Sermon for May 10, 2020

Good morning everyone,,, watching by video.

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Before I begin with my sermon,,, I wanted to begin this morning with an opening prayer and lead into the Lord's prayer like we usually begin our worship service. That way if you like,,, you can join me in saying the Lord's prayer.

Invocation and Lord's prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for your continued presence among us today and every day. I thank you for those that are listening and watching by video. I ask for continued guidance for them and others. So we ask for healing for all of those that are sick this morning,,, we ask for safety and guidance for our healthcare workers and all others that must work during this time. Lord,,, I pray for all of those that are still working on clearing storm damage and helping others. We ask for comfort and rest for each of them.

We ask these things in Jesus's name who taught us to pray, by saying:

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever.

Amen.

This morning I'll be reading 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 1 through 10.

I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

1 Peter 2:1-10

We are back in 1 Peter again this week and as I've told you the last two times,,, this was written to new Christians so that they would be encouraged and hold on to their faith even in the face of persecution. The verses that we will read this morning are talking about what it means to be a Christian believer.

1 Peter 2:1–10

1 So rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it for your salvation, 3 since you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it is contained in Scripture:

Look! 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 message; they were destined for this.

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.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen

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When we started with this coronavirus pandemic,,, I never dreamed that we would be dealing with an empty sanctuary this long!

But,,, here we are on mothers day,,, still empty!

I saw a Facebook post this week that said, it was hard to imagine all that a mom is doing right now,,, with kids being out of school and they are expected to teach them,,, a lot are working from home while doing this and then cooking and cleaning,,, doing all of the things that they normally do,,, and then cooped up with everyone at home!

That's a lot to handle every day,,, but that's what mothers always do!

They are always thinking of others before themselves!

And we know that “our” mother is special because she watches out for us every day,,, and if she isn't here today,,, then she did while she was here!

She always wanted us to know how important we are to her and in these scriptures today,,, Peter is trying to let us know how important it is for us to know that we are Christian believers.

So before we begin to study these scriptures,,, I wanted to wish all of the mother's that are listening,,, a happy mother's day this morning!

I hope that this day is special for each one of you today!

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In these verses,,, Peter gives us some illustrations of what it means to be people of God.

You might wonder,,, why does it matter?

The answer is,,, that you need to know who you are,,, especially during trying times like these.

When you’re in the middle of a storm,,, you need something to hang onto.

When it seems like everything else is changing around you,,, your identity as a follower of Christ is locked into place.

So let’s look at some of these images of a Christian together, along with what it means for us.

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Verse 1 says: So rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

None of these traits should be a part of our lives any more.

God’s Word does not deceive and neither should God’s children.

Christians should approach the Word with clean hearts and mind,,, with a desire to grow spiritually.

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Verses 2 and 3 say: 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it for your salvation, 3 since you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Peter wanted his readers to be as eager for the nourishment of the Word as babies are for milk.

After you have accepted Christ as your Savior and began your new way of life,,, you need to feed on wholesome spiritual food that produces growth.

Reading the Bible and spending time in prayer are essential things to do to build a relationship with God.

My Bible Knowledge Commentary says,,, the words "for your salvation",,, recall the ultimate fulfillment of salvation that is spoken of in 1:5, 7, 9, 13.

Then in verse 3 quoting Psalm 34:8 which says: 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!,,, Peter compared their present knowledge of Christ to tasting.

They had taken a sample, having experienced God’s grace in their new birth, and had found that indeed the Lord is good.

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Verse 4 says: 4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God—

If you remember from chapter 1,,, the reference to the Lord in 1 Pet 1:3 prompts Peter to discuss the relationship between Christ and the people of God.

In 1:3 he referred to a “living hope” and in 1:23 to the “living … Word”; then here in 2:4 he referred to Christ as “the living Stone.”

Peter developed and explained the metaphor of the stone in the following verses.

Here he said this Stone is living.

It has life in itself and gives life to others.

People may enter into personal, vital relationships with this “living Stone.”

Whereas Christ was rejected by men … God had chosen Him,,, as seen in 1:20 and held Him precious,,, seen in 1:19; 2:4, 7.

Christians rejected by the world may take heart in the knowledge that they are the elect,,, found in 1:2,,, and they are valued by God,,, found in 1:18.

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Verse 5 says: 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Christians are identified with Christ, for He is the living Stone and they are like living stones.

Peter says that as they become more like Him,,, further conformed to His image,,, they are being built into a spiritual house.

In Matthew chapter 16 verse 18,,, Jesus told Peter,,, “On this rock I will build My church”.

Now in verses 4 and 5,,, Peter,,, clearly identified Christ as the Rock on which His church is built.

Paul called the church a “temple” (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:21) and “a dwelling” (Eph. 2:22).

