Let us hear God's word from 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. May God add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word. Now as I mentioned last week and even this morning, because of the events in our lives here with Anna and so forth. I'm going to pause our look at 2 Samuel, and even though we're almost done, I was not done in my studies, and so continuing to study and new material and write new sermons and such got to be very challenging the last few weeks, even just to finish the Psalm of David. So we're switching here to something I've done before, but of the people sitting here, I think maybe there are five or possibly six people that might remember this. Eric, you might remember a little bit, but of course you were rather young at the time, here 20 some years ago. But anyway, I thought because of the time in between that it would be worth doing and not be too redundant for too many of us. So with this in mind, we come here to this message, this first message of Peter and his two epistles. And the primary emphasis here in this book is, surprise, surprise, the theme of suffering. There are some rather routine themes in the scriptures And of course, suffering is one of those, and that's what we see here. And so as we begin our look here tonight at this message, let's kind of set the stage here a little bit. First of all, then, I want you to think of sufferings that you are facing right now. Maybe small, maybe rather large. Also, think of some sufferings that you've endured, possibly even decades ago, or at least a few years ago for some of you not decades old yet. For some of us, of course, we might think of a loved one who has passed. And in our family, we had the anniversary of my mother's death here in the last couple days. And so now that's 11 years already. Doesn't seem possible, but obviously there are others of us who have lost loved ones. Maybe when you were younger, you were rejected as a child. Maybe you didn't fit in to the in crowd or something like that. Maybe you faced abuse in some way when you were small or something like that. Maybe some natural disaster came through and destroyed your home. Maybe you had a friend for years, but there was a falling out, or possibly a divorce. Some of us may have faced some direct persecution for being Christians. We can again think of rather large sufferings, but also some minor ones. Just here in the last few days, I had a log fall on my foot. And, you know, these everyday things that happen to us and we suffer in some way. Now, those of you who are relatively young may not be able to answer some of these questions yet, but you will because we live in a sinful world and we are sinners and we suffer for our sin and for the sin of others. So, one of the questions that faces us, of course, is how then do we respond to suffering? We've been asking here the last couple weeks in our study in Revelation, why do we suffer, but how do we respond to it? Now, obviously, there's pain and heartache that is associated with it. Sometimes we are faced with a lot of confusion. or maybe even anger. We cry out, why is this happening? Maybe we even blame God in some way or another, or at least we're confused. Maybe we turn away from him. Maybe we lash out against others because of the suffering. A related question, how have others responded to you in your suffering? Now, maybe you hold it all in and you don't tell anybody anything and they don't know that you are suffering. But for those who do know you're suffering, do they turn away? Or do they turn to you and try to come alongside of you? Do they seek to put their arm around you, maybe literally? Do they come with their presence? Do they come maybe not saying anything? Certainly people will bring words of encouragement. Sometimes tough love is needed in the midst of it. Sometimes insensitive words are used. People may send cards or food or whatever it may be. 1 Peter is about this theme of suffering. And Peter speaks from experience and he makes reference to Jesus' suffering too. Peter is seeking to encourage us in the midst of our suffering. Now for him, of course, his focus is suffering because we're a Christian. He doesn't really address our everyday sufferings that we all face, but specifically, suffering for our faith. But the principles that he gives to us here certainly apply to us in any of the sufferings that we face. And so, it's very important, wherever we are in the scriptures, but especially as we're looking at some of these letters, obviously you've been in Revelation, and now here in 1 Peter, We cannot read these words in isolation. We have to read them within the broader point of what the author is trying to do. And Peter is trying to encourage us in the middle of our suffering. And so don't read, say, verses three to five here in chapter one and have this great understanding of our inheritance and its permanence and the blessings of heaven. Don't just read that in isolation. Read it within the context of Peter trying to encourage us in the midst of our suffering. And we certainly could give many other examples here in the book. So here's the main point. Now, as I typically do when we begin a new study here, of course, First Peter, I like to give some of the background information, some of the background questions that we ask Because the better we understand these things, the better we'll be able to understand what Peter's trying to do, and therefore, better apply it to our lives. This