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Park Family Focus (1 Peter 2:4-12)

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MOTIVATE

There are some things I enjoy doing and others I just endure. And yes, there are certainly some things I avoid all together.

For instance: I enjoy sports and games. The challenge and competition is exciting for me. Maybe this is my dark side and short-sighted weakness. But, I enjoy most every sport and game even if it is one that I’m not particularly familiar or fond of, I will enjoy it because of the competition aspect.

I endure musicals. My wife loves watching musicals. One time I took her to see Les Miserables and somehow I ended up watching the back of my eyelids; she says I fell asleep. But I will watch musicals because I love my wife.

I endure Disney princess movies. I have four growing daughters and this is their world. So, I am learning to endure and somewhat like princess stories because I love entering my daughter’s worlds.

I endure camping. I’ve been camping a handful of times. Once I went camping on a missions trip to St. Davids, Canada. The shower stalls were filled with mosquitoes. Now, before you think I’m just being boojee, it was more than just swatting a few flies; there were cake clumps of nats that lined the walls and floors. It was enough to make you vomit. And because I forgot how fun that was, I planned another camping mission trip to Appalachia area in WV and had our group stay at a tent campsite. It rained about 50% of the week. Further, I grew jealous because there were cabins on the other side of the campground. So, I do not dislike or avoid camping but it is more like something I endure than enjoy.

I have a fear that some Christians look at spiritual growth like I do camping/princesses/musicals. Holiness is not your passionate pursuit. You might try to make more good choices than wrong ones, but holiness as an everyday, moment by moment aim? No. Yet, you expect holiness in your pastor and a few spiritual leaders in the church. You might appreciate that a few other Christian acquaintances somewhat emphasize their growing faith. But personally, you just seek to survive another day amid all the stresses of life. In your life, spiritual growth and church involvement can wait.

If this describes you then 1Peter has a word of challenge for you.

  • 1:13 be soberminded and set your hope completely on the grace of Jesus Christ
  • 1:16 be holy as God is holy
  • 2:1 rid yourselves of all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander
  • 2:2 like newborn infants crave the pure milk of the word of God that you may grow up into your salvation
  • 3:8 be likeminded and love one another with compassion and humility
  • 4:10 as each has received a gift, use it to serve others
  • 5:9 resist the devil, stand firm in faith

EXAMINE 1 Peter 2:9-12     Gather

Author: Peter, apostle/disciple of Jesus. Peter was imperfect but increasingly growing in character as he learned.

  • Some books are harder to understand (2Pet 3:16). Peter was unlike Paul. Paul was a “Pharisee of Pharisees”, whereas Peter was a funky fisherman. In fact, after Jesus died on the cross and before Peter knew Jesus was resurrected, Peter left the disciples and went back to his fishing business.
    • Paul would prob listen to NPR; Peter would prob listen to Aerosmith (youngins: they were male version of Swiftie).
    • Peter is like us… we can identify with him and his writing à pay attn!
    • Bc Peter followed Jesus, he became a “rock” in Christ’s church.
    • Peter provides believers reasons to gather

We gather bc Jesus invites us.

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

Peter is talking to believers who come to Christ. The verb is in the present tense, implying continuous action. In other words, the essence of knowing Jesus is continually approaching Jesus.

You don’t have to clean up your act; you come to Jesus first, then He will clean you.

You don’t have to know a lot of doctrine[1]; you just need to believe the man on the middle cross says, “Come.”[2]

You don’t have to look a certain way, have an elite education or economic status.

What qualifies you to come to Jesus is the exact trait that we dislike others knowing. We must concede we need help, admit we are helpless, weak, and needy.

We come to Jesus bc we recognize He is God’s chosen and precious. The Triune God has mysterious unity that invites us to enter the magnificent love of Father, Son, Spirit.

What qualifies you to come to Jesus is the exact trait that we dislike others knowing. We must concede we need help, admit we are helpless, weak, and needy.

