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Q2. (3:15-16) Why is it so hard for us to be a witness when we're persecuted? Why is it easy in tough places to be the wrong kind of witness? Which one of Peter's four instructions do you find most needed in your particular situation? First we need to define the areas in which we are most persecuted and those times that most tough in which we could become a bad or very weak witness.I think often the people that most persecute us are those close to us, family, friends and work colleagues, those who are not in Christ. We often tend to think that it is those in the world that will most attack our beliefs and testimony, but I believe that when those close to you get the feeling that you may stray away from them it often intimidates them and they vent their anger toward you. Because they are close, the level of persecution is far greater than when it comes from a complete stranger. In my personal life this has most definatly been the case and my biggest problem is that it's at times like this when I am most likely to answer with a display of anger toward the person to defend my faith. I often forget the fact that it is through the unudulterated and pure love of the Lord that should shine through me that will be my best wittiness and not my own attempts to defend a God who needs no defence.

Q1. (3:8-9) Which of the qualities Peter mentions in 3:8-9 are most evident in your congregation? Which are most needed? What can you and your friends do to change the relational climate at your Church so it is more Christ-like? In our congregation the qualities which come to the fore most are those of sympathy and affection among the older folk and then harmony and a tremendous amount love with the younger folk.Some times I feel that perhaps there is a need for more communication within the body.This is something I believe is symptomatic of the church as a whole where various groups tend to form their own inner identities.In our congregation we are aiming to set up more inter generational gatherings and functions.

Q5. (3:7) How can treating one's wife wrongly hinder a husband's prayers. How can treating a husband wrongly hinder a wife's prayers? When we dishonour our partner we dishonour the lord simply because as part of His kingdom we become one with Him and He dwells within every child of God. In treating ones spouse wrongly we are in fact treating God badly and when this happens in a public arena great damage is done to the name of the Lord. God does not listen to or honour the prayers of those in rebellion to Him, we must never forget as husband and wife God joined us in marriage and we became one flesh, and when we dishonour our spouse we dishonour ourselves. Father I pray that You will bind all the marriage unions that You have blessed and bring the husbands and wives to a place in their lives where they become and operate as one flesh I pray this in the precious name of Jesus our Saviour and King. Amen.

Q4. (3:7) Why should a husband relate to his wife with knowledge and wisdom? In what way does this demonstrate love? In what way does this demonstrate self-interest? Why do men sometimes try to dominate their wives? Why do wives sometimes try to dominate their husbands? What harm does this do? How is domination of another person contrary to God's nature? As the head of the household the husband needs to be the one who leads the way and in order to achieve this he must gain knowledge and wisdom to impart to his spouse. Today this is accomplished through prayer and communication with God through the reading and study of His word. I believe that knowledge and wisdom from God in a man gives the wife a feeling of security and the man direction in his life. The men and women who try to dominate the partners are those who don

Q3. (3:4-6) How does a person cultivate inner beauty? How does one gain character? Why is true character so important and precious to God? How can character help a Christian woman win and hang onto her husband? The first step to cultivate inner beauty would be to submit ones life totally to God, serving the lord inn all that you do. As your submission grows deeper the fruits of the spirit will begin to manifest through your daily life and it will become apparent to all that the Lord is working in and through your life. A life lived in submission to God will build up character and the light of the Lord will shine through this character and can be a wonderful witness to a woman

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance? I believe that the main reason a woman should always try to look their best is to make them feel good about themselves, in a sense that is pleasing to God. When one feels that they are portraying positive outward appearance in conjunction with the inner beauty, that of the Spirit of the Lord shining out through them, it instils confidence and portrays a love toward the Lord and their husbands. The importance should always be on letting the light of the Lord shine through that all will know He is at work in her. The outward adorning should be to show honour to God her husband and those around her. All the finest garments and the most expensive jewellery can never replace the beauty which the indwelling of the Lord will portray in the life of a woman.

Q1. (3:1) Why is submission so difficult for us humans? Does submission require you to be silent when you don't agree or feel something can be improved? When is submission wrong for Christian? I think than in our society today we tend to see submission as giving up or even a lowering of our standards. I believe that when a wife submits to her husband providing it does not override the will of God, it can lead to the husband as well as others to see Gods light shine through her. If submission requires that you have to contravene Gods word then there is need for you to speak out in a gentle manner and show your opposition. Any instance where you are required to dishonour our Lord is an injustice, and will not be held against you if you don't obey those requests, on the contrary you would be doing yourself spiritual harm.

