Righteous Suffering

Welcome brothers and sisters!

Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! - Psalm 118:24

A verse like this should give us reminder each time we get up each day, that God is so good and He cares for us...that we honestly have no real reason to complain.   With that said, we sinners unfortunately still find ways to do just that, thankfully we have the Holy Spirit who regenerates our spirit that we may continue growing and maturing in Christ!

We are thankful and glad to share with you the next sermon, which touches on one we all need to cling to!  Suffering for righteousness sake is a hard thing to do, impossible in our own strength, but not with God! :)  We invite you to share in Pastor Scott's sermon as he takes us through 1st Peter 3 starting in verse 8, as we look closely at these verses below and what it looks like applying them to our lives.

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

“Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 

let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also suffered[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which[b] he went and proclaimed[c] to the spirits in prison, 20 because[d] they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Brothers and sisters, every day we must continue growing in our relationship with Christ, by being in His word, obeying Him, loving as He loves...identifying with Him in every way, for we are bought with a price so high that nothing in all creation can even hope to buy us back!  The blood of Christ cleanses us from sin and enables us to live holy lives after Christ, for truly it is no longer we who live but He who lives in us amen?   The very world we live in flips everyone upside down, calling evil good and good...evil, so when we strive to live for Christ we will suffer for righteousness sake.  Remember when the Apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus?  So ought we!  Our lives here on this world is meant to live in relationship with Jesus, and share the very saving Gospel message He came to deliver, while at the same time, not be "of this world".  This simply means that we must put away with the old identifying ways of worldly living...sinful living, and take up our Cross, and living holy unto the Lord, rejoice that He would allow us to do so!

None of us know when or if someone will be saved, but we can have assurance of our salvation and the gift of sharing that same Gospel message with others so they can also know Christ Jesus and His salvation.  So let's share it together, let's live for the Lord together and let's continue to fellowship together!

Please share our sermons with others, always check each sermon yourself with the Scriptures and visit us in person each week to worship, fellowship and have a meal.  We also have Tuesday men's bible studies at 8am, Wednesday night prayer at 630pm and Friday ministry leadership classes at 630pm.  We hope to see you all there, and remember...tell someone the good news of Jesus! :)  Blessings to you brothers and sisters!

Until we meet again, let's go serve our King!

FRF Team