To start the year, we are studying Peter’s first letter by beginning with I Peter 1:1-2. In each section, we will see how he describes the people of God. In his greeting, Peter calls Christians “elect exiles,” which is a curious expression that mixes something positive (elect, chosen, selected) with something negative (exiles, driven out, rejected). As it turns out, God’s election makes his people exiles in this world, and Peter reminds us that it is our call to live our lives as those who are in the world but not of the world.
In John 12:27-50, we have Jesus' final appeal to the world before spending his final days focused on his disciples. After explaining the meaning...
Jesus' power over the forces of evil demonstrated that the kingdom of God had come.
Because they questioned and rejected Jesus’ authority, the chief priests were removed from their post and replaced by others from all the nations.