Addressing Church Stereotypes with Teenagers in Exile
So much of teenage culture today is about getting even; Peter urges that we take the insult, forgive, and pray for our oppressor rather than “canceling” that person.
The strongest possible affirmation anyone could give of women is that they get to be like Jesus. That’s what Peter says to the women he addresses in this passage, and it’s the good word we get to proclaim to our students today.
So much of teenage culture today is about getting even; Peter urges that we take the insult, forgive, and pray for our oppressor rather than “canceling” that person.
Because of Jesus, we have become like undying seeds, so that when beaten and buried, we burst from the ground with new life.
The deliverance from this pandemic—as grateful as we are for it—reveals to us that what we’re really waiting for isn’t here at all.