Our Living Hope | Resurrection Sunday | Easter 2026

SERMON NOTES

Strangers and Exiles #1: Our Living Hope

Main Text: 1 Peter 1:1-12

The Salvation of our Souls is…

1) Rooted in God

• the Father’s mercy and grace
• the Son’s life, death, and resurrection
• the Spirit’s saving power

2) Accomplished in History

• promised by the OT prophets
• fulfilled in Jesus
• documented by eyewitnesses

3) Announced to You

• By the preaching of the gospel
• By the revelation of the Spirit

4) Accessed by Faith

• Belief in the resurrection of Jesus
• Belief in the Lordship of Jesus
• Belief in the future return of Jesus

5) Resulting in Transformation

• from cynical despair to living hope
• from uncertain future to unfading inheritance
• from endless depression to inexpressible joy

The Big Idea:
The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

You don’t have to live without hope anymore.

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Opening Illustration

Several years ago, Barie and I were in San Antonio for a half-marathon, and the night before the race, we

realized that we didn’t have any snacks for the run the next morning.

So we thought, “No problem—we’re staying downtown, we’ll just run over to HEB and grab something quick.”

We put HEB into Google Maps, followed the directions exactly, drove across the city… and ended up at an HEB

distribution center on the north side of San Antonio.

Not exactly helpful.

And I still remember Barie looking at me and saying, “If we followed Jesus the way we just followed Google

Maps, our lives would be radically different.”

So we regrouped and thought, “Alright, let’s just find the nearest convenience store.”

We found one… drove over… and it was already closed.

Strike two.

At this point, we’re driving around a city that’s not our home, following directions that aren’t working, trying

to find something simple, and realizing we have no idea where we are or where to go next.

We were lost.We finally found a small gas station on the way back to the hotel, grabbed a couple of protein bars, and called

it a night.

And then, of course, we get to the race the next morning… and they’ve got tables everywhere loaded with

snacks for every runner.

We didn’t need any of it.

Need

But here’s what I want you to see.

That experience—being in a place that’s not your home, following directions that don’t get you where you’re

trying to go, and realizing you’re not where you’re supposed to be—

that’s not just a travel story.

That’s a picture of the human condition.

Because this world is not our ultimate home…

and many of us are following unreliable maps.

We’re looking to success, relationships, money, comfort, achievement—thinking those things will lead us

where we want to go—and over time, we begin to realize they’re not getting us there.

And the result is not just confusion.

It’s lostness.

Subject

And lostness shows up in more ways than we often realize.

It means we don’t really know where we are.

We don’t really know who we are.

And we don’t really know where we’re ultimately headed.

And the Bible says the reason for that is not just that we’ve made a few wrong turns.

It’s that, apart from God, we are separated from the One who made us, we are not walking in His ways, and

we are disconnected from the very purpose for which we were created.

We are lost.

And that is exactly why Jesus came.

He didn’t come just to give us better directions.

He came to rescue the lost…

and to save our souls.INTRO TO THE BOOK OF 1 PETER

It’s here that we want to turn our attention to the book of 1 Peter, the object of our study over the next 9

weeks, where Peter helps us understand our salvation in Jesus Christ.

He’s writing to people who, in many ways, feel they are living in the wrong place, trying to navigate life

without the stability and clarity they once assumed they had, and increasingly aware that following Jesus has

set them on a different path from the world around them.

He introduces himself simply as Peter—an apostle of Jesus Christ. This is the same Peter who walked with

Jesus, who listened to His teaching, who tried to follow Him and at times failed miserably, and yet was

restored by Jesus and sent out to lead in the early church. And now, years later, he is writing as a seasoned

pastor, helping believers make sense of their lives in a world that doesn’t always make sense.

And he writes to what he calls “chosen exiles scattered” throughout the Roman provinces—ordinary Christians

spread across a wide region, living far from the centers of power, trying to follow Jesus in places where they

were misunderstood, marginalized, and beginning to experience real pressure for their faith.

In other words, these are people who are trying to follow Jesus in a world that is constantly offering them

different directions, different values, different visions of what life should be—and like we talked about earlier,

not all of those directions lead where they promise to lead.

