Living Stones 1 Peter 2:4-5

MPS:

As individual living stones we are chosen and precious, together we are built up and built out, God’s temple without walls

MPT: The Church of God is a living organism made up of many members, many stones, many cells. Brought together and made alive by Christ. We build one another up and we build out as we expand and invite others.

Prayer: God, you are our maker, redeemer and sustainer. You have graciously gathered all kinds of people to yourself to reflect your glory in all parts of the world. your grace is abundant, your mission is worthy, your kingdom is glorious, your Son is beautiful. glorify yourself and your church. motivate and call each believer deeper into relationship and obedience towards you. Let me preach clearly, powerfully, authentically and pastorally. to you be the Glory and affection.

Intro: Who we are and what we do as a church.

What is the church?

a place that is designed by architects and built by contractors?

the Vatican, Notre Dame, Saddleback, Lincoln Park elementary?

The church is a structure, a place of gathering. But it is spiritual and bodily more than it is material.

The church is people. individuals, families, community. People have purpose, mission and story.

the church is a place. God’s tabernacle. Tent of meeting. “where two or more are gathered”

What should the church do? Why does she exist?

Living Stones, a picture of the church. A place made up of people.

God’s church is a place without walls, a people without borders.

We believe The Church is at the very center of God's cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading his Gospel of love and glory to the world.

Pt 1: Living Stones are Chosen and Precious

[READ v 4]

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious”

Who we are:

1) rejected by men

-

Story

2) chosen

1 Cor 1:26-29

consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

The doctrine of election

The good news: you don’t have to be impressive according to worldy standards to be precious to God.

3) Precious

How precious is each of God’s chosen children? how precious is your child?

you cannot put a $ amount on it. No amount would ever be too much. God did not purchase you with $ or bitcoin. He did not purchase you as a favor to be paid back.

God bought you with his blood. Paid in full.

[Application]

Every person who walks through these doors is precious, and will be treated with dignity and respect. Members, guests, christians, skeptics, the straight, the gay, the person who serves in 10 ministries and the person who never shows up to their serving commitment.

those things do not add or take away from anyone’s value here. those things cannot take away from how anyone experiences value here.

We do not value people based on what they can offer, but based off of what God has offered up for them: the blood of his son, Jesus.

We fail to see people with God’s eyes.

We see a nusance, he sees a gem. We see a needy child, he sees a diamond. We see that awkward personality, God sees gold.

Precious stones. Every believer. Those who already believe and those who are yet to.

4) Living Stones

Everyone is welcome to to be a part of Living Stones.

But the true marker of membership into the church is life in Christ. There is no life outside of christ.

Alive in Christ. The living Stone (v6)

From hard hearts of stone, to hearts of flesh, now serving as the stones of God’s temple. From dead, to alive and active.

Ephesians 2:1-2a, 4-5

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, .… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved

Summary: Who are we?

-God’s temple.

-His chosen people.

-Precious to him and worth the weight of his blood.

-Alive in him and to him

What do we do?:

- CV #1 Outsiders becoming insiders. 1st core value of what we do as a church.

We seek for those outside of christ to be brought near and be alive in Christ.

The Gospel starts here. adoption. grace.

[Application]

-we preach that anyone and everyone is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone! We won’t preach differently any Sunday ever.

-Invite, welcome people on Sundays

-Make sure our Community Groups aren’t exclusive, closed off or cliquey

- always have a seat for someone exploring or wandering in on Sunday or our home.

-We recognize people who don’t have friends, family and christ. We give them all of those things.

-We adopt as we have been adopted. friends, children.

-We chose people the way God chooses people, without filters and with abundant grace.

-If you are here exploring christ, you can belong here even before you believe.

God is not content with his church since you arrived. he is so stoked and thankful you are his. But there are others out there, just as dearly loved, just as chosen and precious who are far off. As a church we exist to draw others near to God.

Pt 2: Living Stones Build Up

[READ v 5a]

“you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house”

Who are we?:

A spiritual House

-what is the church? not a physical house. A spiritual house. No walls, no borders. The territory of the church stretches from pole to pole, from the East to the West. “where two or more are gathered, there I am”

- The community of the church comes from individuals. Without the individual stones, there is no structure, without the individuals who make up this church, we are nothing but a field of stones, not a castle. King Jesus dwells in a castle, where his stones are gathered, not in a field of rubble.

-Households gather together for meals, for projects, for cleaning. the work of the house falls to everyone. not just dad and mom. Right mom and dad? haha. One person sets the table, another cooks, another clears and another cleans.

