Everyone wants peace. I mean everyone. You don’t have to be a Christian to want it. You don’t have to be particularly spiritual or particularly broken. It is one of the most universally human longings there is. Amazon released data a few years back on the most highlighted passage in all of the Bible across every reader on the platform. A lot of people guessed John 3:16. Some people guessed Philippians 4:13. Others thought maybe the Lord’s Prayer, but it was actually Philippians 4:6-7, which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Millions of people have stopped in the middle of reading that verse and underlined it because something in them said, “That is what I need.” That is what I am missing. We are wired for peace, and we know when we don’t have it.

Peter was writing to churches that were living without a lot of external peace. The pressure they were facing was real. Some of these believers were in households divided by faith. Houses with a wife who had come to know Jesus and a husband who had not, or vice versa. Some were suffering unjustly in the workplace. Some were watching the political world around them turn increasingly hostile toward the things of Christ. These were not hypothetical concerns. They were waking up to them every morning. And into all of that, Peter does not offer them a way around the suffering. He offers them something better. He teaches them how to be so rooted in the peace of Christ that the suffering cannot take it from them.

That is what I want for you. Not a comfortable life where nothing goes wrong. I want you to be so anchored in the peace of Jesus that when things do go wrong, which is inevitable, you do not come undone. In 1 Peter 3:8-17, Peter shows us two places where that peace has to be pursued. Inside the church, and out in the world.

Pursue God’s Peace in Harmony

“Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9)

There is a common assumption that the greatest threat to the church comes from outside her walls. From the government or from a culture that grows more indifferent or antagonistic toward the things of Christ. That assumption feels reasonable, but it does not hold up under church history. The deepest wounds the church has suffered have come from within. Division, unresolved bitterness, gossip, people who love being right more than they love being unified, and these have done more damage to the witness of the church than any external force ever has.

Peter knew this. So he begins not by addressing outsiders but by addressing us. “All of you,” he says. Every person in the church carries responsibility for the harmony of the body. This is not a task delegated to staff or elders alone. The unity of the church belongs to everyone, and every person in it is either building it or eroding it.

Guard your mind. There is a battle for your thought life, and it never stops. Scripture does not speak occasionally about this. It speaks repeatedly and urgently. Strengthen your mind. Renew your mind. Submit your thoughts. Take every thought captive. Set your mind on things above. The reason for all of this emphasis is simple: what we allow to settle in our thinking will eventually become what we believe, and what we believe will eventually shape how we act.

I have a boxer named Gracie. She is a great dog, but she was never what you would call highly trained. For a long time, every time one of the kids opened the front door, she would bolt straight toward the street like she had somewhere important to be. We ended up getting a shock collar to help redirect that impulse. It only took a few times. Now when the door opens, Gracie’s mind is already made up. She has learned that what looked like freedom was actually danger. Our minds function the same way. A thought that feels like release, like freedom, like justified anger, can lead us straight into something that destroys us and everyone around us. Paul is direct about this in Romans 8:5-6: the mindset of the flesh leads to death, but the mindset of the Spirit leads to life and peace. When thoughts arise that assume the worst about a fellow church member, that rehearse an old grievance, that generate suspicion toward the leadership of the church, we do not run out that door. We need to stop. We need to take it captive and bring it to Christ.

Guard your heart. What the mind entertains long enough will eventually find its way into the heart. This is why Peter moves from calling us like-minded and sympathetic directly into calling us loving, compassionate, and humble. Harmony in the church cannot be produced by a good strategy or a well-run program. It does not come from creedal obligation or strong leadership alone. It flows from a heart that is genuinely anchored in love for Christ and love for the people He has placed around you. That love has to be bigger than our opinions. It has to outlast our preferences about music, about style, about decisions in the church we might do differently. Paul puts it this way in Philippians 4:7: the peace of God “will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” That peace surpasses our disagreements. It surpasses the hurdles the church will face. But only if we are letting it guard us rather than constantly working around it.

Guard your actions. Peter is direct: do not pay back evil for evil or insult for insult. Give a blessing instead. Then he quotes Psalm 34: keep your tongue from evil, turn away from what causes harm, seek peace and pursue it. That word pursue is not passive. You chase peace down. You choose it on the days when every instinct in you is pulling toward retaliation.

We have all watched children do this. Someone says something unkind, the other fires something back, and by the time a parent gets there, both of them are convinced the other one started it. Peter is saying that this kind of thing has no place in the body of Christ. We are called to something more mature and more costly than that. Paul says in Romans 14:19, “let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” Paul had strong convictions in that chapter. He believed he was right about the issue at hand. But he loved the church more than he loved being vindicated, and he laid aside what he believed was his rightful position for the sake of the unity of the body.

