Grace Fellowship Church

Closing Thought: Beloved, the main thing is this: Jesus' suffering had great purpose, for in it He triumphed over sin and death and made a way to bring us to God. Because of His suffering, we have been saved by our baptism into Him. Now that we are in Christ, we have been called to be prepared to suffer for doing good, just as Jesus did. Our suffering shapes us to be more like Him and, while it will not save others, it will affirm the Gospel we proclaim and may bring them to salvation.

Closing Thought: As we live faithfully, being zealous for what is good, we will often avoid harm from others. But when we do suffer for the sake of holy living, we are blessed, for Christ our Captain also suffered at the hands of men. So Peter instructs us: do good, fear not, and be ready to give a reasoned defense for the hope within us. And we are to do this with gentleness and reverent fear of Christ, letting our faithful conduct silence and put to shame those who would seek to harm us.

Pastor Muringi Igweta of Trinity Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya, brought this morning's sermon--an encouraging word from Hebrews 11:1-3.

Closing Thought: Beloved Brethren, If you desire to love life and see good days, keep unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind; turn from evil, especially deceit and slander, speak truthfully, pursue peace, and commit yourself to God, for His eyes are on the righteous and His ears hear their prayers, while His face is against those who do evil.

Closing Thought: Beloved, because we are in Christ, we are called to live as He lived. We must not return evil for evil or slander for slander, but instead repay even our offenders with blessing, so that Christ's character may be revealed in us.