Welcome to Southside's Summer Blog

This summer, I am preaching through 1 Peter in order for us as a church to learn better "how to be peculiar people." I thought it might be helpful and enlightening to have a forum by which we as a church family (as well as others) could continue the conversation about what we are learning. My plan is that every Monday (starting June 7), I will post something new (I might do more if I get really excited). It might be thoughts that I have after preaching my sermon, different insights from Scripture that I did not get to say on Sunday, or it could be a funny story that I learned in talking with a member afterwards. But hopefully it will be something to strike a thought and keep us all thinking about the text of 1 Peter for the week. Plus, I will provide a specific activity to try for the week as a means of living out what Peter is teaching. Hopefully, then, throughout the week, you will come back and comment on what I posted - either on my thoughts or how it has worked out in doing the special activity of the week. I will try to respond to comments as they are shared. My prayer is that some wonderful conversations can be experienced through this blog.

For the very first post, below I have a passage from Epistle of Diognetus. It is a letter written in the 2nd century to a man who is a skeptic of Christianity. The letter was an apologetic of sorts about the validity of the Christian faith. In this passage, the writer tries to explain the way of life for a Christian disciple. I love this passage because in a very practical way, it shows how the early Christians were trying to live out the call to be a peculiar people - to be citizens of heaven while on earth. What do you notice about the passage that strikes you? Is there anything surprising about the man's description?