The Big Idea
The gospel is exemplified not in governmental leaders, but in the conduct of the Christian citizen.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
Live Well
Peter tells believers to be subject to every human institution "for the Lord's sake." Doing good, even with rules we would not have chosen, puts the gospel on display.
Live Free
Biblical freedom is the freedom to choose God's will and God's way, which includes the freedom to submit. Conrad applied it to the coming election: vote your values as a servant of God, then trust God with the results.
Live Respectfully
Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. Honor is not agreement; it gives every person the dignity of an image bearer.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read 1 Peter 2:13–17 together in the ESV.
Rules kept for the Lord
Conrad quoted John Piper, "Keeping the speed limit is Christian worship." Which everyday rule do you find easiest to shrug off, and what would keeping it "for the Lord's sake" look like for you this week?
Two kinds of wrong
Conrad named two kinds of wrong: malum in se, wrong in itself, like murder, and malum prohibitum, wrong only because a law forbids it, like speeding; and he said that if abortion is legislated, that does not mean we go along with it. How do you tell the difference between a rule you keep for the Lord's sake even when you disagree with it and a wrong you will not support whatever the law says, and where has that line been hard for you to see?
Free to come under
Peter told believers living under Nero to "live as people who are free," and Conrad said that means we are "free to come under something else." Where in your life right now does submitting feel least like freedom, and what would it look like to do it as a servant of God?
Honor everyone
Peter wrote "Honor everyone" and "Honor the emperor" while Nero was on the throne, and Conrad said honor is not agreement but seeing people "with respect, dignity, and worth." Where do you find it hardest to give honor right now, with a public leader or with someone closer to home, and what would one act of honor look like there before next Wednesday?
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Think of someone you will see this week who needs a little more honor from you, and give them respect, dignity and worth, whether or not you agree with them.
- Keep ordinary rules, like the speed limit, as an act of worship.
- Before you vote in the November 3 election, pray, discern and vote your biblical values as a servant of God. Then trust God with the results.
- Ask yourself: What can I control? What can't I control? What is my responsibility right here, right now?
Application
Each day this week, pray for the people in authority over you, at work, in our city and in the nation, and ask God to help you live well under them.
My notes
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the October 11, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.