Our Precious Cornerstone I Peter: 2:4-8 February 17, 2013

1 Peter 2:4–8 (NRSV) Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Isaiah 28:16 (NRSV) therefore thus says the Lord G OD, “See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation”

Romans 9:33 (NRSV) “See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Cornerstone Characteristics 1.First One Laid 2.Perfect in Dimension 3.Perfect in Quality

Question 1 Have You Made Jesus Christ Your Cornerstone?

Question 2 How can you know if Christ is your functional cornerstone?

You will be afraid when someone/something starts to tap on your cornerstone. And that’s how you know what it is.

Isaiah 28:16 (NRSV) therefore thus says the Lord G OD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: “One who trusts will not panic.”

Luke 6:46–49 (NRSV) “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”

Question 3 Is The Cornerstone precious to you? 1 Peter 2:7 (NRSV) To you then who believe, he is precious

John 1:18 (NRSV) No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Proverbs 8:30 (NRSV) “ then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always”

John 17:10–12 (NRSV) All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

John 17:21 (NRSV) As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…

You are precious to the Father insomuch as His Son is precious to you.

In the end there is only one house that stands. There is only one Way into the bosom of God.