Sermons

Details: Written by: Chris Appleby; Created: 24 August 2025

Standing Firm audio

We come today to the last in our series on 1 Peter. So let’s start by thinking about what the major themes have been? The overriding theme has been the sure and certain hope of eternal life; important because that will help them to persevere in the face of a world that’s opposed to God, opposed to the gospel. So Peter finishes his letter where he began, with this reminder: "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Pet 5:10 NRSV)

Another recurring theme throughout the letter has been the need for self-discipline, the need to be self-controlled and alert because that’s the only way we’ll be able to resist the devil’s attacks. He repeats those warnings in what we’ll come to in a moment.

Finally, there’s been the theme of how to live faithful lives to demonstrate the change that Christ makes in us; and that’s how Peter finishes his letter, focusing on our life together as a church. So in our passage today he points out what makes a good elder, a good leader, that is, and what makes a good congregational member. Then he finishes with a further reminder to persevere in our life with God.

What makes a Good Leader?

Peter knows that the health of a church will depend on its leadership, so he addresses those who are leaders in the church. But before we look at what he has to say I’d like us to first think about who are the leaders in our church? Obviously in our Anglican context we have the Archbishop and regional Bishops, and our Archdeacon but they don’t really impact on our life from day to day, do they, apart form in some macro sense? But what about locally? Well, there’s the Vicar and the Churchwardens and the Parish Council. They’re certainly the leaders of the congregation. But I’d like to suggest there are a whole range of others who act as leaders in various roles. We have people who lead services, lead prayers, lead music, look after morning tea, flower arranging, maintenance, help to lead at playgroup, and so forth; all people who take on responsibility for the life of the church. If you’re one of those people Kim has asked to do their child-safe training it’s because you’re seen as a leader in some part of our ministry. So as we read these verses it’s important that we have a broad view of what God is telling us through them.

So what sort of person does God expect a leader in his church to be? What sort of person do you look for in a leader? A person of wisdom? Someone who shows the fruit of the spirit in their life? Perhaps you look for someone whose ideas fit with yours? Perhaps you’d want a leader who is up to date with the latest ideas, or who understands the ins and outs of our social and cultural context. All those might be useful to certain degrees – but what is it that God is looking for?

In the NIV translation he begins by referring to them as fellow elders and I think that’s important. You see their leadership of the church first and foremost is a shared responsibility. There’s no concept in the New Testament of the church being ruled over by a single leader. Those who are appointed as leaders in the church are always joint leaders, sharing the responsibility for the life of the church among themselves. One of the common characteristics of churches that become cults or cult-like is that they have a single leader who is given full authority and power over the congregation. But that’s not how it should be. Those who are our leaders, the vicar, the churchwardens and parish council members, along with all the rest, are joint leaders, sharing responsibility for the life of the church.

He talks about them tending the flock of God. He’s using the metaphor that Jesus used, of a shepherd. Why? Because a shepherd is the one whose job it is to look after the sheep. When a wild animal comes along intending to attack them, it’s the shepherd’s job to drive it off. If they get sick, it’s the shepherd’s job to care for them and make them well again. He has to see that they’re sheared in spring, that their lambs are born safely, and so on. But of course you can have good and bad shepherds can’t you? In fact the Bible gives us models of both good and bad shepherds. The leaders of Israel were referred to as the shepherds of the nation, but in the end they turned out to be bad shepherds. In Ezekiel God says he’s going to get rid of these false shepherd and he himself will be take over shepherding his sheep, an idea that Jesus takes up when he says “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -- ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father -- and I lay down my life for the sheep.” So Jesus is our model. If we’re to be the sort of leader that God wants we need to be willing to follow Jesus’ example, to care for those we lead even at the loss of our own lives, even at the expense of our own preferences. We need to be willing to forgo our own rights and desires to serve those under our care.