Let me ask you something directly. Are you more concerned about the church meeting your preferences, like the music you want to hear, the way you want things done, the decisions you wish were made differently, or are you more concerned about the mission of Christ and the unity of His people? Those two things will come into conflict. And which one wins in that moment says everything about what you are actually anchored in.

The world around us is watching. Not just your individual life, but this church. When they see a community of people who treat each other with patience and humility and real affection in spite of their differences, they see something the world cannot manufacture anywhere else. That is the witness. Guard it.

Pursue God’s Peace in Suffering

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:14–16)

I came across an advertisement once for a clinic treating chronic nerve pain. The tagline was something like: “Imagine living pain-free for the rest of your life.” It’s a compelling offer. The only problem is that it is not available. Not on this side of eternity. Jesus told His disciples plainly in John 16:33, “You will have suffering in this world.” Not might. Will. Peter has said it repeatedly through this letter. Paul says it in Acts 14:22. Suffering is not the exception for followers of Jesus. It is the expectation.

Jesus did not stop at “you will have suffering.” He said immediately after: “Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” That second sentence is the anchor. Peace in suffering is not pretending things are fine when they are not. It is not performing strength for the sake of appearances. It is carrying real pain while being tethered to the settled certainty that the One who called you through it has already won.

And here is what Peter wants us to understand. When suffering is handled with that kind of peace, it becomes something. It becomes a witness. People notice when someone walks through genuine hardship without losing their footing. They notice when a person who has every reason to be bitter is not. They notice when faith holds under the kind of weight that breaks everything else. Peter tells us that when they notice, they will start asking questions. He anticipates that moment in verse 15: be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

The word for defense there is apologia in Greek. It is a courtroom term. It means a reasoned, articulate answer. Peter is telling us that the way we carry suffering is preparing us for a conversation. The stability the world observes in us opens the door for the gospel. Our pain, handled in the peace of Christ, becomes a ministry. Not because suffering is good in itself, but because the peace that sustains us through it is inexplicable by any natural means, and people who are paying attention will want to know where it comes from.

Peter adds one more thing. When you give that answer, do it “with gentleness and reverence.” Not with a chip on your shoulder. Not with superiority toward people who do not yet believe what you believe. With the quiet confidence of someone who has found something real and wants other people to find it too. That combination that is a life of genuine peace in real suffering, and offered to others with gentleness, is one of the most powerful forms of witness the church has.

Looking forward to praying with you this Wednesday! Come join us in prayer from 6-7pm in the Worship Center.

If you have recently joined our church or are considering church membership, this class is for you! Starting Point is designed to give you a better picture of who we are as a church family. Together, we want you to have a clear understanding of our mission, vision, and values here at Green Acres Baptist Church — and help you discover how you can get connected.

This is a free brunch, and you’ll hear directly from our staff about the history of Green Acres, what we believe, and the next steps to plug into the life of our church.

For families with children (birth–elementary), childcare is available through Kids’ Ministry — just check them in at the Kids’ Atrium when you arrive.

Join us Sunday, April 12. Register HERE

EASTER INVITES! – This Sunday is the FINAL Sunday for picking up Easter invites and 3 Circles in the Worship Center Foyer! Please make plans to join us in inviting our community to worship with us this Easter by inviting your friends and neighbors.

I hope that you will join us next Friday, April 3, at 6PM as we worship together, participate in the Lord’s Supper, reflecting on the sacrifice that Jesus made, and anticipate the celebration of Easter.

On April 5, EASTER Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, we will have MANY opportunities to CELEBRATE together – starting with our annual Easter Sunrise Service at 7:00am at the Cathedral in the Pines Memorial Garden. For Easter Worship Services, we have 3 options at Tyler Campus: 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11am. At Flint Campus: 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11am.   Then, GABC Español will worship together at 11:00am.   There will be NO Connect Groups at any of our campuses.

Please be praying about the people you will invite to join you for Easter services.  The Lord may be prompting someone to attend church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, but they don’t have the courage to attend on their own.  A simple invitation from YOU might be exactly what they need to help them take that first step!

I want to personally invite you to worship with us this Sunday at 9:30 or 11:00!

This week we will be looking at Luke 12:1-12 as we continue our series in the Gospel of Luke.

See you Sunday.

You are loved and prayed for!

Michael Gossett