1 Peter 1:13-19, Set Your Hope on His Grace (Part 1)
By Brent Kercheville, March 1, 2009
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In the last lesson we examined the living hope that we have as believers in Jesus the Christ. We have an inheritance that will not perish and will not fade reserved for us in heaven. Peter taught that we can endure the various trials that we face because we have hope, an inheritance, a tested faith, salvation, and a privilege to live during these last days, the days of the Messiah. The apostle Peter is now going to give help to get us through difficult times.
Set Your Hope Completely on His Grace
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being self-disciplined, set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13; ESV/HCSB)
Peter begins with “therefore.” Therefore, what? “Preparing your minds for action, and being self-disciplined” should be considered like a parenthetical. The key phrase here is “set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The structure of the sentence should not lead us to think that there are three things to do. There is one thing to do: “Set your hope completely on the grace.” When suffering, remember that our hope is not here. These people were going through various trials and were being grieved by them. They were being tested by fire. Our hope is not in status, money, education, or occupation. Our hope is to be set completely on his grace.
Consider the word “completely.” Our hope is to be completely on God’s grace. Our hope is not to cut into smaller pie pieces. We are not to be happy with our hope 50% on God, 10% on job, 20% on family, and 20% on possessions. If our hope is divided, then we are shaken when some of our hope is shattered. When things go wrong with our work, we become depressed. When family members become ill, we lose our hope. We do not have the material possessions that we want or are losing our possessions then we lose sight of God. Our hope is not to even be 1% in anything else but in God’s grace. Our hope is in the eternal inheritance. Our hope is in the spiritual blessings of God. Our hope is on the reserved sign in heaven that the promises and inheritance is there for us.
I think this is where most, if not all of us, fall into sin. Our hope is here. As 21st century Americans and all the possessions we have, we have placed our hope here. Our hope in this world is not just by a few percentage points, but often our hope overwhelmingly is here in this world. Typically, our hope is in any and everything but Jesus and this leads us to having messy lives. So what are we supposed to do? How do we put our hope fully on his grace? Peter tells us.
Prepare Your Minds For Action
Get your minds ready! Roll up your shirt sleeves! Think clearly! We need to pull ourselves together. We are getting distraught over worldly things. I am not trying to minimize our trials. I feel that God has signed us up for a trial that will last the rest of our lives concerning our daughter. But we should not be crushed by our challenges and adversity. Our hope is not here. Get thinking clearly. It does not matter if she is delayed. It does not matter if two year olds can do more than she can when she turns four. It does not matter if she has to live with us the rest of our lives. It does not matter that our life plan has been altered. It does not matter that we are poorer due to her needs. Get your minds ready for action! Think clearly! Living is not here. Our hope is not here. Our value is not here. If our hope was anywhere else, then we would be crushed. When our hope is on something else, then we are dismayed, perplexed, and crushed. How do we endure? Set your hope completely on God’s grace. How do we do that? By getting our minds straightened out. We need to place our focus on God and his grace. Get ready for the fight against Satan. Get ready for the trials and adversity that will come. Put your mind in the right place.
Part 2 next week
Lesson adapted from sermon given by Brent Kercheville
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Elders
Leon Cort
Mark Craigwell
Martin Samuel
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Minister
Mark Craigwell
Assistant Minister
Denver Simmons
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Deacons
Raleigh Gallington
Anthony Johnson
Gregory Johnson
Carlfred Malcolm
Albert Martin, Jr.
Walter Maxwell
Richard Meuse
Barry Person
Jason Reid
James Wade, Sr.
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REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR BEFORE GOING TO BED SATURDAY, MARCH 12TH!
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Sermon for Sunday, March 13, 2022
The Unlimited Word of God (1 Peter 1:23, 25)
Speaker: Bro. Denver Simmons
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Services for Sis. Marie Saint Paulin, Bro. Hall Antoine’s sister-in-law, will be held at the church building on Saturday, March 26, 2022, Time TBA. Please keep the Antoine family in prayer.
City of Boston Indoor Mask Mandate: Due to declining COVID-19 rates and high vaccination rates in the City of Boston, effective Saturday, March 5, 2022, the City of Boston lifted its indoor mask mandate. However, we will continue to require masking and distancing at our in person events until further notice. Thank you for your continued cooperation.
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Our March Community Outreach will take place on Saturday, March 26, 2022, starting at 10 a.m. at the building to assemble bags of groceries, for delivery to seniors in the community. All are welcome to participate. Masks are required. Thank you to all who helped with our Outreach on Saturday, February 26th. |
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"...their works do follow them..." |
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Bro. Eugene Lawton, minister of the gospel serving the Newark (NJ) of Christ for nearly 60 years, passed away on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at the age of 85. Bro. Lawton is well-known to many in this congregation, particularly those, including may of our youth, who attended the annual Northeastern Youth Conference in Newark. He was also a featured speaker at gospel meetings and notably, one of four keynote speakers for the historic 2004 Campaign for Christ, held for one month at the Strand Theater in Dorchester in August 2004. Bro. Lawton was known both nationally and internationally as a great man of God and proclaimer of His word. He was also known for his signature phrase, "Let me sound my trumpet!" Please keep his family and loved ones in prayer for comfort and strength.