Q4. (2:24b) If Jesus died to set us free from sin's power, why does sin have such power over us still? According to 2:24b, how must we deal with sin? In practical terms, how can we "die to sin"? In everyday language, what does "live for righteousness" mean? Jesus died to break the ultimate curse of sin, that being death and in doing so He freed us from sins power. The only power that sin still has over us now is that of the flesh. As we grow in our walk with the lord through His grace and indwelling we become more holy. Once we have been called out of the world and start to follow in Christ

Q3. (2:24a) This may seem like a simplistic question, but give it thought before you answer, and then answer thoughtfully. What is the significance to you personally that Jesus bore your sins in his own body on the cross? As I look at the cross it makes me feel clean, it makes me feel wanted and it makes me feel a belonging to. All that suffering and pain bought salvation and made us joint heirs to the kingdom of God. It was a sacrifice and suffering to bring joy and freedom to all man kind. Without the sacrifice that Jesus made for me I would be lost and suffer eternally in separation from God. Jesus came and broke the shackles of the law and freed me from the consequences of sin, that being death. Through His separation from the Father I became part of His holy body, the church of Christ His death bought me life and in His resurrection I became reborn Praise you Jesus King of my life my Deliverer and my Redeemer amen.

Q2. Why is Jesus' sinlessness important to understanding your salvation? In what way do you think Jesus suffered when your sins were poured into his soul? How could a sinless Man stand this kind of corruption? As in all sacrifices in the past a blemish free lamb would be use for the atonement of ones sins.In the case of my sin Christ came was perfect, sinless and He shed His blood that we might be saved.Just like the Israelite s in Exodus sprinkled the blood of a blemish free lamb on their doorposts so that the Angel of death would pass over them on the passover,and no child would face death.The same happens today when we accept the blood of Jesus to cover us and let the Angel of death pass over us on the day of reckoning. Here is the reason why many professions of Christian faith never materialize into anything. There are people who are willing to sit under the Passover blood, who are willing to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, but they are not willing to walk through the waters of the Red Sea. They never take that step which burns their bridges cuts them off from the world. In their mind and thinking they are still back in Egypt. They will not move forward through the Red Sea, and until that happens they are still under the bondage and control of Egypt. This paragraph above was taken from another bible study I am doing ,and how true it is,many are willing to have Jesus do all the "dirty work" in order not to endure the pain.Remember accepting is just the beginning of the journey now we need to walk the walk. When the Israelites came into the wilderness and on the far shore of the Red Sea, they broke into song. Real deliverance brings a song. Have you a song of deliverance?

Q1. (2:21) According to 2:21, in what sense did Jesus suffer for you personally? The very freedom that God gave to us we used to sin against Him and through Adams fall we are all doomed to death without Christ. Just as Adam sinned so do we all in our everyday efforts to live our lives.Our sins are seen when we look to the law and can see that we can never live up to the it.The law demands perfection and without the only perfect one we can never come into the presence of a perfect God. I know that without Jesus my life would be destined for eternal strife and separation from God.Jesus came and took all my sin upon Himself,He died in my place and when He rose again He conquered death on my behalf.Now as one of His children I never need fear death or separation from my Father in heaven as my debt was paid in full through the blood of Jesus my King and Saviour Amen. He brings us into a relationship with the Father and through His perfection we are made holy to God .

Q4. (2:21-23) How does Christ's example speak to your situation? How is your behavior going to be different because of what you see in Jesus' character in this passage? In our daily walk with the lord we often allow anger and verbal abuse that is shown toward us to deeply affect us. We either retaliate in a like manner or build up a resentment toward those who oppose us.Both of these views ultimately move us away from God and bring His name into disrepute.We must always remember that we are disciples of Christ and as such must behave in a manner which will bring glory and honor to His name. When the secular world looks at us and the way we behave toward them it does one of two things, it either makes them want to be like us or it gives them reason to attack our belief system and in doing so bring more ridicule upon the name of our lord. Father teach us to become more like Your Son our precious savior and King,pour out Your grace upon us in our daily walk with You and put Your words in our mouths in times of persecution. in Jesus name we ask this Amen.

