house.  Jesus has created you, formed you, and shaped you into the living stone that is needed to fit in that exact location designed for His house.  You are the perfect fit for that spot.  You are also a needed servant, a holy and royal priest in the House of God.  Our job is to offer "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ".  What are those sacrifices?  Living sacrifices - our obedience, our praise, our service, our things, our time, our love.

This Sunday, we look at 1 Peter 2:13-25.  The topic is submitting to people that are sometimes not so easy to submit to - like rulers, politicians, bosses, and so on.  Read ahead and see you Sunday.  

Blessing in Jesus,

Pastor John

A Royal Priesthood

April 29, 2014

Dear City Calvary,

Here's a question for you - where is the nearest priest when you need one?  I mean, what if you need someone to perform priestly duties and there is not a guy with a white collar in sight?  What to do?  Where to look?  How about looking in the mirror.  That's right.  If you are born again by believing in Jesus, then God's word calls you "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9).  This is not just any priesthood either.  In the Old Testament, the words "royal" and "priesthood" never went together because royalty was from the tribe of Judah and priesthood was for the tribe of Levi.  Nevertheless, there you are, a royal priesthood.  This is thanks to Jesus, the King of Kings and our High Priest, who has adopted us into His family.  

So the next question is - what do royal priests do?  1 Peter 2:9 says, "that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light."  That is what we do, declare praises of Jesus who has saved us out of death, darkness and hell and brought us into His wonderful glorious light and into an inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade.  That sounds like a fantastic job description, don't you think?!?  We'll look into this and more next time.

Sorry I missed sending letters the past two weeks.  This Sunday we are back in 1 Peter 2, after our detour for Easter and the men's retreat.  God's word is so rich and it is a blessing to go through the Bible with you - book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.   

Blessings in Jesus,

Pastor John

Are Smart Phones Really Smart?

April 9, 2014

Dear City Calvary,

What an age we live in - the Information Age.  It is possible to immediately find the answer to just about any question in life.  Just ask Siri, the nice lady on the phone.  Push the button, ask the question, and she'll tell you the answer - or at least where to look.  I would love it if she would give me the correct numbers to win the next Powerball lottery; but alas, there are some limitations to what she can do.  With the aid of smart phones, we have a vast array of knowledge right at our fingertips.  We can know just about anything.

With all this available knowledge, the real question is what does God want us to know?  Open the Bible and He'll tell you.  In particular, we talked about four things, this past Sunday, in 1 Peter 1:18-21.  Peter writes "For you know..." 

1. Our predicament - We are sinners who need to be redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to us by our forefathers.

2. The price that was paid to redeem us - Jesus didn't pay with perishable things (silver or gold) but with the only thing in all the universe that be enough - His precious blood.  He, the perfect Lamb of God, gave His own blood to pay for our redemption in full.  It was the highest of prices.  It shows how much God values us, that He would pay our eternal debt.

3. It was pre-determined - Jesus was chosen, before the creation of the world, to be the one to pay this price.  In other words, God knew before He created us that man would fall, resulting in the ultimate cost that only He could pay, to redeem us.  He went forward anyways because we are worth it to Him.  You are worth it to Him!!!

4. Our privileged position - Through Jesus, we are in this privileged position to be redeemed and to believe in God, having this eternal relationship with Him.  What a privilege we have to put our faith and hope in Him!!!

Knowing this, how should we treat each other?  That is what we will talk about on Sunday.  In this age of smart phones and information, people are more interconnected than ever before.  If that is true, then why are we so lonely?  Maybe it is because people have lost the understanding of what "sincere love" and "loving one another deeply, from the heart" look like.  We need a lot more than a smart phone to accomplish this.  Come and find out.  And while you are at it, bring a friend.  Also, who are you bringing to church on Easter Sunday?  That is a great day to invite someone to church, especially those who won't go with you the other weeks.

Blessings in Jesus,

Pastor John