The House of the Lord (Sept. 29, 2024) Ephesians 2.19-22

On September 26, 1948, a group met to have the first service in their new church. Not having a Presbyterian church in town (there were others outside of town), there was great excitement. This group had been meeting since 1946 in a school while they organized themselves and got ready to move into their new building, a surplus Army chapel that they purchased, took apart while numbering the pieces to be able to reassemble it, and brought it to Pilot Mountain where it was set up in town. They were now able to worship in town rather than go out of their way to go to the churches on the periphery of town. This was, of course, the First Presbyterian Church, Pilot Mountain in that building. It is a testament to those intrepid Presbyterians that we still meet in that building, albeit with some…upgrades to keep up with the times. Much of this can be found in the supplement in the bulletin, but I believe that it is important to speak about what happened 76 years ago and what happened in those years between then and now.

As time went on the church grew. There were pastors who came and left a lasting impact on the congregation, Lester Shepherd, Jesse Bledsoe and Kristi Rolison to name the longest serving. Their legacy is still felt today by those who are gathered here.

And the church grew beyond the initial group that met in 1948, becoming a part of the community with ministry here in Pilot Mountain. As time went on, there was a need for two services to accommodate the number of people who were coming. Those were heady times and they were good times. Some would say they were golden years. And so, they were. The church property expanded with add ons to the original building.

But times change. Members grow older and children who were raised here in the church and town grow up and move away. But that did not mean things were finished here. No, as time went on, the church was upgraded again and again with a culmination of a new Fellowship Hall built in 2020-21. With it there was a new sound system and new carpet placed in the sanctuary. The office area was completely redone and a new choir room was added to the church. Yes, God was, and is, not done with First Presbyterian.

As we gather here on this homecoming Sunday, we come to hear the word spoken to us from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In this letter Paul is speaking to Gentile Christians who feel like they are being left out by the Jewish Christians, ones who say that to be a “proper” Christian, one must follow the law that Jesus followed.

But Paul, a Jew himself, will not have that kind of talk. He tells those listening that there is freedom in Christ and that it is Christ who makes them righteous, not the Law. He is not disregarding the Law, far from it. He is telling them that the moral part of the Law, the commandments and the teachings of how to treat neighbors and others, are still in effect. It is the ceremonial law that is not required.

After explaining all of this, Paul makes a final argument that brings us to our text today.

Paul begins by stating that those who are the Gentiles are no longer strangers and aliens, or foreigners. They were those things before they came to Christ. They were not a part of the nation that was comprised by the followers of Christ. Now they are. They are now citizens with the saints, those who are set apart by God, and are a part of the household of God. This is big news. Citizenship in the Roman Empire held great privileges. One could go to certain places not allowed to non-citizens. One was under the legal system that protected the citizen from brutal abuse. And one was afforded the chance to be a part of the society that was Rome. Those who were not citizens were on the outside looking in. One was a citizen by birth, by service to the empire, or brought in by paying a large sum of money. But when the time of service (usually in the army) was complete, when the sum had been paid, one was a citizen with all the rights and privileges of those who were born into citizenship. A parallel today would be those who are naturalized citizens. They were outsiders, able to be in the community but not being able to fully participate in the activities that are a part of citizenship. But when the time comes, when their seven years of waiting are finished, they become citizens with all the rights and privileges afforded to those who have been born citizens.

These new citizens are also in the household of God. This is special household. It is built upon a solid foundation of the apostles and prophets. These are the ones who came before the new Christians, those who witnessed Jesus’ ministry here on earth and those who taught and proclaimed the good news of the Messiah. As I said, it is a solid foundation, one that cannot be shaken. And its cornerstone, or the key to all of this is Jesus. A cornerstone is what links all of the building together. It is what the builders use to judge whether the building is plumb or true. It is what tells the builders the building is sound and will continue to stand when finished. But there is another way this word can be translated. It could be translated as keystone or capstone. This is a stone that is placed in the middle of an arch that holds the whole thing together. The stone that takes the two sides of the arch and brings them together into one whole. Jesus is seen as that one thing that brings together both sides that had been separate.

What is built by Jesus that He keeps together? A new structure that becomes the holy temple of the Lord. The physical temple was still there but it was no longer where Christians needed to only worship. The reason is that there is a new temple, one that is the believers that Christ has joined together in himself. It is a spiritual temple that will now be the dwelling place for God. This would have been something new for most Jews who viewed the Temple as where God dwelled. It was God’s house and the place where those who wished to worship God would find God.

But Paul is telling those listening, both Jew and Gentile, that they are the holy temple of the Lord, they are what people will see and will want to be a part of in the present and future. And this spiritual dwelling place will be the dwelling place of God. Again, no longer will a physical building be seen as the home of God, but those who are the household of God will be. They will be joined together in something that will never be broken or destroyed, built upon the foundation of those who came before and the cornerstone of Jesus.

Homecoming is today. We are gathered to celebrate 76 years of service to God. But this is also a troubling time. I am not going to tell you that things are rosy and will be hunky dory from here on out. There are challenges. We as a church are growing older each year. There are not many people who want to come to church, even if invited. And sometimes we have looked inward. We claim that this building is God’s House. When we say that, we limit God. We put God within the walls of a building and believe that God will stay there. But Paul tells us, “Not so! You are the house of God. A house built with a cornerstone or a capstone that will not fail, the spiritual house of God.”

Today, I issue a challenge. God is not yet done with First Presbyterian. The glory days may be past. We can sit back and travel down amnesia lane and try to remember the times when the building was full and we were welcomed in the community because of the ministries thorough which we worked. And we may believe that those days are in the past and the future holds nothing in store but negativity and downward trends. We may believe that this church’s time is done. This not what Paul teaches. Bryan Chapell says this, “What Paul communicates is that the days of glory are not past. God did not work among his people only long ago. He did not cease working for his purposes in some ancient day. The God who brings us together indwells us for his purposes now. There is still a task for his church, and he dwells in us so that we may fulfill it. Until he comes we are in his plan for each other and for this world…[1]It is not consistent with Scripture to believe that the really important work or the best times are somewhere behind us in history. Always God gives us a vital role to fulfill in Christ’s church as he is building us together to rise as the temple of divine purpose. He prepares to use us by filling us with the Spirit of power to fulfill his calling for this generation. This sense of purpose is what will inspire us to fresh courage, faithfulness, and zeal when the world and even our colleagues may view what God calls us to do as small or meaningless.”[2]Do you believe that God is done with First Presbyterian? Or do you believe that maybe, just maybe, God still has a plan? I Believe the latter. Are you ready and willing to be the household of God? If so, then get ready. Because you are the house of the Lord and God is not done yet. Amen.

[1] Chapell, Bryan. Ephesians. Ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009. Print. Reformed Expository Commentary. [2] Chapell, Bryan. Ephesians. Ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009. Print. Reformed Expository Commentary.