isn't just some random thing from Peter. It's not just a list of do's and don'ts. These are real people from a real author in a real situation, and the better we understand that, the better we will be able to apply it to our lives. And so, let's begin with the question of who. Who wrote the book of 1 Peter? Well, look at verse 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Pretty straightforward. Tells us right at the beginning. This was typical of first century letters, so there's not much question here. Now, ultimately, of course, God is the one writing this. The Spirit is leading Peter in this way. This is the Peter of the Gospels, the Peter that we see in Acts, one of the twelve, one of the inner three. And up to roughly 150 to 175 years ago, that's all we need to say and we can move on. But unfortunately, in liberal Christianity, they began questioning this. And you may encounter some people that would say, no, this was not written by Peter, the apostle, this was somebody else. And one of the reasons they give for this is that first Peter, is very different from 2 Peter. Now, what they're meaning here is the level of writing, the quality of the Greek that is used. In 1 Peter, the quality of the Greek is very high, almost scholastic, whereas the Greek in 2 Peter is more basic. And so, The argument that some will give is that 2 Peter was written by a fisherman in a secondary language. Peter didn't grow up learning Greek. He learned Aramaic or possibly Hebrew first and foremost. But 1 Peter was clearly written by somebody trained in Greek. And so it couldn't have been Peter. So it must have been somebody else is the argument. So how do we respond to this? If you encounter somebody who has this view, what do you say? Well, turn to chapter 5 and verse 12. I think there's a rather simple answer to this. In 1 Peter 5, verse 12, it says, By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly. So Silvanus, or your translation may have the name Silas here, same person, just a different name. Hebrew and Greek is the difference there. Basically, he was Peter's secretary, recording clerk, so to speak. The term that we use here is the amanuensis. And so what would happen is not just a basic dictation, But the amanuensis would actually take the words and put it, in a sense, in their own words. And in this case, taking the words of Peter and elevating them grammatically and syntactically, not changing the theology or anything like that, but just writing it in a better Greek than Peter normally would speak in. And again, church history affirmed this idea from the earliest of days up until the 19th century. And that's when people began questioning it. I think it really has a simple answer, that 1 Peter was written by Silvanus, though Peter is the one behind it, and 2 Peter is written by Peter himself, in his own knowledge and understanding of Greek. Alright, so then the second question that we have here is, when? When was this written? Well, we have a window in here. Peter was martyred roughly 67 or 68 AD by Nero, crucified upside down is the tradition we have. And so there's your end time. The beginning time that most people will give is somewhere between 60 and 62 AD, and that's because As you read through this, there are many similarities to Ephesians and Colossians. And we know that Paul wrote those letters when he was in prison in Rome from roughly 60 to 62 AD. And so here are our bookends in terms of time. And so somewhere in between this is when Peter wrote it, is what most people will say. And it does seem to make sense. It does suggest to us that Peter knew of Paul's works of Ephesians and Colossians prior to writing this. I don't think that has to be the case, but it does seem to make some sense. And so in the mid-60s is where most conservatives will place this. Again, you're going to have some objections to this. Some people will say, no, this is too early. And if you look at chapter four, verse 12, here's one of the reasons that is given. It says in chapter 4 verse 12, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, and so forth. So this description of a fiery trial, the argument goes something like this. This cannot refer to the mid-60s during the time of Rome, because the persecution under Nero was primarily in Rome. Yes, it did extend beyond that and so forth, but it was primarily in Rome and sporadic elsewhere. And so it makes more sense to talk about this fiery trial as something that happened later in the first century or even into the second century. You'll hear people talk about the time of Domitian in the 80s and 90s and their persecution against Christians was much more widespread and we've been talking about that in our studies of Revelation. Into the second century with Trajan roughly 110 at this point. the official status of Christians in the Roman Empire became one as basically unapproved. It was a capital crime to become a Christian at that time. Prior to it, yes, there was persecution against Christians. There were times of an ebb and flow or different pockets of the Roman Empire where it was officially forbidden to be a Christian but it really wasn't until the days of Trajan where that became official on a more widespread level. And so prior to that, they were seen as a sect of Jews, and so therefore they were permitted under Roman law. But the fiery trial seems to suggest that this is the timeframe that we are talking about. Well, okay. I think those are some legitimate arguments. However, if