Blessing of Unity

Good morning. Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. My name is Matthew Capone

and I'm the pastor here and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. If you're new or visiting

with us, welcome. We're glad that you're here. And we're glad that you're here not because we

are trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together as one community, we've become convinced that there's no one so good

that they don't need God's grace, his forgiveness, and no one so bad that they can't have it. And so

we come to God's word over and over again and again, week after week, because we believe that

God has something to say to every one of us. He has something to say to us if we have been Christians

our entire lives, if we can't remember a time when we weren't Christians. He has something to say to

us if we've been Christians for a very short amount of time. And he also has something to say to us if

we would not consider ourselves Christians, if we're people who have questions or doubts or

objections to Christianity. If you're with us, you know that over the summer, we went through a series

on the Psalms, which we finished last week. And now we're starting a new series in the book of 1 Peter.

And the 1 Peter is a letter, and it's a letter written by a man named Peter. And he writes this to

groups of Christians in the first century who live in what is now modern-day Turkey.

And he writes to these Christians because they are, as they live, as they follow Jesus,

the fact that they're Christians is making them feel out of place in the world.

And not only is it making them feel out of place in the world, they're also facing opposition from the

world. Peter writes knowing that they're feeling out of place and they're facing opposition, and he does

this to encourage them and help them understand and know how it is they should live in the world

and why they should continue living that way. In other words, the book of 1 Peter is a book about

what it means to be in the world, but not of the world. And it's also a book about what it means to

represent Jesus to the world. It's a book about being in the world, but not of the world, while also

representing Jesus to the world. And it's a book about why Jesus is worth that. Why he's worth living

and loving for. Why he's worth suffering for. And why the recipients of this letter, the people who

are living in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, should continue loving and following Jesus. And so the

question that this book answers and addresses is the question we're going to begin to talk about this

morning. What do we do? How do we respond? How do we think about the reality that when we live in this

world, oftentimes we feel very out of place if we're following Jesus? How should we think about

that? How do we begin to address it? It's the last question that we come to this letter, and we're going

to be reading just the first couple verses. You're going to find this printed in your worship guide near

the end. You can also find it on your Bible or your phone. And as we come to this, remember that this is

God's word. And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold, and that it is

sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. It's for that reason that we read

now, starting with verse 1,

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Father in heaven, we thank you, as always, that you have not left us to figure out this world on our

own, but that you come and you speak to us. You've given us your word and your instructions

that we would know what you want and what you love, and that we would want and love those things as well.

We also know that we are hard of hearing, and unless you help us, we are helpless.

We ask that you would send your spirit now to do that, that you would open up our eyes so that we

could see, you'd unstop our ears so that we could hear, you'd soften our hearts so that we could

believe, and you'd clear our minds so that we could understand everything that you've written in your

word about your son. And we ask these things not because we have earned them, but because you,

Jesus has earned them for us, and we ask him in his name. Amen.

There was a time in my life about five years ago where I had a very challenging decision that I had to

make, and as I look back now, I think it was probably one of the most challenging decisions that I've ever

had to make in my life. And so knowing the gravity of that, I realized that I was in way over my head.

I didn't have the wisdom to think through what I needed to think through. I knew this decision had

a lot of consequences. This is not important to what I'm going to tell you, but basically I had to

make a decision whether I was going to continue in a relationship or not, and I began to realize that

this might not be the place for me. This might be something that I had to exit. I wasn't going to

make that decision lightly, and I also knew that I needed tremendous wisdom, and I didn't necessarily

believe that everyone around me had it. If you're like me, there's times where you have talked to

various people. You know there's certain things you need to talk to someone who's 10 years ahead of you

to get advice about. So if I need counsel about how to be a pastor, I don't call up a first-year

seminary student. Instead, I call up someone who's been seasoned for decades. There's some decisions where

maybe you need to talk to someone 20 years ahead of you. Maybe there's some that you need to talk to

someone 30 years ahead of you. This decision that I was facing, I felt like it was the type of decision

where I needed to talk to someone who was far, far ahead of me on the journey, someone who was seasoned

and experienced in life and as a counselor.

And so I knew a man that I had a relationship with for a long time who was in his 60s, and I thought,

this is a 60-plus question.

