By Sam E. Stone When doubters and cynics ridicule the church today, it is nothing new. That was happening a few years after the church began. As the apostle Peter neared the end of his life, even then he addressed the criticisms being leveled against Christians. Scoffers’ Perspective 2 Peter 3:3-4 It is […]
By Sam E. Stone Persecution was common for the church of Peter’s day. His two letters address both what had happened already and what lay ahead. Christians need not fear, remembering the example of their Lord. In today’s text, Peter returns to his main theme found in 1 Peter 3:14-18, after some parenthetical remarks […]
By Sam E. Stone This second letter from the apostle Peter to the churches (see 3:1) was probably written around AD 67, not long before his death. Some consider it his “last will and testament.” Knowing what awaited him (John 21:18, 19), he was more concerned about the needs of other Christians than his […]
By Sam E. Stone Two letters from the apostle Peter have been preserved for us in the New Testament. Around AD 64 he wrote to Christians living in the region we know as modern Turkey. The churches of Asia Minor were going through great suffering and persecution at this time. Peter wrote to encourage […]
By Sam E. Stone Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Thessalonica to encourage the new converts and give additional teaching. Last week’s lesson from that letter focused on the certainty of the Lord’s return and the need to be ready for it at all times. A short time later—perhaps six months […]
