Housegroups 

Series: 1 Peter: "Living Faith Out"
Reading: 1 Peter 4:1-11 "Godly Living (Part 2)"
Sermon Date: October 22, 2017


Icebreaker

Have you ever felt a strong sense of peer pressure? Do you remember how you reacted?

We have been talking about living as Christians in a hostile world. The second half of 1 Peter is based on this important statement: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the Gentiles that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:11-12).

The passage we will read today focuses on the “sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” and “though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us
 

Please read 1 Peter 4:1-11

1 – What do you think are the three main things Peter wants us to learn from this passage?


Please read 1 Peter 4:1-3

2 – Which do you consider are the “evil human desires”?
3 – Could you think of more unhealthy desires than the short list on v.3?
3 – Which is the “evil human desire” you struggle most with?
4 – How can we fight our evil desires?


Please read 1 Peter 4:4-6

We find in vs. 4 a typical case of what we now call peer pressure. “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you

5 – Have you ever felt any peer pressure to do things that you felt uncomfortable with?
6 – Do you feel any peer pressure today to do things that go against your Christian way of life?
7 – What does it mean to “live according to God in regard to the spirit” (v.7)?


Please read 1 Peter 4:7-11

The early Church thought that Jesus’ second coming was very near and they would most likely see that event happen in their life time. They had a strong sense of urgency which helped them have a life committed to God.

8 – Do you think we have lost that sense of urgency? How does this affect our commitment to God?

 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (v.10)

9 - Do you feel that God has given you a gift, personality or talent that could be useful for others?
10 - Do you think that you are a faithful steward of what God has given you?
11 - Given that God has created us, in a unique way and we are different to everyone else. In what ways do you think He might be leading you to serve others?


Action:

It would be good to think about each person in the house group and suggest areas in which they might serve others. This could be getting a piece of paper out and let everyone just write one area in which each person in the group could be good at serving others. If not you could just do it verbally, one by one share about how the rest of the group thinks they could serve in Church and outside.

Spend a few minutes in prayer asking God to help in in the three main things we have been talking about:
1 – Our evil desires that affect our lives and relationship with God.
2 – The peer pressure that some of us might be dealing with.
3 – God has created us in a unique way, pray that God might lead us as to how we could serve others as faithful stewards.

 

Nico Hilding-Ohllson, 16/10/2017