We are going to do something a bit different for the next couple of weeks. I feel God has had this on my heart for some time now. We are going to do a Study of the entire Book of 1st Peter—probably not as thoroughly as we do on Wednesday Night Bible Studies—but a deep look at the message and context of the Book because I honestly feel there could not be a more perfect Book written for our generation, living in our current culture and predicament, from which to draw knowledge, inspiration and direction. This is my favorite way to study Scriptures—as they were written. So, let's jump in and let God's Word speak to our hearts.

Would you agree that how we view ourselves, our self-identity...Affects every aspect of how we think, act and relate to the world around us? Including with God?! Ok then... Grasp this one powerful FACT... Before we continue!
Our self-view... Our identity...Is ALMOST ALWAYS completely based upon a RELATIONAL PERSPECTIVE...In other words… Believed in relation to outside factors! There are TWO very prominent Cultural Patterns for how most establish their "Self-Identity" and worth today:

ILLUSTRATION: A Highly Trained Seal Team has been dropped deep into enemy territory to extract quite a number of innocent civilian families held hostage in a remote prison. The hostages have been mistreated, tortured and many already killed. They have a limited amount of time to complete the mission before a chopper comes to meet them at an extraction point. When they hit the ground and the mission begins, the Leader of the Team picks up his equipment and signals the men to follow into the night towards the prisons. The other men begin digging in where they are, setting up camp, starting a fire, and they simply begin to wait. When their Leader turns and asks what they are doing, the reply is, "The chopper will be coming right here very soon. We don't want to miss it when it comes back!" The Leader replies, "But this is our mission; it is why we are here!" To which the now solidly encamped soldiers respond, "So you go tell them if they want a ticket out of here, they better come quick. We'll guard the spot!"

Marriage is AWESOME, GROWING, GLORIFYING! In our rapidly shifting "cultural" morals today...
We have watched as marriage has legally…Been completely redefined in this country... (With more changes surely to come!) The number of people getting married today, according to information from an April 2020 U.S. News And World Report...Is at it's lowest level since the Federal Government began recording data in 1867! (1) Experts say the reasoning behind this incredibly low number of marriages in today's culture is due to... (Listen to these!)