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1 Peter 2:11 - 1 Peter 2:11 (ESV) Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. In the previous verses which we covered in the last 2 weeks identified us as living stones, a holy nation. Now as a chosen people of God we are identified as visitors to a foreign country. Therefore, as visitors we should abstain from the passions of the flesh associated to this foreign country. Earthly “passions” or “sinful desires” which wage war against our soul will prevent us from living out our full potential. The literal meaning is ‘passions which are continually waging war against our soul.’ To be unaware of this war and the devastating damage will prevent us from living a joyous and powerful Spirit filled life. Even dabbling in these passions of the flesh is dangerous.

1 Peter 2:9 - 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Last week we learned that believers were living stones being built up into a spiritual house. Here we see that believers are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. This comes directly from the OT. Deuteronomy 7:6 (ESV) For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. We are God’s own possession, HIS treasured possession, a chosen race, a Holy nation.

1 Peter 2:4 - 1 Peter 2:4 (ESV) You come to him, A LIVING STONE rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, Bill Wright – Jesus is the Living Stone! This Living Stone was rejected by the general population, but it was chosen and precious to God. Jesus, the LIVING STONE, is also the cornerstone from which God will build HIS foundation for HIS glorious Temple, the church. This comes from a prophecy made 800 years earlier by Isaiah. Isaiah 28:16 (NIV) “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a Stone in Zion, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.”

1 Peter 1:17-19 - 1 Peter 1:17–19 (ESV) 17 … Conduct yourselves with fear…, 18 knowing that you were ransomed … not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Ransomed – the release of a prisoner by paying the demanded price. We were separated from God held in the bondage of sin. Our demanded price is death. Jesus, who is of infinite value, gave himself as our ransom. HE died in our place. We are free because we had our RANSOM PAID by HIS death! When Israel was in bondage in Egypt, the Passover lamb was killed, and the blood was spread over the entrance of every Jewish home. When the death angel came, it passed over every home where it saw the blood. The death of the lamb and the spreading of the blood protected the people. This was a picture of Jesus. Because Jesus is without sin, he is unique, and his life is of infinite value as the Sacrificial Lamb of the Passover. Paul unequivocally identifies Christ as “our Passover Lamb”.

1 Peter 1:7 - 1Peter 1:7 (NIV)These (trials) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. We all go through trials of various kinds. We often we cry out to God, “Why is this happening to me.” Also, we ask God, “When will this end?” 1 Peter will give us some insights. As stated, trials are associated to the proven genuineness of our faith. Therefore, we need to understand the foundations of our

Jude 20 - Jude 20 (ESV) But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. In the previous verses Jude descries the ungodly and warns us of their evil influence. Now after painting this gruesome picture of the ungodly Jude addresses the believers, the beloved. Jude says two powerful words, “But You!” The believers are nothing like these ungodly. Jude reminds us of why we are different.

Jude 5 - Jude 5 (ESV) O/H Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. As we stated last week, God identifies us as special. Because we are special Jude warns us about the ungodly that are secretly coming into the church. Christians are notorious for judging one another because of clothes they wear, food they eat, movies they watch, etc. All this cause conflict between believers. However, when God warns the church about the ungodly in its midst it is for a completely different reason. That is what we are going to look at this morning. Although the men who were corrupting the church are described by Jude as “godless”, they would not have regarded themselves in that light. Neither would they have viewed themselves as the enemies of the Christian church. Rather, they are proud of being progressive free thinkers, a spiritual elite, and not oweing lordship to anyone.

Jude 1:1-2 - Jude 1:1–2 (ESV) To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. The title of the message this morning is “You Are Special”! This message has special meaning this morning because today is “Mother’s Day”. Although we are all special in God’s eyes, it goes double for “Mothers”! You are super special!

Jude 3 - Jude was the half-brother of Jesus. His brother James also the half-brother of Jesus and was the leader of the Jerusalem church in Acts 15 who also wrote the book of James. Jude 3 (ESV) Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude had wanted to write on the general subject of our common salvation. But news reached him that his Christian friends were threatened by a dangerous heresy. Thus, he wrote a very different letter. This dangerous heresy made it necessary to alert believers to contend for the faith. The word, contend, only occurs only here in the NT. It literally means the intense effort in a wrestling match. Contend signifies “contend as a combatant.” The verb form shows that the Christian struggle is to be continuous. As used here “contend” means to emphasize that the defense of our faith will be continuous, costly, and agonizing. Jesus even warned us of these heretics.

3 John 8 - 3 John 8 (ESV) Therefore “we” ought to support people like these, that “we” may be fellow workers for the truth. When we support Christian workers, we become fellow worker with them for the truth. Same work, Same rewards! Likewise, hospitality is powerful which encourages unity and love for one another. This “Power Hospitality” is demonstrated by the Apostle John’s friend Gaius. 3 John 5–6 (NIV) 5 Dear friend (Gaius), you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. The Apostle John commends Gaius for his hospitality to Christian brothers who came to visit the church. Then John encourages him to send them on their way “in a manner worthy of God”. This shows the supreme importance assigned to hospitality. This means that the traveling brothers were to be recognized as servants of God and therefore supported. In such instances, Christians were to provide hospitality as if the Lord himself were being welcomed.

1 Corinthians 15:19 - 1 Corinthians 15:19 (ESV) If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. Many Christians talk about all the blessings we can receive in this life. However, as Christians if we have hope only in this life, we are to be pitied above all people. If there is no resurrection, we would be better to set our hearts and minds on all the things of this world and go “all out” to grab every benefit this world has to offer. You have heard it said, “You only go around once so grab all the gusto you can.” The Apostle Paul totally agrees. 1 Corinthians 15:32 (ESV) If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” For the believers, the title of the message is an absolute truth defining Christianity: The Resurrection or Nothing!

3 John 4 - 3 John 4 (ESV I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. No greater joy! This statement is concerning a Pastor and his congregation. To get the full impact let us put this in a family sense. We might think parents have “no greater joy” than their son made the football team, their girl made the soccer team, and they both made straight A’s on their report card, etc., etc., but No! The parents greatest joy should be that their children are walking in the truth.