Sermon Tone Analysis

!!!! Intro: Fiery Trials

!!!! Meadowood fire fighter school.

!!!!           Starting the fires

!!!!           Propane fire training.

!!!! Today we are going to start a series on 1 Peter, a book that is all about facing fiery trials and persecution.

Tonight will be an introduction and then we will be taking one chapter a night as we meet.

!!!! Background

!!!!

When doing a study on a book of the bible there are some key pieces of information you want to look at first in order to start getting a context and general environment that the book came to fruition under such as Date Written, Author; Audience and Key Themes.

!!!! Timeline:

*Book                   Date Written      Approx time span*

          James        44-49AD             44-49AD

          Matthew     50AD                             27-30AD

          Mark           50AD                             27-30AD

          Galations   50AD                             50AD

          1 Thess     51AD                             51AD

          2 Thess     51AD                             51AD

!           1 Cor.         55AD                             55AD

          2 Cor.         55AD                             55AD

          Romans     56AD                             56AD

          Luke           60-61AD             27-30AD

          Acts            60-62AD             30-60AD

          Ephesians 60-62AD             60-62AD

          Colossians 60-62AD             60-62AD

          Philippians 61AD                             61AD

          Titus           62-64AD             62-64AD

          Philemon   62-64AD             62-64AD

          *1 Peter      64AD                             64AD*

          1 Timothy   65AD                             65AD

          2 Timothy   66-70AD             66-70AD

          2 Peter       67-68AD             67-68AD

          /Hebrews    67-69AD             67-69AD/

          Jude           68-69AD             68-69AD

          John           80-81AD             27-30AD

          1 John        90-95AD             90-95AD

          2 John        90-95AD             90-95AD

          3 John        90-95AD             90-95AD \\ Revelation 94-96AD             94-96AD

!!!! Date written: 64AD

!!!!

Other events:

!! Peter’s death (church tradition)      67-68AD \\ Destruction of Temple          70AD

!!!!  

!!!! Author: Peter

!!!!

In John MacArthur’s book “Twelve Ordinary Men the chapter on Peter is entitled: /Peter – The Apostle with the Food-Shaped Mouth/, which I think is a very apt summary of the character of Peter.

A deacon of a previous church I attended had a t-shirt with the saying: /A closed mouth gathers no foot/.

These two extremes characterize what Peter was and what he was not.

To be fair this description best fits Peter for the years with Christ before Pentecost.

Afterwards he displays his growth in wisdom and maturity and deed.

!!!! /(The following notes are from MacArthur’s book.)/

!!!!

There are four lists of the twelve apostles in the New Testament:  Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16 and Acts 1:13.

All four lists have the same twelve men and the order is very similar in each.

The first name in each list is Peter.

!!!! “/The Twelve are then arranged in three groups of four.

Group one always has Peter at the head of the list, and that group always includes Andrew, James and John.

Group two always features Philip first and includes Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas.”/

!!!! /“The first group were most likely called first (John 1:35-42) and were with him the longest”/ which also MacArthur believes were the most intimate with him.

Of the first group of four Jesus kept three very close to him and they were with him at key times in his ministry; Peter, James and John.

!!!!

Each of the twelve had unique personalities.

/“Peter was eager, aggressive, bold and outspoken – with a habit of revving his mouth while his brain was in neutral.”/

He often acted before thinking.

He was often the first to speak, the first rebuked and always appearing at the center of the action.

But God was growing him to a position of leadership.

!!!! Turn with me to…

!!!! /”//Matthew 10:2//: “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: //first//, Simon, who is called Peter.”

The word translated “first” in that verse is the Greek term protos.

It doesn’t refer to the first in a list; it speaks of the chief, the leader of the group.

Peter’s leadership is further evident in the way he normally acts as spokesman for the whole group.

He is always in the foreground taking the lead.

He seems to have a naturally dominant personality, and the Lord put it to good use among the twelve.”/

!!!!

In John 21:15-17 we have the emotional apex and perhaps the spiritual turning point of Peter’s relationship with Christ.

This is where Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times.

Three times, just like the three denials before which Peter impulsively said he would rather die than deny.

!!!!

But the Lord knit Peter together in his mother’s womb.

This molecule here….that

atom there….so

many hairs on the head.…and

so many in the beard.

A pinch of this characteristic and a portion of that one.

Having the right family….born in the right birth order….having the right job…all in preparation for his calling to follow Jesus and to learn his roll in the body.

And after his emotional apex with Jesus we have a man who defiantly stands before the Sanhedrin presenting the gospel.

A man who truly becomes worthy of the name “The Rock”

!!!! Before he was known as “The Rock” he was known as Simon.

!!!! /“Simon was a very common name.

There are at least seven Simons in the Gospel accounts alone.

Among the Twelve were two named Simon (Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot)./”

!!!! Matt 13:55 Jesus has a half-brother named Simon \\ John 6:71 Judas Iscariot’s father was called Simon \\ Matt 26:6 Jesus ate with a leper named Simon \\ Luke 7:36-40 There is a Pharisee named Simon \\ Matt 27:32 The man recruited to carry Jesus’ cross was named Simon

!!!! Peter’s name at birth was Simon Bar-Jonah, or Simon son of Jonah (sometimes rendered Jonas or John).

!!!!

The Lord gave Simon his new name, but he did it in such a way that did not negate the old...yet.

Luke 6:14 -

!!!! Simon, whom He /also/ named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

!!!! Sometimes the Lord referred to him as Peter (Cephas in Aramaic) and others Simon.

When the name Simon was used it was an indication that he was not acting the right way and needed to be disciplined.

!!!!

There are a few occasions where the name ‘Simon’ is used where no rebuke or correction is needed.

The context is often secular or pertaining to worldly-physical topics such as “Simon’s Wife’s mother” (Mark 1:30) or “one of the boats, which was Simon’s” (Luke 5:3).

!!!! /Thus usually when Peter needed rebuke or admonishment, Jesus referred to him as Simon.

It must have reached the point where whenever the Lord said “Simon,’ Peter cringed.

He must have been thinking, Please call me Rock!

And the Lord might have replied, “I’ll call you Rock when you act like a rock.”

/

!!!!

So we have our author, someone who came through quite a process into maturity under the ministry of Christ.

!!!!  

!!!! Audience:

!!!! Jewish authorities, unable to attack Jesus after his ascension, turned their attention to his followers.

!!!! Acts 4:1-3

 1As they (Peter and John) were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,