This is a 60-plus problem. I'm not going to talk to someone in their 30s. I knew someone in their 50s,

and I thought, you know, this is, I need someone who's got the four-decade advantage on me for this one.

And so I spent time on the phone trying to schedule an appointment with this man. I drove

several hours to meet with him. He did not live close to me. And we sat down, and I explained to

him this entire situation, this decision that I had to make, all the complicating factors,

what I was afraid of, and either whether I stayed or I left. And so this man, he sat down, and he

listened, and he gave me his counsel. He talked through all the issues with me, gave me his advice,

told me what he thought about what I was facing. And he was able to do that because he was someone

with credibility and experience. He knew what he was talking about. He'd been talking to people

about these sorts of things, not for 10, not for 20, but 30, 40 years. As we come to the letter of

1 Peter, Peter is a man in this letter with incredible credibility and seasoning. He knows what he's

talking about. Peter writes this near the end of his life. And of course, he tells us, verse 1, he's an

apostle. That's his credentials. And that tells us that he's someone who's a representative, a

representative of Jesus who can speak authoritatively for the church about Jesus' life and Jesus' teachings.

And so that's his position. That's his credential, his credibility. But Peter has even more than that.

Peter has lived for decades as someone who knows Jesus and follows Jesus. And he is someone

who has experienced what it means to belong to God and be chosen by God. And not only has he

experienced for decades what it means to belong to God and be chosen by God, he also knows what it's

like from firsthand experience to suffer for God. He has lived for years. And so he writes as someone

that we should listen to. He has lived everything that he talks about. And he hasn't been perfect. We

meet Peter for the first time. He grew up in a small town called Bethsaida, which is right outside the

Sea of Galilee, which is a place where much of Jesus' ministry took place. It was on the north shore of the

Sea of Galilee. Now, Jesus, if you're familiar, grew up in Nazareth, which was southwest of the Sea of Galilee.

And I tell you that so that you know that if Jesus and Peter lived today, their high school football

teams would have played each other. Now, whether Jesus' team would have won or Peter's team would

have won, I'm going to leave that theological knot for you to untie at lunch today. But Peter and Jesus

would have been in the same territory. Peter was a fisherman. That's how he grew up. And at some point,

because of his career as a fisherman, he entered into business. He had a business partnership with his

brother, who is named Andrew. And there's another brother set, James and John, that they joined

together with. And they were in Capernaum, which if you're familiar with Jesus' ministry, you know

that was a headquarters for where he had his ministry. And Andrew was an early adopter. Peter was not.

So Andrew was tracking with John the Baptist, and he was the one who introduced Peter to Jesus.

And Peter meets Jesus, and when he meets him, he's not interested necessarily in following Jesus,

but Jesus decides that Peter's going to follow him. And so he tells him, I'm going to make you a fisher of men.

Peter continues to follow after Jesus, having this relationship with Jesus, living with him for

multiple years, and Peter makes mistakes over and over again. If you're familiar with Peter, you know

that he misunderstands Jesus and his mission. At one point, he rebukes Jesus, and Jesus refers to him

as Satan. At another time later in his career, Paul has to rebuke Peter. But Peter continues following

after Jesus again and again, and we see throughout his life, Peter changes and grows. Peter rebukes

Jesus for wanting to suffer at the beginning of his time with Jesus. And now near the end of his time,

after Jesus' death, near the end of Peter's life, he's going to write to these people about suffering.

And I've just firehosed you with a bunch of facts about Peter, and I do that sometimes. I don't expect you

to remember all this, but the point that I want to make is this. Peter was a real man.

Peter did not have a halo. Instead, he worked with his hands.

Peter did not do everything perfectly. He didn't say everything perfectly. Instead, sometimes he put

his foot in his mouth. In fact, he put his foot in his mouth over and over again.

Peter wasn't just a real man, though. Peter had a real relationship with Jesus.

And because Peter had a real relationship with Jesus, he experienced a fundamental change in his identity,

in his character, and his behavior.

Peter had a real relationship with Jesus.

Because he had a real relationship with Jesus, he experienced a fundamental change

in his identity, in his character, and his behavior.

Everything that he writes about in these first two verses,

he writes about from what he knows in his experience.

