I Peter 1:3

I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Tonight we begin the book of First Peter. Peter was the mouthy disciple of Jesus who always got himself into trouble. It was Peter who stood up for Jesus the night that Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter pulled out his sword to defend Jesus, but could only manage to cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. It was Peter who snuck into the courtyard where Jesus was on trial. When people recognized Peter, he denied knowing Jesus because he was afraid. But after Jesus was resurrected and ascended back to heaven, the Holy Spirit came and indwelled Peter. And Peter was a changed man. Along with John, Peter preached and 3,000 people were saved! Wow! What a change! In our verse for today, Peter talks about being begotten. Begotten is an old word that means to be born. John talked to Nicodemus about being born again into God’s forever family and Peter is talking about the same thing. And our verse tells us that this new birth is possible because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Because Jesus lives again, we have the hope of living again too. Someday after we die, we will get a new, glorified body and we will live forever with God in heaven. What a wonderful time that will be!