Last week we looked at our Identity in Christ, we are living stones like Christ but not Christ. We also looked at our purpose.

This week Peter is encouraging believers that are experiencing shame because they did not reject Jesus but they believed and obeyed the living and abiding word. This group of people were not experiencing full on persecution yet, but they were feeling the shame of being people who were exiled, living where they felt alone, shame, looked down on, as second-class citizens. The more time goes by, do you feel like an exile, that you are no longer home, there does not seem to be anyone to represent you, to speak would bring contempt, you feel like you do not know the language, the ideologies are foreign to you. We feel that way because we follow Christ and his teachings. What we learn today is that Jesus is a stone by whom some believe and obey, but others reject and disobey.

For sermon notes, click here.