The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

In one paragraph

This message came out of a deeply sorrowful morning at First Baptist Jackson. Mark Upton, an elder, beloved friend, and outfitter, had been killed by bears while guiding a hunter in the park, and Pastor Mark preached directly into that grief. The text was 1 Peter 2:13-25, and he worked through it without changing a word, trusting that scripture was exactly what the congregation needed. The service...

Read together

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 we are not to grieve as those who have no hope
2. 1 Peter 1:22 purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart
3. 1 Peter 1:23 born again not of perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God
4. 1 Peter 1:24-25 all flesh is like grass, the word of the Lord endures forever
5. 1 Peter 2:1 putting aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander
6. 1 Peter 2:2 like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow
7. 1 Peter 2:4 coming to him as a living stone rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of God
8. 1 Peter 2:5 you also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood
9. 1 Peter 2:9 a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession
10. 1 Peter 2:10 once you were not a people but now you are the people of God
11. 1 Peter 2:13-14 submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king or to governors
12. 1 Peter 2:15 such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men
13. 1 Peter 2:16 act as free men, do not use your freedom as a covering for evil but as bond slaves of God
14. 1 Peter 2:17 honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king
15. 1 Peter 2:18 servants be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good but also to those who are unreasonable
16. 1 Peter 2:19-20 if for conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly, this finds favor with God
17. 1 Peter 2:21 you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow
18. 1 Peter 2:22 he committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth
19. 1 Peter 2:23 while being reviled he did not revile in return, while suffering he uttered no threats but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously
20. 1 Peter 2:24 he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness
21. 1 Peter 2:25 you were continually straying like sheep but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls
22. Romans 13 we are to honor and respect governmental authority
23. Isaiah 53:7 he was oppressed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter
24. John 19:9-11 Pilate questioning Jesus about authority and Jesus responding that Pilate would have no authority unless given from above
25. Mark 15:27-32 Jesus crucified with two robbers, passersby and chief priests mocking and reviling him
26. Luke 23:34 Jesus saying father forgive them for they know not what they do, prompting one thief to turn to him
27. Luke 23:43 Jesus telling the repentant thief surely today you will be with me in paradise
28. Luke 23:46 Jesus crying out father into your hands I commit my spirit and breathing his last
29. Acts 8:32-35 Philip running alongside the Ethiopian eunuch's chariot and preaching Jesus from the Isaiah passage about the lamb led to slaughter
30. John 11:35 Jesus wept in the context of losing a dear friend
31. John 11:25-26 Jesus telling Martha I am the resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me will live even after dying

Talk about it

1. The pastor opened the service by talking about Mark Upton laying down his life for the hunter he was guiding, and connected it to the passage 'there is no greater love than this, but that a man would lay down his life for another.' How does that kind of sacrificial love challenge the way you think about serving the people around you?
2. Peter tells believers to put aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander, and to crave the pure milk of God's word instead. Which of those things is hardest for you to set aside, and how has spending time in Scripture actually helped with that in your own experience?
3. The sermon drew a distinction between suffering the consequences of your own sin and suffering unjustly for doing what is right. Can you think of a time when you bore up under unjust suffering? What did that cost you, and what did it produce?
4. The pastor pointed to Jesus before Pilate as the model for honoring authority, where Jesus said 'you would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above.' How do you personally work through the tension between honoring authority and knowing that governments and leaders are imperfect?
5. At the close of the sermon, Jesus's question to Martha was put to the congregation directly: 'Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life, and that anyone who believes in me will live even after dying?' How does your honest answer to that question change, or not change, the way you are grieving right now?