Peter message 7

God's plan for church growth.

1 Peter 2:4–10 NKJV

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Intro: You may remember that first of this year my prayer was to have 50 people in attendance on Sunday mornings. The covid 19 really messed that up.

A recent study shows that there are 195 million un-churched people in America. This makes America one of the top 4 largest "un-churched" nations in the world.

If we want to see PGBC grow, it has to be done as Jesus the foundation.

Peter the author:

Matthew 16:18 NKJV

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

This rock is Jesus not Peter.

1. Too often measure a church's success by how many cars are in the parking lot, how many people are in the pews and how much money is taken up on Sunday.

a. A church can have thousands of members, who give faithfully, with state of the art facilities and be a success in our eyes, and be a failure according to God's standards. On the other hand a church may meet in someone's basement with a handful of members who are obedient and faithful and God sees them as a success.

b. There is always a new program that will help build or grow the church. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this church filled to the point that we have to tear walls out and build on. But large crowds and big buildings are not the goal.

c. With that being said, I have good news... God wants this church to grow. God wants the church down the street to grow. God wants new churches to be built and God wants old churches to be revitalized.

d. But if any church is going to grow, if a true church is going to be built... it will be built by God NOT MAN!!! There is an area of theology that seeks to understand all aspects of the church, This is known as ecclesiology. It is derived from the Greek word "ekklesia" . This is a term referring to a gathering or assembly of believers. This involves more than attending church, IT IS ABOUT BEING THE CHURCH! -

1 Corinthians 12:27 NKJV

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

1, Fellowship, worship, edification and ministry are all performed by people, not buildings. As a result of their persecution first century Christians often met secretly in people's homes. And over time things have evolved into what we have today. In our selected text we get a glimpse of God's building program. I invite you to join me in 1 Peter 2:4-10 as we examine "How God Builds A Church" . Let's begin in verse 4 and examine:

I. The Vision For God's Church - VS 4

1 Peter 2:4 NKJV

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,