Intro to Post-Exile Series

At Trinity, we are beginning a new series tomorrow (19 April 2020) called Post-Exile. We will be exploring 13 books in the next 12 weeks.

One of my favorite theologians ministered during a very disorienting time. Helmut Thielicke said, “We don’t know what is coming, but we know who is coming.” Many of us want ‘the plan’ to go something like...

Orientation (the way we used to live)

Disorientation (the disruption of COVID 19)

Orientation (back to the way we used to live).

If the Bible is any indication, we will not be going back to the way we used to live. Our Governor Gavin Newsom even said, “Normal, it will not be.” For God’s people, disorienting disruptions are more than a pause button in the status quo, they are an invitation to discover and walk reoriented. The Bible calls these moments times of metanoia or repentance. I believe with my whole heart that this season is a reset, a recalibration, a repentance.

The same Bible is rich in helping us interpret not only what we are experiencing, but also in preparing for the new normal. Here is a 5 minute video link where I invite you and anyone else to explore the Bible for the next 12 weeks Through a series called Post-Exile. https://youtu.be/vOP8CLE8LMo

Here is a great introduction to Exilic Literature from The Bible Project: https://youtu.be/xSua9_WhQFE

Also, here is a timeline with events corresponding to the historic and prophetic literature from this period.