We gather bc Jesus is building us.

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

As we come to Jesus, we are being built up as a spiritual house – living stones (oxymoron / like a pet rock, but that’s the power of God!). The language is passive, indicating we are not building ourselves but being formed by Christ. Spiritual formation occurs by availing ourselves to the spiritual tools God has provided for our good and growth… And the more we come to Jesus and apply these tools, the more and greater we are constructed. God works in us as we make ourselves available and surrendered to Him.

Php 2:12-13 “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”  

Christ is constructing us to

  • be a holy priesthood: We’ll discuss the role of a priest next message. Essentially, the priesthood was exclusive to certain individuals in the OT, but now the priesthood is inclusive for all believers.[3] Every believer is similarly filled with the Holy Spirit, shared access to the Scriptures, equally gifted, and correspondingly called to ministry. While our gifts, calling, and passions may differ, they all operate in the harmony not a hierarchy in the body of Christ. We are a kingdom of priests working together to advance the cause of Christ (Rev 5:10).
  • One might say there are 3 offices in the church: pastor, deacon, and church member – the latter elevating the role of every Christian.
  • Luther: It is pure invention that pope, bishop, priests, and monks are called the spiritual estate while… artisans, and farmers are called the temporal estate. This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are all one body, yet every member has its own work by which it serves the others. This is because we all have one baptism, one gospel, one faith, and are all Christians alike”[4]

  • offer spiritual sacrifices: Christ is constructing us to offer sacrifices, which Paul says is our life (Ro 12:1-2). So, Jesus is building us into a spiritual house by us placing ourselves on the altar: gathering, giving of time, talent, treasure, and going to share the gospel  – ultimately, cementing our brick to others along the line/wall of faith that Jesus is building with Himself as the cornerstone…

6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

In Jerusalem, most of the buildings were made of stone more than lumber; which provides context to Joseph/Jesus the carpenter – more like craftsman.

Peter is quoting OT Scripture (γραφή). The NT quotes writings from the OT either directly listing the book, or indirectly with the quotation (cf 2 Pet 3:16; 1 Tim 5:18). But never once does the NT use this word to refer to any writings of the Apocrypha or any other writings outside the Bible.[5] I note this based on our area/associations with those who uphold alternate books to Scripture – and warn against equal credibility.

Peter’s direct quote is from Isaiah 28:16 & Psalm 118:22, where the prophet describes God’s future activity of establishing a cornerstone that will be insulted and rejected by people but chosen precious to God. Jesus and the NT writers also quote these verses to describe the essential nature of believing in Christ and belonging to His church (cf. Mt 16:18; 21:24; Mk 12:10; Lk 20:17; Ac 4:11; 1 Cor 3:10-15; Ep 2:19-22; Heb 3:2-6).[6]

The cornerstone was the most important in architecture, laid first to establish the direction of a wall, and to provide strength to the foundation. It’s said the Jerusalem Temple mount cornerstone weighted over 160K pounds; so it was quite significant![7]

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

To reject Christ is build your life upon sand instead of a solid foundation. And while a sand foundation provides a nice view for a season, there comes another season that the storms of life will devastate and demolish your life. The world around us is crumbling and everyone yelling how to fix it – Jesus simply says, “Come to me, the Cornerstone.”

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

We will address these latter verses in more detail following weeks…

  • We gather in faith.
  • We grow in hope.
  • We go in love.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY
Practical applications @spbcmd

You are the church with God’s Spirit.

  • 1Pet 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house
  • 1Cor 3:16-17 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
  • Rev 21:3 “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with humanity. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people and be their God.”

God’s Spirit is with you, and we are either feeding or suffocating it.

