Sermon Notes:
1. God gave you everything you need to have the life He has planned for you in 2025. (2 Peter 1:3)
2. His plan allows you to escape the rottenness of the world and reach the destiny that awaits you. (2 Peter 1:4)
3. For these reasons, you should make every effort to follow Him in 2025! (2 Pet 1:5-7)
a. In 2025, there are a million ways to compromise (morally) and make your life easier or help yourself feel better. To have the life God wants for you, choose goodness in 2025.
b. In 2025, there are a lot of things that are demanding your attention. Set aside time to know God. If you know Him closely, He will lead you to the life He wants for you.
c. In 2025, people are telling you that “freedom” is doing and being whatever you desire. Instead, exercise self-control, then persevere when it gets hard to resist, and be the person God called you to be.
d. In 2025, pursue godliness: find your worth by modeling your life on the One who is above all.
e. In 2025, set aside division and show mutual affection for the people God puts in your life.
f. In 2025, make sacrifices to show God and others how much you love them. This is the pinnacle and final step in the life of discipleship.
Small Group Questions
Icebreaker: What are you most looking forward to in 2025?
1. This week is the first week back for small groups since the Christmas break. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the pattern that the first Christians practiced in order to grow in their relationship with God. Why do you think that meeting together as believers was important to them back then and for us today?
2. As you look back on your spiritual journey, how important have your Christian friendships been in your walk with Jesus? Where do you think you would be without these people in your life?
3. As we enter into this new year let’s commit to the importance of Christian friendships and our attendance of our Growth Group each week as we study, share, and pray for each other in 2025.
4. In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter says that God called us. What does it mean, that someone is “called”? What do you think this calling means in your life?
5. Peter mentions the promises that God has given us by his goodness and grace in 2 Peter 1:3, then he explains in more detail what he means in 2 Peter 3:8-13. What are the specific promises God is planning to keep in the future? What kind of people should we be in 2025 if this is the destiny awaiting us (and the present world)? Why doesn’t it make sense to live as if this earth is our home?
6. In 2 Peter 1:8, Peter explains that we should pursue the qualities he describes in vv. 5-7 to keep us from being “ineffective and unproductive” in our knowledge of the Lord. Why is it so easy to lose track of our purpose in life? What things monopolize your time and energy that really aren’t very important?
7. In 2 Peter 1:5-7, Peter describes a series of qualities that we should pursue in the life of discipleship. Notice that each one builds on another. In other words, they describe a journey that can take a lifetime. Think about each stage in his description and what keeps you or distracts you from having that quality in increasing measure. What can you do to have more growth in your walk with God in 2025?
8. The final step in Peter’s description of discipleship is love. Peter came to understand that love is the pinnacle of the Christian life. Read John 21:15-17. These were Jesus’ words to Peter after Peter’s denial of Jesus before his trial. What does this tell us about our purpose, no matter how badly we have failed in life or how badly others have treated us?
Pray as a group for each other that we grow in our love, obedience, and service of the Lord.