Aliens and Strangers

Christians are not citizens of Planet Earth. Our citizenship is in a place called Heaven, and yet we are traveling on Earth during our present lifetime. So the question is: How is a citizen of Heaven supposed to act while visiting Earth?

The Apostle Peter was one of the most active disciples of Jesus. During Christ’s first visit to Earth, Peter is recorded as speaking more than all of the other disciples combined. And not surprisingly, Jesus speaks more words directly to Peter than He does to all of the other 11 disciples combined. Peter got a lot of training!

With that background, Peter gives us invaluable instructions in his first letter to the church. He calls Christians things like: strangers in the world, chosen people, peculiar people, and aliens and strangers in the world. He tells us travelers not only how to behave while traveling on Earth, but why we should travel in a God-honoring way.

I will be continuing to teach through these fascinating themes of Peter’s instructions for aliens and strangers this Sunday. If you don’t have a home church in the Cedar Springs area, I would love to have you join us. If you cannot join us in person, we will be broadcasting each message live on Facebook.

I am excited to rejoin this journey of discovery with you!

Here are the sermons we have addressed in this series:

34 Responses to “Aliens and Strangers”

  1. 5 Ways To Be A Christlike Employee | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] are on Earth to represent Jesus. We are aliens and strangers here for a short time, but here to also point people toward Heaven. One place we have tremendous […]

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  2. Vegetables And Dessert | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Christians living on Earth, the Apostle Peter calls us “aliens and strangers.” That means that both our attitude and our lifestyle should be, well, alien compared to […]

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  3. Countercultural Marriage | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Apostle Peter uses an appropriate term for Christians living on Earth: “Aliens and strangers.” This means that those who call Jesus their Lord are to live a counter-cultural lifestyle. Not a […]

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  4. Christlike Wives And Husbands | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] after time Peter calls Christians to live a counter-cultural lifestyle. The most countercultural example we have ever seen is Jesus […]

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  5. A Unique Look At “Church” | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] that Jesus described—and the Church the apostles were a part of—was a living organism. It was fellow followers of Jesus Christ interacting with each other as they worshiped the […]

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  6. How “Alien” Is Your Christianity? | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Join me next Sunday as we continue our look at how citizens of Heaven are supposed to live while vis…. […]

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  7. Living Lives That Make Sense | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] me this Sunday as we continue our look at how Christians should live as aliens and strangers while visiting Earth. You can join me in person or via Facebook […]

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  8. Unlearning Limiting Fears | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] aliens and strangers on this Earth—should have an alien response to earthly fears. So if we are going to unlearn some […]

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  9. Life Is Hard! Now What? | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] me this Sunday as we continue to learn how Christians are to live as aliens and strangers while we visit Earth. You can join us either in person or via Facebook […]

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  10. Alien Anxiety | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Greek word for anxiety means to be pulled in different directions. In the context of “Aliens and Strangers,” it means being pulled between Earth’s way and Heaven’s way. Other biblical definitions for […]

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  11. Alien Friendships | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] As Peter wraps up his letter, he reminds us of his purpose in writing to us aliens and strangers— […]

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  12. Thursdays With Oswald—Jeremiah 29 | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] living here on earth are truly “temporary residents” or “aliens and strangers,” as Peter calls us. As such, we sometimes feel a bit perplexed about the evil all around us and […]

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  13. A Year In Review (2018) | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Aliens And Strangers—Christians are not citizens of Planet Earth. Our citizenship is in a place called Heaven, and yet we are traveling on Earth during our present lifetime. So the question is: How is a citizen of Heaven supposed to act while visiting Earth? The Apostle Peter was one of the most active disciples of Jesus. During Christ’s first visit to Earth, Peter is recorded as speaking more than all of the other disciples combined. And not surprisingly, Jesus speaks more words directly to Peter than He does to all of the other 11 disciples combined. Peter got a lot of training! With that background, Peter gives us invaluable instructions in his first letter to the church. He calls Christians things like: strangers in the world, chosen people, peculiar people, and aliens and strangers in the world. He tells us travelers not only how to behave while traveling on Earth, but why we should travel in a God-honoring way. […]

    Like

  14. Year-End Review (2018 edition) | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Aliens And Strangers—Christians are not citizens of Planet Earth. Our citizenship is in a place called Heaven, and yet we are traveling on Earth during our present lifetime. So the question is: How is a citizen of Heaven supposed to act while visiting Earth? The Apostle Peter was one of the most active disciples of Jesus. During Christ’s first visit to Earth, Peter is recorded as speaking more than all of the other disciples combined. And not surprisingly, Jesus speaks more words directly to Peter than He does to all of the other 11 disciples combined. Peter got a lot of training! With that background, Peter gives us invaluable instructions in his first letter to the church. He calls Christians things like: strangers in the world, chosen people, peculiar people, and aliens and strangers in the world. He tells us travelers not only how to behave while traveling on Earth, but why we should travel in a God-honoring way. […]

    Like

  15. Making Hearts Burn | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Peter wrote to aliens and strangers about living such good lives that will point people to God. This means Christians need to help people who are looking for the living among the dead see that real life is in Christ. To do this, we need to be immersed in the Living Word of God. […]

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  16. Reconnecting the Disconnection | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  17. The Joy Of Trials | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  18. A Whole New Revelation | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  19. One Word | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  20. A Perspective On Problems | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] We will be continuing in our Aliens and Strangers series this Sunday, and I’d love to have you join us. If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  21. 5 Ways To Live As A Free Servant | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  22. Christians As Priests | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] We will be continuing our series about how citizens of Heaven should live on Earth this Sunday. If you don’t have a home church in the Cedar Springs area, please come join us. If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  23. Alien Government | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  24. Misbehaving Government | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] Next Sunday, November 8, is a day of prayer for those facing persecution for their Christian faith around the world. Join us in a time of prayer for them. If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  25. How Should Christians Handle Unfriendly Earthlings? | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  26. How To Respond To Bad Pastors | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  27. 7 Ways For Christians To Point Others To Jesus | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  28. Handling Tough Texts | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  29. Simpatico | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  30. Battle Ready | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] If you’ve missed any messages in this series, you may find the complete list by clicking here. […]

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  31. Praying For Our Governments | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] I shared a whole series of messages from 1 Peter on how Christians are to live as citizens of Heaven while we are here visiting Earth. […]

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  32. Helping Skeptics See The King | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] have to live as good citizens of the King of kings so that people will “come and see” what a good and loving King He is. For […]

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  33. Living In Kingdom Power | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] We live on Earth but we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. This prayer is a desire for that eternal Kingdom to be seen by Earthlings so that they will also obtain citizenship. So we saw last week that the phrase “Hallowed be Your name” is both an acknowledgement of God’s greatness and a request that we would display His greatness in our lives. The next phrase—Your Kingdom come (Matthew 6:10)—has that same two-part motivation: acknowledgment and request.  […]

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  34. A Christlike Response To Skeptics | Craig T. Owens Says:

    […] I can be a peacemaker that points people to the Prince of Peace (1 Peter 2:8-12).  […]

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