Thirdly, being a good leader means serving willingly, not just because you have to, or because there was no-one else to do it, so you got roped in. We sometimes feel like that, don’t we? No-one else volunteered and it was a job that had to be done so we said, “Oh all right, if no-one else will do it I’ll have a go!” But then we feel resentment at having to do this onerous task. We might even grumble and complain and wish that someone else would lend a hand, forgetting that we were the ones who said OK. No, God wants leaders who work willingly, simply because God has given them a task to do and the gifts to do it, people who are eager to serve, eager to be used by God to build up and enrich the church.

>But notice, it’s only the church that they should be eager to enrich. Peter’s next criterion is that they not be greedy for money. They’re not to be in it for personal gain. Now obviously you’re not normally going to find someone standing for parish council or taking on the organisation of some event because they’re eager for gain. The hourly rate isn’t that good! But there are some people who do it to gain power or influence and that’s equally to be guarded against. It’s one of the things vicars are often warned about when they go into a new Parish: “Watch out for the gatekeepers”. No, the only gain we should be hoping for is that God’s kingdom would be enriched by our contributions to it.

Finally good leaders should be an example to the flock. They shouldn’t lord it over those entrusted to them, but should lead by example. In the New Testament context, a shepherd walked out in front of the sheep and the sheep followed along behind so I guess that’s what Peter has in mind here. True shepherds show by their lives how the flock is to live. They give direction by going on ahead, paving the way, showing how it can be done, providing models of Christlikeness for people to copy, rather than by imposing their wills on the congregation, or making rules that people have to follow if they want to be in their church.

What makes a good congregational member?

So, if that’s what makes a good leader, a good elder, what is it that makes a good congregational member? Well, what does Peter say? In v5 he says, “You who are younger must accept the authority of the elders.” Here those who are younger simply means the other members of the congregation. So here’s the first thing that makes a good congregational member: being willing to follow those that God has put over us in the church. If you have the sorts of leaders that we’ve talked about, leaders who work cooperatively, who willingly lead by example rather than by lording it over us, then it’s a lot easier, isn’t it? If you’ve ever worked under someone like that then you’ll know that it’s a joy to follow their lead. You never feel like it’s an imposition, or like they’re manipulating you or using you. Instead you feel like you’re contributing to something valuable; that you’re valued.

Next, if we’re to show humility to those who are over us, we’re equally to show humility to one another: “all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another.” We saw a few weeks ago the value of mutual submission in terms of recommending the gospel to others. An attitude of humility is such a rare thing today that people will notice it. But more than that, if we’re to work together as a church it’s vital that we show humility, simply because God has given us all different gifts. Nothing will wreck a church faster than some people thinking their gifts are superior to others, or, just as bad, that their gifts are inferior to others.

Thirdly, we’re to humble ourselves, he says, under God’s mighty hand (v6). That is, we’re to let God work on us. Perhaps he has in mind the picture of the potter, who takes a piece of clay and moulds it into the shape he wants. So we’re to submit ourselves to God’s Spirit as he seeks to transform us into the likeness of Christ.

But of course if we’ve humbled ourselves under God’s mighty hand that should also give us confidence shouldn’t it? Not only does God shape us with his hands but he also protects us with them. And so we can cast all our anxiety on him, knowing that he cares for us, that he’ll lift us up in due time.

Are you ever anxious. Do you get worried about things. My guess is that everyone would say yes to that. It’s normal human experience to feel anxiety from time to time. You may be worried about something at this very minute. It may be something that you just can’t get out of your mind. If it’s bad enough you’re probably losing sleep over it. That’s what happens to me. I lie in bed trying to find a comfortable position so I’ll drift off to sleep, but my mind won’t let me. I keep going over in my mind all the possibilities, or what I might say if such and such happens, or who I might turn to. And then I have to tell myself what Peter says here: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” You see if God cared for you enough to send his Son to die so you could be made acceptable to God, then how much more is he going to take care of your everyday concerns? How much more is he going to look after you, to comfort you in the hard times, to provide a way forward that helps you to grow more like him?

Why persevere?

