Entrusting Your Soul to a Faithful Creator

In one paragraph

This message, from 1 Peter 4, was an encouragement to trust God in the middle of suffering and to understand that fiery trials are not accidents. Pastor Carl walked the congregation through Peter's call to keep rejoicing under pressure, knowing that God is refining his people the way a metalworker refines bronze. The sermon closed with a benediction from James 1 about remaining steadfast under...

Read together

1. 1 Peter 4:7 be of sound judgment and sober for the purpose of prayer
2. 1 Peter 4:8 keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins
3. 1 Peter 4:9 be hospitable to one another without complaint
4. 1 Peter 4:10 each one has received a special gift, employ it serving one another as stewards of the manifold grace of God
5. 1 Peter 4:11 so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ
6. 1 Peter 4:12 do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing
7. 1 Peter 4:13 to the degree you share the sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing
8. 1 Peter 4:14 if you are reviled for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you
9. 1 Peter 4:15 make sure none of you suffers as a murderer or thief or evildoer or troublesome meddler
10. 1 Peter 4:16 if anyone suffers as a Christian he is not to be ashamed but is to glorify God
11. 1 Peter 4:17 it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God
12. 1 Peter 4:18 if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved what will become of the godless man
13. 1 Peter 4:19 those who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right
14. 1 Peter 1:6 you greatly rejoice even though distressed by various trials
15. 1 Peter 1:7 proof of your faith more precious than gold tested by fire resulting in praise and glory at the revealing of Jesus Christ
16. 1 Peter 2:21-23 you have been called for this purpose since Christ suffered for you leaving an example, he kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously
17. 1 John 1:9 if you confess your sins he is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness
18. Matthew 5:11-12 blessed are you when people insult and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, rejoice for your reward is great
19. Hebrews 11:1 faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen
20. Hebrews 11:8 by faith Abraham
21. Hebrews 11:11 by faith even Sarah
22. Hebrews 11:13 all these died in faith without receiving the promises having seen them from a distance confessing they were strangers and exiles
23. Hebrews 11:17 by faith Abraham when he was tested
24. Hebrews 11:20 by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
25. Hebrews 11:21 by faith Jacob as he was dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph
26. Hebrews 11:23 by faith Moses when he was born was hidden
27. Hebrews 11:24 when he had grown up he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter
28. Hebrews 11:27 by faith he left Egypt
29. Hebrews 11:28 by faith he kept the Passover
30. Hebrews 11:29 by faith they passed through the Red Sea
31. Hebrews 11:30 by faith the walls of Jericho fell down
32. Hebrews 11:31 by faith Rahab the harlot did not perish after she welcomed the spies
33. Hebrews 11:32-38 what more shall I say of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and the prophets who suffered and were not worthy of the world
34. Daniel 3 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship the golden image and are cast into the fiery furnace
35. James 1:2-4 consider it all joy when you encounter various trials knowing the testing of your faith produces endurance
36. James 1:12 blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him

Talk about it

1. Peter calls his readers 'beloved' even as he warns them of suffering and fiery trials. What does it mean to you to be addressed that way by someone who himself failed badly and was restored by Jesus?
2. The sermon compared suffering to a refiner's fire, where impurities rise to the surface. Has a difficult season in your own life ever surfaced something in you that needed to be dealt with? What did that look like?
3. Peter draws a line between suffering because you follow Christ and suffering because of your own wrongdoing, including being a troublesome meddler. How do you tell the difference in your own life between those two kinds of difficulty?
4. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told the king that God could deliver them, but that even if He did not, they would still not bow. What area of your life right now would it cost you the most to hold that same 'but if not' position?
5. The sermon ended with James 1:12, connecting steadfastness under trial with loving God. In practical terms, what does it look like for you this week to stand fast rather than give ground?