Discussion Questions on 1 Peter 1:3-5

by John Davis

Discussion questions on 1 Peter 1:3-5

Who am I? – I have a living Hope

1. How does being an exile and sojourning among the nations of the world compare to  a ‘short-term mission trip’?
2. How does the above create the possibility for fear, isolation, retreat, and even hatred of the world in which we dwell?
3. Why is it important to remember that our psychological response to the world in which we live (i.e. fear vs. confidence; despair vs. hope) is rooted in our theology?
4. In what sense are all the events or life ‘interpreted’ so that how you respond to what is happening to you personally and what is transpiring in the world depends upon the lens through which you view and interpret these events?
5. How does the gospel rescue us from the idolatry of seeking to find significance, joy, and security in a world that is passing away?
6. Why should knowledge of a secure eternal home allow us to live freely in the present?
7. Why should this hope cause us to thrive in the midst of the troubles and vicissitudes of life?
8. Why is the mercy of God both a difficult mercy (creating our alien status) and a magnificent mercy (giving us new birth)?
9. How does the ‘the new birth” bring about a radical reorientation of who we are?
10. Why does the resurrection insure that our hope is a living hope?
11. Describe the nature of our future inheritance and how it differs form anything we possess on earth?
12. In what way is this entire text  (3-12) ‘doxological’ and how should that be expressed in your life?

John Davis

On September 10, 1970 I came to understand the great love of God for me, a sinner and a rebel. That evening I received God’s forgiveness and a new life through Jesus Christ, who died in my place and rose again to offer forgiveness and new life. I have been senior pastor for over 30 years planting two churches in Buckingham, PA and Queens, NY and serving two other churches in Brooklyn, NY and Roslyn, PA. I am currently the lead pastor at Grace Church of Philly.