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Bro. John Smiley, a minister of the gospel for more than 50 years, serving several congregations, including the Northside Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut, the Linwood Church of Christ in Buffalo, New York, and the Arlington Road Church of Christ in Hopewell, Virginia, passed away in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday, March 11, 2022, just weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Please keep the Smiley family in prayer, especially Bro. Smiley's wife, Sis. Lorene Smiley, as they mourn his passing and celebrate his extraordinary life.
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We will continue to offer two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate in-person attendees
The first service begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until approximately 9:30 a.m.; the second service begins at 11:00 a.m. The auditorium is sanitized between services. The weekly 10:30 a.m. devotional will continue as scheduled. The usual sign-up rules and COVID protocols remain in effect. When you access the online sign up form, you will be required to specify which service you would like to attend. Once capacity has been reached for a particular time slot, the form will no longer accept new registrations for that time slot. We will continue to livestream the 11:00 service on our YouTube channel, and we encourage members to utilize e-giving, even when attending in person.
PLEASE NOTE: THE LINK BELOW IS FOR NEXT WEEK'S SERVICE. PLEASE SEE LAST WEEK'S E-BULLETIN FOR THE SIGN-UP LINK FOR THE MARCH 13TH SERVICE.
In-Person Worship Sign-up
Please also note that there is a new registration link each week.
Links from previous weeks will not work.
E-giving link
Livestream link
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Don't Miss Out! Please scroll through the entire e-bulletin each week to be certain not to miss any important announcements or links. Many items are repeated each week, but there are also new announcements that you'll miss if you don't scroll through the entire bulletin.
See the following sections for new/updated announcements.
- News & Notes
- Worship & Class Schedule - Links to Services & Classes; link to worship attendance registration form for next week
- Latest on COVID-19
- Vaccine available for ages 5 and up. Booster shots available for J&J, Moderna, and Pfizer. Walk in appointments available at many clinics.
- Current and Upcoming Events/Resources
- Monday-Friday Meal Distribution, 1:30 p.m. daily
- Family & Friends Roller Skating Outing, March 19th, 12noon-2:30pm, Saugus
- Comics in Color Festival, April 23, 2022
- Ladies Take Note
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4th Sunday Ladies' Class, 3/27/22 @5pm VIA ZOOM. See below for connection details.
- Mature in Heart, 2022 Pennsylvania Dutch Country Excursion, October 28-29
- Men Take Note
- 4th Sunday Men's Class, 3/27/22 @5pm. Location TBD
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New England Lectureship - See updated flier. Register now and book your hotel room before they are all gone! See below for links to registration, vendor and souvenir booklet ad forms.
TextAlertz: If you are signed up to receive church text blasts via textalertz, but have stopped receiving the blasts, please email Sis. Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com so she can troubleshoot the issue.
Please keep us updated: Please keep us apprised of any changes to your address, phone number and email address so that we can maintain an accurate database of member information. Please notify Sis Nagarajah at enagarajah@gmail.com or Sis Gallington at ggallington@gmail.com of any changes to your contact information.
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Midweek Bible Study
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
via freeconferencecall.com
(Click image at left to join the class online, or see remote class schedule below for dial-in info)
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The 2022 New England Lectureship is scheduled for May 6-8 in Marlborough, MA. Theme: Each One Reach One. Links to registration, vendor, and souvenir booklet ad forms are included in this week’s e-bulletin. Registration is $50 per adult (ages 18 and up) until April 15, 2022. After that, the registration fee will be $55 per adult. Registration is free for youth ages 17 and under. No refunds will be issued after April 1, 2022.
Hotel Information: Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center 181 Boston Post Road West ~ Marlborough, MA ~ 508-460-0700. Room Rate: $99 per night + tax. When you call to make your hotel reservation, request the New England Lectureship rate. Register and book your hotel room now so you don’t miss out. Our own Bro. Phillip Morrison will be one of the featured speakers.
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Click here for updated NEL Flier
Click here for NEL Registration Form
Click here for NEL Vendor Form
Click here for NEL Souvenir Booklet Ad Form
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Current & Upcoming Events |
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Work Experience Program:
Closing the Disability Employment Gap
- The Work Experience Program is a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) and the Human Resources Division (HRD) to introduce job-ready candidates with disabilities to the world of state government.
- This program provides an opportunity for people with disabilities to get real-world exposure to work experience in state government. Host agencies have the opportunity to meet job-ready candidates and expose them to the important work of their agencies.
- Participants are individuals 21 years of age or older who identify as a person with a disability and meet minimum education requirements. Hosts must be agencies within the Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Participants are matched with Commonwealth host agencies based on their interests and career goals.