And so he knows that he's been chosen by Jesus, and so that's how he writes to the people

who are receiving this letter. He says,

to those who are elect, exiles. Now this word elect is a technical theological term,

and I'm going to explain it to you, hopefully in such a way right now that you're never going to forget it.

Maybe I'm optimistic.

An elect is not a word that we use in English. It's not one that we're familiar with,

except in one instance.

Every four years, we have in this country a what?

We have an election.

An election is when we choose someone.

We choose someone to represent us.

So if someone is elect,

the term theologically,

when we talk about the elect, we're talking about those God has chosen.

Jesus chose Peter.

When Jesus first met Peter,

at least one of the first meetings,

he went out on a boat with him.

And when Jesus,

when Peter understood Jesus' power,

first of all,

Jesus just asked to borrow his boat,

because he wanted to speak to a large crowd of people,

and he knew that if he went out on the water,

the water would project his voice.

Peter was fine with that.

He was going to go out in the water with Jesus.

That wasn't a big deal.

Remember,

his brother Andrew had been an early adopter.

Andrew knew John the Baptist.

He was aware of Jesus.

So,

Peter was connected in this way.

And then Jesus performs this miracle for Peter,

in which Peter had not been able to catch any fish.

And suddenly,

Jesus made it so that he caught so many fish,

his net broke.

Do you remember what Peter does after that?

He doesn't say,

wow,

I really want to follow you,

Jesus.

Doesn't say,

this man is very powerful.

I want to be connected to him.

Peter says,

get as far away from me as you can.

Because I am a sinful man.

Peter did not choose Jesus.

Jesus chose Peter.

Peter has experienced everything that he is writing to these people about.

He has experienced the fact that God chose him.

And so,

the first thing that he reminds his readers of is that God has chosen them as well.

As we are looking and trying to make sense of all of this,

Peter continues to tell to them the same thing that he knows.

We are going to come back to exiles.

In a minute,

he tells them that God has chosen them.

And then he tells them what that means.

All these places that he mentions,

those are just places in Asia Minor.

So,

he is simply saying,

hey,

you all live in lots of different areas in modern day Turkey.

And then he tells them about their choosing.

This choosing happened according to the foreknowledge of God,

in the sanctification of the Spirit,

for obedience to Jesus Christ,

and for sprinkling with his blood.

Now,

for us,

this might sound like a lot of technical theological language.

For Peter,

it was his story.

Peter is telling us what he experienced.

Jesus chose him.

Verse 2,

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

In other words,

Peter knows that it's not because of anything that he has done

that he belongs to God and has been chosen by God.

He has walked with Jesus too long to think that.

He is with Jesus,

not because of his faithfulness,

ultimately,

but because of Jesus' faithfulness.

Not only has God chosen him,

not only did Jesus choose him,

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,

we're in verse 2 still,

but also in sanctification of the Spirit.

Peter knows that following Jesus means

that he's going to become more and more like Jesus.

That's what sanctification means.

It's the process by which we become more and more like Jesus.

Peter has become more and more like Jesus.

This is someone who rebuked Jesus for talking about suffering

and now is writing a letter about suffering.

This is someone who didn't always know how to be diplomatic,

who's now a leader in God's church.

Peter has experienced the process of having a real relationship with Jesus

and he knows that because of his time with Jesus,

Jesus has changed him.

His story is what he's telling us about in verse 2

and he knows that that story,

that hope,

is the same thing that's offered to

and is true of the people who are reading this.

They also need to know that they've been chosen by God.

They need to know that if they have a relationship with Jesus,

a real one in the way that Peter did,

that God will change them.

He will make them more like Jesus.

And then Peter also knows that his job and his story

is one of for obedience to Jesus Christ

and for sprinkling with his blood.

Peter's also famous for betraying Jesus the night that he died

because he didn't want to suffer.

Peter denied Jesus and claimed he didn't know him.

And now he's writing this letter to people

telling them to claim Jesus' name

even when it leads to suffering.

And he has claimed Jesus' name

and it's led to suffering.

And so the sanctification,

the change that Peter has experienced

because of his relationship with Jesus

has led to obedience to Jesus Christ.

Jesus has changed him in such a way

that he obeys God more and more.

In fact, Jesus commissioned him

near the end of the Gospel of John

and he tells Peter,

guess what, Peter?

