EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

 Peoria's lead Pastor Jon opens with a simple but convicting reality: most people who don't know Jesus will never walk into a church, but they will watch how Christians respond under pressure. Working through 1 Peter 2 and into chapter 3, he covers three categories of everyday witness: public life, work life, and home life. In each one, Peter calls believers to absorb injustice and do good rather than retaliate, because the witness of the church shines brightest not through outrage or control but through humility, integrity, and love. The foundation for all of it is Jesus, the ultimate exile, who entrusted himself to the Father rather than defending himself. 

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

Witness in Ordinary Life
1 Peter 2:11-3:7

Jon Demeter | Lead Pastor of Redemption Peoria
6.14.2026

EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

This week Brett opens with the disorientation that comes at every stage of life, from adolescence to midlife to old age, and names the deeper question underneath all of it: who am I and where do I belong? He traces a grand biblical story from creation through Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, showing that Israel was always called to be a kingdom of priests reflecting God to the nations. In 1 Peter 2, Peter takes that same language and applies it directly to the church. Our identity is not something we create but something declared over us by God — and it comes with a mission. 

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

A People For God's Mission
1 Peter 2:4-10

Brian Berger | Pastor of Life Discipleship 
6.7.2026

EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

This week Brian opens by challenging the idea that the only difference between a believer and an unbeliever is forgiveness. While forgiveness is real and glorious, Peter wants the church to understand something bigger: through the resurrection and the Spirit, followers of Jesus are a new humanity entirely. Born again through the living and enduring Word of God, they are not just pardoned sinners but a new kind of human being altogether. Brian calls the church to grow into that identity by craving Scripture, cutting sin out of the diet, and most importantly, loving one another deeply as the most powerful witness to a watching world. 

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

A New Kind Of Community
1 Peter 1:22 - 2:3

Brian Berger | Pastor of Life Discipleship 
5.31.2026

EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

This week Cory opens 1 Peter 1 with a call for exiles to live differently because of what Christ has done for them. He frames the message around a culture obsessed with happiness, describing how many people treat life like a giant Easter egg hunt, chasing career, pleasure, and approval, only to find it empty. But Peter points to a fuller life found in Jesus alone. Cory unpacks three realities shaping the exile's life: recognizing the privilege of our salvation, embracing the expectation of holiness motivated by both hope and reverent fear of God, and understanding the cost of our redemption in Christ.

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

The Long Story Finds Its Center
1 Peter 1: 10-21

Cory Kasperson | NextGen Pastor
5.24.2026

EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

This week Brian opens 1 Peter's roadmap for living as exiles in a resistant world. Following Jesus creates real friction, new convictions, and relational pressure, and that tension is not a sign something is wrong. Using Peter's own story of cowardice turned courage through the resurrection, Brian challenges the church not to shrink back into a quiet, privatized faith. Instead, Peter's first instruction is to praise God. In the middle of suffering and loss, the Christian response is Hallelujah, anchored in God's mercy, the new birth we've been given, and the inheritance kept secure in heaven that no one can take away. 

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

Hope Breaks Into History
1 Peter 1: 3-9

Brian Berger | Pastor of Life Discipleship
5.17.2026

EXILES | LIVING AS OUTSIDERS FOR GOD'S KINGDOM

This week Cory introduced Exiles, a journey through 1 Peter unpacking what it means to follow Jesus as outsiders in a Babylonian world. As God's elect, we are chosen for His mission. As Exiles, we are called to faithfully engage the world, not retreat from it, as living previews of His kingdom. 

Exiles is a 12-week journey through 1 Peter looking at what it means to follow Jesus in a world where we increasingly feel like outsiders. Rather than seeing this tension as a problem, Scripture shows it is the normal shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. As citizens of the kingdom of God, we are called to witness to His reign in the world through faithful presence, courageous love, and enduring hope. This series invites us to live as a distinct people whose lives point others to Jesus in a world that is not yet restored and made new.

Scattered Exiles
1 Peter 1: 1-2

Cory Kasperson | Next Gen Pastor
5.10.2026

Rules of Engagement: A Journey Through 1 Corinthians
What does it look like to be the church in a world that doesn't always understand—or welcome—what we're about? That's the question the Apostle Paul tackled head-on in his letter to the church in Corinth, and it's the question we're wrestling with together this series.
Paul planted a church in one of the most diverse, culturally complex cities in the ancient world. And almost immediately, things got messy. Division. Pride. Tolerance of things that shouldn't be tolerated. Silence where there should have been honesty. The Corinthian church was full of people who had the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ—and were still acting like the world around them.
Sound familiar?
Week by week, chapter by chapter, we'll walk through Paul's letter and discover that we are God's temple, keepers of an extraordinary mystery, and called to live like it. 

Rules of Engagement // Chapter 15
A Study in 1 Corinthians
May 3, 2026

Jeremy Olimb // Lead Pastor

Rules of Engagement: A Journey Through 1 Corinthians
What does it look like to be the church in a world that doesn't always understand—or welcome—what we're about? That's the question the Apostle Paul tackled head-on in his letter to the church in Corinth, and it's the question we're wrestling with together this series.
Paul planted a church in one of the most diverse, culturally complex cities in the ancient world. And almost immediately, things got messy. Division. Pride. Tolerance of things that shouldn't be tolerated. Silence where there should have been honesty. The Corinthian church was full of people who had the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ—and were still acting like the world around them.
Sound familiar?
Week by week, chapter by chapter, we'll walk through Paul's letter and discover that we are God's temple, keepers of an extraordinary mystery, and called to live like it. 

Rules of Engagement // Chapter 14
A Study in 1 Corinthians
April 26, 2026

Jeremy Olimb // Lead Pastor

Rules of Engagement: A Journey Through 1 Corinthians
What does it look like to be the church in a world that doesn't always understand—or welcome—what we're about? That's the question the Apostle Paul tackled head-on in his letter to the church in Corinth, and it's the question we're wrestling with together this series.
Paul planted a church in one of the most diverse, culturally complex cities in the ancient world. And almost immediately, things got messy. Division. Pride. Tolerance of things that shouldn't be tolerated. Silence where there should have been honesty. The Corinthian church was full of people who had the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ—and were still acting like the world around them.
Sound familiar?
Week by week, chapter by chapter, we'll walk through Paul's letter and discover that we are God's temple, keepers of an extraordinary mystery, and called to live like it. 

Rules of Engagement // Chapter 13
A Study in 1 Corinthians
April 19, 2026

Jeremy Olimb // Lead Pastor

Rules of Engagement: A Journey Through 1 Corinthians
What does it look like to be the church in a world that doesn't always understand—or welcome—what we're about? That's the question the Apostle Paul tackled head-on in his letter to the church in Corinth, and it's the question we're wrestling with together this series.
Paul planted a church in one of the most diverse, culturally complex cities in the ancient world. And almost immediately, things got messy. Division. Pride. Tolerance of things that shouldn't be tolerated. Silence where there should have been honesty. The Corinthian church was full of people who had the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ—and were still acting like the world around them.
Sound familiar?
Week by week, chapter by chapter, we'll walk through Paul's letter and discover that we are God's temple, keepers of an extraordinary mystery, and called to live like it. 

Rules of Engagement // Chapter 12
A Study in 1 Corinthians
April 12, 2026

Jeremy Olimb // Lead Pastor