Genuine Faith
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Spiritual Vitality
1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Sermon Outline
For genuine faith to mature, you need to be:
1. Specific where you place it
v4 “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”
v5 “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith...”
2. Persistent in using it
v6 “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials”
v7 “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire…”
3. Intentional about enjoying it
v8 “Though you have not seen him, you love him.”
v8-9 “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
v6 “ In this you rejoice”
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, we appeal to you for mercy. We are filled with faith, but our faith is misplaced. Our faith in you is immature and weak. We are unstable. We experience fear and skepticism. Joy is lacking, and instead we experience anger, resentment, jealousy, and many other indicators that we need your help. We thank you that Jesus has secured an inheritance for us. We thank you that we are being guarded by your power. We believe. Help our unbelief. Through faith, may the reality of what Jesus has done for us become a growing spring of strength and encouragement in us. We appeal to you in his name. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
1 Peter 1:8 “[you] rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”. Do you want that? What do you pursue in life that you hope will bring you something of that?
Do you have inexpressible joy, filled with glory? On a scale of 1-10, how much joy do you typically experience?
How is faith connected to how you experience life? What sorts of beliefs shape how you understand what happens? What beliefs or convictions enable you to face hardship? What wrong beliefs make life harder?
What are somethings the Bible tells us to believe in that are sure, unchanging, solid?
When you are discouraged because your faith doesn’t seem genuine or sufficient, what can you do? How can you avoid the trap of focusing on your faith, rather than focusing your faith on what will help you?
How should you be applying faith in your daily life? How should faith inform the kinds of decisions you frequently make?
When you are in a difficult period or facing something hard, how can you exercise faith even while faith doesn’t feel genuine?
What is promised to you in Christ that should be a source of joy? How can the act of rejoicing become something that is a more regular part of your life?
What can you weave into your daily life to practice rejoicing in Christ and the hope we have in him? Think of specific parts of your day and specific practices and try to develop a new discipline to add practicing joy into your routine.