At the end of your life,

you're going to have things happen to you

that you don't want to happen

and you're going to have people take you places

where you don't want to go.

And finally, Peter knows

that all of this comes from sprinkling with Jesus' blood.

Peter has not earned anything from God.

Jesus didn't choose Peter

because he was the first round pick.

He didn't choose him because he was the smartest.

He didn't choose him

because he got along better with people than others.

He didn't choose Peter

because of Peter's skill as a fisherman.

In fact, we know that he wasn't able to catch any fish

when Jesus came to him.

Peter knows that it's God's grace

that has made him a follower of Jesus.

And he knows that this obedience is imperfect,

that he has betrayed Jesus at points in his life

and he hasn't always followed him perfectly,

but it's Jesus' death and his resurrection

that allows him to be chosen by God

in the sanctification of the Spirit

for obedience to Jesus Christ.

Peter was the one who betrayed Jesus

and claimed that he didn't know him.

And after Jesus died and gave up his blood,

Jesus came back and restored Peter.

Peter's the one who got really ambitious

and decided when Jesus was walking on the Sea of Galilee,

the place where he had originally gone out with Jesus

and Jesus had told him he wanted to be a fisher of men,

that's the place where Jesus told Peter

to come to him on the water

and to walk on water with him.

Peter knows that he took his eyes off Jesus

and started to drown.

He also knows

that Jesus didn't take his eyes off him.

Peter belongs to God

and he's been chosen by God.

And he writes to people in Asia Minor

who are feeling out of place in the world

and facing opposition from the world

to remind them that they have been chosen by God

and they belong to God.

And so if you are here this morning

and you have faith in Christ,

you're following after Jesus,

you have a real relationship with Jesus

in the way that Peter did,

God has chosen you.

And God has chosen you in the way similarly,

now not identical, right?

He's not chosen you as an apostle.

I hate to break the news to you,

but he has chosen you similarly

to the way he's called Peter.

That is that he has called you

even though you are flawed

and broken and sinful.

Even though, like Peter,

you can look back to places in your life

where you've done things

that you wish you could undo.

Jesus has chosen you in that way.

And if he's chosen you just like Peter,

you're going to become more and more like Jesus

and it's going to result in obedience,

but even that obedience

does not take away your need

for the sprinkling of Jesus' blood.

How do we make sense,

how do we think about

a world in which we feel out of place?

Peter doesn't begin by telling them,

giving them a worldview analysis.

He doesn't break down what's wrong

with the philosophies around them.

He doesn't start with scandalous stories

about things that have happened to Christians.

He doesn't start out with a list of do's and don'ts,

reminding them of their responsibilities.

Instead, he starts out by reminding them,

as you are living in this world,

as you're seeking to be in the world

but not of the world,

and you want to represent Jesus to the world,

the first thing you need to know

is that God chose you.

You're not here by accident.

You are here.

We are here in 2019,

on September 1st,

in Colorado Springs,

because God has chosen us

and this is where he wants us to be.

That's what they need to know

more than anything else.

That's what these people need

to hear and understand.

They need to know, like Peter,

God's chosen them.

And they need to know that, like Peter,

when they take their eyes off Jesus,

as one man has put it,

Jesus doesn't take his eyes off them.

If we're living in this world

and we're facing opposition,

if we have not decided

and figured out that God has chosen us

and we belong to him,

nothing else matters.

Our resolve doesn't matter.

Our understanding of the flaws

of the world around us doesn't matter.

Our ability to know and understand

things that are happening

in political systems

and the ways that people might be working

to create opposition against Christians

and the things that we need to think about

and know,

none of that matters

unless we know that God has chosen us

and we belong to him.

Most letters in the New Testament

start out by saying,

dear church or dear saints.

Peter doesn't say,

dear church or dear saints,

because he knows these people

need to hear something

even more than that.

Why is it that these people

need to know so desperately

in ways that recipients

of other letters

in the New Testament

don't need to know?

Why do these people need to know

so clearly

at the very beginning

that they are elect,

that they belong to God?

The reason that they need to know

that they are elect

is because they are also,

verse one,

exiles.

They need to know

that they are elect

because they are also exiles.

Now we have to clear up this term exile

as we jump into it.

This has a lot of confusion

sometimes among Christians

what it means to be an exile.

We don't just get to put

all the meaning we want to

onto this word.

