One of the more famous remarks concerning Peter is in Matthew 16: 15-16, 18  "He (Jesus) said to them, But who do you say that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God….And I (Jesus) say also to you, that you are Peter, (Petros, in Gteek, meaning a small pebble)  and on this rock (Petra, in Greek, meaning a large rock, boulder, cornerstone) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

You can see the gestures as Jesus points at Peter, names him, and tells Peter that he got it right.  Jesus is the Christ.  At the same time, he tells him (Peter) that he is a small rock.  Then Jesus turns his hand and points toward himself and says, "…upon this large rock I will build my church…"  No one but Jesus was ever intended to be the cornerstone of the church.  We are all the the small stones built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Peter was quite specific about this when he gave his his speech in the temple in Acts 4: 10a, 11-12 (after Christ's death).  He tells all the people, "Be it known to you all...by the name of Jesus Christ…who God raised from the dead…the stone which was set at nought of you builders, (the Jewish leadership) which is become the head of the corner.  Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Paul says it this way:  Ephesians 2: 20-22  "And (you) are built upon the foundation of the apostles, (all of them) and prophets, (all of them).  Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building, fitly framed together grows to a holy temple in the Lord:  In whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

That's us.  We are all resting on those who have gone before us.  We are the church.  God inhabits us.  We are the temple of God.

We used to play hopscotch.  Marbles.  Hide and seek.  Now I ride down streets and rarely see children outside.  Nobody sits on their porches anymore.  What happened to porches?  I think I'm out of date.  I would like to see my neighbors every now and then.  If I hadn't given tomatoes away, I don't think I would ever have seen them.

We push  a button and the garage door goes up, we back the car out and we go somewhere, come home punch a button, up goes the garage door and we're back in our houses.  Last night Ken said, "Let's go drag main.  I want to see what's going on."  It was dark outside.  So I got him in the car and drove him downtown.  We drug main.  By ourselves.  Nobody drags main anymore.  Main street  in Pryor was pretty well empty.

I don't know what to think about all that.  I can't be like Peter and go down to the docks and tell everyone what Christ has done in my life.  So I go through the window at McDonalds and say, "God bless you."

But the nicest thing happened yesterday.  The man who lives on the South of us knocked at the door and said, "If you will get your garbage can outside your garage door,  I'll get your garbage out to the street from now on."  (We have a long, long driveway.)   "Don't worry about it anymore.  And when I get in from work at three the next morning, I'll bring the garbage can back to the garage for you."  What a nice thing for him to do.  And what a help that will be to me.  I met them passing out tomatoes!!  

Neighbors are out there.  I just have to work harder to connect, to meet new people and tell them about Christ.  Tell the guy who comes to fix the heater!  That's what I did yesterday.  And he listened.

I'm happy.  Blessed.  I got up this morning and thought about all the women in the world who don't have running water.  Thank God for running water.  And my heater is running again.

It is hard to skip any of the verses in 1 Peter.  1 Peter 3b-6a "…by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you.  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  Wherein you greatly rejoice…"

Short, sweet, and to the point.  Peter doesn't mess around.  He is an evangelist.  He gives us the entire story.  He starts with the most important detail of Christ's life, the resurrection, and tells us everything that is going to happen next.

1.  By the resurrection of Jesus Christ
2.  To an inheritance incorruptible
3.  And also undefiled
4.  That does't fade away
5.  Reserved in heaven for you
6.  Who are kept by the power of God
7.  Through faith
8.  Unto salvation
9.  Ready to be revealed in the last time
10. Wherein you and I greatly rejoice

And it makes me pretty happy to think that everything is all taken care of and I that don't have to unpack boxes, decorate, hang pictures or line the kitchen shelves with paper.

When Ken was in the Marine Corps, we made 19 moves in 15 years.  My next move is up, up, up.

Peter and James couldn't be more different in their personalities.  James was very exact.  Peter was over the top exuberant.  Peter never did anything halfway.  When he wrote, he was full of adjectives.

1 Peter 1:3  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

First, he blesses God.  Not just God.   Not just Father.  But God and Father.  And then, not just Lord.  Not just Jesus.  And not just Christ.  But Lord, Jesus, and Christ.   I love the way he describes mercy:  Abundant mercy.  And the way he describes hope:  Lively hope.

