Awaiting the Return: Living as Hopeful Exiles
5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Day 1: Citizens of Another Country
Reading: 1 Peter 1:1-2; Philippians 3:17-21
Devotional: The sermon reminds us that we are "elect exiles" -- chosen by God yet not at home in this world. Every ache you feel when you look at a broken culture, every longing stirred when you sing about heaven, is a signal that you were made for something greater. The futility of this age -- difficult relationships, hard labor, aging bodies -- is not the final word. Your citizenship is registered in heaven, and your King is coming. Let that reality reorient your daily choices. Live today as a representative of the country to which you truly belong.
Day 2: Creation Unbound
Reading: Romans 8:18-25; Revelation 21:1-5
Devotional: Dissolution is not annihilation. As the sermon powerfully illustrates, the same Greek word used to describe the future unmaking of the cosmos is the word Jesus used when He said "unbind him" over Lazarus and "untie him" over the donkey. God is not planning to reduce His creation to ash. He is planning to set it free. All of creation groans like a woman in labor, not because it is dying without hope, but because something new and glorious is being born. The God who declared His creation good in the beginning will declare it new in the end. Rest in that promise today.
Day 3: Holy and Godly in a Fading Age
Reading: 2 Peter 3:11-14; 1 Peter 1:13-16
Devotional: Knowing what God intends to do with the universe should change the way we live right now. Holiness is not merely a list of things to avoid. It is the condition of being set apart for God -- consecrated to His purposes, belonging entirely to Him. Godliness is the character of Christ being worked out in you day by day. Because this age is passing and a new one is coming, there is no wisdom in conforming yourself to a world that is already fading. The sermon asks a piercing question drawn from 2 Peter 3:11 -- what sort of people ought we to be? Answer that question with your life today.
Day 4: Eager Expectation
Reading: 2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation 22:17-20
Devotional: The sermon describes the anticipation of Christ's return as the excitement of a child on Christmas morning -- restless, vibrating, unable to think of anything else. That is not naive. That is faith working through hope. When the return of Jesus becomes the deepest longing of your heart, something changes in how you experience time. The days may feel long, but the years grow short, and what seemed impossibly distant will suddenly be upon you. Order your life around the priority of the gospel. Busy yourself with His work. Let your calendar reflect your conviction that the King is coming, and that His coming is the greatest event in human history.
Day 5: The Peace That Holds
Reading: Romans 5:1-5; John 14:27; James 4:4
Devotional: Peace, as the sermon defines it, is not simply the absence of conflict or a moment of quiet. It is a fundamental reorientation of your relationship with God and with the world. Because you have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, you have peace with God -- not peace you earned, but peace secured through His blood. That peace then flows outward. It changes how you relate to a world that mocks the promise of His coming. It changes how you treat the brother or sister beside you who is also hurting. When the peace of God reigns in your heart, it begins to reign in the body. Receive it. Rest in it. Guard it diligently.
Day 1: Citizens of Another Country
Reading: 1 Peter 1:1-2; Philippians 3:17-21
Devotional: The sermon reminds us that we are "elect exiles" -- chosen by God yet not at home in this world. Every ache you feel when you look at a broken culture, every longing stirred when you sing about heaven, is a signal that you were made for something greater. The futility of this age -- difficult relationships, hard labor, aging bodies -- is not the final word. Your citizenship is registered in heaven, and your King is coming. Let that reality reorient your daily choices. Live today as a representative of the country to which you truly belong.
Day 2: Creation Unbound
Reading: Romans 8:18-25; Revelation 21:1-5
Devotional: Dissolution is not annihilation. As the sermon powerfully illustrates, the same Greek word used to describe the future unmaking of the cosmos is the word Jesus used when He said "unbind him" over Lazarus and "untie him" over the donkey. God is not planning to reduce His creation to ash. He is planning to set it free. All of creation groans like a woman in labor, not because it is dying without hope, but because something new and glorious is being born. The God who declared His creation good in the beginning will declare it new in the end. Rest in that promise today.
Day 3: Holy and Godly in a Fading Age
Reading: 2 Peter 3:11-14; 1 Peter 1:13-16
Devotional: Knowing what God intends to do with the universe should change the way we live right now. Holiness is not merely a list of things to avoid. It is the condition of being set apart for God -- consecrated to His purposes, belonging entirely to Him. Godliness is the character of Christ being worked out in you day by day. Because this age is passing and a new one is coming, there is no wisdom in conforming yourself to a world that is already fading. The sermon asks a piercing question drawn from 2 Peter 3:11 -- what sort of people ought we to be? Answer that question with your life today.
Day 4: Eager Expectation
Reading: 2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation 22:17-20
Devotional: The sermon describes the anticipation of Christ's return as the excitement of a child on Christmas morning -- restless, vibrating, unable to think of anything else. That is not naive. That is faith working through hope. When the return of Jesus becomes the deepest longing of your heart, something changes in how you experience time. The days may feel long, but the years grow short, and what seemed impossibly distant will suddenly be upon you. Order your life around the priority of the gospel. Busy yourself with His work. Let your calendar reflect your conviction that the King is coming, and that His coming is the greatest event in human history.
Day 5: The Peace That Holds
Reading: Romans 5:1-5; John 14:27; James 4:4
Devotional: Peace, as the sermon defines it, is not simply the absence of conflict or a moment of quiet. It is a fundamental reorientation of your relationship with God and with the world. Because you have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, you have peace with God -- not peace you earned, but peace secured through His blood. That peace then flows outward. It changes how you relate to a world that mocks the promise of His coming. It changes how you treat the brother or sister beside you who is also hurting. When the peace of God reigns in your heart, it begins to reign in the body. Receive it. Rest in it. Guard it diligently.