Christians not only make up the church but serve in it, ministering as a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices.

All believers are priests (cf. 1 Peter 2:9; Heb. 4:16; Rev. 1:6) and need no mediator other than Jesus Christ to approach God directly.

Such priestly service requires holiness (cf. 1 Peter 1:16, 22).

Praise to God and doing good to others are spiritual sacrifices that please Him (Heb. 13:15).

And,,, “living stones” may also offer themselves as “living sacrifices”,,, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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Verse 6 says: 6 For it is contained in Scripture:

Look! I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and honored cornerstone,

and the one who believes in Him

will never be put to shame!

Here Peter uses Isaiah 28:16 as a reference,,, to emphasize the precious nature of Christ as the cornerstone of the spiritual temple.

The reference to Isaiah also serves as a reminder that believers will not ultimately experience shame,,, despite their present sufferings for honoring Christ.

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Verses 7 and 8 say:

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 message; they were destined for this.

Peter quotes Psalm 118:22 in verse 7.

And then in verse 8 Peter quotes Isaiah 8:14–15 to offer an explanation for the world’s rejection of Christ.

This reveals that Peter’s point is not that some people are preordained to destruction, but that some will stumble over the “cornerstone”,,, which is Jesus.

The cornerstone is set firmly in place, so for those who do not acknowledge it,,, it is a stumbling block and thus offensive—it is viewed as being in the way of their perceived path.

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Verses 9 and 10 say: 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.

Verse 9 describes the people of God - those who place their trust in Christ,,, and Peter does this by using language formerly used of Israel.

He reminded them that, in contrast with the disobedient who are destined for destruction, they were a chosen people.

Peter again echoed the Old Testament, specifically Isaiah 43:20.

“Chosen race,” which used to apply only to Israel, was now used of both Jewish and Gentile believers.

The responsibility once solely trusted to the nation of Israel has now, during this Age of Grace, been given to the church.

At Sinai, God told Moses to tell the people, “You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6).

Now believers in the Church Age are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.

Peter called Christians “a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5) and “a royal priesthood” (2:9).

Christians are a special people because God has preserved them for Himself.

While these descriptions of the church are similar to those used of Israel in the Old Testament,,, this doesn't mean that the church replaces Israel and assumes the national blessings promised to Israel and those blessings to be fulfilled in the Millennium.

Peter just used similar terms to point up similar truths.

As Israel was “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,” so too Christians today are chosen, are priests, are holy, and belong to God.

Similarity does not mean identity.

God’s purpose in choosing believers for Himself is so that they may declare the praises of Him before others.

Christians should live so that their heavenly Father’s qualities are evident in their lives.

They are to serve as witnesses of the glory and grace of God, who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light.

“Darkness” refers to the time when his readers were pagans, ignorant of God’s provision of salvation (cf. Col. 1:13), when they were not a people, when they had not received mercy.

His “marvelous light” now illumines the people of God because they have received mercy.

Peter explained verse 10 with a quotation from Hosea 2:23 where it says: 23 I will sow her in the land for Myself, and I will have compassion on No Compassion; I will say to Not My People: You are My people, and he will say, “You are My God.”

The practice of holiness, in which God’s people serve as a holy and royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices and extolling His excellencies, is the proper response to the mercy they have received.

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Peter explained to Christians then,,, and us today,,, that we are chosen by God.

Through Jesus Christ,,, a "Living Stone",,, we are chosen.

Our relationship with Him is far more important than our jobs,,, successes,,, wealth,,, or knowledge.

We have been chosen by God as His very own,,, and we have been called to represent Him to others.

Remember that your value comes from being one of God's children,,, not from what you can achieve.

You have worth because of what God does,,, not because of what you do.

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Peter has explained why it's important for us to know that we are chosen by God and as I told you at the beginning,,, mothers want us to know how important we are to them.

The sacrifices that they make for us let us know that they love us very much!

At the same time,,, we must remember the greatest sacrifice of all that was given by Jesus Christ for us,,, and given while we were still sinners and didn't deserve God's love!

And just like a mothers love shows us that she cares for us very much,,, God's love goes above and beyond because His love is what allows us to spend eternity in heaven with Him,,, forever!

So as we go through the week,,, I hope that we remember these verses and that we are chosen by God and we can hold on to that no matter what problems we are facing today.

That it's so important to remember that God loved us and chose us because some days that can be the only thing that we can find to hold on to.

It's through our relationship with God that will help us to get through anything that this world can put us through.

And just like we need to tell our mothers that we love them for all of the sacrifices they have made through the years for us,,, God wants us to tell Him that we love Him because through His Son,,, Jesus Christ,,, He made the greatest sacrifice of all,,, for us!

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