Dave Gudgel - July 8, 2018
You Must Be Brought - 1 Peter 3:18-22
If you’re like the rest of us, your mom brought you into the world. How else, right? Actually, what began at birth continued. Before you were old enough to drive, you were brought to school, the movies, the doctor, even church. Do you remember the first time you were “brought on” at a job? Has anyone ever brought you to a members-only Country Club for an exclusive round of golf? Or somewhere else that would be impossible for you to get into on your own?
You get the idea. Some things in life can’t happen unless you’re brought. In our self-made world, that may be hard to accept. We’d like to think that given enough time and resources, we can make things happen on our own. And sometimes, we can actually make that happen.
But it’s not going to happen when it comes to a relationship with God. The Bible just comes right out and says “you must be brought” to God. There’s no other way, as we’ll see today.
From Series: "Between 2 Worlds"
This Week's Sermon: "Peter’s Closing Briefing"
brief·ing ˈbrēfiNG noun - a meeting for giving information or instructions.
Most of us love briefings because they are usually short and to the point. It's not a time for a lot of chit chat. Important information is shared, and then you're done. It's time to go get to work.
As parents we often give briefings to our kids before they're ready to head out the door. It's dangerous out there and we want them to be safe. We want them to make good choices. So we figure another short reminder can’t hurt. Which is why we say things like: “Be careful” or “Don't talk to strangers” or “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
This Sunday we complete our study through the book of 1 Peter. But not without a final briefing from Peter that could make the difference in whether we will win or lose the war we are in. You know that we are in a war, right? Danger is all around us in this fallen world, and we need to be battle ready. Peter’s closing words will help us do that.
