Good morning. Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. My name is Matthew Capone
and I'm the pastor here and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. If you're new or visiting
with us, welcome. We're glad that you're here. And we're glad that you're here not because we
are trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together as one community, we've become convinced that there's no one so good
that they don't need God's grace, his forgiveness, and no one so bad that they can't have it. And so
we come to God's word over and over again and again, week after week, because we believe that
God has something to say to every one of us. He has something to say to us if we have been Christians
our entire lives, if we can't remember a time when we weren't Christians. He has something to say to
us if we've been Christians for a very short amount of time. And he also has something to say to us if
we would not consider ourselves Christians, if we're people who have questions or doubts or
objections to Christianity. If you're with us, you know that over the summer, we went through a series
on the Psalms, which we finished last week. And now we're starting a new series in the book of 1 Peter.
And the 1 Peter is a letter, and it's a letter written by a man named Peter. And he writes this to
groups of Christians in the first century who live in what is now modern-day Turkey.
And he writes to these Christians because they are, as they live, as they follow Jesus,
the fact that they're Christians is making them feel out of place in the world.
And not only is it making them feel out of place in the world, they're also facing opposition from the
world. Peter writes knowing that they're feeling out of place and they're facing opposition, and he does
this to encourage them and help them understand and know how it is they should live in the world
and why they should continue living that way. In other words, the book of 1 Peter is a book about
what it means to be in the world, but not of the world. And it's also a book about what it means to
represent Jesus to the world. It's a book about being in the world, but not of the world, while also
representing Jesus to the world. And it's a book about why Jesus is worth that. Why he's worth living
and loving for. Why he's worth suffering for. And why the recipients of this letter, the people who
are living in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, should continue loving and following Jesus. And so the
question that this book answers and addresses is the question we're going to begin to talk about this
morning. What do we do? How do we respond? How do we think about the reality that when we live in this
world, oftentimes we feel very out of place if we're following Jesus? How should we think about
that? How do we begin to address it? It's the last question that we come to this letter, and we're going
to be reading just the first couple verses. You're going to find this printed in your worship guide near
the end. You can also find it on your Bible or your phone. And as we come to this, remember that this is
God's word. And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold, and that it is
sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. It's for that reason that we read
now, starting with verse 1,
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Father in heaven, we thank you, as always, that you have not left us to figure out this world on our
own, but that you come and you speak to us. You've given us your word and your instructions
that we would know what you want and what you love, and that we would want and love those things as well.
We also know that we are hard of hearing, and unless you help us, we are helpless.
We ask that you would send your spirit now to do that, that you would open up our eyes so that we
could see, you'd unstop our ears so that we could hear, you'd soften our hearts so that we could
believe, and you'd clear our minds so that we could understand everything that you've written in your
word about your son. And we ask these things not because we have earned them, but because you,
Jesus has earned them for us, and we ask him in his name. Amen.
There was a time in my life about five years ago where I had a very challenging decision that I had to
make, and as I look back now, I think it was probably one of the most challenging decisions that I've ever
had to make in my life. And so knowing the gravity of that, I realized that I was in way over my head.
I didn't have the wisdom to think through what I needed to think through. I knew this decision had
a lot of consequences. This is not important to what I'm going to tell you, but basically I had to
make a decision whether I was going to continue in a relationship or not, and I began to realize that
this might not be the place for me. This might be something that I had to exit. I wasn't going to
make that decision lightly, and I also knew that I needed tremendous wisdom, and I didn't necessarily
believe that everyone around me had it. If you're like me, there's times where you have talked to
various people. You know there's certain things you need to talk to someone who's 10 years ahead of you
to get advice about. So if I need counsel about how to be a pastor, I don't call up a first-year
seminary student. Instead, I call up someone who's been seasoned for decades. There's some decisions where
maybe you need to talk to someone 20 years ahead of you. Maybe there's some that you need to talk to
someone 30 years ahead of you. This decision that I was facing, I felt like it was the type of decision
where I needed to talk to someone who was far, far ahead of me on the journey, someone who was seasoned
and experienced in life and as a counselor.
And so I knew a man that I had a relationship with for a long time who was in his 60s, and I thought,
this is a 60-plus question.
