Jesus Our Cornerstone 14 Years Later
Good morning! Today is a special day, at least for me. Today marks the fourteenth anniversary of my first sermon as pastor here in West Ossipee. The church was called Ossipee Valley Bible Church back then, at least until we closed it that next September and CrossRoads Church was born.
Since only about a half a dozen of you were here that first Sunday, I thought it might be a fun tradition to go back to my very first sermon, pull it out of storage, dust it off and share it again. Don’t worry, we’ll get back to Acts soon.
Let’s pray.
Turn with me to 1 Peter 2:4-10, page 1014 in the pew Bibles.
Where to start? We are going to start right where every builder starts, with the first corner. In stone masonry buildings the builders started by establishing the first corner with a cornerstone, a perfectly plumb, level, and square stone. The cornerstone established the lines of the building and the whole building was based on that stone and those lines. That is where we are going to start.
1 Peter 2:4-10
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
8 and “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
It’s hard to imagine but this is a three point sermon. It was written a long time ago, before I learned that we can only handle one point at a time, forgive me.
We are going to look at three important aspects of this text especially considering the building of a new work and a new ministry. And maybe at the end we can even consider how we’re doing after fourteen years. We are going to consider, our Lord, our identity, and our mission.
So first, let’s consider from the text, Our Lord…
In verse 4 Peter calls our Lord Jesus: The Living Stone.
It’s no coincidence that we are just coming out of Easter, in fact, today is celebrated as Easter in the Orthodox churches. What is the one point of Easter? Jesus is alive!
He has life, we don’t serve a dead Savior, death could not hold Him!
John 5:26 says, For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
Because Jesus has life in Himself, He gives life to others.
1 John 5:12 says, Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Verse four also says that the Living Stone, in God’s sight is chosen and precious – Isaiah 42:1 says, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights
Look at verse six.
6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Verse four calls Jesus the Living Stone, verse six says that He is the Cornerstone, chosen and precious. But what does it mean that Jesus is The Cornerstone?
It means that He is the Rock upon which the church is built.
Our Catholic friends claim that Peter was the first Pope upon whom the church was built, but a plain reading of that text clearly shows that the church will be built on the confession that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God.
As the Cornerstone, Jesus is the Staring point, perfectly plumb, level and square. And the building made of living stones, that’s the church, finds its strength and direction from Him.
If we trust in ourselves, our ideas, or our traditions, the walls we build will be out of square and weak and will eventually fall.
He is the Living Stone, He is the Cornerstone, but He is also called in verses seven and eight the offensive stumbling stone
Those who reject Jesus are offended by Him and eventually will trip over Him and may even be crushed by Him.
In Matthew 21:42-44, 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
With Good Friday still fresh in our minds we remember how Jesus was despised and rejected by those who should have recognized Him as Messiah. Instead of worshipping Him they crucified Him.
According to our text, our Lord Jesus is the Living Stone, the Cornerstone, and the stumbling stone. But Peter doesn’t just address the Lord’s identity, he addresses ours as well.
According to the text, what is our identity?
Verse five says that we are Living stones.
As the church is made up of living stones, we are being built together into a spiritual house.
Ephesians 4:20-22 says, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Verse nine says that we are a chosen race.
We were chosen by God’s grace. In John 15:14 Jesus said, “You did not choose me, I have chosen you…”
We were elected by God, because of His love and grace alone not our own merit.
Verse nine also says that we are a holy and royal priesthood
We are all priests of the King representing ourselves to God with Jesus as our only mediator, offering spiritual sacrifices. And what is the only sacrifice that we can offer that is acceptable to God? It isn’t bulls and sheep and goats and pigeons.
Romans 12:1 says, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Verse five says that we are a chosen race, a holy and royal priesthood, and we are also a holy nation.
We are citizens of God’s eternal Kingdom!
According to Ephesians 2:19, So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
That means that this world is not our home!
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, Mere Christianity –
“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
To be holy is to be set apart for God’s use. As a holy nation we are set apart for God’s use, we have a mission!
Verse nine also says that we are a people for His own possession
As Christians, literally “Christ’s ones,” We belong to God.
Romans 8:15-17 says, 15you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
Not everyone is a child of God – We are all God’s creation but not everybody is His child. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ that we are adopted as God’s children.
Some have Adam as their father, through faith in Jesus we have God as our Father
We were bought with His own blood, the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
Verse ten says, 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Mercy, is not getting what we deserve, is what He gave us at the cross. That torturous death and separation from God is what we deserve but Jesus took it upon Himself instead.
In view of His mercy, let’s consider Our Mission…
Verse nine includes our mission, the church’s mission.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
What does it look like to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?
It means to preach the gospel to every creature, to tell everybody what Jesus has done for you. You were once dead in your trespasses and sins but have been made alive to God in Jesus Christ! That’s a story worth telling!
We are all living advertisements for Jesus, His blessings, His virtues, and His love.
Life is now worship, everything we do and say and think should be done for the glory of God because we belong to Him!
So let’s consider: Is Jesus your Cornerstone? Is He the Cornerstone of this church? Even more fundamentally, is He your Savior?
As we look to become established as a church, we must make sure that Jesus is our Cornerstone and everything we do as a church and as individual disciples is based off Him according to His Word.
Amen.
