So this summer's been special walking through First Peter, and it was fitting that we took last Sunday off because we're dead in the middle of First Peter. It's almost like a half time. Let's go take a break, catch our breath in one of the most intense and ruthless books of the New Testament that describes how Christians are designed to live in the world, but not of the world. And instead of jumping right into the second half of First Peter at the beginning of this sermon,

I want to take a second to make sure we frame this moment in everything God has called us to do this summer,

especially for those of you who are new to ACC.

If you remember, we started built different our first Peter series at the beginning of June,

but in May we did this series called The Way. And we talked about walking in the way of Jesus, that we were going to look three months from May into August at school starting, which, by the way, we're like right around the corner from school starting. Anybody nervous about that in this moment right now? But we said, I can't call off to the side because I don't have a microphone

in my hand, so I'm sorry if I have to do that several times today. We said, let's look three months ahead at school starting and go, how do we make sure we don't waste this summer on getting superficial rest at the lake, at the pool, at the beach, like all those things are great. But summer, at least for me, and for many of us is all about this false sense of rest where we don't really get rest for our souls.

We take a break from the normal rhythms of life, but we don't really take time to create space to hear from the voice of God. So we said if we're walking in the way of Jesus, we've got to create the space to actually listen to and discern his voice, but not just hear what he says as if it's

some kind of therapy or counsel. No, he's our Lord, so we respond with a lifestyle of obedience.

And so this summer for us has been, are you creating the space to hear the voice of God?

And what's he saying and what's he calling you to? And I just want to tell some of you,

if you're new to ACC and you weren't here for that moment in May, it is not too late to make sure you spend your summer on the reason why you have breath in your lungs. You were created for personal communion with God. And it is not too late in this summer to create the space for the voice of God to inform you right where you are right now and to lead

to a lifestyle of obedience. And it was so fitting that we did that series, jumped straight into

First Peter and we're talking about this letter that urges Christians to live different.

That you're chosen, you're set apart by God. But because you've been set apart by God,

you look set apart in this world. It's normal for Christians

to look weird. And I don't mean a weirdness that's just like they're off-putting and the world looks at you and goes, I don't want to be like that. I don't want to talk like that. I don't want to walk like that. I mean a weirdness and a strangeness that the world goes, you live backward of so many of the values of our culture.

You look nothing like a newscast that comes on during the day. that the world goes, you live backward of so many of the values of our culture.

You look nothing like a newscast that comes on during the day.

Like you look like you have this peace.

You look like you have this connection to something otherworldly.

You have these standards that are so different than everybody else.

You're being built up as a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

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