So he finishes by saying be self-controlled and alert. Here we come back to the theme of living faithful lives in the face of opposition. And he identifies the source of that opposition. “Your enemy the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour” (v8). Whatever opposition you encounter because of being a Christian, it comes about because the devil wants to stop you. He probably won’t send you physical suffering but he will try things to undermine your trust in God. He wants to convince you that God’s word is out of date; irrelevant to our modern world. He wants to get you to fail, or to get so worried that you can’t go on. But we’re to resist. We’re to persevere. Why? Because we’re not alone. Christians all around the world are faced with the same question of whether to trust God’s promises. In fact in some places they’re suffering for their faith in Christ in the same ways these first readers of Peter’s letter were.

Secondly, he says, because we know that God will vindicate us in the end. He says, after we’ve suffered a little while God will restore us and make us strong, firm, and steadfast. He said the same thing earlier to leaders: “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” There is a hope for us in the future, when Christ returns. God will restore us. That is, he’ll restore us to the state that people were in before the fall. We’ll be made perfect in God’s sight. And of course that includes a new body doesn’t it? No more aches and pains; no more suffering and death, no more failure to obey God’s law. Rather we’ll be strong in our faith, set on a firm foundation, just as the church is built on the foundation of Christ, our cornerstone (1 Pet 2:6). We’ll have our feet planted on solid ground so we can serve God faithfully and grow in our love for him.

So what do we learn from this passage from 1 Peter about how to live as a church in the last days? First of all, to be careful that the people we choose as our leaders have the necessary characteristics for leading God’s church: good shepherds who willingly lead the flock, not for gain, or for the power it gives them, but by example. Secondly to be sure that we have an attitude of humility towards both our leaders and one another as together we seek to grow into the temple of God. And thirdly that we’re always aware of God’s hand, moulding us and caring for us, keeping us safe, so we can persevere and in the end be made perfect in Jesus Christ. To whom be power for ever and ever. Amen.

Details: Written by: Chris Appleby; Created: 27 July 2025

Lives that Proclaim Christ - audio

1 Peter 3:8-17

Reading through this first letter of Peter it’d be easy to wonder whether the situation he’s writing to has any relevance to us today in our nice safe suburban setting.

Think about how he describes his hearers at the start of the letter: “Exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”. In other words these are largely Jewish converts who’ve been forced to escape persecution in Jerusalem and move to Asia Minor, plus some local converts of course. So they’re mostly refugees and as both Jews and as Christian converts they continue to suffer under persecution. You’ll remember the account that Luke gives of the many places where Paul was hounded by Jews trying to stop him preaching the gospel. Well, that’s what these Christians are experiencing.

So he writes to remind them of the gospel that they’ve heard and believed; particularly of the sur hope of eternal life and of Jesus’ promised return; and to encourage them to persevere in their faith.

So in chapter 1 we saw a few weeks ago he urges them to prepare their minds for action; to discipline themselves and to set all their hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring when he’s revealed. He says “¹⁵As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; ¹⁶for it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Then he goes on to give them a long description of the sort of behaviour that goes with believing in Jesus Christ.

He says “Rid yourselves of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Instead long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation.”

He says “¹²Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.” This is perhaps the key to what he’s saying’

Last week Ros brought us his instructions about accepting the various levels of authority that we encounter in our daily life.

All of this was important for these new converts if they were to remain faithful in the face of great persecution, but is it still relevant to us in our comfortable middle-class setting and in a culture that’s so far removed from that of the 1st century? Well, I think as you read through the things he encourages them to do you realise that nothing has changed, really. Well, the level of persecution has changed, for most of us, in the west at least; but the model of Christian living he presents is just as relevant today as it was then even if our cultural setting is different.

We still live in a world where we’re in the minority, even if Australia does appear to be at least a notionally Christian country. My observation is that the values of those around us have moved a long way from Christian values over the past 40 or 50 years. Let’s face it, Christians have sort of disappeared from public discourse, except as people to look down on because of the moral failures of some of our leaders. Here in Carlton we’ve probably done well, in that we’re known for our playgroup, no doubt we’re known as a supporter of indigenous causes and maybe of refugees. But there’s a lot still to be done in terms of actually sharing the gospel with those around us. So what we read here still has relevance for us.

