Welcome
As we journey through 1 Peter together, we want to equip you as households to have conversations with one another about the sermon series. Each week, there will be a blog post featuring a brief recap of the sermon passage for the week, a few quick ideas for how your family can dive deeper into the passage together during the week, and a challenge for you to complete and share using the hashtag #1peterchallenge.
Recap
1 Peter 2:4-10 by Lindsey
The Wingfeather Saga is one of my favorite series of Children’s books. These books tell the story of 3 kids: Janner, Tink, and Leeli. At the beginning of the book, they think they are just normal kids living a normal life—reading, playing, and going to see the sea dragons. But soon, they learn that they are different: they are the children of the high king of Anneira, a far-away land. Almost overnight, their lives change and become full of adventure, danger, and challenges they couldn’t have imagined. Through it all, their challenge is to remember that they are royalty—children of the shining island. “Remember who you are!” their mother says to them every time they leave her. Why? Because she knows that mistakes, challenges, distractions—all of it can make us forget who we are and who we belong to. In this week’s passage, Peter says to God’s people, “Remember who you are!” Here’s what he says in 1 Peter 2:9-10:
“9 But God chose you to be his people. You are royal priests. You are a holy nation. You are God’s special treasure. You are all these things so that you can give him praise. God brought you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people. But now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy. But now you have received mercy.”
“Remember who you are!” Through faith in Jesus, you belong to God. You are special and valuable to God. You matter to God. Why? So you can feel good about yourself? NO! You belong to God so that you can be like a sign that shows the world who the real King is. Belonging to God is the truest and most important thing about you. This is why we baptize babies in our church—because we want to tell them, “We love you, you matter to us, and you matter to God; you are valuable not because of what you do but because of what Jesus has done for you.” The church is all the people who belong to God, a home for God, where he shows off how good he is to the whole world.
I wonder if you know who you belong to.
I wonder how it changes your life.
I wonder what it means to be a part of the people of God.
Check this out
Listen to this Children’s Homily Lindsey & David gave at City of Light Anglican Church on Acts 2 about how God’s family expanded to include the Gentiles (that’s us!).
Going Deeper With …
Preschoolers
Peter tells God’s people that God is building them into a house for God.
Get out some blocks and build together. While you build, here are some things you can talk about:
I wonder what it means that God is building his people into a home for God.
I wonder what you can build with blocks.
I wonder if you know that Jesus lives in you.
Elementary Kids
Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 in a child-friendly version of the Bible (like the NIrV).
What does Peter say that we are as we come to Jesus?
What is God doing with the living stones? What do you think that means?
Read vv. 9-10. What do you think Peter is talking about?
Who are God’s people? Are you one of God’s people? How do you know?
Can you make something in response to vs. 9-10?
Middle & High Schoolers
Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 in the New Living Translation.
What does it mean that Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s house?
Have you ever stumbled over, or been offended by, Jesus or something he said or did? What is it about Jesus that offends people?
If you have trusted in Jesus alone for your salvation, you are a living stone being built up with all of God’s other people! What difference should this make—that you belong to God—in the way you think and feel about yourself when you succeed? What about when you fail?
1 Peter Challenge
#1peterchallenge: Paint some rocks with bright colors, encouraging words or Bible verses. Hide the rocks around your neighborhood or at a park or forest preserve, or in downtown Aurora, or leave them on the porches of friends and neighbors. Pray that God will bless those who find them, and that he will make himself known to them. Tag a photo of your rocks with #1peterchallenge