[Application]

Christianity is meant to be lived together. Family, household, bricks. None of these things exist individually. All exist as a community.

Can you have faith in Christ but despise his church? perhaps we have met someone who claims Jesus as their savior, but refuses to gather with other christians. Perhaps you are or were once that person [raise your hand Taylor]

-My challenge, if you love Jesus, you cannot be content until you love what he loves. the lost, the sinner, the hypocrite.

-If the love of Jesus is in you, then he will surely will and work for you to love his bride.

-I’m thankful my brothers love my bride. They treat her with such kindness and have truly adopted her as their own sister. So, if Christ is your brother. Will you treat his wife with indifference? With disdain?

-If you are struggling to love the church, pray for her and ask God for healing

-We are hurt by relationships and we are healed by relationships.

-God’s will is to gather us together. To be a spiritual house united in him and built up on him.

Built up

What does this mean? what does God want?

We grow from each other being in Christ together

What we do:

-CV # 2 Disciples Making Disciples.

I am a disciple of Jesus. a student, follower, apprentice. Jesus gives his followers instructions on how to treat one another. they are actually called the “one-anothers” and there are

-the “one anothers” of scripture

-Love one another

-Serve one another

-Greet one another

-be devoted to one another

-there are dozens more. but here is the idea and application for us:

God wants us to be truly invested in loving the people around us, especially the family he chooses for us in Christ. We don’t get to choose who else God chooses, we trust that he chose very well and we love.

-be a real friend. Know some people. Be known. be devoted to them. Pray for, listen and encourage one another. Devote and invest in others.

-Don’t expect yourself to grow leaps and bounds on your own. If you are a man, you need other dudes to be your close friends in christ, to be devoted and invested in you. If you are a woman, you need to ask God for those same relationships with other women. Pray, seek and invest.

-this is one of the main focusses of Community Groups. Christians getting together to be in each others lives. Its not just about studying the bible. It’s about the person sitting on the couch next to you. It’s about sharing meals and stories and being known.

Join a cg. Take your CG seriously, Receive those people into your life. Take the risk of being known. God wants it for you.

-CV #3 Unity in Diversity

Our 3rd core value.

-Jesus united all people.

-We are changed, built up by those around us. and God’s house is complete with people of every tribe, tongue and nation. God wants every kind of person in his house. God loves diversity. But God loves diversity when it is paired with unity.

-People of every tribe, tongue and nation gathered together in peace and harmony under the banner of Jesus.

[Application]

-Christianity is like water, it fits the glass. As a church, we want to fit the glass of our city. The culture, the language, the needs. We choose to be multi-lingual and multi-cultural so that nobody has to hang up their uniqueness at the door.

-We sing songs in english when that isn’t everyone’s first language. many people united under one God through song. One voice, one message, many believers.

-We sing songs in Spanish for the same reason

-as for you, as members, it is your role as stones in the house of God to engage and grow grace-filled relationships with the people around you- no matter how similar or different.

-Your job is to be family with one another.

summary:

God wants us together

We grow and accomplish the mission and vision of God only by being together. Being united.

As living Stones Church, we seek to adopt and bring into Christ and our lives others who are far off

As Living Stones Church we devote and invest ourselves in others and expect the same in return.

As Living Stones Church we are a community for all people to belong and participate in everything we do as followers of Christ

As God’s church, he wants to build us up in him. We do this by always being commited to the Gospel, and by being together.

God wants us to be built up so that we will build out.

God designed his church to grow and flourish through the rhythms of gathering together and then scattering through the world.

Pt 3: Living Stones Build out (scatter)

[READ v 5b]

English Standard Version Chapter 2

to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ

We believe The Church is at the very center of God's cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading his Gospel of love and glory to the world.

As a church, We gather the lost to make outsiders insiders. We gather together as disciples making disciples. We gather together as a diverse people of God united under Jesus Christ.

We gather And we scatter. Jesus says,

John 20:21

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

And Here Peter calls us all priests. a Holy Priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices

-A Holy Priesthood.

I am certainly a pastor. But what is the difference between what I am doing as a pastor/elder and what a priest at this time did?

The job of the priest is to bring God to people and people to God.

This would happen by facilitating a meeting between the two by means of a sacrifice. a lamb, sometimes a dove or an ox.

God and people cannot meet without a mediator. a middle-man. The priests job was to mediate. He would show up to the temple, offer a sacrifice and speak God’s words to the people in the form of a sermon and speak the people’s words to God in the form of a prayer.

