The Crown Of Glory
Join your Calvary Chapel family on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the main sanctuary or online via our website (www.calvaryinv.com), Facebook, or YouTube (Calvary Inverness). We will gather to exalt Jesus, encourage one another in love, and prepare to share the gospel as we continue our detailed study of 1 Peter (5:1-7).
Peter understood persecution, trials, suffering, and troubles. He, a fisherman by trade, left it behind when Jesus called him, along with his brother Andrew, to come, follow Him, and be made a fisher of men.
The moment he put down his net and answered the call, his life changed. He witnessed Jesus' miraculous ministry, His love for people, and His determination to fulfill His mission as the sacrifice that would make salvation possible for all mankind.
Nothing he faced surprised him. Jesus, knowing what lay ahead for them all, took the time to warn and encourage them. On numerous occasions, as they ministered to the lost sheep of Israel, had a meal together, or during their travels, He would share these sobering words:
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).
Looking back, knowing how difficult his life would be, Peter wouldn't have traded any of it for all the money in the world. He understood what Jesus had come to do would last for eternity.
The pain and suffering, severe as it was, was only temporal. He would agree with his friend and fellow Apostle, Paul, who wrote, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
Now, since only he and John remained from the original twelve, the Holy Spirit entrusted Peter with guiding the new believers. This small, growing group, spread across the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, faced intense persecution under the oppressive regime of Caesar Nero, which sought to erase the memory of Christ and His followers from the pages of history.
As Peter gathered his thoughts, he confidently put them in writing, knowing the Holy Spirit was guiding him. His goal was simple. He challenged the believers to live for the glory of Christ, separated from the influence of the culture, yet to look to share the gospel with those still bound in their sins.
He accomplished his goal by challenging them to continue in faithful service to the Lord, knowing that when their lives ended, they would stand before Christ to receive "The Crown of Glory."
A crown given to those who, no matter the difficulties, trials, troubles, or obstacles, refused to compromise. All of it done by the power of the Holy Spirit given. A gift to help them live a life that brings glory and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pointing someone in the muck and misery of persecution to Jesus and the prize of hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23).
This would lift their spirits, strengthen their inner man, and motivate them to keep living for Christ, knowing that once they entered heaven, all pain and sorrow would be erased in a single glorious moment of standing face-to-face with their Savior.
My prayer is that our study of 1 Peter 5:1-7 will inspire us to emulate Paul, who, while in a Philippian prison, wrote, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
Peter understood persecution, trials, suffering, and troubles. He, a fisherman by trade, left it behind when Jesus called him, along with his brother Andrew, to come, follow Him, and be made a fisher of men.
The moment he put down his net and answered the call, his life changed. He witnessed Jesus' miraculous ministry, His love for people, and His determination to fulfill His mission as the sacrifice that would make salvation possible for all mankind.
Nothing he faced surprised him. Jesus, knowing what lay ahead for them all, took the time to warn and encourage them. On numerous occasions, as they ministered to the lost sheep of Israel, had a meal together, or during their travels, He would share these sobering words:
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).
Looking back, knowing how difficult his life would be, Peter wouldn't have traded any of it for all the money in the world. He understood what Jesus had come to do would last for eternity.
The pain and suffering, severe as it was, was only temporal. He would agree with his friend and fellow Apostle, Paul, who wrote, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
Now, since only he and John remained from the original twelve, the Holy Spirit entrusted Peter with guiding the new believers. This small, growing group, spread across the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, faced intense persecution under the oppressive regime of Caesar Nero, which sought to erase the memory of Christ and His followers from the pages of history.
As Peter gathered his thoughts, he confidently put them in writing, knowing the Holy Spirit was guiding him. His goal was simple. He challenged the believers to live for the glory of Christ, separated from the influence of the culture, yet to look to share the gospel with those still bound in their sins.
He accomplished his goal by challenging them to continue in faithful service to the Lord, knowing that when their lives ended, they would stand before Christ to receive "The Crown of Glory."
A crown given to those who, no matter the difficulties, trials, troubles, or obstacles, refused to compromise. All of it done by the power of the Holy Spirit given. A gift to help them live a life that brings glory and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pointing someone in the muck and misery of persecution to Jesus and the prize of hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23).
This would lift their spirits, strengthen their inner man, and motivate them to keep living for Christ, knowing that once they entered heaven, all pain and sorrow would be erased in a single glorious moment of standing face-to-face with their Savior.
My prayer is that our study of 1 Peter 5:1-7 will inspire us to emulate Paul, who, while in a Philippian prison, wrote, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
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