This letter is written around the early 60s AD, about thirty years after the resurrection of Jesus, during a time

when that pressure is only increasing. Following Christ is not easy or culturally accepted; it is becoming costly.

The Roman Emperor Nero is increasing his persecution of Christians, which will eventually cost Peter his own

life.

And Peter’s purpose in writing is not just to give them better advice or help them navigate life more effectively

within this world. He is helping them see something deeper—who they really are, where they really belong,

and where their lives are ultimately headed.

He is helping them understand that they are not just confused…they are not just off course…

they are strangers and exiles in this world. This world is not our home.

Which is why we’re calling this series “Strangers and Exiles.”

Because what was true for them is true for us.

And over the next nine weeks, through April and May, we’re going to walk through this letter together and

learn what it means to follow Jesus in a world that is not our home, while holding on to the hope that He has

given us.

Can you open your Bibles with me to 1 Peter 1:1-12 and stand for the reading of God’s Word?

TEXT: 1 Peter 1:1-12

GREETING1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia,

Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the

sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and

peace be multiplied to you.

A LIVING HOPE

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new

birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is

imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

5 You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last

time. 6 You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials 7 so

that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—

may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you

rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of

your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched

and carefully investigated. 11 They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within

them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been

announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels

long to catch a glimpse of these things.

Preview:

Five amazing truths about the salvation of our souls…

And one final reality.

Sermon:

THE SALVATION OF OUR SOULS

1) Rooted in God (vv. 1–3)

“Blessed be the God and Father…”

Our salvation doesn’t begin with us.

It begins with God. This is very important to understand.

• The Father’s mercy and grace

“Because of his great mercy…”• The Son’s life, death, and resurrection

“He has given us new birth… through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

• The Spirit’s saving power (v. 2)

“Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit”

This is a Trinitarian salvation – rooted in the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You didn’t initiate this.

You didn’t earn this.

You didn’t deserve this.

God did this.

We aren’t saved by working hard at being righteous people, but grabbing the hand of the one who saves us.

Illustration: drowning

If someone is drowning in the ocean, they can’t rescue themselves. They don’t swim halfway in and meet the

lifeguard.

They are rescued.

The lifeguard sees them, moves toward them, pulls them out, and brings them safely to shore.

And when it’s over, no one says, “What a great job the swimmer did.”

They say, “Thank God someone came to save them.”

So it is with our salvation. It’s not rooted in our goodness or power.

It’s rooted in God. He is the One who saves us.

Second, our salvation is…

2) Accomplished in History (vv. 10–11)

This is not mythology.

This is not spiritual poetry.

• Promised by the prophets

The OT prophets listened to God and promised that the Messiah was coming to save and redeem.

The Bible is full of hundreds of promises waiting to be fulfilled. And the good news is they were…

• Fulfilled in Jesus

He was the promised Son of the virgin who came to save the lost.

He was the promised King who came to win.

He was the promised Suffering Servant who came to die and rise again.

He was the promised Messiah who came to reign forever.

And all of this that Jesus did was…• Documented by eyewitnesses

Real people, real events, real history

This makes up the bulk of our New Testament – the eyewitness accounts.

Christianity is not built on ideas.

It is built on historical, real events.

And the central event is this: Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

If you are in a courtroom being tried for a crime, you don’t want someone to say, “I think this is what

happened” or “I feel like this is true.” You want them to say, “Here is the evidence that this person is innocent

and didn’t do the crime.”

The Christian faith is rooted in real events that tell us that Jesus is a real Savior who is really alive today. He is

here now, and we believe that if you come to him with an open heart, He will change your life.

The Salvation of our Souls is rooted in God, accomplished in history, and now…

3) Announced to You (v. 12)

“They have now announced these things to you…”

This message didn’t stay in the past.

It came to you in your life. It has come to you today.

In two primary ways…

• First, through the preaching of the gospel

I am here today to tell you where salvation is found, where the lost can be found, where eternal,

everlasting hope can be discovered – in Jesus Christ.

God uses imperfect vessels like me to tell you about the salvation of your soul. As Martin Luther

famously said, we are simply beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.

