This past Wednesday night we began our study of I Peter. This is a letter of encouragement, written to the suffering, to strengthen their hearts with constant reminders of Christ’s return. I Peter is different than most of the pastoral letters in that it was not written to address any misconduct or theological errors, it was solely for the purpose of strengthening the weary with reminders of Who they belonged to and where they belonged. Izaak Walton has described the letter as “affectionate, loving, lowly and humble”. These are not adjectives that we often associate with Peter, but in this letter, the influence of Jesus as His Shepherd shines through as he shepherds others.