This is a 60-plus problem. I'm not going to talk to someone in their 30s. I knew someone in their 50s,
and I thought, you know, this is, I need someone who's got the four-decade advantage on me for this one.
And so I spent time on the phone trying to schedule an appointment with this man. I drove
several hours to meet with him. He did not live close to me. And we sat down, and I explained to
him this entire situation, this decision that I had to make, all the complicating factors,
what I was afraid of, and either whether I stayed or I left. And so this man, he sat down, and he
listened, and he gave me his counsel. He talked through all the issues with me, gave me his advice,
told me what he thought about what I was facing. And he was able to do that because he was someone
with credibility and experience. He knew what he was talking about. He'd been talking to people
about these sorts of things, not for 10, not for 20, but 30, 40 years. As we come to the letter of
1 Peter, Peter is a man in this letter with incredible credibility and seasoning. He knows what he's
talking about. Peter writes this near the end of his life. And of course, he tells us, verse 1, he's an
apostle. That's his credentials. And that tells us that he's someone who's a representative, a
representative of Jesus who can speak authoritatively for the church about Jesus' life and Jesus' teachings.
And so that's his position. That's his credential, his credibility. But Peter has even more than that.
Peter has lived for decades as someone who knows Jesus and follows Jesus. And he is someone
who has experienced what it means to belong to God and be chosen by God. And not only has he
experienced for decades what it means to belong to God and be chosen by God, he also knows what it's
like from firsthand experience to suffer for God. He has lived for years. And so he writes as someone
that we should listen to. He has lived everything that he talks about. And he hasn't been perfect. We
meet Peter for the first time. He grew up in a small town called Bethsaida, which is right outside the
Sea of Galilee, which is a place where much of Jesus' ministry took place. It was on the north shore of the
Sea of Galilee. Now, Jesus, if you're familiar, grew up in Nazareth, which was southwest of the Sea of Galilee.
And I tell you that so that you know that if Jesus and Peter lived today, their high school football
teams would have played each other. Now, whether Jesus' team would have won or Peter's team would
have won, I'm going to leave that theological knot for you to untie at lunch today. But Peter and Jesus
would have been in the same territory. Peter was a fisherman. That's how he grew up. And at some point,
because of his career as a fisherman, he entered into business. He had a business partnership with his
brother, who is named Andrew. And there's another brother set, James and John, that they joined
together with. And they were in Capernaum, which if you're familiar with Jesus' ministry, you know
that was a headquarters for where he had his ministry. And Andrew was an early adopter. Peter was not.
So Andrew was tracking with John the Baptist, and he was the one who introduced Peter to Jesus.
And Peter meets Jesus, and when he meets him, he's not interested necessarily in following Jesus,
but Jesus decides that Peter's going to follow him. And so he tells him, I'm going to make you a fisher of men.
Peter continues to follow after Jesus, having this relationship with Jesus, living with him for
multiple years, and Peter makes mistakes over and over again. If you're familiar with Peter, you know
that he misunderstands Jesus and his mission. At one point, he rebukes Jesus, and Jesus refers to him
as Satan. At another time later in his career, Paul has to rebuke Peter. But Peter continues following
after Jesus again and again, and we see throughout his life, Peter changes and grows. Peter rebukes
Jesus for wanting to suffer at the beginning of his time with Jesus. And now near the end of his time,
after Jesus' death, near the end of Peter's life, he's going to write to these people about suffering.
And I've just firehosed you with a bunch of facts about Peter, and I do that sometimes. I don't expect you
to remember all this, but the point that I want to make is this. Peter was a real man.
Peter did not have a halo. Instead, he worked with his hands.
Peter did not do everything perfectly. He didn't say everything perfectly. Instead, sometimes he put
his foot in his mouth. In fact, he put his foot in his mouth over and over again.
Peter wasn't just a real man, though. Peter had a real relationship with Jesus.
And because Peter had a real relationship with Jesus, he experienced a fundamental change in his identity,
in his character, and his behavior.
Peter had a real relationship with Jesus.
Because he had a real relationship with Jesus, he experienced a fundamental change
in his identity, in his character, and his behavior.
Everything that he writes about in these first two verses,
he writes about from what he knows in his experience.
