First Peter

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Age Group

Youth

Brief Description

Intersection includes complete resources for teaching both younger and older youth, including learner’s materials, teaching guides, and handouts. The teaching guide is options-based, so teachers can customize sessions to match their favorite approach.

“First Peter”

This unit helps youth explore some of the essentials of the Christian faith. While a complete summary would be impossible, 1 Peter provides an excellent source for looking at five key marks of the Christian lifestyle: hope, holy living, love, suffering, and humility. For teenagers who may be seeking clarity about what the Christian life should entail, these marks or characteristics provide an excellent starting point.

Session One deals with the Christian mark of hope. Using 1 Peter 1:1-12, young people are introduced to the fact that the life of faith is sometimes met with resistance from others. For the early Church, the question of losing one’s life for one’s faith was a very real possibility. Dealing with uncertainty and hopelessness was a major concern. First Peter addresses this concern by pointing to the power of God made known in the Resurrection as the reason that the early Church should cling to their hope. Similarly, teens are faced with a host of situations in which uncertainty can bring on a sense of hopelessness. This session explores how this same powerful witness which gave the early Church hope can also inspire today’s youth.

Session Two deals with the Christian mark of holy living. Given the relatively high threat from the communities in which the early Church found themselves, it was imperative for believers to lead lives that were beyond reproach. First Peter 2:1-10 challenges the early Church to honor Christ by giving up former vices and taking on new virtues. The image of being like living stones built into a spiritual temple was offered to encourage first-century believers to live in such a way that their outer lives were consistent and faithful.

Session Three deals with the mark of love, the very heart of the way of Jesus Christ. It can be difficult to live out this love when one is being mistreated. First Peter describes people in this kind of situation, but instead of promoting an ethic of revenge, encourages both the early Church and contemporary believers to offer blessing. In this way, the spirit of God grows in the hearts of those who believe. During this session, youth have an opportunity to learn more about the discipline of love and how it can help them develop a spiritual depth that is greater than their personal difficulties.

Session Four addresses the mark of suffering. Often when one becomes a Christian, there is a common misconception that life will be free of suffering. However, 1 Peter reminds the Church that this is not the case. In fact, it is through the suffering of Christ that the power of God is illustrated in the first place. This session helps youth both understand how God strengthens us amid suffering and develop a wider and more sensitive view of life, so that suffering can be properly acknowledged.

Lastly, in Session Five, we examine the mark of humility. Though humans often want to be in control of their own destinies, 1 Peter offers witness to the fact that the early Church had no such luxury. This book emphasizes the truth that God is always the one who is in control. In this particular session, teens explore the influences on their lives related to self-image. They also learn how humility might offer discipline, freeing one—at least somewhat—from the influence of peers and drawing them toward the influence of the Spirit, as made known in Jesus Christ.

by David Long-Higgins

User License
The purchaser of this file has permission to print twenty copies of this Learners Study Guide. Neither the file nor the printed contents may be sold copied or transferred to another person or church. The purchaser may make a backup copy of the file.

The purchaser of this file has permission to print one copy of this Teaching Guide. Neither the file nor the printed contents may be sold, copied or transferred to another person or church. The purchaser may make a backup copy of the file.