Sharing Your Hope

By Rick Bayer, June 29, 2025

Sharing Your Hope

Introduction

Welcome to Church on the 5th! We are so glad you are here!! And we are grateful to all the hosts who arranged for us to use their clubhouses so we could engage in neighbourhood church. Thank you to our brunch coordinators and we are grateful you brought a dish to share.

We are currently studying the book of 1 Peter on Sundays at Gracepoint. In 1 Peter 4:10 we read:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” The talents, time and treasure that you steward from the Lord are indeed a gift from Him.

As you steward your “treasure” you are invited today to give financially to Gracepoint Church using the Church App, e-transfer, the website, etc. Give not out of obligation or duty but rather in response to God’s provision in your life. God is good and He has been generous towards you.

Opening Prayer

Worship Song

God You Reign

Lincoln Brewster | Mia Fieldes © 2008 SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia; Integrity's Praise! Music

Verse 1

You paint the night

You count the stars and You call them by name

The skies proclaim God You reign

Your glory shines

You teach the sun when to bring a new day

Creation sings God You reign

Chorus

God You reign, God You reign Forever and ever, God You reign

Verse 2

You part the seas

You move the mountains with the words that You say

My song remains God You reign

You hold my life

You know my heart and You call me by name I live to say God You reign

Bridge

Hallelujah hallelu

Hallelujah hallelu (repeat)

1 Peter 3:13-16 (NIV) 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:13-16 (NIV)

Make God the Source of Your Hope v. 13-15a

We are invited to “revere Christ as Lord” (v. 15). To honour Him in our lives, not just as Saviour but also as Lord. We are to regard Him as the Lord of all areas of our life. He is not just #1 amongst many variables in our lives but #1 above all other facets of our lives.

Turn to 2-3 others near you and answer the questions that are on your app or on your handout.

  1. What does it mean to you to “revere (honour, reverence, exalt) Christ as Lord” (v. 15). What does that look like in your life (i.e. priorities, time, resources, relationships, choices, etc.)?

  2. Having Christ as Lord shifts how we react to the things that could potentially frighten us (v. 14). Are you facing a fear now? Or can you recall a time when you shifted from fear to peace because you were living under Christ’s Lordship?

Have personal reasons for your hope v. 15b

Jesus is to be more than just the forgiver of our sins; He is the Lord. He is to be more than just our Saviour, He is to be our boss, the CEO of our life, our Lord. He is not to be just one of many things in our lives but the One above all things.

Jesus encouraged us to “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). It’s not enough to just believe in God. Jesus’ half-brother James wrote: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:19). Mere cognitive believing in God is insufficient. There’s a world of difference between believing in God and making Jesus Lord. It’s a daily denial of self and taking up one’s cross to follow Him.

After the challenge to set Christ apart as Lord, Peter continues by writing “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)

We are to always be prepared; this means at all times in all circumstances with all people. The preparation comes not from acquiring sufficient knowledge but rather that we have a living hope found in God. When Christ is Lord in your life, you are already a person of hope.

Don’t be afraid that you don’t have the right answer. If you know John 3:16 you know enough. Peter’s first readers of this letter wouldn’t have even known John 3:16! We all fear that someone will ask us a question that will stump us, like, “If the Bible says Cain got married, where did he get a wife from?” We are not sharing Bible trivia (or speculation in the case of Cain’s wife), we are sharing the hope that we have experienced in God.

You don’t have to know all the answers to all the questions. Knowledge is good, but having a living hope within you is far more powerful than an apologetic. If you’ve experienced the living hope found in Christ, you have a hope to share. If you can testify to some version of “I once was blind but now I see” (John 9:25); you have a story of hope worth sharing.

Express your hope to others with respect and integrity v. 15c-16

Back to our Bible verse: 1 Peter 3:15. We are to be prepared to give the reason for the hope that we have. Peter then gives us some instructions on how to do it: “But do this with gentleness and respect.”

In sharing our hope, we value the other person. The implication in the statement in v. 15 “to give an answer to everyone who asks” is that there is a dialogue happening. Sharing hope is not a monologue and it especially not something we ram down people’s throats.

We can either light a candle or curse the darkness. Jesus invites us to be candle-lighting type of people in a dark world. He said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).

If you find that complaining and anger are your common reactions to the world around you, you are probably driven more by fear than by love. And the Bible promises perfect love drives out fear. With Christ as your Lord, the fears of this world diminish.

Turn to 2-3 others near you and answer the questions on the handout or in the app.

  1. What is one personal reason you have today for being a person of hope (i.e. answered prayer, truth of the Bible, your experience with God, the hope of the resurrection, etc.)?

  2. Peter’s hearers were suffering mightily and yet they experienced “living hope”. Share a time when you struggled or were going through a trial, but you experienced hope and God’s presence during that difficult season.

  3. Who is one person you know who is needing to experience God’s presence and hope this summer?

You have a living hope within you. You are Christ’s ambassador in exile wherever you live, work, learn or play this summer. God will use you for a God-given purpose. Let me lead us in a prayer, and when I pause, you can pray out loud, the first name of a person you desire to share your hope with this summer.

Worship Song

Living Hope

Brian Johnson | Phil Wickham © 2017 Phil Wickham Music; Simply Global Songs; Sing My Songs; Bethel Music Publishing

Verse 1

How great the chasm that lay between us

How high the mountain I could not climb

In desperation I turned to heaven

And spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness

Tore through the shadows of my soul

The work is finished the end is written

Jesus Christ my living hope

Verse 2

Who could imagine so great a mercy

What heart could fathom such boundless grace

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken I am forgiven

The King of kings calls me His own

Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever

Jesus Christ my living hope

Chorus

Hallelujah praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There’s salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ my living hope

Verse 3

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence the Roaring Lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

(repeat) Jesus Yours is the victory

Ending

Jesus Christ my living hope

Jesus Christ my living hope

Prayer

Next week we will have a church picnic after the worship service at Crescent Park in South Surrey. Bring along a lunch and lawn chairs and join us for the fun.