And so he knows that he's been chosen by Jesus, and so that's how he writes to the people
who are receiving this letter. He says,
to those who are elect, exiles. Now this word elect is a technical theological term,
and I'm going to explain it to you, hopefully in such a way right now that you're never going to forget it.
Maybe I'm optimistic.
An elect is not a word that we use in English. It's not one that we're familiar with,
except in one instance.
Every four years, we have in this country a what?
We have an election.
An election is when we choose someone.
We choose someone to represent us.
So if someone is elect,
the term theologically,
when we talk about the elect, we're talking about those God has chosen.
Jesus chose Peter.
When Jesus first met Peter,
at least one of the first meetings,
he went out on a boat with him.
And when Jesus,
when Peter understood Jesus' power,
first of all,
Jesus just asked to borrow his boat,
because he wanted to speak to a large crowd of people,
and he knew that if he went out on the water,
the water would project his voice.
Peter was fine with that.
He was going to go out in the water with Jesus.
That wasn't a big deal.
Remember,
his brother Andrew had been an early adopter.
Andrew knew John the Baptist.
He was aware of Jesus.
So,
Peter was connected in this way.
And then Jesus performs this miracle for Peter,
in which Peter had not been able to catch any fish.
And suddenly,
Jesus made it so that he caught so many fish,
his net broke.
Do you remember what Peter does after that?
He doesn't say,
wow,
I really want to follow you,
Jesus.
Doesn't say,
this man is very powerful.
I want to be connected to him.
Peter says,
get as far away from me as you can.
Because I am a sinful man.
Peter did not choose Jesus.
Jesus chose Peter.
Peter has experienced everything that he is writing to these people about.
He has experienced the fact that God chose him.
And so,
the first thing that he reminds his readers of is that God has chosen them as well.
As we are looking and trying to make sense of all of this,
Peter continues to tell to them the same thing that he knows.
We are going to come back to exiles.
In a minute,
he tells them that God has chosen them.
And then he tells them what that means.
All these places that he mentions,
those are just places in Asia Minor.
So,
he is simply saying,
hey,
you all live in lots of different areas in modern day Turkey.
And then he tells them about their choosing.
This choosing happened according to the foreknowledge of God,
in the sanctification of the Spirit,
for obedience to Jesus Christ,
and for sprinkling with his blood.
Now,
for us,
this might sound like a lot of technical theological language.
For Peter,
it was his story.
Peter is telling us what he experienced.
Jesus chose him.
Verse 2,
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
In other words,
Peter knows that it's not because of anything that he has done
that he belongs to God and has been chosen by God.
He has walked with Jesus too long to think that.
He is with Jesus,
not because of his faithfulness,
ultimately,
but because of Jesus' faithfulness.
Not only has God chosen him,
not only did Jesus choose him,
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
we're in verse 2 still,
but also in sanctification of the Spirit.
Peter knows that following Jesus means
that he's going to become more and more like Jesus.
That's what sanctification means.
It's the process by which we become more and more like Jesus.
Peter has become more and more like Jesus.
This is someone who rebuked Jesus for talking about suffering
and now is writing a letter about suffering.
This is someone who didn't always know how to be diplomatic,
who's now a leader in God's church.
Peter has experienced the process of having a real relationship with Jesus
and he knows that because of his time with Jesus,
Jesus has changed him.
His story is what he's telling us about in verse 2
and he knows that that story,
that hope,
is the same thing that's offered to
and is true of the people who are reading this.
They also need to know that they've been chosen by God.
They need to know that if they have a relationship with Jesus,
a real one in the way that Peter did,
that God will change them.
He will make them more like Jesus.
And then Peter also knows that his job and his story
is one of for obedience to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling with his blood.
Peter's also famous for betraying Jesus the night that he died
because he didn't want to suffer.
Peter denied Jesus and claimed he didn't know him.
And now he's writing this letter to people
telling them to claim Jesus' name
even when it leads to suffering.
And he has claimed Jesus' name
and it's led to suffering.
And so the sanctification,
the change that Peter has experienced
because of his relationship with Jesus
has led to obedience to Jesus Christ.
Jesus has changed him in such a way
that he obeys God more and more.
In fact, Jesus commissioned him
near the end of the Gospel of John
and he tells Peter,
guess what, Peter?
At the end of your life,
you're going to have things happen to you
that you don't want to happen
and you're going to have people take you places
where you don't want to go.
