THE JOURNEY

GROW PLAN

April 29 – May 5, 2024

Day One

1 Peter 1:1-2

Who We Are
This letter is written by the apostle Peter to a church that was spread out and persecuted across much of the Roman Empire. That persecution would only grow worse in the coming decades. Here, Peter is instructing the church on how to endure and grow through persecution. The foundation for this is our identity in Christ. We are “God’s elect.” We are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” We were paid for with the blood of Christ. And we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. This gives us a sealed, completed, rock-solid status with the Lord that is not dependent on Earthly factors.

My response
We look at persecution and other struggles from the foundation of this relationship with God. When we struggle, we don’t say that God has forgotten us or that He no longer loves us. We know that God chose us and paid an unimaginable price for us. We don’t despair and lose hope because we know that our hope is not grounded in this world. Peter calls us “exiles” or “aliens” or “temporary residents” depending on your translation, but the meaning is clear: This is not our home. This is not where we belong. This is not where our future lies. We need to see all struggles from this perspective.

Do you consistently think of yourself as “God’s elect”, as someone chosen by Him and purchased with the blood of Christ? How will it change your outlook and your life if you can consistently adopt this image of yourself?

Day Two
1 Peter 1:3-9

A Living Hope
Peter wants us to focus on the eternal rather than the temporary. He writes that through our salvation, we have been reborn into a living hope through the Resurrection of Christ. He describes our inheritance as “imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” He wants us to see the permanence of our citizenship in Heaven. It is a done deal. And no matter what is happening on Earth, we are protected for that ultimate salvation and home in Heaven by God’s power. We rejoice in that even though in this life we have to deal with various trials and ordeals, which will refine our faith and lead to greater glory.

My Response

Have you ever watched a movie and gotten nervous and anxious when the primary characters are in trouble, and everything looks like it’s going bad? Then you reassure yourself by remembering that this type of movie always has a happy ending. No matter what is happening now, it will end up all right. Our lives are the same way. Our happy ending has already been written by God Himself. Our ultimate future is assured. Our forever home has been prepared by Jesus Himself. No matter what is going on in our lives, we know that happy ending is coming.

What difficulty or struggle are you experiencing now? How will it help your attitude and your outlook to see this as something that is temporary and won’t affect your ultimate future?

Day Three
1 Peter 1:10-12

The Privilege of The Gospel
We are incredibly privileged to have and understand the Gospel. The prophets had God’s words and they knew some of what God had planned. But they didn’t know how to reconcile the suffering and the glory of the Messiah. They didn’t know the “time and circumstances” in which God’s plan would be fully completed. Through Christ and through the Holy Spirit, we can now see how God planned for our redemption through the sacrifice of Christ. But even more than knowing about it, we have experienced it. We have been redeemed by Christ. Our sins are forgiven. God loves us so much that He bled and died for us. The angels would love to experience what we have, but they can’t.

My Response

Verse 12 tells us that the prophets were serving us rather than themselves. The Spirit led the prophets to speak and write about elements of God’s plan, but these words weren’t for them or for the people to whom they preached. They were for us. So we can look back and see that this was God’s plan all along. We are God’s elect, and God prepared to save us before creation. The words of the prophets show us how the Lord planned from the beginning to save us.

Our salvation and inheritance in Christ let us face struggles with confidence, not in ourselves but in The Lord. Who do you know who doesn’t have this confidence because they don’t know Christ? Plan now to reach out to that person with the Gospel that we are privileged to know.

Day Four
1 Peter 1:13-16  

Set Your Hope on Grace
Therefore, Peter says, because we have been given so much, because we have been entrusted with the Gospel, salvation, membership in God’s family and citizenship in Heaven, therefore we should concentrate on that reward to come. Peter tells us to be alert and sober and to put our hope on our future with Christ. Remember the parables that Jesus told telling us to be ready and alert for His return.

So often, when we face struggles, we focus our hope on solving or getting through those struggles. Peter calls us to look further than that. We are to focus our hope on our eventual home with Christ, not on the end of whatever we’re going through now.

My Response
Where else can our hope be? It would be pointless to put our hope in anything on Earth. There is no fame or fortune that can compare to what we have already been promised by God. Even our own physical lives are nothing compared to what we know we look forward to in Christ. If we are fully focused on expecting Jesus to return and our reward in Him, we aren’t going to be distracted or dissuaded by the things of this world. We will be faithful.

Spend some time in prayer, praising the Lord and thanking Him for your eternal future, which is assured in Christ. Ask Him to help you set your hope fully on His grace.

Day Five
1 Peter 1:14-21

The Importance of Being Holy
Once we adjust our perspective and focus on what is important and eternal, we have to live like we are focused on Christ. This is very similar to the study we had in James, where we were told that faith without works is dead. Here too, Peter points out that faith will have an impact on our lives, it will change us. If we truly have faith, we will give up the evil desires we had. We will be holy because He is holy. Peter calls us to remember the price that was paid for us. It wasn’t silver or gold or anything cheap like that. It was with “the precious blood of Christ.” As Christians, we are always mindful of the price that was paid for us, and we want to reward that sacrifice as much as possible by being faithful.

My Response
Again, we see that faith and works are intertwined. We are saved by Grace, by God, through Christ. But that salvation changes us. Our loyalty is no longer to ourselves and our own desires. Our loyalty is to Christ who saved us. We want the salvation He gives us to generate the most it can from us. We want to please Him by doing what He asks of us. We want to bear fruit for Him. And we start that by giving up our old desires and pleasures while we work on being holy and more like Him.

What evil desire have you not left behind? What keeps you from being holy? Pray about it and ask the Lord to help you to put it aside.

Day Six
1 Peter 1:22-25

Love One Another Deeply
Everything from our hope in Christ, our joy about our inheritance, our ability to endure suffering and struggles, our obedience to Him to our love for each other is all based in our identity as children of God saved by faith. Part of the change that’s made in us through our salvation is the love we feel for one another. Peter says now that we have purified ourselves by obeying the truth, we should love each other deeply from the heart. Why? Because we have been born again. We have been born into God’s family. We are part of God’s family. This is not a family that has to compete with each other for the Father’s love and attention. It is a family that loves and cares for each other in order to please the Father.

My Response
Just as James gave us a picture of how saved people behave and live, Peter has given us a picture of how saved people see themselves and each other. Our identity is not in our jobs, our status, our wealth or our social media following. Our identity is in Christ and what He has done for us and who He has made us to be. Read back through 1 Peter 1 and see the attitude, the perspective and the outlook Peter is urging us to have in Christ.

How is this outlook different from yours? What are you going to change after reading and studying this chapter?

GROW GROUPS

These groups focus on understanding and applying the daily grow plan for the week.

Men’s Group @ The Journey - Sundays at 9:30am

Adult Group @ The Journey - Sundays at 6:00pm

Next Gen Student Group @ The Journey - Sundays at 6:00pm

Home Group - Saturdays at 6:30pm in Boiling Springs

OTHER MINISTRY GROUPS

Women’s Group Study @ The Journey - Sundays at 9:30am

Men’s Group at Miracle Hill - Mondays at 6:00pm

Women’s Chapel at Miracle Hill - 1st Tuesday each month

Men’s Chapel at Miracle Hill - 2nd Thursday evening each month

Sidewalk Hope at Crescent Hill (Mobile Kids Church) - Thursdays at 4:00pm

JOURNEYKIDZ

Sundays at 10:30am @ The Journey

Nursery 0-2

Preschool 3 - 5k

Elementary 1st - 5th grades