- Take a moment to pray. Praise God for His Word and ask Him to teach you its truth, just as the psalmist prayed in Psalm 119:12-16, “Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth. I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word.”
- Read 1 Peter 5:5
- STUDY NOTE: While not all “Elders” were necessarily older than the other members of the congregation, often-times they were . . . and always they were mature in their faith. Therefore, it is very appropriate for Peter to refer to the congregation as “you who are younger” in contrast with the Elders.
- What does it look like for members of a congregation to “subject themselves to the elders” (5:5)?
- Do you notice a consistency of behavior of the Christian to authorities (see 1 Peter 2-5)? What does this tell you about the effect a mature Christian should have on the groups they belong to and the society they live in?
- Peter calls on the Christians to “clothe themselves with humility toward one another.” Literally, this has the idea of “having others see your humility as you live your life,” just like someone sees the clothes that you wear. Would those around you consider your general attitude one of humility? If not, what are some things that need to change as you “clothe yourself in humility”?
- Though this week’s verses (5:1-5) talked primarily about Christian leadership, the idea is that the values that the leaders modeled would be a part of EVERY mature Christian’s life. What primary applications stood out to you from this passage this week?
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