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Sermon Guide

Making Sense of Church
Week 7 | The Priesthood

Teaching Text

1 Peter 1:14-16, 2:4-5, 2:9-12

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” … As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. … But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. … 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 pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy Silk continued our “Making Sense of Church” Series by calling us to take up our roles as priests in the Kingdom of God. Like the priesthood of ancient Israel, we are called to stand apart in the world as examples of God's holy love and goodness.

Part of God’s original design for humanity was centered around serving as His priests on the earth by offering worship to Him through stewarding creation and displaying God’s character. Then, when sin entered the world in Genesis, people could no longer purely serve and worship the Lord in this way. Though there were faithful and righteous individuals throughout the Old Testament, it was not until God brought Israel, His chosen people, out of Egypt that He set apart the tribe of Levi through the Law of Moses that He established a new priesthood. When these men were called by God, they repented of their sin, had a sacrifice made on their behalf, were washed publicly, given new clothes, marked with blood and oil, and installed to serve as His priests in the tabernacle, and eventually the temple. They were instructed to maintain the holiness of the temple through sacrifices and instance, proclaim and teach who God is, and offer the model the way to live holy lives unto God, not only for Israel, but for the nations. However, this model for the priesthood was always meant to be temporary, because God not only still desired for all mankind to be holy and serve as priests, but the sacrifice of animals by a broken people would never be sufficient for the debt of sin.

The priesthood needed to be redefined and reestablished, and Pastor Suzy explained that only Jesus had the power and authority to do this. By living the perfect life none of us could live, maintaining complete holiness before God as a man, Jesus became the true Great High Priest. This also allowed Him to lay His life down as the perfect sacrifice, paying the wages of humanity’s sin once and for all. In Jesus becoming both our Great High Priest and the sacrifice for our sin, He restored complete and permanent access to God for all who would believe in Him, establishing a new priesthood that will reign forever with Him.

As believers, we are called to start living into our identity as priests of God here on earth by offering spiritual sacrifices, declaring God’s excellences, and living holy and good lives. The New Testament instructs us to offer our very bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord by continually laying down our idols and turning from our sinful ways, allowing the Holy Spirit to keep transforming us into Christ’s image. When we give our whole selves to God, He is faithful to give His whole self to us, and this should lead us to offer sacrifices of prayer and worship to Him at all times, no matter what we are facing. It is not sufficient to only worship God privately, and we declare God’s excellencies by telling others about the good news of the Gospel, and what Jesus has done for us. As priests, we should be living in such a way that compels people to ask questions. When we embrace being set apart as God’s peculiar people, we have the opportunity to actively join Jesus in expanding the priesthood by sharing about God’s story and His Kingdom to people who do not yet know Him.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • Who is someone who has helped you see God more clearly through how they lived out their life?

  • Ask someone to read 1 Peter 1:14-16, 1 Peter 2:4-5, and 1 Peter 2:9-12 aloud to the group.

    1. What words, images, or phrases stand out to you?

    2. What do these passages reveal about how God sees the Church?

    3. What do these passages tell us about Jesus?

LEAN IN | THE NINE DISTINCTIVES

Vocational Mission

    • Share about your current vocation (job, studies, home duties). What do you find meaningful about it, and what do you find challenging? How easy or hard is it for you to see your work as connected to God’s mission?

    • Dorothy Sayers’ quote pulls no punches about the Church’s failure in relating faith to work. Do you resonate with her critique? Have you ever felt a disconnect between Sunday faith and Monday work? Discuss how we might practically “remember that every worker is called to serve God in his trade.”

    • Do you know of any examples of people integrating faith and work well (perhaps a Christian manager who leads ethically, or someone who started a workplace Bible study, etc.)? What can we learn from their example?

    • What obstacles do you face in being open about your faith at work? (e.g., corporate policies, fear of man, lack of opportunities.) Brainstorm creative or subtle ways to be a witness that are respectful and loving. How can we as a group encourage each other in this? Perhaps each person can commit to one small action of vocational mission this week (praying for a coworker, inviting someone to coffee, etc.) and we’ll report back next meeting.

  • 1. Pastor Suzy explained how the ancient priests in Israel were called to be set apart from the rest of the community. When you think of the word "priest" and being "set apart" what images or words come to mind?

    2. Was there ever a time in your life where you tried to live out your faith in a way others didn't understand? How was God present during that experience, and what did you learn?

    3. In what areas in your life is God calling you to live in a way that more noticeably points others towards Him?

    4. How might your community and the Church look different if everyone lived out their calling of being a royal priesthood with joy and boldness?

  • Break out into pairs and pray over specific ways you hope to live as a royal priesthood this week. Ask God for the strength to represent His character in your workplaces, homes, and relationships.

  • How might your work itself be done in a redemptive way? For instance, if you’re a teacher, how can you reflect Christ in how you teach or care for students? If in business, how can you shape company culture or treat customers in a Christlike way? Take turns sharing one aspect of your job where you sense God could work through you beyond just verbal witness. Then lay hands on each person (if comfortable) and pray for their specific vocational ministry. Let’s commission each other as missionaries to our workplaces!