• Second, this hope is announced to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven

The Spirit is convicting your soul as I share the gospel with you. Telling you that Jesus is real, you are

lost, and He is the way to salvation.

This message, the work of the Spirit is not just for information. It is an invitation.

The question is whether you will respond to His voice, His saving work.

You and I are like hikers lost in the woods, unsure where we are or where to go, how to find our destination.

And then we hear a voice in the distance saying, “over here – following my voice.” If we are wise, we will

follow the voice of God to salvation.

If we are foolish, we will stay lost because we want to be in charge.How then do we follow His voice, reach out and grab His hand? How do we receive the good work that Christ

has done to save us?

Our salvation is…

4) Accessed by Faith (vv. 8–9)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him…”

This salvation is not automatic, it is not universal.

Many people are still lost even after they hear the good news. Why?

Because their faith is still in themselves, not in Christ.

The salvation of our souls must be received by faith.

Now, let me be clear – we are not saved by the strength of our faith.

We are saved by the OBJECT of our faith.

The question is not how much do you believe?

The question is, where have you placed your faith?

Great faith in a wrong savior will still lead you to be lost.

Weak faith in a living savior will lead you to salvation.

This is why the Christian invitation is to believe in, trust in JESUS, not yourself, not your political heroes, not

your spiritual guru, but in Jesus alone.

What does that mean? Peter invites us to…

• Belief in the resurrection of Jesus. (Jesus is the only One who rose from the dead)
• Belief in the lordship of Jesus. (our confession is the Jesus is Lord, He alone is King)
• Belief in the return of Jesus. (Jesus is coming again to make all things right)

Peter acknowledges that this can be difficult because we haven’t seen him with our own eyes.

But the truth is that many did and shared the good news with us.

You don’t see Him…but you trust Him.

And through faith, you receive: “the salvation of your souls.”

So we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we commit our lives to Him, and we are no longer lost.

What then is the result?

5) Resulting in Transformation (vv. 3–9)

This is where it gets personal.

What happens when we are truly saved?

What shifts in our lives when we are no longer lost, but found?We move…

• From cynical despair → to living hope

“He has given us new birth into a living hope”

You have a hope that cannot be taken from you, not matter what happens in this life.

Christians walk through trials and grief and loss just like non-Christians, but one of the main differences

is the LIVING HOPE we have in Christ.

We are not a people of despair, but a people of hope.

• From uncertain future → to unfading inheritance

“An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading”

In Christ, we have an eternal inheritance that can’t be taken away.

We might lose everything in this life, even our lives.

But what we have in Christ is secure and unfading.

• From endless depression → to inexpressible joy

“You rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy”

We have a joy that this world cannot understand.

Trying to find ultimate happiness and joy in the things of this world will leave you empty.

But when you have Jesus, you have a joy that cannot be take away.

Why does salvation in Christ result in these massive changes in your life?

One, because you are no longer worried about eternity. You know who holds your forever in His hands.

And two, because you have a new identity and a new extended family.

Think about a child who has no home, no security, no clear future, and then he is adopted into a loving family.

Nothing about their past changes, but everything about their present and future changes.

This is what is means to belong to Jesus.

THE BIG IDEA (Reinforce Clearly)

And this is all possible because Jesus rose from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

• Death is not the end
• Jesus is Lord of all
• And everything will be made right when He returns

APPLICATION / GOSPEL CALL

Let’s bring this home.

Some of you are here today…

and if you’re honest, you don’t have this kind of hope.

You have:• Temporary hope

• Circumstantial hope
• Fragile hope

But not living hope.

And the reason is simple: You haven’t yet trusted in Jesus.

Call to Faith

The invitation of Easter is not:

“Try harder.”

“Be better.”

It is: “Believe.”

• Believe that Jesus died for your sins
• Believe that He rose from the dead
• Believe that He is Lord

And today—right where you are—

you can put your faith in Him.

“If that’s you, I want to invite you to respond…”

• Turn from your sin
• Trust in Christ
• Receive the gift of salvation

Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ…

You don’t have to live without hope anymore.