This word is talking about

someone who does not have citizenship

in the country that they live in.

Potentially someone

who is of a different culture.

Now some people

will take this word exile

and they'll apply it to

the physical world,

the creation.

Peter here is talking about

a social political exile.

In other words,

I'm not going to go on a hike

up North Cheyenne Canyon

and look out

on the beauty of the mountains

and the glory of this city

and say,

man, that is a great view.

And it is so beautiful

and God's the creator

of the heaven and the earth.

But you know what?

I'm in exile

and it's all going to burn.

It is not that type of exile

that he's talking about.

He is talking about

a social political exile.

These people are living

in a country,

in a world where

those around them socially

don't value the same things

that they value

and so this leads to them

being ridiculed

at the very least.

Sometimes maybe they've lost

opportunities for jobs

and employment.

It's a political exile.

The things that they value

are different than the things

that the government

they're with values.

And so there might be times

where their values

and the government's values

come into conflict.

So he wants them to know

that they are also exiles.

They should think of themselves

that way.

They should not be surprised

when following Jesus

results in opposition

in the world

and from the world.

They live in a world

where they're not citizens.

This might actually be

literally true

of some of the recipients,

but Peter here is making

a spiritual point for them

that when they value

the things that God values

and they love the things

that God loves,

there are going to be

many times and many places

where they will feel

out of place in this world

and it will lead

to opposition and suffering.

And just like Peter

is telling his story

with everything else,

Peter is also knowing

his story here

because Peter is someone

who has decided

to suffer for

and face opposition

for Jesus

because he loves him.

He believes that everything

that he's done is true.

He's experienced the reality

of Jesus' resurrection.

And so he's willing,

even though he's someone

who early in his life

hated suffering

and thought it had nothing

to do with Christianity,

he's willing to suffer

for Jesus as an exile.

And he writes as someone

who's experienced

four decades

and has tremendous credibility.

Peter has been in prison.

Peter was in prison

because of Jesus.

Peter knows what it's like

to be in exile.

Jesus told him,

remember in the end of John,

he was going to go places

he did not want to go.

And guess what?

Peter went places

he didn't want to go.

And Peter did it

because he knew

that he was chosen by God

and God loved him.

God had changed him

and he also knew

the future that awaited for him.

We, like Peter,

are chosen by God.

We belong to God

if we have faith in Christ.

We, like Peter,

are also exiles

if we have faith in Christ.

There will be times

when our values

and the values

of the world around us

come into direct conflict.

There will be times

when there are people

who misunderstand us

and speak poorly about us

because of the things

that we believe and do.

And so what's true

of the recipients

of this letter

is true of us as well.

It's true for us

when we come up

against materialism

in this world

and we know

that God's plan for us

is that we value

people and communities

and trust in him

over things.

We're going to feel like

exiles in the world

of consumerism.

We're going to feel like

exiles in the world

of individualism.

And we're also going

to feel like exiles

in a world

of sexual anarchy.

Peter's readers

are going to hear

about some of the things

that they've had to give up

and they're being slandered for.

Now there's many things

in this world

that we feel like exiles for

as we walk as Christians.

And I don't want to elevate

this above everything else

but I do want to say

I know for many of you

because I've talked with you

many of you are facing

the point of being in exile

as you walk through this world

and more and more

what God has told us

about how he's created us

as men and women

is less and less

honored and true

in this world

in this culture.

And we have to navigate

how it is that we're going

to remain faithful

to what we believe

and also interact

with those in the world

around us.

And it's something

that we face

where we have to think about

and work through

how are we going to engage

that in our workplaces.

Some of you actively

right now

more than a few of you

are working through

and thinking about

what are you going to do

with pronouns.

And I'm not here

to preach a political sermon

to you.

There's many ways

in which we feel like exiles

but I would be remiss

to not say that

that we as a Christian church

right now

are facing the reality

of feeling like exiles

in this world

for many reasons

and that is one of them.

We're not the first Christians

in the history of the world

to feel that way.

And we're not the first Christians

in the history of the world

to face those choices

and those challenges.

God knows.

Peter knows.

Peter's experienced it.

His readers are experiencing it.

And he's writing to them

to encourage them

and instruct them

to give them hope.

For many of you

becoming a Christian

made your life

not easier

but harder.

