Hempfield UMC

Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17) Pastor John’s Notes: Peter instructed the church to honor the Roman emperor, but this must have been difficult for the early Christians to hear on many levels. Remember, it was the Romans who crucified Jesus Christ. The Roman government was oppressive and immoral. The emperor at the time of Peter’s writing was Nero, a young egomaniac who, soon after Peter’s writing blamed the Christians for…

Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17) Pastor John’s Notes: We don’t talk much these days about the fear of God. This phrase has been almost entirely eradicated from common speech and thought. We are happy to amplify every idea of God as loving and forgiving but seldom speak of God as being worthy of our respect and obedience, let alone a God to be feared. Some people have suggested that the…

Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:16-17) Pastor John’s Notes: As followers of Jesus Christ, there is a special love we should have for one another. This kinship in Christ can become deeper than family ties. For those whose families are regularly filled with mutual love and kindness, the kinship of the family of God is a wonderful amplification of brother and sisterly love. For those whose family relations are continually strained,…

Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17) Pastor John’s Notes: Peter’s simple command to “honor everyone” enables us to recognize that every human being is made in the image of God, and therefore, everyone is worthy of respect. American society has become polarized because we are engaged in a culture war. Two different versions of what American society should look like are attempting to occupy the same space. People at the poles…