BETTER THINGS TO COME

BETTER THINGS TO COME

LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE – Part 5

Nate Grieser May 25, 2025

This is a letter from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. – 1 Peter 1:1

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” – 1 Peter 1:17

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. – 1 Peter 2:11

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. – 1 Peter 3:18

Better Things Come…

1. . . . through a .

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. – John 14:16-17

2. . . . by living out .

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. – Mark 16:15-16

3. . . . when we .

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and here he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground–trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. – Genesis 2:8-9

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned them, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden–except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”  – Genesis 2:15-17

Then the Lord God said, “Look, human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. – Genesis 2:22-24

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. – John 3:16-18

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. …Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. – Revelation 22:1-2, 14