Submit for the Lord's Sake

In one paragraph

On June 30, 2024, Pastor Tim brought a message from 1 Peter 2:11-20 on submission to governing authorities. Working through that passage alongside Romans 13, he pressed the church to examine why Christians submit and whether their public lives actually reflect the hope they claim to hold. It was a sermon he introduced honestly, naming himself as someone still working through the same material he...

Read together

1. Revelation 22:17 opening invitation to worship: let anyone who is thirsty come, drink freely from the water of life
2. John 8:12 Jesus as the light of the world, following him means no longer walking in darkness
3. 1 Peter 1:3-4 praise to God for new birth into living hope through the resurrection, an inheritance that cannot perish or fade
4. Micah 6:8 what God requires: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God, used as the worship through giving text
5. 1 Peter 2:11-20 main sermon passage read aloud, covering submission to governing authorities and suffering for doing right
6. Romans 13:1-2 every person subject to governing authorities, resistance opposes God's ordinance
7. Matthew 10:28 fear God who holds body and soul, not human authorities who can only kill the body
8. 1 Peter 3 it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong
9. Philippians 1:29 it has been granted to believe in Christ and also to suffer for him
10. Mark 12 render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what bears God's image
11. Isaiah 55:9 God works differently from us, his ways higher than ours
12. 1 Peter 2:23 Jesus did not insult or threaten when abused and suffering, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly
13. Romans 14:23 whatever is not from faith is sin, cited as a memory verse on trusting God
14. Matthew 13:44-46 parable of the found treasure, selling everything with joy for the kingdom of God
15. Galatians 5:22 listed as a classic application text that never commands sticking up for yourself or your tribe
16. Romans 12 listed as a classic application text that never commands sticking up for yourself or your tribe
17. Philippians 2 listed as a classic application text that never commands sticking up for yourself or your tribe
18. James 4 listed as a classic application text that never commands sticking up for yourself or your tribe
19. Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his love in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, true for everyone
20. Romans 8:28 God works all things together for our good, cited in questioning whether we truly believe in God's sovereignty
21. Romans 8:1 there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
22. John 3 Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be reborn, each of us can be reborn

Talk about it

1. The sermon opened with the idea that we are wired to enjoy a little rebellion, and that even as adults we tend to admire the lone rebel figure. Where do you see that pull toward rebellion showing up in your own life, and how does it affect the way you relate to authority?
2. Pastor Tim read from 1 Peter 2 that we are to submit to every human institution, and the sermon pointed out that Peter and Paul were writing this with Nero specifically in mind. How does knowing that change the way you read that command, and does it raise any questions for you about where the limits of submission actually are?
3. The sermon drew a distinction between submitting to authorities and fearing them the way we fear God, using Matthew 10:28 to make the point. In practice, how do you think a person holds those two things together, honoring governing authority without giving it a reverence that belongs only to God?
4. The sermon argued that when Christians chase political power or get consumed by political anger, we forfeit our witness, and that the people on the other side of the political aisle are not our enemy but prisoners of the actual enemy. How honestly do you think that framing describes the way you engage with people you politically disagree with?
5. Toward the end, the sermon said that revival does not start in the nation, the state, the town, or even the church, but in each individual heart, and it called each person to identify the thing they are holding back from God. What is one area where you know you are submitting to God only when it feels practical or advantageous to you personally?