Week 2: Surprised by Joy — Singing the song of the Lord in a strange land
We now open the ancient letter of 1 Peter and explore verses 1-13 of chapter 1. Peter starts off with a song of praise (one long run-on sentence in the Greek) as he seeks to locate his audience on a theological and relational map. Their social location as outcasts, exiles, and strangers has no bearing on who they are in the fullness of reality. So Peter spends his opening and greeting relocating, reorienting, and refocusing the churches on where, how, and to what they are called. Once again we see that JOY is serious business. Our study is called — Surprised by Joy: Singing the song of the Lord in a strange land.