Entries by Bryan Baker

Reading Other People’s Mail: 1 Peter – Day 5

Day 5 – 1 Peter 5 Take a Moment to Read 1 Peter 5 Who’s in charge? Is the pastor in charge? Is the board in charge? Or the board chair? Is there a Chief Executive Officer? When Jesus ascended into heaven, these are the kinds of things that had to be addressed. And he […]

Reading Other People’s Mail: Day 4 – 1 Peter 4

Day 4—1 Peter 4 Read 1 Peter 4 A Higher Purpose Jesus whole life was oriented toward others. He told his disciples that his whole reason for coming was to serve, not be served (Matthew 20:28). This was a radical concept for the disciples. Many of their discussions revolved around who was or would be […]

Reading Other People’s Mail: 1 Peter – Day 3

Day 3—1 Peter 3 Read 1 Peter 3 Radical Relationships 1 Peter 3 is interesting in that Peter continues to talk about relationships. In the previous chapter he challenged his readers to submit to governing authorities. He even challenged those in the lowest positions of life like slavery, where injustice was a norm, to submit […]

Reading Other People’s Mail: 1 Peter – Day 2

Day 2—1 Peter 2 Read 1 Peter 2 Spiritual Growth for Newborn People Peter begins the 2nd chapter of his letter with the word, therefore. Whenever you see a therefore in the Bible, you can ask the question, what was said before the therefore. Therefore, is a connecting word to a previous thought. Peter had […]

Reading Other People’s Mail: 1 Peter 1 – Day 1

Introduction Peter introduces himself in the first verse of his letter as, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This letter is written to other first-century Christians in, what is now, modern-day northern Turkey. At the end of the letter, we find out that Peter has written with the help of Silas (Silvanus). Silas was quite […]