In my own little world, there has been lots of moving pieces these last few weeks. Amidst a COVID contact quarantine and COVID infection in our immediate family, a difficult season of health and transition in the life of a father-in-law, an election that poses significant and potentially ominous forebodings for our Christian faith, and difficult leadership decisions within our own church family in which there is no course that pleases all, there is much that can bring despair and anxiousness. I am confident that the same holds true for you—different circumstance perhaps, but worry and concern nonetheless. This led me to reflect upon an important truth of Scripture; namely, this world is not our home, and that we are “exiles”. The question this raised for me is how are to live as “exiles” amidst all the craziness, burden, and difficulty all around us? Contrary to what we may believe and even desire at times, an exile is not called to hunker down and hide out and throw one’s arms up in frustration, but to get up and live life in a manner pleasing to our Lord. And that is exactly what we will begin looking at this week in a message based upon Jeremiah 29:1-14, “Living as Exiles.”
Pastor Flaa
