You Are God's Own Possession

In one paragraph

Brad Yates, one of the elders at First Baptist, brought the message this first Sunday of Advent from 1 Peter 2:9-10. He worked through four phrases from that text, chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, and people for God's own possession, to press on a single question: do we actually know who we are, and are we living like it? Brad opened by pointing out that we all have a deep need to...

Read together

1. Matthew 2 wise men filled with joy, bowing and worshiping at the star's guidance to Bethlehem
2. Isaiah 49 God promises to make Jesus a light to the Gentiles and bring salvation to the ends of the earth
3. 1 Peter 2:9-10 central text: chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, people for God's own possession, called out of darkness into light
4. Romans 5 we were enemies of God but now have peace with God because of Jesus
5. John 17 Jesus praying that his disciples are not of the world just as he is not of the world
6. James 4:4 friendship with the world is hostility toward God
7. 1 John 2 no one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever confesses the Son has the Father also
8. Genesis 12 God's promises to Abraham contrasted with the modern state of Israel
9. Proverbs 14:4 where there are no oxen the manger is clean, but profit comes by the strength of the ox, used to illustrate the value of messy community
10. Galatians 5:22 fruits of the Spirit, with a suggestion to insert your own name to self-evaluate
11. Matthew 7 looking at your own life before judging others
12. Revelation 1 we are a kingdom of priests
13. Galatians 5:13 benediction: called to freedom, use it not for the flesh but to love and serve one another

Talk about it

1. Brad said that if you cannot succinctly answer the question 'who are you?', Satan will answer it for you. How do you tend to define your own identity, and how does that compare to how Peter defines it in this passage?
2. Brad described what he called 'the bad news of the gospel', the idea that our hearts are so evil that God himself had to do something about it, and said we cannot accept the good news without first accepting the bad news. Where do you find yourself resisting or sitting with that bad news?
3. Brad drew a distinction between healthy patriotism and letting our national or political identity rise above our allegiance to Christ. Where have you felt that tension personally, and how do you navigate it?
4. Brad used the Tony Evans quote that you do not have to go to church to be a Christian, just as you do not have to go home to be married, and then connected it to the Proverbs 14 image of a clean manger with no oxen. What does genuine participation in the life of this church look like for you beyond Sunday morning, and where are you holding back?
5. Brad said the text calls all of us, not just pastors and vocational ministers, to be a royal priesthood, and he challenged us to put our own name into the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. When you do that honestly, which fruit feels most absent in your life right now, and what would it look like to pursue it together rather than alone?