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Leader Guide for Lesson 2

  1. How do you feel as though you are strangers and scattered in the world (1:1)?

    2. By not having the same values, goals, language, and interests as do people in the world; by Christians not all living in one colony or commune but scattered throughout the communities and countries of the world.

  2. How does it encourage you to know that God has chosen those who believe in Jesus to belong to him in a special way (1:1)?

    3. God has not ignored or forgotten me; God has a plan for my life that I can fulfill; I am loved fully and unconditionally. Other answers possible.

  3. Which is more real to you: the living hope of an imperishable inheritance, or the grief that you face in various trials (1:4-6)? How can you make your hope more real to you?

    4. The trials can seem much more real than the "sweet by and by." We can grow in hope by filling our minds with God's promises, getting to know older Christians who have kept the faith for many years, and reminding ourselves of what our purpose is.

  4. How does suffering "prove" what your faith is made of (1:7)?

    5. It reveals how much faith you really have. You really don't know unless it is tested. You wouldn't want to face eternity unsure of your faith!

  5. How have you grown through suffering?

    6. Various answers possible. Some may have matured by losing a loved one to death, having a divorce in the family, doing difficult mission work, being unfairly treated, etc.

  6. How is it sometimes difficult to believe in something or someone that you cannot see (1:8)?

    7. What we see is so much with us. We tend to doubt what we cannot see. Paul says that what is unseen is more sure than what is seen (2 Cor. 4:18).

  7. What is the goal of your faith (1:9)? In other words, what is the point of what you do and believe religiously?

    8. Is it to avoid hell, to please your parents or spouse, or to honor God and express gratitude to Jesus?

  8. Based on this passage, what is your identity as a Christian?

Someone who is loved, who has been planned for, who has a great future to look forward to, who has a purpose for enduring suffering.

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