Today we come to the end of his description of behaviours that will express the gospel.

He says “finally” but notice this is still only chapter 3. There’s more to come so make sure you’re here for the next few weeks.

Finally comes a long list of behaviours; all of which will make a difference not just to our life together but to the image we project to the world around us.

Unity of Spirit

So, Unity of Spirit. I’m part of a Diocesan group who get called out every now and then to deal with conflict situations in Parishes and I’m always so disappointed when I hear what’s been going on. The conflict is never between the church and its neighbours; it’s always between individuals in the congregation; even between leaders of the congregation. And I think “What happened to Christian love and forgiveness? What happened to mutuality? What happened to showing grace and concern? What happened to listening to the other person?”

Notice, the term he uses here is unity of spirit. The NIV translates it “Like-mindedness”. In other words it’s a unity that comes from shared beliefs, shared attitudes. At the start of the letter he tells them “Prepare your minds for action.” This should be the one of the results of that preparation that he’s hoping for. We need to have minds that are working in sync, with each other, with God’s word and with the God’s Holy Spirit who will teach us if we let him.

I think this is something we shouldn’t take for granted. I know we appear to be well taught and united as a Parish but I also know that we’re a congregation with lots of strong-minded people who may not agree on everything. So we need to work on remaining united even when there are areas of difference; and what comes next may help us to deal with those differences.

Sympathy and Love for one another

So he says we’re to have sympathy and love for one another. I think we do fairly well at that here but I also know that love takes work. It’s never enough to just say, “I love you”. I also have to demonstrate it in the things I do and say, in the way I listen, in the way I compromise, in the way I go out of my way to please the other person, to serve their needs, in the way I show respect for them even when we have differences of opinion.

A tender heart, and a humble mind

What will help that, is if I have a tender heart and a humble mind. As I say that, my mind goes back to the descriptions of Jesus from my earliest days as a Christian, growing up. “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild” was the description we were given as children wasn’t it? Probably an inadequate description but nevertheless a powerful one when we’re thinking in this context. Think of how he treated Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees who were working so hard against him, when he came to him at night with questions. He showed him respect and gently prodded him to widen his perspective on salvation. Think about the way he treated the woman with the flow of blood, easing her fears, commending her for her faith. In that same passage he tells Jairus not to fear, only believe, then he takes the dead girl by the hand and says, gently “Little girl, get up.” Think of his parable of the Good Samaritan, a stranger who went out of his way to show compassion to a man who he may have seen as an enemy. Jesus says this man is the epitome of love for our neighbour.

But of course, one of the great enemies of unity is pride. That is, the idea that I know best, or I deserve something that I’m not getting or that I can do something better than the other person.

Have you ever come across someone who thought the only way to do something right was to do it themselves? Have you ever thought it yourself? I’ve certainly been tempted, many time, to think like that. But humility stands against that sort of attitude. It says, “Let’s see how someone else might do it”; “Let’s give them a chance.” It admits that mine isn’t the only way to see an issue. Some of the great things that happened at St Thomas’ Burwood, when I was there, came about because I gave someone permission to try out their bright idea, often something I wouldn’t even have tried.

Respond to hurt with a blessing

But then he warns us about how we respond to personal insults or injuries. What’s your natural response when someone does something that hurts you? Perhaps an insult; or a broken promise; perhaps they ignore you; maybe you discover they’ve been talking about you behind your back. What do you do? Do you ever respond with a blessing? That’s pretty radical isn’t it? And counter intuitive; countercultural in fact. Are you surprised when you hear on the news a parent saying they want to forgive the person responsible for killing one of their children in a car accident? It sounds like a hard thing to do, doesn’t it? Yet that’s what Jesus told us to do. “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Now in Peter’s day that hurt may well have been physical or at least material but it's just as important today when our hurts are likely to be much more ephemeral.

Notice the reason he gives - that you might inherit a blessing. Our ultimate blessing of course is assured by Jesus’ death on the cross but the appropriate response to that blessing is to bless others and when we do that we reassure ourselves of that blessing.