And now you, stay at home mom. You, HS Student, You MS Student You, IT guy. You high school teacher, you CMO, CEO, CFO. Now you plumber, you electrician, you painter, you artist, you musician, you salesman you small business owner, you secretary and you bookkeeper. You are God’s priests to the world.

In those places he has you for as many as 40+ hours a week. In your jobs, your neighborhoods and in your social networks he has placed you as his priest.

He has sent you to bring God to people and people to God.

How? Spiritual Sacrifices

-Present THE sacrifice of Jesus. Make Jesus Known.

-Share your story, your reason for faith in Jesus, your hope in him, what you are learning from God. Present the sacrifice of Jesus.

-Show Christ in your actions. Be humble, be eager to serve, be kind, be gentle, be wise. Be a light.

-Pray for the people. Bring those co-workers, those classmates, those friends and even frustrating neighbors before God. Speak their names to him and pray for them.

We scatter through the world by being active and intentional about being:

ITCFTC and a CPC.

-CV #4 In the City for the City

“To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” 1 Pe 1:1.

-this letter is written to people who are in Christ and yet are also in Pontus. Also in Galatia. Also in Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia and Sparks.

-You are an embodied soul. You are both in Christ and in Sparks or Reno by his will.

You exist in this city for the good of this city.

We exist together in this city for the good of the city.

“May your kingdom come, may your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”

[Application]

-We organize ways to serve others in our city. By serving others we show them the love of Jesus and build credibility in their eyes so that we can share the love of Jesus.

Who cares what you or I have to say? Let’s show them who cares. We do. We care.

-We have a partnership with our school right here, Lincoln Park. As members, get involved in those serving projects.

We have a garden we will clean up and build in the spring, a gift to the students and teachers here. We serve the teachers getting them gifts, supplies and support. We serve the families with meals.

The principal has my number and the number of our In-The-City-For-The-City coordinator, Sadie. Whatever this school needs, we show up for it. We care for everyone at this school.

-We serve sparks with free warm beverages and all the volunteers for the Christmas Parade.

-We support our sister Halie and her work with Scarlet Hope to bring the love, care and hope of Jesus into strip clubs and brothels in our area.

-We take the initiative as individuals serve with people like Halie and organizations like Scarlet Hope.

-We coach

-We foster kids

Living Stones have always existed in their city, for their City. So do we today.

As members, take initiative on your own and with anything we organize to serve your city and make known the Sacrifice for everyone, Jesus.

-CV #5 Churches Planting Churches

Not just building the house taller, but building the house wider. Expansion projects are called Church Planting.

-We plant churches because it is the single best way to share all of these good things with everyone in the world:

-the message of Christ (outsiders becoming Insiders)

-edifying christian community (disciples making disciples)

-a harmonious place for all people (unity in diversity)

-the blessings of service and care in the community (ITCFTC)

So we plant churches.

This is just our 2nd week as a church plant. We are the 9th Living Stones church in Nevada.

Midtown Reno, South Reno, Sparks, Downtown Sparks, North Valley’s, Carson City, Fernley, Winnemucca, Elko.

There are still many towns and neighborhoods that lack the church in their community:

Fallon, Lovelock, Ely, Dayton, Verdi, S. Tahoe, Truckee, Tonopah, Gardnerville, Yerrington and many many more.

[Application]

-This church is just being planted. It needs your support. This church is nothing without every stone alive, living, active.

-Don’t be a dead stone. Be a Living Stone. this church needs you.

-your presence above all. being here on Sundays and at your CG matters more than anything. You being here.

-You are the church. You are a priest. You are a brother, sister member of the household and we need you.

-Serve. This church is a family like “Cheaper by the Dozen” there are a lot of us and we will keep growing. We need your gifts and help to make Sundays happen, in the City Events, Discipleship during the week, etc.

-Be here.

-commit to a ministry or 2. Own the Sunday gathering. You are a part of this. Some of you are not serving anywhere yet. Trust me when i say, our teams, every team has needs.

It’s time for you to step up and plant this church.

-host a Community Group. Open your home. Prepare a meal. Let’s make discipleship happen. Let’s make a place to gather on Sundays, gather during the week.

-Give. Give faithfully. Give generously. If you have never given or don’t know how to, I can talk to you about that and answer your questions and concerns.

-This family needs everyone to chip in. and as a wise pastor once said, “the only thing eternal that you can invest your money, time and self into is the church. God’s kingdom will never die.”

Conclusion