Living In the Tension

Living as Exiles: A Creative Minority stars us off in a new mini-series from Daniel and Jeremiah 29, exploring how Christians can live faithfully in a post-Christian culture. We live in what Charles Taylor calls the “Age of Authenticity,” where truth is defined by self-expression, freedom from authority, and rejection of tradition. This cultural moment collides with the gospel claim that Jesus is Lord of all.

In light of that, disciples of Jesus live with deep tensions: explaining Jesus to skeptical co-workers, trusting His sexual ethic, or submitting every part of life to His authority. It’s exhausting to live where everything—ethics, identity, truth, commitment, belonging—is being reframed. Yet the call of Christ is not fear, compromise, or self-preservation. Instead, the people of God are called to live as a creative minority in the world.

Drawing from Daniel’s life in Babylon, the sermon exhorts Christians to embrace five key postures: faithful presence (engaged but rooted in Christ), distinct but not detached (holy yet loving), hopeful resistance (standing against despair), redemptive creativity (cultivating beauty and goodness), and rooted community (living as family on mission). This vision is not about survival or nostalgia but about bearing faithful witness to the kingdom of God here and now.

Ultimately, the sermon reminds us that while culture proclaims, “I am lord,” the gospel declares, “Jesus is Lord.” As exiles, Christians are not abandoned but empowered to seek the welfare of the city, resist the idols of the age, and live with hope in the God who is making all things new.