Download 1 Our Cornerstone Acts 7:55-60 I Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1

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Acts 7:55-60
Our Cornerstone
I Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-7
Please join me in prayer. Dear Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be
acceptable to you, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
A Chevy truck is ‘like a rock’. Diamonds are called rocks, or precious stones. If you want insurance,
you can get ‘a piece of the rock’. These terms and phrases indicate something solid, dependable, tough,
valuable and strong.
What is a cornerstone? It is a rock – but not just any rock. It is something that is essential,
indispensable or basic. It is the chief foundation upon which something is constructed or developed. The
integrity of a building’s structure depends on its cornerstone, and Peter says that Jesus is the cornerstone. And
what are the characteristics of Christ, the cornerstone? He is completely trustworthy, He is precious to
believers, and though totally rejected by some, He’s the most important part of the church.
Jesus infuriated the Jewish leaders because He claimed to be the “stone which the builders rejected.”
This is a reference to the building of Solomon’s Temple. It took 30,000 workmen over seven years to complete
the temple. According to I Kings 6 all the stones were quarried far away from the building site, so there was no
sound of hammering heard there. Jewish tradition says one day the building superintendent saw an unusual
stone being delivered. Because it was cut in an odd shape, he thought it was flawed. He had it rolled away into
the Kidron Valley where it lay untouched and unnoticed.
Years later, the builder sent word to the quarry that he was ready for the main corner stone. The quarry
master came and reported, “Why, I had that stone delivered years ago.” When they began to search, they
discovered that the discarded stone in the valley was the main cornerstone. It was covered with debris and moss.
It took many men working hard to raise the massive stone out of the valley. When they raised it and set it, it fit
perfectly! The chief cornerstone was the very rock they rejected.
Let’s pause for a moment and think about this. Are you looking for something to make your life
complete? Is there something missing from your life? Look to Christ to be your cornerstone. Is it possible
you’ve rejected something given to you by God? Peter says that if Christ is rejected, the stone becomes a
stumbling block so you will fall.
I can think of a time when this was especially true for me. Some of you were at the women’s retreat we
had last fall. Liane Osborne and I coordinated and led that retreat for a group of women, several of whom had
been coming for many years. This was the first year we were doing it without Carol DiMatteo, and that made it
difficult for both Liane and myself. In the planning process, we missed Carol in many ways, and we wanted to
do a good job, to honor God and Carol.
Well, I took that challenge to heart, and immediately started working on making it one of the best
retreats we could possibly have. I studied and practiced and prepared. Liane and I met to make sure it was
coming together well. I stressed over each song, each talk, each activity. By the end of the retreat, I was
exhausted and devastated. I thought it was a flop. It just didn’t seem to have the power it usually did. Many
women thanked us for a wonderful weekend, but I just couldn’t agree. I went home, depressed.
It was later, in my prayers that God said to me, “Hey – you forgot something when you did your retreat.
You forgot Me. You were so caught up in doing a good job yourself that you forgot to include Me in the
planning and process. You barely invited Me to the weekend! But don’t worry, I came anyway, and blessed all
the women who were there. I just wish you would have let Me in to bless you, too.” What a revelation. What
an eye-opener. I had set myself up to be the cornerstone of the weekend instead of Christ, and as a result I
stumbled and fell flat on my face. But God was there for the women, and He was gracious enough to show me
mercy when He forgave me for my superwoman impersonation. Thank God.
The integrity of a building’s structure depends on its cornerstone. So, too, the structure of the
community called church depends on Jesus. Jesus is the foundation and cornerstone of the church, and each
believer is a stone – a living stone. Remember, Peter said, “4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by
mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built[a] into a spiritual
house.” One stone alone does not a church make. Don’t forget our interdependence with other Christians.
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When God calls on you for a task, remember that He is also calling others to work with you. Together,
individual efforts are multiplied. Look for those people and join them to build a beautiful house for God.
We had a perfect example of that last Saturday on the Habitat-for-Humanity house. Many hands made
light work, and even though some people left early to attend Bill Smith’s memorial service, I heard that the goal
for the day was still reached. Praise God. And even more recently was yesterday. We had an air conditioner
installed, a bathroom painted, wallpaper stripped and several trips to the dump made, and baked goodies taken
to shut-ins when visits were made. Many hands made great work, and all those people joined together to build a
beautiful house for God.
When was the last time you were a living stone in Christ’s church?
We have another opportunity coming up soon in our life as a church family. Soon, we will have a new
pastor, and that person will work fewer hours than we are used to in a pastor. That means we need to continue
to be the living stones to build a beautiful house for God. In this case, I am talking about our church – our body
of Christ here at 360 Water Street. There is a role for each of us, a task to match the gifts that each person has.
Be thinking about where you will fit in. Each of us needs to be a part of the living body, a brick in the walls of
our church, separate parts that, together, make up the body of the risen Lord in our midst. And that will be a
beautiful house indeed.
Jesus is the foundation – the cornerstone that holds us all together. But is He functioning that way in our
lives? Our church? Our work? Our school? Our leisure? The marketplace? Is Jesus functioning as the
foundation in your life? Does He function that way as fully as He could or should?
It is Jesus who uniquely calls us to be his disciples. It is Jesus whose ministry announced, embodied and
through the church, continues to embody the kingdom of God in the world. It is Jesus whose execution freed the
world from captivity to sin and death. It is His resurrection and ascension which displays that deliverance for all
to see. It is Jesus who stands at the right hand of God, as Stephen saw and generations of Christians have
proclaimed in creeds and confessions of faith. It is Jesus, coming again in glory, who will judge the living and
the dead and inaugurate new creation. His way is the way. His truth is the truth. His life defines the nature of
life itself. And his way, truth and life uniquely lead us to fullness of salvation and life in God. Everything
depends on him.
Easter is the time to boldly declare the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why shouldn’t we, as a
congregation, respond with an equally bold declaration? Let us do so now by reciting the Nicene Creed, number
880 in the hymnal, or on the screen. I’m going to ask that you read from the screen if you can see it clearly, or
if not, hold the hymnal up so you are speaking out. I want us to proclaim these words loudly and proudly, our
voices rising up to God in exultation.
We believe in one God,
The Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
Of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
The only Son of God,
Eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
True God from true God,
Begotten, not made,
Of one Being with the Father;
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
He came down from heaven,
Was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
And became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried.
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On the third day he rose again
In accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
To judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
Who with the Father and the Son
Is worshiped and glorified,
Who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
For the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
And the life of the world to come. Amen.