you look at verse 12, it is possible to read this as something that has not yet happened. Depending on how your English translations translate this, it makes it maybe a bit more clear. The Greek is somewhat ambiguous in this way, but it does suggest to us that the fiery trial has not yet happened and it's going to happen. So it makes sense that here's this trial during Nero and expect it to get worse, Peter is talking about. So I think there is a rather easy way you might say of handling this objection. But you notice what's going on. If you believe that this was written in the end of the first century or into the second you have to deny that Peter the Apostle was the one who wrote it. So these two arguments tend to go hand in hand in one way or another. But if we say Peter had to have written it and he was killed in roughly 68 then your time frame has to be prior to that. So here are some objections and responses to it. All right, now our third main question is where? Where was Peter, and where were the people to whom he was writing? Well, if you turn to chapter five again, and you look at verse 13, Peter tells us, she who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greet you, and so does Mark, my son. So Peter tells us he was in Babylon. Now, throughout the centuries, you have some people who have said that this was actual, literal Babylon, Chaldea, today, right, Iran-Iraq area and so forth. And Calvin, Matthew Henry, for example, were those who said it was actual Babylon. It is very uncommon for people to say that today. Most scholars, rather universally, will say that this is a figurative reference, not to Babylon itself, but actually to Rome. We have no indication that Peter went to Babylon, though It's certainly possible that he could have but it does suggest to us here in light of some of the historical context that we do know of that Peter is not talking about the actual place but the figurative place and so referring to the immoral ungodly place of Rome. We mentioned about Sylvanus here in chapter 5 verse 12 we know he was with Paul on his missionary journeys and of course Paul obviously eventually came to Rome. Peter mentions about Mark here. We have reference that Mark was with Paul in Rome in Colossians 4, in Philemon. We are told about Mark being with Paul. Church tradition says about Peter being in Rome, obviously he was martyred there. So, again, these are the two options. Even among conservatives, some say actually in Babylon, Peter went there and ministered and sent this letter, or he was in Rome. I lean toward the position of him being in Rome. So, a few words in that way. Now, where were the people to whom he was writing? Well, here we have a description. Chapter 1, verse 1. to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Now, if you happen to have a map in your Bibles, mine actually has one here on this very page. Maybe you have one of the missionary journey maps of Paul I had passed out before. But basically, what we're talking about is Northern Asia Minor up toward the Black Sea are where these peoples were. On my particular map you see Galatia right and right across through that and you have southern Galatia which is where Paul wrote the book of Galatians. His first missionary journey, those places, and so forth. And so that's Southern Asia Minor. In Revelation, the seven churches are in Western Asia Minor. And so obviously Ephesus, and today we finished up with Laodicea. And so these places are further to the east of that and further to the north. And so Bithynia and Pontus were specifically along the Black Sea, Galatia. extended up toward that region, Cappadocia, further to the east. And then, of course, Asia would have been further to the west, but just not as far west as these messages of Jesus to the churches in Revelation. So here's the general area where the people were. Now, one of the questions, of course, that rises here is, did Peter ever go there? There's no indication anywhere else that he did. And so you have two basic answers to this question. Some people say no. Peter never actually went there, but obviously he knew some people there. Let's turn a moment to Acts and chapter two. And some people have suggested this connection. In Acts chapter 2, this is at Pentecost, and in verses 5 and following, we see about the Jews of the dispersion coming to Jerusalem for worship, for the Feast of Pentecost. And if you look especially at verse 9, at the end of the verse, it says about Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, and then even in verse 10, you have Phrygia and Pamphylia. I remember Laodicea had authority over Phrygia, so this is getting further to the east and so forth. So the idea then simply is these people came to Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon, and he met some of them, and some of them went back to this area. Peter kept up with him over the roughly 35 years in between, and now he writes a letter to them. Certainly, this is a possibility. The other option, of course, is that Peter did go to this area and visited these people at some point. We have very little information about the ministry of the apostles. We have quite a bit about Paul, of course, because of Luke and the Book of Acts, but not as much about the other apostles. But it's quite possible that he did, but there's some debate over this and so on. But the point is, Peter writes this letter to these people. Maybe he had met them before, maybe not. Peter's