And finally, Peter knows
that all of this comes from sprinkling with Jesus' blood.
Peter has not earned anything from God.
Jesus didn't choose Peter
because he was the first round pick.
He didn't choose him because he was the smartest.
He didn't choose him
because he got along better with people than others.
He didn't choose Peter
because of Peter's skill as a fisherman.
In fact, we know that he wasn't able to catch any fish
when Jesus came to him.
Peter knows that it's God's grace
that has made him a follower of Jesus.
And he knows that this obedience is imperfect,
that he has betrayed Jesus at points in his life
and he hasn't always followed him perfectly,
but it's Jesus' death and his resurrection
that allows him to be chosen by God
in the sanctification of the Spirit
for obedience to Jesus Christ.
Peter was the one who betrayed Jesus
and claimed that he didn't know him.
And after Jesus died and gave up his blood,
Jesus came back and restored Peter.
Peter's the one who got really ambitious
and decided when Jesus was walking on the Sea of Galilee,
the place where he had originally gone out with Jesus
and Jesus had told him he wanted to be a fisher of men,
that's the place where Jesus told Peter
to come to him on the water
and to walk on water with him.
Peter knows that he took his eyes off Jesus
and started to drown.
He also knows
that Jesus didn't take his eyes off him.
Peter belongs to God
and he's been chosen by God.
And he writes to people in Asia Minor
who are feeling out of place in the world
and facing opposition from the world
to remind them that they have been chosen by God
and they belong to God.
And so if you are here this morning
and you have faith in Christ,
you're following after Jesus,
you have a real relationship with Jesus
in the way that Peter did,
God has chosen you.
And God has chosen you in the way similarly,
now not identical, right?
He's not chosen you as an apostle.
I hate to break the news to you,
but he has chosen you similarly
to the way he's called Peter.
That is that he has called you
even though you are flawed
and broken and sinful.
Even though, like Peter,
you can look back to places in your life
where you've done things
that you wish you could undo.
Jesus has chosen you in that way.
And if he's chosen you just like Peter,
you're going to become more and more like Jesus
and it's going to result in obedience,
but even that obedience
does not take away your need
for the sprinkling of Jesus' blood.
How do we make sense,
how do we think about
a world in which we feel out of place?
Peter doesn't begin by telling them,
giving them a worldview analysis.
He doesn't break down what's wrong
with the philosophies around them.
He doesn't start with scandalous stories
about things that have happened to Christians.
He doesn't start out with a list of do's and don'ts,
reminding them of their responsibilities.
Instead, he starts out by reminding them,
as you are living in this world,
as you're seeking to be in the world
but not of the world,
and you want to represent Jesus to the world,
the first thing you need to know
is that God chose you.
You're not here by accident.
You are here.
We are here in 2019,
on September 1st,
in Colorado Springs,
because God has chosen us
and this is where he wants us to be.
That's what they need to know
more than anything else.
That's what these people need
to hear and understand.
They need to know, like Peter,
God's chosen them.
And they need to know that, like Peter,
when they take their eyes off Jesus,
as one man has put it,
Jesus doesn't take his eyes off them.
If we're living in this world
and we're facing opposition,
if we have not decided
and figured out that God has chosen us
and we belong to him,
nothing else matters.
Our resolve doesn't matter.
Our understanding of the flaws
of the world around us doesn't matter.
Our ability to know and understand
things that are happening
in political systems
and the ways that people might be working
to create opposition against Christians
and the things that we need to think about
and know,
none of that matters
unless we know that God has chosen us
and we belong to him.
Most letters in the New Testament
start out by saying,
dear church or dear saints.
Peter doesn't say,
dear church or dear saints,
because he knows these people
need to hear something
even more than that.
Why is it that these people
need to know so desperately
in ways that recipients
of other letters
in the New Testament
don't need to know?
Why do these people need to know
so clearly
at the very beginning
that they are elect,
that they belong to God?
The reason that they need to know
that they are elect
is because they are also,
verse one,
exiles.
They need to know
that they are elect
because they are also exiles.
Now we have to clear up this term exile
as we jump into it.
This has a lot of confusion
sometimes among Christians
what it means to be an exile.
We don't just get to put
all the meaning we want to
onto this word.