And then he gives us the gospel.   "…by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  That is the historical event that ties the knot. The event that changed Peter's life.  Jesus was God.  He was the Christ.  He was the Messiah.  He is God.  He is the Messiah.  He is God.  He rose from the dead.  Top that!!!

I love Peter.  I identify with him.  I am impulsive.  I am outgoing. I am verbal.  I make mistakes.  I repent.   I am totally committed to the Lord Jesus Christ.  

When Peter got it right, he never turned back.  I can just see him returning to the sea to find some of his old buddies and telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead!!  Telling them how his friend Jesus had changed his life.  Those guys would have listened to him.  I doubt they would have listened to James.

There is someone out there that your personality will connect with.  Get going.  What do you have to lose.  You may save someone's  life.

We've looked at James.  Let's look at the first of three letters that Peter wrote.

In 1 Peter 1:1, Peter identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. and addresses people he doesn't know who are scattered throughout five different regions.  Although they are strangers, they are brothers in Christ.  New Christians.  Peter wants them to know that he is authentic, an apostle of Jesus.

1 Peter 1:2  "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ::  Grace unto you and peace, be multiplied."  Peter doesn't know these people, but he knows what Christ can do in the life of a person who finds Christ.  Believers have been sanctified.

He explains that it is the blood of Jesus that saves them.  Not the sprinkling of the blood of sacrificial animals on the alter in the holy of holies.  Jesus is the lamb.

Then he blesses them.  With grace and peace.  Why those two things?  Why not health and prosperity?
When you think of the ultimate blessing, it is Grace from God and Peace in the world we live in.  That is what we all need.  And we need it to be multiplied--as Peter wanted.  More and more.

I am so tired of conflict.  It seems like the entire world is in conflict.  Even our nation.  It wearies me.

Yesterday was Ken's birthday.  He is 84 years old.  It was a good day with family and friends.   He was able to get up and join us and eat strawberry shortcake.  Right now it doesn't get any better than that.  He asked me, "Did you ever in your wildest imagination think you would be married to a man who is 84 years old?

I told him, "In my eyes you are always 26.  Just like the day I met you."  And he is.

         James is not a book about the way  to salvation.  It is a book about the results of salvation.  It is a book about behavior.

         One of the most controversial passages in James is his black and white statement concerning Faith and Works in James 2: 15-18.

"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled; notwithstanding you don't give them those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit?  Even so faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead, being alone.  Yes, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works:  show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
          Dead Faith.  A statement of belief in God without any changes in behavior.  (Remember even the devil believes in God.)
          Productive Faith.  A faith that produces differences in the way you live your life.  Especially in the way you treat people in need.  True faith is generous with the less fortunate.  True faith does good.

           On Saturday, we fill up paper bags for the poor, to be picked up by the Postal Service.  This is one way everyone can help.  Don't just fill it with things you don't want.  Fill it with the things that everyone needs.  Flour, sugar, canned goods, etc.
           Don't put your unwanted clothing in a garage sale, give them to a local shelter.

           If you are like me, I don't know any poor people.  People who have no food or clothing.  They are out there, I just don't cross their paths.  If you are like me, you have to go out of your way to find them.  But you can.  It just takes some effort on our part.   We need to remember where it all comes from in the first place.   Don't build bigger barns.

James 3:4a  "Behold also the ships, which though they are great, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm…"

Earlier I had written in James 3: 3 about "…bits in the horse's mouths, that they may obey us; and we can turn about their whole body."

James uses those two comparisons to present  what he wants the people to understand concerning a particular sin.  James 4:5a  "Even so, the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things.  Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles!…"

As we have seen the huge fires in the West this year that were kindled by a match or campfire, we know this is true.  People die.  Thousands lose their homes.

Small things.  Bits, helms and tongues.  They can produce mighty works.  But when misused, can cause disaster.  And each disaster is final.  You can't un-buck a spill from a horse, or un-crash a ship.  In the same way, you can't take back your words.  Once you say something, it is irretrievable.  Your words do great good or great harm.

We are social people.  We love to communicate.  But care is needed in what we say, how we say it and whether it should be said at all.  I have such difficulty in this area because I am a public speaker.  I find by writing to all of you, I can edit, and reedit what I want to say.  You can't do that when you open your mouth.  If you say something, you can't very well edit it.  All you can do is apologize.

In James 3: 10 James gives further warning.  "Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so."  Basically, that means don't curse.