probably in Rome when he writes this letter, and he sends it then to these people. Now, let's say a little bit about the people who were there. Were they Jewish Christians or were they Gentile Christians or possibly both? Well, if you look at verse one here in chapter one, Peter uses the term to the pilgrims of the dispersion. This was somewhat of a technical term referring to the Jews who had been scattered throughout the known world over the centuries. So you think of the Assyrians coming in and capturing the northern kingdom and spreading the people of Israel around the world. You think of Babylon and what they did later, the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans. There were others, too, that would take Israelites. And they would scatter them around the known world at the time. Some of them did return to Israel, but many of them did not. And it was that group then that was called the dispersion. And for Peter to use this term would suggest then that he is writing to Jewish Christians. It would fit with Peter being the apostle to the Jews, as Paul talks about in Galatians 2 verse 7. We're going to see him quoting from the Old Testament. We're going to see him use terminology used for Israel, applied now to the church. So it's very likely that some, if not the majority, and some have argued all of the recipients here, were Jewish Christians. But of course, Peter also ministered to Gentiles. We have Acts chapter 10. We have Cornelius and other passages. So I don't think we should limit it just to the Jews. Also, if you look at chapter 1 and verse 14, Peter says, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance. Now, it is possible that this could be referring to Jewish people who, in their ignorance outside of Israel, started acting like the world and so forth. Okay. It does sound a bit more like Peter's referring to Gentiles. And then if you look at verse 18, knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your forefathers or fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ and so forth. Again, it is possible that this could apply to Jews. And you think of Israel, the number of times they worshiped idols and so forth. But again, it seems more naturally to refer to Gentiles. and their idolatry, and so forth, their aimless conduct. So I'm inclined to say that they were both, in our study of Romans, we talked about this, being Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, Paul's addressing both of them, but there were a predominance of Gentile Christians there. Here, I think we should say the same, that they were both Jewish and Gentile Christians, but maybe we should side toward more Jews than Gentiles because, again, of the language of the dispersion here. But anyway, here's some of the debate that people will give here, and I lean toward them being both, and maybe more Jews than Gentiles. Now, we put 1 Peter in this location in the New Testament, the section that we call the general epistles. Because if you look through the letter, Peter does not address anyone by name. The only names that we have are at the very beginning and then at the very end, and it's Sylvanus and Mark, and they're with Peter. So he does not address the people in this region by name, so hence it was more of a circular letter. It may suggest then that Peter had never been there, right, but just had heard of some people there, something like that. Maybe you met him 30-some years ago at Pentecost. But it's a general letter, general epistle as we call it, and so therefore it circulated around to all the different churches in this region. Maybe it would go to a prominent church, maybe it went to every single house church in the region. We're not told, but it would have been sent to one, read, and passed on, hence being a general epistle. All right, so thus far then, we have talked very briefly about the questions of who, when, and where. So God used Peter the Apostle in the mid-60s, writing probably from Rome itself to these people in northern Asia Minor. All right, well, the next thing I want us to look at here briefly is the structure of the book. And hopefully you do have one of the outlines there and picked up on the way in. And basically, Peter is broken down into three major sections. Sometimes people will do it in just two major sections. But it starts, of course, in verses one and two, as I have there with an opening greeting. And it ends with the concluding words in chapter five, verses 12 to 14. But in the middle, I lean toward those who see three primary sections here, from chapter 1, verse 3, through chapter 2, verse 10, summarized as Peter's words of comfort in the midst of their suffering. And so he talks about a sure salvation, obedience in the midst of suffering, and that Christians are blessed like Israel, including Gentile Christians. And then in chapter 2, verse 11, through chapter 3, verse 12, he focuses on Christian living, and in particular, the theme of submission. And so in verses 11 and 12 in chapter two, he introduces the idea of submission. Then he talks about submitting to governing authorities, then to our masters, and wise to their husbands. And then that section ends in verses eight through 12 of chapter three, with a summary call to obedience. And then the third major section is chapter three, verse 13, through chapter five, verse 11. where we see suffering and obedience here. Unjust suffering, first of all, Christ's example for us, living for God's glory, this fiery trial