2 Peter

Spring ‘25 Sermon Series

1/12/25 – 3/2/25

 

At North Sub, we’re aiming to disciple people in the Word, which means forming people in the image of Christ. As a way of measuring our effectiveness in that mission, we’ve identified eleven “Marks of a Disciple” from scripture – eleven characteristics that scripture suggests will increasingly “mark out” the life of a genuine follower of Jesus.

  1. Joyfully Submits to Christ

  2. Walks by the Spirit

  3. Grounded in Scripture

  4. Prays Faithfully

  5. Repents Regularly

  6. Loves Others

  7. Extends Grace

  8. Serves Selflessly

  9. Gives Generously

  10. Is Accountable

  11. Makes Disicples

Over time, we expect that if we’re faithful to our calling to discipleship, we will see individuals in our congregation grow in these eleven ways. (As an aside, you’ve received by now the 2025 “Marks of a Disciple Check-Up” in your email – we hope you’ll take a few minutes to complete that by 1/26 so that we can provide you with a readout of your growth over the last several years.)

As a church, we certainly still need to grow in “Making Disciples.” This has been a weak point for our congregation, and we haven’t quite become strong in this area yet. That said, there’s another of the eleven marks that is also somewhat weak for us – not necessarily because of lack of enthusiasm for practicing it but rather because of lack of understanding regarding what it even means!

“Walking by the Spirit.” What does that look like? How do I do it? How do I know if I’m doing it?

That’s what we’re out to explore in the early months of 2025. In fact, on March 9th we’ll begin a sermon series on Walking by the Spirit that will take us through Easter.

But as we “prime the pump” for that targeted exploration, we’re starting 2025 with a six-week sermon series in 2 Peter. Consistent with our normal practice of preaching through books of the Bible, we’ll start this Sunday and preach straight through the letter, taking a couple of breaks for one-off sermons on other topics.  

The apostle Peter makes known the purpose of this letter by what he bookends at the start (1:2) and finish (3:18): growing in grace and knowledge. During a semester in which we’re going to be talking a lot about “walking by the Spirit,” about “spiritual formation,” about “spiritual disciplines,” about “spiritual growth,” 2 Peter’s emphasis on growth is a good fit. If God’s grace is a free gift, how can I “grow” in it? If God’s Spirit is given to me once I put my faith in Christ, how can I increasingly “walk” in the Spirit?

Studying 2 Peter will tee up well where we're going next: if we're aiming to become mature in our understanding and practicing the grace of God in Christ, we'll find that there are particular pathways (e.g. the Word, ordinances, prayer) where he tends to liberally distribute that grace, leading us to "know" Christ better.

2 Peter also will prompt us to look at a few other themes that are tangentially related to “spiritual” life. For example:

  • False teaching: In our quest to be spiritual, let's be on guard against theological/moral error that might cut off our growth in grace

  • Eschatology: What's going to happen at the end of all things has a bearing on how we walk by the Spirit now

  • Remembrance: What we need is not novelty in our spiritual lives; according to Peter, what we need is to "remember" the apostolic teaching

So we are inviting you to join us in praying the prayer of 2 Peter 1:2:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to [us] through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

Lord, use these six weeks of sermons and worship services to multiply your grace and peace in our hearts. Help us to know you more (both intellectually and experientially), such that we experience your grace being showered on us in a fresh way.

Come hungry; come expectant!

Tim Higgins 

Sermon schedule:

  • Sunday, January 12 – 2 Peter 1:1-15

  • Sunday, January 26 – 2 Peter 1:16-21

  • Sunday, February 2 – 2 Peter 2:1-10a

  • Sunday, February 16 – 2 Peter 2:10b-22

  • Sunday, February 23 – 2 Peter 3:1-13

  • Sunday, March 2 – 2 Peter 3:14-18

 

Resources consulted on 2 Peter:

  • Richard Bauckham, Jude, 2 Peter (Word Biblical Commentary)

  • Peter Davids, The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude (Pillar New Testament Commentary)

  • Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude (NIV Application Commentary)


Resources consulted on Walking by the Spirit, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Formation, and Spiritual Disciplines:

  • Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines

  • Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms; Invitation into Solitude and Silence

  • Adele Alberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

  • Richard J Foster, Celebration of Discipline

  • James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God

  • John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

  • Walter Brueggeman, Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now

  • Bill Hull, Choose the Life

  • David Mathis, Habits of Grace

  • Justin Whitmel Early, The Common Rule

  • James KA Smith, Desiring the Kingdom

  • Tish Harrison Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary

  • Alex Sosler, A Short Guide to Spiritual Formation

*Note: Though we will engage with the arguments made in these resources, our consultation does not always equal a recommendation!