|
|
1 Peter 1:1-5 I have to begin this morning with a confession. As bad as it is, I love reading those celebrity gossip magazines in the grocery store. Sometimes, when I’m shopping by myself, I actually pick out the longest line, so I have time to read all of the different magazine covers and so I can get caught up in the life of Brad & Angelina, Britney, and any other celebrity who happens to be making news through their exciting lives or their incredible mistakes. I guess I’m fascinated most by all of the massive failures, screw-ups and shortcomings of Hollywood’s rich and famous. And I guess I like reading about that kind of stuff because it proves to me that being rich or famous or seemingly having it all doesn’t mean that your life is going to be any more perfect or happy or fulfilling than the life that the rest of us “ordinary” people are leading. These Hollywood types have just as many failures, struggles, hardships, and heartbreaks as the rest of us…its just that theirs get splashed across the headlines for all the world to see. There is another person that I find interesting in a similar way. I’m amazed by his failures, his struggles, his fame, and his life. Its Peter, from the Bible. Like many of the Hollywood stars, he is one of the stars of the 4 gospels. If we were giving out billings like a movie, Jesus would obviously be the star, but Peter is the best supporting actor. His life is just as fascinating, disappointing and exciting as some of those starlets out there in those gossip magazines. So, for the next 6 weeks, I’m going to be preaching a sermon series about Peter. Using the memoir that he wrote late in his life – 1 Peter – and looking at some of the stories from his life, we’ll hear all about his role in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – how he kept screwing up, how it changed his life, and how God uses him to send us some tremendous messages of grace, love, acceptance, and ultimately, redemption. My hope is that in studying Peter’s life, you’ll also experience how God offers you that same grace, love, acceptance, and ultimately, redemption. So here it is, in true gossip magazine format: The E! True Hollywood Story of Peter: From Screw-up to Saint. Not much is known about the birth and childhood of Peter. We know that as an adult, he lived in the small town of Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee. Not rich, but not poor either. He probably learned early on in his life what he thought would be his lifelong career of fishing…for fish. He and his brother Andrew both lived in a small little house with Peter’s mother-in-law, who Peter was forced to take care of in his spare time. It was to this seemingly ordinary man that the extraordinary happened and fame was thrust upon him. One day, some of his neighbors noticed that he and his brother’s boat was just floating next to the dock, not really tied up to anything. The nets were just tossed about – not clean and hung up like they did every single day. It was like Peter & Andrew just disappeared. The neighbors first thought was that Peter & Andrew were kidnapped by aliens, then they thought they were raptured…but it was soon reported by a guy named Zebedee that an equally bizarre story actually happened. Peter was just fishing like normal, when a man came out of nowhere and said, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” And so Peter & Andrew just left their nets & boats to follow this man, that people were calling Jesus. Zebedee knew this story to be true because the same man came and hypnotized or brainwashed his two boys as well, and they dropped their nets and followed this Jesus also…leaving old Zebedee to do all the clean up. It was a strange beginning, but Peter’s lifelong adventure was just beginning. He was seen with Jesus all over the place – at a synagogue where demons were being driven out, at Peter’s house healing his mother-in-law, in towns and cities all across the countryside, often standing right next to Jesus as he preached and performed magic trick after magic trick. Some people claimed these to be miracles, but many just came out to see the show. Nonetheless, Jesus’ following increased. And as the synagogue leaders protested his teaching and condemned his magic, the small group of followers became tighter and tighter…perhaps acting like bodyguards for Jesus and crowd control. But what started off like a little security outfit, soon grew into something deeper. Peter, along with 11 others, were granted by Jesus to ability to drive out demons and preach on their own. Despite having no training, Peter relished this closer, deeper relationship with his mentor. He got to witness first hand all of these so-called miracles – claims of dead people being brought back to life, 5,000 people being fed with just a few small loaves of bread and a couple fish, Jesus even seemed to control the weather. It was not long after all these crazy events where Peter made his first big mistake. The rest of the crew was out on a boat, and all the sudden Jesus came walking out to them on the water. He called to the boat and identified himself, yet Peter didn’t believe it was really him. In order to prove that it was Jesus, Peter told him to let him come out on the water. Jesus agreed. So Peter climbed out and actually starting walking on the water. But then he started freaking out and getting scared and he started to sink. His boldness was commendable, but his lack of faith was embarrassing. Jesus scolded him publicly, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Meanwhile, the political pressure was starting to heat up. People were enthralled with Jesus’ message, but the religious leaders felt threatened by his words and his popularity and were trying to figure out ways to get rid of him. Permanently. In the weeks to follow, Peter had some glorious moments – recognizing and declaring Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah, experiencing the magnificent transfiguration, and sharing the Last Supper of Jesus. However, every time he also managed to blow it. He told Jesus he couldn’t suffer or die and Jesus actually called him Satan – ouch! He stopped children from coming to Jesus. At the transfiguration, Peter wanted to stay on the mountain, but was again rebuked by Jesus. And at the Last Supper, Peter refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet. But his biggest blunders were yet to come. With his sword, he cut off someone’s ear. He fell asleep as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. He actually denied knowing Jesus on 3 separate occasions on the night in which Jesus was arrested – so much for loyalty. And then, even after they heard a story that Jesus had risen from the dead, Peter got outrun to the tomb by John, and went away from the empty tomb not understanding that Jesus had actually been raised from the dead. Peter was the first person to actually miss the resurrection. The point of telling all these stories about Peter is to show in our first episode about Peter, that he certainly didn’t have it all together. He blew it more times than he got it right. He started off as a screw-up, a failure, and often times just missed it. Peter is a lot like all of us because more times than not, we also miss it, we fail, we make mistakes, and we come up short of ours and God’s expectations. But it is for this very reason, that Peter can write in his first letter about how God has treated him throughout the years. He begins in chapter 1, verse 3, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” Not doubt, with all the failures of Peter, he experienced the grace of God and the peace of God in abundance. The more he messed up, the more God forgave him. The more he failed, the more God redeemed him. Jesus kept giving him grace & peace because that is just who Jesus is, and yet I think there is another reason why Jesus loved Peter so much…because Peter was incredibly passionate. Right or wrong – Peter was all in. There was no lukewarm about him. He was bold, he risked, and while he often failed, Jesus admired his courage and faith. Peter was certainly a work in progress, but he wasn’t afraid to learn, to change, to fail, and to be corrected. In short, Peter was exactly what it means to be a disciple. As we live our lives, we all start off like Peter – a little bit ordinary, messing up, living broken, hurting, pain-filled lives and we can hardly please ourselves, let alone God. But the good news from this is exactly what Peter writes, God gives grace and peace in abundance. He uses screw-ups and failures and ordinary people in his kingdom. God doesn’t want perfect people – he wants the broken ones, the outcast ones, the depressed, the heartbroken, the sinners. God takes us exactly as we come – with all our baggage and history. We all have a place with our God because God can use whatever we bring to the table, even if its broken or in bad shape. God is in the business of giving out his grace and peace in abundance and “perfect people” don’t need that. But here’s the deal – God gives us grace and peace, no questions asked – but he does ask us to respond in faith – to trust him, to risk, to live boldly and passionately, to not be afraid to change, or learn or be corrected. We’ll talk more about this next week, but for now, just know this. God loves you and, just like with Peter, God gives you grace and peace in abundance. LIFT: 1. Share a story about a time when you fell short of your own expectations or messed up or gotten in trouble. 2. Where & how have you experienced the grace and peace of God in abundance? 3. Is there any place in your life where you’d like to trust God more?
|