I read about a moment ago. And then in chapter 5, about the issues of leadership, familiar passage, especially when we're talking about elders, and then guarding against the devil. Many of us probably have memorized verse eight there and so forth, verses seven and eight. So anyway, here's just a general overview of what's coming. So again, as I said before, when we come to any of these issues, my eye just went to chapter three, verses one to seven, wise with husbands. Don't read that in isolation. Don't just read it in the context of feminism or patriarchy or something like that, but read it in the context of what Peter is saying in the whole of the book. How does that apply to the issue of suffering and how does submission in the home How is it impacted by suffering? How does it help us? These kinds of questions. So read it in its broader context. All right, so then, let's take a few moments and talk about some of the themes. Now, obviously, we've been talking about the theme of suffering. Let me say a few more words in this way, and then we'll continue to some other themes. There are three primary words for suffering that Peter uses here in the book. One of them, if you look at chapter one and verse 11, It says at the end of the verse there about the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. That particular word is not the most common word in the New Testament. It's only used 16 times, but four of them are used here. So 25% of the uses are used here in 1 Peter. Hebrews uses it three times, and the book of Hebrews has very much the same overall message as Peter. The author of the Hebrews is writing to encourage suffering Christians who are suffering for their faith. There in particular, because of Jewish opposition, If you look here then in chapter two, verse 19, here's the other word, another word for suffering at the end of the verse, suffering wrongfully. Different word, but same basic point. This one is more commonly used in the scriptures, used 42 times in the New Testament and 12 times here in 1 Peter. So about 29% of all usage here in 1 Peter. And then if you look at chapter one and verse six, it says there at the end of the verse about various trials. And we read about the fiery trial in chapter four, verse 12. That word is used twice in those two places. So altogether, the words for suffering are 18 times. And so again, everything Peter is writing about in his letter speaks to the issue of suffering in one way or another, sometimes directly, sometimes more indirectly. Sometimes He is comforting us, saying, this is who you are in Christ, what God has done for you to save you. Sometimes He is challenging us, saying we still must obey, even when life is hard. So that's the first theme, and maybe the main theme in many ways. But the other theme here to mention, of course, is God. Peter mentions God. many times. And the names that he uses are these. He uses the name God 39 times in the letter, Father 3 times, Spirit 5 times, Jesus 9 times, Christ 22 times, Lord 7 times. And then if you look at chapter 2 and verse 25, he says about the shepherd and overseer, And then if you look at chapter 5 verse 4 he says the chief shepherd. Now there are 105 verses in the letter and he mentions God by one of these names 88 times and then you can add the pronouns too. And so without the pronouns it's almost one time per verse with them certainly it is more than that. He makes reference to the Trinity twice. If you look at chapter four and verse 14, he says, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. I didn't, sorry, I went the wrong direction here. Turn to James. Okay, sorry about that. Chapter four and verse 14. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. So all three persons are mentioned there. And then in chapter one and verse two, he mentions father, spirit, and son. Obviously, Peter is being God-centered. Now this isn't just facts and figures. This isn't just a stats class. Do you see his point? God must be central if we're going to understand suffering. Suffering is not random. Suffering is not outside of God's plans and purposes for us. We cannot say that God is not a part of our suffering. So whether we're talking about the floods in Texas here last month, or the murder-suicide over near the McCoys here recently, or some struggle that we're facing, or October 7th, or September 11th, or you name it, whatever suffering that we are facing, we cannot say that God is absent from that. Some of us remember when 9-11 happened, and that's what you constantly heard. Oh, God, so to speak, took the day off that day, or Satan won that day or something. No, Peter doesn't think that way. The Bible doesn't think that way. God, in all of our sufferings, is still central to everything. And if we're going to understand our sufferings, we need to think that way. Isn't that the whole point of Job? If we say that God is not a part of our sufferings or he had no hand in it or something like that, then it leads to anxiety, it leads to depression, it leads to paranoia, it leads to us not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. It leads to other sinful behaviors. But if we have God right in the middle of this, that's where we're going to find some peace. That's where we're going to find some contentment in the midst of our sufferings. And finally, Job got to that point. He started off pretty well and then he gets way off track and then God brings him back again at the end. He is central in all of