This word is talking about
someone who does not have citizenship
in the country that they live in.
Potentially someone
who is of a different culture.
Now some people
will take this word exile
and they'll apply it to
the physical world,
the creation.
Peter here is talking about
a social political exile.
In other words,
I'm not going to go on a hike
up North Cheyenne Canyon
and look out
on the beauty of the mountains
and the glory of this city
and say,
man, that is a great view.
And it is so beautiful
and God's the creator
of the heaven and the earth.
But you know what?
I'm in exile
and it's all going to burn.
It is not that type of exile
that he's talking about.
He is talking about
a social political exile.
These people are living
in a country,
in a world where
those around them socially
don't value the same things
that they value
and so this leads to them
being ridiculed
at the very least.
Sometimes maybe they've lost
opportunities for jobs
and employment.
It's a political exile.
The things that they value
are different than the things
that the government
they're with values.
And so there might be times
where their values
and the government's values
come into conflict.
So he wants them to know
that they are also exiles.
They should think of themselves
that way.
They should not be surprised
when following Jesus
results in opposition
in the world
and from the world.
They live in a world
where they're not citizens.
This might actually be
literally true
of some of the recipients,
but Peter here is making
a spiritual point for them
that when they value
the things that God values
and they love the things
that God loves,
there are going to be
many times and many places
where they will feel
out of place in this world
and it will lead
to opposition and suffering.
And just like Peter
is telling his story
with everything else,
Peter is also knowing
his story here
because Peter is someone
who has decided
to suffer for
and face opposition
for Jesus
because he loves him.
He believes that everything
that he's done is true.
He's experienced the reality
of Jesus' resurrection.
And so he's willing,
even though he's someone
who early in his life
hated suffering
and thought it had nothing
to do with Christianity,
he's willing to suffer
for Jesus as an exile.
And he writes as someone
who's experienced
four decades
and has tremendous credibility.
Peter has been in prison.
Peter was in prison
because of Jesus.
Peter knows what it's like
to be in exile.
Jesus told him,
remember in the end of John,
he was going to go places
he did not want to go.
And guess what?
Peter went places
he didn't want to go.
And Peter did it
because he knew
that he was chosen by God
and God loved him.
God had changed him
and he also knew
the future that awaited for him.
We, like Peter,
are chosen by God.
We belong to God
if we have faith in Christ.
We, like Peter,
are also exiles
if we have faith in Christ.
There will be times
when our values
and the values
of the world around us
come into direct conflict.
There will be times
when there are people
who misunderstand us
and speak poorly about us
because of the things
that we believe and do.
And so what's true
of the recipients
of this letter
is true of us as well.
It's true for us
when we come up
against materialism
in this world
and we know
that God's plan for us
is that we value
people and communities
and trust in him
over things.
We're going to feel like
exiles in the world
of consumerism.
We're going to feel like
exiles in the world
of individualism.
And we're also going
to feel like exiles
in a world
of sexual anarchy.
Peter's readers
are going to hear
about some of the things
that they've had to give up
and they're being slandered for.
Now there's many things
in this world
that we feel like exiles for
as we walk as Christians.
And I don't want to elevate
this above everything else
but I do want to say
I know for many of you
because I've talked with you
many of you are facing
the point of being in exile
as you walk through this world
and more and more
what God has told us
about how he's created us
as men and women
is less and less
honored and true
in this world
in this culture.
And we have to navigate
how it is that we're going
to remain faithful
to what we believe
and also interact
with those in the world
around us.
And it's something
that we face
where we have to think about
and work through
how are we going to engage
that in our workplaces.
Some of you actively
right now
more than a few of you
are working through
and thinking about
what are you going to do
with pronouns.
And I'm not here
to preach a political sermon
to you.
There's many ways
in which we feel like exiles
but I would be remiss
to not say that
that we as a Christian church
right now
are facing the reality
of feeling like exiles
in this world
for many reasons
and that is one of them.
We're not the first Christians
in the history of the world
to feel that way.
And we're not the first Christians
in the history of the world
to face those choices
and those challenges.
God knows.
Peter knows.
Peter's experienced it.
His readers are experiencing it.
And he's writing to them
to encourage them
and instruct them
to give them hope.
