Are You Ready?
1 Peter 3:13-17
Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-17
Memory Verse: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a
defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and
fear;” 1 Peter 3:15
Lesson Focus: Be ready to share Christ at all times!
Activities and Crafts: Coloring sheet, word search, 1st & 2nd Jesus in my heart craft
Introduction: Mock Trial:
Call a few kids to the front and ask tell them that they are going to pretend to be in a trial.
They are on the defense and you (the teacher) are the judge. You will ask them questions
about their faith and they have to defend their faith.
1. How do we know God is real?
2. Who is Jesus? Wasn’t He just a good man?
3. How come God does not like sin?
4. How can I know that I am saved?
5. Why is their evil in the world?
6. How can I get to heaven?
7. How can I know that the Bible is true?
8. Why do I need to come to church?
9. Why is there only one way to heaven?
10. How can I know that God loves me?
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Lesson:
I. 1 Peter 3:13: The Offense!
A. Who can cause us harm?
i. Any person who is opposed to Jesus
B. Why does this person seek to harm us?
i. Because we do “good” in doing God’s will
ii. Because they are against God
C. Sometimes it does not make sense why people would want to keep other
people from doing really good acts. These people have hatred towards those of us
who follow God and do what He commands. Even though they can hurt our
bodies or make us feel bad with the mean things they say, there is no person that
is stronger than God! God is bigger and more powerful than the person putting
you down for following Christ. Because Christ is for you, who can be against
you (Romans 8:31)? Part of being a follower of Jesus is that we will face people
like this who do not love Jesus like we do and will be opposed to us following
Him.
II. 1 Peter 3:14a: Blessing in Suffering!
A. Is it a bad thing when we suffer for the sake of righteousness?
i. No, suffering does not mean we are doing the wrong thing
ii. We are considered blessed if we suffer for Christ!
B. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” James 1:2
C. Why do we rejoice in suffering?
i. The reason why we are blessed when we suffer for righteousness sake is
because Christ suffered for righteousness! What a blessing and joy it is to be
doing the same things that Jesus did while He was here on the earth!! Our goal
in life is to be like Christ as much as possible! This is a huge part of Christ’s
life we get to partake in!
III. 1 Peter 3:14b: Do not be Afraid!
A. What are we not to be afraid of?
i. Their threats
B. This is a quote from Isaiah 8:12
i. The people were threatening Isaiah the prophet because he was speaking
the things God told him to speak. The people did not like what he had to say so
they threatened to try and keep him from speaking God’s oracles.
ii. What was Isaiah prophesying?
a. Israel being invaded by Assyria.
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C. God’s Word is truer than man’s word. When God says something will
come to pass we can trust God in that promise. When man threatens us with his
words, we know that their words will not overtake God’s words. Isaiah had a
whole nation threatening him if he still spoke the things of God but God told him
not to be afraid and to continue to speak the things He was telling him.
IV. 1 Peter 3:15: Be Ready!!
A. What does it mean to, “sanctify” God in your hearts?
i. “Sanctify”- to be set a part, to be declared holy and consecrated to God.
ii. We are to make God #1 in our hearts and lives first and foremost!!
There is to be nothing in our lives rivaling God for our attention and devotion.
iii. This is how we prepare to be ready!!
B. Be ready to give a defense/reason for the hope within you!
i. We are to be ready to tell people “why” we are totally sold out for God.
Because Stephen (in the Bible) was saved and understood the price that Christ
paid so that he could be saved, Stephen had a deep love and faith for Jesus and
gave Him his full attention and gave his whole life to follow Jesus. There were
some people that came into Stephen’s life to question his faith and see if they
could argue with him that Jesus is not the way to salvation. Stephen was able to
argue and give reason why Jesus was the only way to salvation. Stephen’s Faith
in and Love for Jesus was what enabled him to be ready to give a defense
(Acts 6:8-10)!
C. How are we to share with people?
In a humble way, respecting those whom we are sharing Christ with.
- We should not try to be Bible thumpers, disrespecting people but rather show
them love and kindness when we share Christ with them. Kindness is what
draws people to God for salvation (Romans 2:4)! Not persuasive argument!
V. 1 Peter 3:16: Ashamed Evildoers!
- The way we “REACT” speaks about who we are.
√ What is a conscience?
√ How do I have a good conscience? Why does it matter?
How we react to those that say bad things against us and do bad things to us
shows Jesus to the world. We are to have a good conscience and follow the Holy
Spirit. To live with honor is to follow God and His ways. To live with honor is
to listen to the Holy Spirit and to not react to others in a negative way. This takes
the Holy Spirits power to work through us. We can not do this on our own.
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Conclusion: Just like we get us in the morning and get ready for school…we are
to be ready or prepared to stand up for Jesus. We can only be ready by studying
God’s word and living it out in how we act and treat others.
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