The Living Stone and a Holy People

Introduction

Lab partners, one who does all the work, one who is lazy and doesn’t. The lazy person attempts to ride the coat tail of the smart student in order to get a good grade, perhaps they can pull one over on their teacher, but in the kingdom of God there is no room for lazy and disobedient workers. God has called for each of us to be active in living out the great commission, to preach the gospel to everyone and to live a life that is glorifying of God.

God has called each of us to be useful living stones in building up his kingdom.

Body

Point 1 - Stop being bad clay

1 Peter 2:1–3 CSB

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

We are the clay and Christ molds us, if we as clay are filled with bad minerals and made up of the wrong stuff, then how can we expect Christ to mold us into anything useful in the body of Christ?

We are bad clay when we pursue the things of the world over the things of Christ

Choose

Instead of desiring the unhealthy habits of the world, we should seek after the pure word of God, in the same way that babies desire milk.

We should genuinely get upset when we don’t have the milk of the word, like a baby who hasn’t been fed gets upset. If it doesn’t bother us then you have a problem?

Does not having the word even bother you?

Point 2 - Be a useful stone

1 Peter 2:5–8 CSB

5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone, 8 and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

Christ is the cornerstone in which our spiritual house is built, the solid foundation of our faith, we exist as stones to help build up the kingdom of God.

This passage says we are being built to offer spiritual sacrifices to God.

It says if we live in unbelief and disobedience we stumble. We become a bad stone and one that isn’t useful in building.

Are you being a fruitful stone?

Conclusion

Point 3 - You once were lost but now you’re found

1 Peter 2:9–10 CSB

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

In summary, if you missed something, remember this. Turn from the way’s of the world and turn towards the ways of Christ and become a useful stone in building up God’s kingdom on earth.