For many of you
becoming a Christian
made your life
not easier
but harder.
And for many of you
if you're going to continue
as a Christian
it's going to make your life
not easier
but harder.
Peter begins this letter
by reminding us
of that fact
that because we've been
chosen by God
we are exiles
in the world.
And we're exiles
in this world
because we've been
chosen by God.
And the only way
that we're going to make it
and survive
as exiles
the only way
we're going to hold true
is by knowing
that God has chosen us
and that he's our father.
That's the hope
that Peter holds out
to his readers.
He wants grace
and peace
to be multiplied to them.
The same grace
and peace
that he has experienced.
It's when they know
that they are elect
that they can survive
and live as exiles.
And so this is an introduction
to the entire book.
Peter's going to end
this book
with a final command
and a final word.
You know how I feel
about beginnings
and endings of books.
This is the beginning.
I'm going to give you
a spoiler alert.
Peter's going to end
with one final command.
He's going to say
I've written all these things
to you
and I've exhorted you
and I've declared to you
that this is the true grace
of God.
So stand firm in it.
Peter now is telling us
those same two things
at the beginning.
This is the true grace of God.
God has chosen you.
He's chosen you
in the foreknowledge
of God the Father
and the sanctification
of the Spirit
for obedience
to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling
with his blood.
But you're in exile
so stand firm.
about 10 years ago
I think it was
the summer of 2010
I was at a church picnic
a different church
in a different part
of the country
and I didn't go
into this picnic
thinking that there
would be a moment
that I'd remember
forever from it.
Just a pool party.
This is at a neighborhood pool
and we would do this
several times
throughout the summer
as a church.
And of course
I would be remiss
not to go in the pool
but I don't really know
what I'm doing
so if you're on the diving board
and you're not experienced
or skilled like me
you've got one
or two classic plays.
You've got the cannonball.
It's tried and true.
Very faithful.
You do kind of
a scissors thing
where you drop in
and you just go down.
That was all I had
in my repertoire.
But there was one point
where I decided
okay this is my time.
I need to get up.
I need to go do this.
I need to hit the diving board
at some point.
And so I came through
a few times
and I noticed
as I was going through
that there was this girl
standing by the fence
by the pool
behind the diving boards
and she was in line
and these boys
kept skipping her.
So they would jump
in front of her.
They didn't care
that she was in line.
They'd just run on.
They'd go on
and they'd probably do
something fancier
than a cannonball.
And she was just
sitting there.
She wasn't doing anything.
She wasn't interfering.
She wasn't saying
hey this really isn't fair.
You shouldn't be
skipping me like that.
She was also the daughter
of the pastor of the church
and so I went up to her
and I was just messing with her.
I said
she was probably six or seven.
I said Caroline
you can't let them
treat you like this.
I mean they're jumping
ahead of you.
They're butting you in line.
You've been waiting
here patiently.
Here you are
you're just letting them
do their thing.
You can't do that.
And then I said
your dad
your dad is the pastor.
Now I'm not saying
that pastor's kids
should be able to do
whatever they want.
I could say that
since I don't have kids.
And she surprised me.
She just looked at me
and she smiled
and she said
I know.
Brothers and sisters
when we know
that God
is our father
and that he has chosen us
and that we belong to him
we can walk in obedience
in this world
even when it's hard.
And when we know
that God is our father
and we belong to him
when we face
suffering and opposition
when we face
those who treat us
in ways that they shouldn't
we're able to smile
and have hope and joy
because we know
who our father is.
We can live
as exiles
because we are elect
because we're chosen.
Please pray with me.
Dear father in heaven
we thank you
for the joy
and the privilege
of belonging to you.
We confess
that we haven't earned it
we don't deserve it
but it's something
that you've done
for us.
And so we ask
that you'd remind us
of that.
You'd remind us
of your choice
that you delight in us
that you've chosen us
that you love us.
And we ask
that you would use
that to help us
that like Peter
we would keep
following after you
even when we fail
and make mistakes
knowing that your blood
that sprinkles us
through Jesus
is enough.
And that you'd give us
everything we need
to know
to walk as exiles
in this world
faithful to you
and loving you.
We thank you
that like Peter
we don't have to earn this
or deserve this
but Jesus has done it
for us
and so we ask it
in his name.
Amen.