our sufferings. All right, now we also see then the theme of the already and the not yet. Peter talks about the blessings of our salvation, and he says we already have them to some degree, and they are guaranteed, they are waiting for us. He's gonna start right away in verse two, and then verses three to five, and so on and so forth to say these things. And since God is central to all of it, and God does not change, then our promises, the inheritance, eternal life, these things will not change as well. the blessings, the status of being in Christ. We have every hope that they will be ours forever if we are trusting in Christ. And so that's the already, but there's also the not yet. We don't have them in their fullness yet. We still face sufferings in this life. We have the heavenly blessings, but they're not ours fully yet. And so hold this together. Hold together the fact that we are kings, as we talked about even this morning, sitting on thrones. We are priests. We are God's people. With the joint truth that we are persecuted for our faith, we are suffering and we need to obey. Don't be confused by this seeming contradiction. Don't pull away when the not yet seems to overwhelm us and the already seems to be a figment of our imaginations. continue to live for Christ. And our response to suffering is a powerful witness to the unbelievers around us and to one another, to fellow believers. This issue of suffering is one of the main reasons why unbelievers who have heard of Christ reject Christ. How many times have you heard people say, something along the lines that, well, I don't go to church anymore because X, Y, Z happened in my life and God didn't protect me from that or, you know, he allowed that to happen in my life or something to that effect. Now, one of the other ones we see, hear people say is, well, Christians are a bunch of hypocrites. And many times it's because we as Christians don't handle suffering in the right way. And so keep this already not yet tensioned in the midst of these discussions. And then lastly, the issue of persecution. This is Peter's focus. Obviously, we can apply it in other ways, but his primary point is persecution. Jesus, first and foremost, suffered for his faith. He is the standard, and since he suffered, so will we. Jesus has been there, and so he can comfort us. Peter, of course, suffered for his faith. He knows what he's talking about. We can learn from him. Suffering is designed for many reasons, and we will talk about some of those, and we've talked about it recently here in our studies in Revelation. But some of you may remember that first sermon that I gave on October 27th, 2002, that from that sermon on, I began saying to you that we may face persecution for our faith even in our country. It isn't just something for the first century or in other centuries or other parts of the world. It's something we may be facing in our country. Now, remember, some of you, 2002, George Bush, first term, hey, post 9-11 at that point, hey, but, you know, in the last five or 10 years, it now becomes much more of, yeah, I can see that we could be persecuted for our faith as Christians in America. We've seen this especially with the shutdown, the vaccine mandates. We see it with lawfare against believers. Well, even just this week, did you hear about the guy that beat up these pro-lifers and he's basically gonna get off? And we see this lawfare. We see the cancel culture. We see the debanking that's going on. This is not just a discussion for us to have in our padded pews, and somehow it's not going to touch us. Being persecuted for being a Christian is Peter's primary point, and we need to be ready for it. Now, in some ways, we are enduring a reprieve from this onslaught from our governing authorities and the current administration. But whenever the uniparty wins again, and you know that's gonna happen eventually, the opposition to God's people will return with a vengeance. May the words of Peter bring you comfort now in your sufferings, but it may it also prepare you for that day when Christians in our country are oppressed. And some of them are still being oppressed, but again, it wasn't like it was even just a couple years ago. God's words here through Peter are helping to prepare us for it and helping us to endure sufferings now. It's not easy, but suffering is a part of life and we must deal with it biblically. And so there are many things here for us to learn. There are many other parts of the scriptures that teach us about it. But here we're gonna learn from the words of Peter in this way. So here's some foundational ideas tonight, and hopefully it'll provide a foundation for us to move forward then, beginning, Lord willing, next week. Let's pray together. Our Father in God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Apostle Peter, and we thank you that you gave him these words for us. We pray, Lord, that you would help us then to understand your word through him, and especially in this context of our sufferings, and that we would think rightly and therefore respond in the right way to suffering. We pray, Lord, that you would use these words of Peter to encourage us and to comfort us and even to challenge us in the face of our hardships. And so we pray for your hand, your strength, your spirit in this way. We pray that you would be honored and that you would use this for our growth and development and for your honor and glory. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.