The text for Pastor John's sermon this morning is taken from 1st Peter

2 21 through 25. If you don't have a Bible, there's a pew Bible in front of you in the pocket and for using that you can find it on page

1440 of the pew Bible. Again, 1st Peter 2, 21 through 25.

For you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed

no sin, no one's any deceit found in his mouth.

And while being reviled, he did not revile in return.

And while suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges

righteously. And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might die to

sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed, for you were continually straying like sheep, but now you

have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. I told Tom before I left a week or so ago that he should move ahead with the plans for a summer series on the one

another commands which you heard begun last week, the one another commands in the New Testament,

even though I intended this morning to preach from this text, and I said the reason you can go ahead is because I see

this text and what I intend to draw out of it as the foundation for all those one

another commands in the New Testament.

If what is said here is not true, we will one another one another to death without any effect at all. I wanted to finish at least the second chapter of 1st Peter.

When I began 1st Peter in September of last year I had no dream what would interrupt the flow of it in our church.

It has been six months that are far more hurtful than if several of our staff had died, far more.

Sometimes the text from First Peter seemed exactly right,

and so we stepped forward little by little and sometimes it

seemed as though the Lord had other words for us and so here we come nine months

later at the end of two chapters rather than at the end of the book.

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