di Eastpoint Church
Title: Home Alone Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 5:1-5 When you were a kid, how did it feel to be left Home Alone? Did you enjoy staying behind at the house, feeling an exciting sense of independence and maturity? Or was it scary to have to fend for yourself and be on your own? Do you still find the idea of sleeping in an empty house unsettling as an adult?! Being home alone can certainly leave us feeling anxious and uncomfortable. Jesus is building a family, a household of faith. We know He will come back for us…but until then, are we home alone? Are we left to fend for ourselves and figure it out until He returns? Peter shows us that Jesus has left more than just some money on the counter and a key under the mat for his people. We discover His plan to care and provide for His family this week in our latest installment of Home Field.
Title: Up, In And Out Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 4:8-19 It’s election week in the USA. Emotions will certainly be running high, and tempers may flare. Things may get a little crazy. However, we find a timely message from 1 Peter 4. We need not get involved in the social media beefs, participate in the water cooler feuds, or engage in the lawn sign wars. Instead, as we head to the ballot box, we must remember that we, as exiles, have been called to a very unique, counter-cultural stance. We’ll break down that stance this week as we gather to pray, serve, and worship as a gospel community.
Title: It's Working Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 3:18-4:6 Every day, Christian students face the risk of ridicule. Christians in the workplace face the threat of getting singled out for their faith. Christian missionaries face the danger of death. At times it may feel like with all the suffering we are failing. But take heart Christian, this week Peter tells us that suffering does not mean failing.
Title: Exiles Beware Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 3:8-17 Exiles Beware - it’s cray-cray out here. Suffering, violence, and hostility are normal experiences for those who have been set apart from this world and who now follow Jesus. So, how will you respond to the hostility aimed at you and the evil around you? What should our response be when we're made fun of for our faith, discriminated against for our values, and opposed because of our convictions? Peter gives us three practical responses this week that will encourage our hearts and sustain our faith as live for Jesus without the benefit of home-field advantage.
Title: Marriage Restored Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 3:1-7 You've all heard the song. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...a lot of pain, confusion, and disappointment. Marriage in our world is failing. More and more people in our culture are leaving the idea of marriage behind altogether, as a relic of a bygone era. Others are flooding to it, eager to redefine and recreate it according to their own agenda. Is this as good as it gets with marriage? As Jesus calls us out and sets us apart from the Home Team, He takes us by the hand. He walks us away from the crowd and the culture of the Home Team into a long-forgotten, yet beautiful part of town. He stops before a huge curtained wall. He smiles at us and says, “Check this out,” before pulling back the curtain to reveal a breathtaking mural, a work of art we’ve never imagined possible; a portrait so stunning and glorious that it causes us to bow down and praise the artist. “Who designed this!” we ask. “Well, I did,” He smiles. "And now it’s yours. Follow me." This week we see that Jesus is redeeming and restoring marriage, offering hope, and leading His people to rediscover the beauty of His original design. And when we as exiles see it, we will respond, “And it was very good."
Title: Stand Out, Heads Up Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 2:11-25 Have you ever felt like you were an outsider? That you just didn’t fit in, and everyone knew it? How’d it go? Peter talks to a bunch of exiles of his own - the church. Those who have been called out of the world and now live for Jesus. Though they may live here, it’s obvious that they’re not from here. So Peter tells them, if you Stand Out, Heads Up! There’s something you might want to do.
Title: Under Construction Series: Homefield: Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 2:1-10 Grab your hard hats and steel-toe shoes, because this week we are venturing into a construction zone. Please, don’t mind the traffic and tune out the noises, because what is coming soon will be well worth it. For this is the future site of... well, we’ll just show you this weekend. Don’t miss it. This week, we’re Under Construction.
Title: The Cocoa Cruiser Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 1:13-25 Does life ever feel like a roller coaster? While the details may differ, we all experience the ups and downs, the tears and trials, the troubles and challenges. There’s no denying it: Life can be hard... especially for exiles. This week Peter encourages us to hang on. He doesn’t offer tired cliches or trite sayings. He knows we cannot subsist on cute expressions and hallmark cards. And so instead, he gives us some valuable, much-needed perspective. He calls you and me to set our gaze on the future, for what is coming tomorrow, will help us endure what we face today.
Title: We're Gonna Make It Series: Homefield - Peter's Letter to Exiles Passage: 1 Peter 1:1-12 Have you ever been to a game where your team was the home team? It’s electric! As you sing, cheer, and clap with thousands of people wearing the same color as you, you can feel – “I belong here! These are my people.” Now, if you’ve ever been to an away game, you know…it’s a bit of a different story. You stand out. You’re often alone in your cheering, drawing the hostile glares of those around you. Sometimes it can even be outright dangerous. It makes a big difference to have the Home Field. What do you do when you are living for Jesus and you don’t have the Home Field advantage? How do you handle being surrounded by those with values and convictions opposite to yours? How do we handle it when our convictions and values find us not in the popular majority but in the unpopular minority? To answer this question, we turn to Peter’s first letter to followers of Jesus living out an unpopular fight amid the Roman Empire. Don’t miss it as we start this new series: Home Field.
Title: Gotcha Series: 3D - The Attributes of God Passage: James 1:12-18 Life can be hard at times. And walking with Jesus is no stroll in the park either. We experience trials, our endurance is tested and many times we want to quit. As we go through these things we can start to wonder: where is God? Is he sitting back, waiting for us to stumble? Is He looking forward to seeing us fail so he can jump out with a Gotcha! This week, as we look at the prism of his glory, we see that God is not a “gotcha” God. It’s quite the opposite...