Q3. (2:18-20) How does being an employee "conscious of God" affect the way we act and react to injustice in the workplace? Can a conscientious Christian be a complainer? Why or why not? How do you usually react to prolonged, unfair treatment at your work? I think the first thing to establish is who are we as Christians working for and only once this is clearly defined can we answer the question. In truth once we have been called and born into Christ we become servants of the lord. Our first responsibility to our lord, as well as to all involved would be to make known that our lives belong to the Him. On this point, many Christians are living their lives in the so called closet for fear of reprisal. Remember the words of Jesus Mat 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. Now with that behind us we have two choices one to behave as our beliefs preach or to succumb to the worldly norms. When everyone knows your position I believe you will endeavour to do the will of God in all that you do In doing Gods will in our work places we glorify His name and by enduring the insults and the bad treatment will be smiled upon by our God.

Q2. (2:18) If we are to submit to our employers and respect them, what is that saying about God's expectation that we do a good job? In what sense do we dishonor God when we don't give our full effort to our jobs? In the society we live in today Christians often tend to leave their praise and adoration for God to quiet times,midweek fellowship and Sundays.During the week at work it's a no no "work and religion don't mix " what they are actually saying is that they are afraid of rejection.However if you show respect and love toward your employer and other staff members you will be doing Gods will and revealing the love of the Lord.When you go that extra mile and take great pride in all your given tasks even those you might not enjoy then your light begins to shine and God gets the glory. When one just fits in with everyone else or goes with the flow as the saying goes,no difference is seen and in some cases God can be dishonored.We should always stand out and the love and light of Lord should be prominent in our daily lives.

Q1. (2:15-16) In what way is God's glory dependent upon us living submissive, obedient lives? How is God hurt when we get rebellious? When we live our lives in obedience to Gods will by following in the example that Christ set for us, we will bring glory to His name. When we portray the love of Christ through our obedient service to all in his name, when we become servants and willingly offer service to all in need people will take note and through this witness will see the love of our lord. On the contrary when we try to fit in with worldly ways and expect to be waited on or shown favour the opposite effect can be seen. When we try and push our beliefs on others in a secular way through assertion most time we see rejection and our God is hurt. Lord teach us to understand your love for us, that we to can learn love those around us and in doing so glorify your precious name in Jesus name Amen.

Q5. (2:12) How can the good deeds we commit by living openly as Christians increase God's praise. How does our "blending in" detract from God's praise? As Christians we are part of the body of Christ His church and we need to do His will. As we all know the will of Christ is to serve as he did on earth. In doing His will by serving both God and man we lift up the name of God throughout the world and glorify His name. Those in service always stand out and are there to serve those around them, in the words of Jesus in Luke 22:27 "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." we often tend to shy away from situations that put us in the limelight for fear of humiliation or persecution, we try to blend in and not be noticed. Just think if Jesus did this we might not have come to know Him. It was through His open service to both God and mankind that brought about His persecution and ultimate death on the cross. Thank you Lord for being open in Your service, even to the point of total persecution and ultimately death on the cross. Thank you Lord that you stood up and were counted for us and that all who believe that you are the living son of god may have eternal life. Praise you King Jesus. Amen.

Q4. (2:11) Read 1 Peter 2:11 carefully. The world tells us (1) to conform and (2) that sin won't hurt us. What does Peter tell us to combat these lies? How can this reminder help us? The rewards of sin are death.What is this death ? It is the separation from God the more we sin,conform to the ways of this world the further away God seem to be.In real terms it is not He who is parting from us but us who are pulling away from Him.We must resist all the temptations of this world that don't conform to the word of our Lord and strive to glorify Gods name in all that we do. For years as a Christian I smoked(cigarettes)and deep down I knew this is not what the Lord wants from me.I tried all the remedies I could find to assist in quitting a habit which is in my opinion a socially accepted drug.I believe that getting unhooked from cigarettes is probably as hard as getting of some mainline drugs.I was continually being convicted of the fact that I should stop but all avenues failed that is until as a last resort and take note here a 'last resort' I gave the problem to the lord and guess what it's been a year and a half smoke free.Praise you Lord. I think sometimes we try to conform to remedies that the world has to offer and forget that we have the answer right inside of us The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit how much more can we ask for.Our God reigns.Amen.