The psalm he quotes is also a warning not to take our status as God’s children for granted. God notices and cares about how we live out our new life in his name.

Be eager to do good

It should be a given that we seek to do good, but we’re all human so Satan loves to tempt us to do wrong. But we’re encouraged here to be eager to do good. Are you always eager to do good? I mean, it can be inconvenient at times can’t it?

I love that song from My Fair Lady “With a little bit of luck.”

The Lord above made man to help ’is neighbour,
No matter where, on land, or sea, or foam.
The Lord above made man to help his neighbour-but
With a little bit of luck, with a little bit of luck,
When he comes around you won't be home!

Does that resonate with you?

But no, we’re to be eager to do good. In Peter’s context the result would be that their opponents wouldn’t have any reason to harm them and even if they do, God will have seen what happened and will bless them, he says.

By the way. does it strike you what a long timeframe they had in terms of waiting for God’s blessing? Have we lost that eternal perspective in our lives. They faced the very real possibility of suffering or even death, yet they were able to look to God’s future blessing as recompense. I’m not sure we think like that at all now, do we? Patiently waiting isn’t one of our culture’s strengths. Maybe we need to work on that as well.

Be ready to make a defence for the hope that is in you

Notice that he’s not suggesting they should passively accept the opposition they face. In fact he suggests they prepare for it by having a defence ready to give for the hope that’s in them. In other words they’re to do some evangelism training, perhaps; make sure they understand the story of Jesus, the basic theology of salvation; think about how to express the grace of God in a way that their hearers will understand. In other words they needed to do exactly what we need to do. Have we thought through how we’d answer someone who asked why we gather here on Sundays? Or why we run a playgroup on a Tuesday. Or why our funeral services seem so positive, thinking about John Sewell’s funeral last Monday.

Notice though his warning about speaking with gentleness and reverence. Jesus’ expression was “Seasoned with salt”.

As I said earlier, in Chapter 2 he tells them “¹²Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.” The same idea applies here: if we respond to people with gentleness and respect they’re much more likely to listen to us.

Keep your conscience clear

So he says, “Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.”

I guess if we’re really eager to do good then that should help us to keep our conscience clear, but even so there’ll be times when we slip up, fail, in which case we need to fix it: apologise, mend relationships, admit our faults, etc. I guess that comes back to humility doesn’t it? Am I willing to admit that I made a mistake, that I did, or said, the wrong thing?

It's amazing what a difference that can make, isn’t it?

I don’t expect that we’re going to suffer for our faith much in Australia at the moment, though some Christians might get into trouble if they insist on ethical behaviour in some workplaces, but still, these types of behaviour we’re encouraged to make ours here, are just as relevant in our post-Christian context as they were then. We need people to see us as different in such a positive way that they want to know our secret.

None of this is particularly complicated or clever, is it? Some of it may be hard to do consistently but it’s what we’re called to as Christ’s disciples. If we can manage it, it’ll make for a great atmosphere when we gather together; and it may have an impact on our conversations with those outside the church. So let’s pray that God would help us to do it.

Details: Written by: Chris Appleby; Created: 02 March 2025

Navigating a Minefield - audio

Luke 6:39-49

Today’s passage springs out of what Howard brought to us last week. Do you remember his three points: Forgiveness, Love and Generosity; foundational characteristics of Jesus’ Disciples. And one of the things we see at the end of that passage leading into today’s is the reciprocity of God’s grace spelt out first in his injunction to refrain from judging lest you in turn be judged and then in his assurance that if you forgive others, forgiveness will be yours. And that leads on to the two parables that we’re looking at today.

Generosity

Chris Appleby Ministries

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1 Peter 5 - Standing Firm

1 Peter 3:8-17 - Lives that Proclaim Christ

Luke 6:39-49

Lk 3:1-22 - The Baptism of Jesus

Psalm 73 - A Psalm of Lament

Eph 6:10-24 Be Strong in the Lord

Eph 4:1-16 - Becoming One in Christ

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