Thursday, July 07, 2016

Finishing 2 Peter - sermons and reflections


On Sunday we finished our series in 2 Peter, looking at God's precious and very great promises. I really enjoyed getting to grips with the letter again, having previously organised a preaching series in Dundonald.

But it's not enough to think, ok, I can put a big tick beside 2 Peter now, we all know it. We must continue to reflect on the truth God has taught us through this particular portion of his word. For me, one of the things that stood out, was about how the whole letter is about God's word - his precious and very great promises. Peter links the 'other' scriptures of the Old Testament with the scriptures Paul has written in his letters, and urges us to pay attention to them, and all the more because of the false teachers who will come. Will we have the confidence to hold onto God's word when all around us try to persuade us away?

On finishing a series, it's also a good idea to reflect on it, to think of how you would do it differently. The more I've considered it, the more I reckon I would have needed an extra sermon - but not to divide chapter 2 into two portions, I think it works as one sermon. The difference would come in the very first sermon - to separate the two truths of what we have received, and what we need to do. It seemed to be a bit rushed, a bit cramped, and there is a lot more detail that I didn't get to really dig into in the opening 11 verses. The opening sermons would then be 1:1-4 (the privileges of what we've been given) and 1:5-11 (the increasing qualities of godliness). Perhaps the next time we revisit this letter I'll get it right!

Here are all the sermons that were preached in the series - click on the links to listen or download the sermons.

2 Peter 1: 1-11 Growing in godliness

2 Peter 1: 12-21 Total recall

2 Peter 2: 1-22 This messenger will self-destruct

2 Peter 3: 1-10 The promise of his coming

2 Peter 3: 11-18 What sort of people?

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