Q3. (2:9) What actions and attitudes should this idea of being part of God's own people inspire in us? Being a part in our Gods plan for us,that is being one of his elect makes me feel like shouting from the roof tops.As we study the word of God we start to realize how great it is to be a part of something so amazing and awesome as living eternally with the One we love and who loves us unconditionally.It makes me want to live in accordance with His will in all that I do. I praise you Father that you chose me as I am and through the Blood of Jesus You made me one of your own.Amen

. Q2. (2:5) If your praise is primarily for God's benefit, not your own, how should you be offering praise? We should offer praise continually through Jesus lifting His name up on high.Praising and worshiping Him are the only things that edify our souls and so should be our ultimate goal in life.Our praise must be from the heart and with the sole intention of bringing glory to God our Father in Heaven.Our praises should bare witness to our Savior in this world and be expressed without fear of retribution from the world. May all glory honor and power be to God our father through Jesus our Savior and King praise His name in heaven and on the earth.Amen.

Q1. (2.5) Christians often look at their relation to God as consumers, delighting in what God does for them. What is the mindset of a priest towards God? What actions does this mindset inspire in you? The first thing that comes to mind of being a royal priest in the Lords church is that of service.Constantly wanting to be of service to glorify His name through all that I do.Being a part of Gods calling should inspire us all to want to excel in all that we do toward expanding and nourishing His Kingdom while we are still able. We need to praise Him and lift the name of Jesus up on high proclaiming His majesty throughout all the nations.Reign King Jesus Reign.

Q4. (1:18-19) Have you ever felt you were of no worth or of no value? What does 1 Peter 1:18-19 say about your worth? What does it say about God's love for you? What does it indicate about the long-term value of your balance sheet and financial assets? What are your true long-term investments? Why? I don't think that i ever felt of no value,somewhere in the back of my mind from as far back as my memory allows I felt that i belonged.I think that Gods presence was always there just waiting to be let in. God showed us what we are worth to him by sending His Son our Lord Jesus Christ to die on our behalf,the purchase price being His blood.I dont think you could find anything on this Earth worth this sacrifice so let us praise and worship our living king for placing such a high value on us (Amen) Just as the Lord placed this high value on us we should respond by placing an equally high value on our salvation and stard building up treasures in our real home (heaven) and not in this temporary dwelling place.By praising and worshiping God and doing all we do in accordance with his will gains blessings and makes us more holy in Gods eyes.

3. (1:17) Why are people in our culture so upset when they sense they are being judged by someone else? How do you reconcile final judgment with God's love for the world? Why must final judgment be at the core of the Good News of Jesus Christ? What happens to the Gospel when final judgment is left out or ignored? I believe that in our culture today people

Q2. (1:15-16) In your own words, how would you define "holiness"? In what sense are you (by definition) holy now? In what sense must you be obedient in order to become holy? What is your biggest struggle with holiness? As Christians we have been made holy in Christ through the ultimate sacrifice that our king Jesus made for us on the cross. His blood washed away all our sins and he made us pure in the site of the Father, we became one with Him.(Amen) As new born we need nourishment to grow which we get from His word and through prayer. Everyday we must strive to become more like Him in our lives living in accordance with His word. It makes me feel somewhat arrogant at times when I think of myself being holy because the idea that man can be holy is sometimes difficult to grasp. But thank you Jesus for your grace in making me holy and a part of your body.

Q1. (1:13) What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Why should it inspire hope? Why should it inspire self-control and soberness? What happens in our lives when we don't really expect Christ to come soon? As Christians we often tend to live our lives without thinking of the amazing facts of our salvation and all we will receive when Jesus returns.I believe we get caught up in the moment and focus our attentions on the life we are living.We set aside special times to be with the Lord,Sundays; morning quiet times perhaps evening prayer and midweek fellowship.Christs commitment was total and so should ours be He must be part of everything we do.Always remember He dwells within our hearts so His never far away.The very thought that when he comes again we will be set totally free from all our pains and problems and be able to live life like God intended for us.We must glorify Him in all that we do in this life and the next.