- Deadline for host agency applications: April 1, 2022
- Deadline for participant applications: April 15, 2022
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Click for more information: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/work-experience-program
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The Department of Public Health continues to urge all who are eligible to be vaccinated and/or boosted to do so, as vaccination is currently the best medical defense against the potentially deadly effects of COVID and its variants.
Although the City of Boston has lifted the mask mandate for most indoor spaces, masks are still required on public transportation, in hospitals and medical facilities, and the Department of Public Health (DPH) still recommends masking in indoor spaces for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Click here for the most recent advisory (March 1, 2022) from the Department of Public Health regarding face coverings and cloth masks.
All Massachusetts residents ages 5 and up are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and many facilities have walk-in hours. Booster shots are available for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines at many pharmacies and health care facilities. Use the link below if you need assistance scheduling an appointment or locating a facility.
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Click here or anywhere in the announcement above for more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). |
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Remote & In-Person
Class/Meeting Schedule
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Wednesday Night Dial-In Bible Study
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
Dial in number: 978-990-5000
Access Code: 261232#
Or join the class online at
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Mid-Week Youth Bible Study
Wednesdays 7-7:30 p.m. via Zoom
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Women's Saturday Prayer Meeting
Join us for prayer on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. via freeconferencecall.com
Dial-in: 701-802-5069; Access code 3730930#
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REMINDER: Please remember to mute your phone or computer when joining any of the above conference calls to avoid interrupting the class or service you are entering, particularly if you are joining the call after the event has started. |
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Beginning in March, 1st & 2nd Fridays of the month @ 7:00 p.m.
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4th Sunday Ladies Class
Sunday, March 27th at 5 p.m.
VIA ZOOM ONLY
Sis. Cindy Woodley
"An Eye on Attitude"
Luke 15:25-30
Click here to join class online
Meeting ID: 842 7265 5713
Passcode: 037668
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SAVE THE DATE!
Our 2022 Pennsylvania Dutch Country Excursion is currently scheduled for October 28-29, 2022 to see "David" live on stage at the Sight & Sound Theatre
in Lancaster County.
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Sunday Morning Devotional: Brothers, please see Bro. Phillip Morrison if you would like to present a Sunday morning devotional at 10:30 a.m., prior to our Sunday morning worship service.
4th Sunday Men's Class Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. location TBA
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No announcements at this time. |
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Young Adult Ministry (YAM) |
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No announcements at this time. |
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Monthly Ministry Meeting 1st Sunday of each month at 2:00 p.m. |
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Meetings & Events
2/28-3/4 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
3/7-11 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
3/14-18 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
3/19 - Friends & Families Roller Skating Outing, 12noon-2:30pm, Saugus
3/21-25 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
3/26 - Community Outreach, 10am @ church building
3/27 - Roxbury 4th Sunday Ladies' 5:00pm @via Zoom
3/27 - Roxbury 4th Sunday Men's Class, 5:00pm @church building
3/28-4/1 - Daily Lunch Distribution 1:30-2pm @church building
Masks are required for all in-person events
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Ministry Meetings - Please contact your ministry coordinator for remote meeting schedules.
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Weekly Events - ALL SERVICES, CLASSES, & MEETINGS NORMALLY HELD AT THE CHURCH BUILDING ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, except as noted below:
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- Sunday Bible Class (children) See above for connection info and times for individual classes.
- Sunday Adult Devotional/Bible Study, 10:30am @church building
- Sunday Worship Service 8:30 and 11:00 am in person and 11:00 a.m. via livestream on YouTube. See above for details.
- Men's/Women's Classes, 5pm (4th Sunday of the month); Men @church building; Women via Zoom (details above)
- Youth & Family Ministry (1st Sunday of the month at 2pm)
- Young Adult Ministry (2nd Sunday of the month at 6pm) VIA ZOOM
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Mature in Heart Women's Prayer (Tuesdays @ 10:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Prayer Meeting (Tuesdays @ 7pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- Mid-Week Bible Study (Wednesdays @ 6:30pm) VIA TELECONFERENCE (connection info above)
- New Converts' Class (Wednesdays @ 7pm) @church building
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Healing Hearts (Thursdays @6:15pm) VIA ZOOM
- Couple's Ministry (Fridays @ 7 pm)
- Women's Prayer (Saturdays 9:30am) VIA TELECONFERENCE (Connection info above)
- Ministers/Elders/Deacons Wives Meeting, (3rd Saturday @10 am) @church building
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Bro. John Kurpiel, minister for the Lawrence congregation, hosts an international radio program, “Soul Food,” on Mondays and Tuesdays from 11AM until 3PM. The program airs on Ignite Radio Broadcast via Mixlr, an interactive internet radio platform. Use the link below to tune in to listen, or to participate in the conversation. Always free to listen. https://mixlr.com/ignite-radio-broadcast.
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Church of Christ in Roxbury
81 Walnut Avenue
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-442-5826
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