And for many of you

if you're going to continue

as a Christian

it's going to make your life

not easier

but harder.

Peter begins this letter

by reminding us

of that fact

that because we've been

chosen by God

we are exiles

in the world.

And we're exiles

in this world

because we've been

chosen by God.

And the only way

that we're going to make it

and survive

as exiles

the only way

we're going to hold true

is by knowing

that God has chosen us

and that he's our father.

That's the hope

that Peter holds out

to his readers.

He wants grace

and peace

to be multiplied to them.

The same grace

and peace

that he has experienced.

It's when they know

that they are elect

that they can survive

and live as exiles.

And so this is an introduction

to the entire book.

Peter's going to end

this book

with a final command

and a final word.

You know how I feel

about beginnings

and endings of books.

This is the beginning.

I'm going to give you

a spoiler alert.

Peter's going to end

with one final command.

He's going to say

I've written all these things

to you

and I've exhorted you

and I've declared to you

that this is the true grace

of God.

So stand firm in it.

Peter now is telling us

those same two things

at the beginning.

This is the true grace of God.

God has chosen you.

He's chosen you

in the foreknowledge

of God the Father

and the sanctification

of the Spirit

for obedience

to Jesus Christ

and for sprinkling

with his blood.

But you're in exile

so stand firm.

about 10 years ago

I think it was

the summer of 2010

I was at a church picnic

a different church

in a different part

of the country

and I didn't go

into this picnic

thinking that there

would be a moment

that I'd remember

forever from it.

Just a pool party.

This is at a neighborhood pool

and we would do this

several times

throughout the summer

as a church.

And of course

I would be remiss

not to go in the pool

but I don't really know

what I'm doing

so if you're on the diving board

and you're not experienced

or skilled like me

you've got one

or two classic plays.

You've got the cannonball.

It's tried and true.

Very faithful.

You do kind of

a scissors thing

where you drop in

and you just go down.

That was all I had

in my repertoire.

But there was one point

where I decided

okay this is my time.

I need to get up.

I need to go do this.

I need to hit the diving board

at some point.

And so I came through

a few times

and I noticed

as I was going through

that there was this girl

standing by the fence

by the pool

behind the diving boards

and she was in line

and these boys

kept skipping her.

So they would jump

in front of her.

They didn't care

that she was in line.

They'd just run on.

They'd go on

and they'd probably do

something fancier

than a cannonball.

And she was just

sitting there.

She wasn't doing anything.

She wasn't interfering.

She wasn't saying

hey this really isn't fair.

You shouldn't be

skipping me like that.

She was also the daughter

of the pastor of the church

and so I went up to her

and I was just messing with her.

I said

she was probably six or seven.

I said Caroline

you can't let them

treat you like this.

I mean they're jumping

ahead of you.

They're butting you in line.

You've been waiting

here patiently.

Here you are

you're just letting them

do their thing.

You can't do that.

And then I said

your dad

your dad is the pastor.

Now I'm not saying

that pastor's kids

should be able to do

whatever they want.

I could say that

since I don't have kids.

And she surprised me.

She just looked at me

and she smiled

and she said

I know.

I know.

Brothers and sisters

when we know

that God

is our father

and that he has chosen us

and that we belong to him

we can walk in obedience

in this world

even when it's hard.

And when we know

that God is our father

and we belong to him

when we face

suffering and opposition

when we face

those who treat us

in ways that they shouldn't

we're able to smile

and have hope and joy

because we know

who our father is.

We can live

as exiles

because we are elect

because we're chosen.

Please pray with me.

Dear father in heaven

we thank you

for the joy

and the privilege

of belonging to you.

We confess

that we haven't earned it

we don't deserve it

but it's something

that you've done

for us.

And so we ask

that you'd remind us

of that.

You'd remind us

of your choice

that you delight in us

that you've chosen us

that you love us.

And we ask

that you would use

that to help us

that like Peter

we would keep

following after you

even when we fail

and make mistakes

knowing that your blood

that sprinkles us

through Jesus

is enough.

And that you'd give us

everything we need

to know

to walk as exiles

in this world

faithful to you

and loving you.

We thank you

that like Peter

we don't have to earn this

or deserve this

but Jesus has done it

for us

and so we ask it

in his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.