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.
Our little work of accepting each other in the church is part of the big work God is doing in the world.
In Revelation 2:12-17, we meet the Church in Pergamum, a group of Christians that one has to admire for holding fast to the name...
Two stories combine to show how Jesus has power to make people whole again and to call us to believe his words.