Imagine if only 1x week… ate food / charged phone or laptop / fueled car 1x year / cleaned house or fridge 1x year / spoke with family or friends 2-4x year…

This behavior would suffocate aspects of your life. You would not be healthy or happy. Likewise, as our life is God’s temple, we must invest in our spiritual growth. *We must dig deep to build up, and we do so by availing time in God’s word at least 5x week (majority days). You don’t have to read the whole Bible, but you can commit to read portions: Gospels / Psalms / OT or NT.  *Additionally we dig deep in community; which leads to a next application.

We are the body as God’s members.

  • 1Pet 2:5 you are living stones being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
  • 1Cor 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.”
  • Heb 10:24 “let us stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some but encouraging one another”

God dwells in us to put Himself on display.

God dwells in us to put Himself on display.

  • His transforming grace is on display when we tell others who Jesus is and what He has done for us.
  • His serving hands are on display when we work with our talents and gifts.
  • His compassionate heart is on display when we take initiative to listen to others and meet needs in His name.
  • God’s wisdom is on display when we share Scriptural lessons we have learned with others in their decision-making processes.
  • God’s glory is on display at the members of His body are united in spite of their differences.  

So, where are you putting God on display in 2025?

  • Teens, do friends at school know you go to church? Do they know you pray or read the Bible? Do they know you believe in a God who speaks peace to the raging storms of anxiety, stress, and depression?
  • Adults, do your co-workers know that you’re a Christian? Can they discern your work ethic has a measure of excellence to God’s glory, and having integrity to not cheat your company or the public? Can they trust you beyond work duties to personal difficulties?
  • How about your neighbors? Sure, they may see your car leave the driveway on Sunday mornings. But, have you ever invited them to church? Have you ever had a gospel conversation with your neighbors? Have you sought to put God on display in your community by serving in unique ways? – – maybe its to host a party (we can help) – – or to meet a need like a mealtrain or yard work or …

And every time our church family gathers, we are proclaiming that God is wise, Jesus is good, and the Spirit is sustaining. Gathering to worship is not a checklist for Sundays but a counter-cultural and life-changing practice. Our gathering to worship is warfare against the systems of the world who contrast Jesus, and war against the unseen realm that is plotting the destruction of your family and damnation of your soul. Sunday worship matters. And as Heb10 exhorts, we must not give up meeting together as some are in the habit. It is easy to get in the habit of staying home, sleeping in, or busying with other weekend tasks. But sacrificing your time is a priority that won’t go unrewarded.

  • Ps 1:5-6 “the wicked will not stand or sit in the congregation of the righteous, for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
  • Ps 16 “the sorrows of those who run after other gods shall multiply… but in God’s presence is fullness of joy and  pleasures forevermore.”
  • Ps 23 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever”
  • Ps 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
  • Jn 14 “In my Father’s house are many rooms, and I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am you may be also”
  • 1Pet2 “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

You see, God made us for Eden but we ruined it and were banished. And so we continuously try to build and rebuild Babel, but the towers keep collapsing. God is saying we’re building the wrong kingdom. God is building His kingdom – Zion – and unless we have Christ as the cornerstone, then all our life pursuits, work goals and accomplishments, financial gain, with stress and sweat will all vanish in a puff of smoke.

So,

  • We gather to refresh in the air of Zion.
  • We gather to refocus our aims of God’s kingdom.
  • We gather to learn the blueprints for building and designs to be and make disciples of Jesus.
  • We gather by placing all our hope in Jesus.

[1] Biblical doctrine is vital for knowing the correct Jesus, and following the truth of God’s word.  

[2] https://youtu.be/0CuhJf_ELA0?si=Pz7jAzvYKSj6Nz1y

[3] Priesthood of believer vs beliers: the former emphasizing unbiblical individualism, whereas the latter recognizing the necessary communal service to one another. See: https://cf.sbts.edu/equip/uploads/2019/09/SBJT-23.1-Leeman-Priesthood-of-Believers-Rev1.pdf  

[4] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, 44:127

[5] Wayne A. Grudem, 1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 17, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 107.

[6] Phil Logan, “Cornerstone,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 350.

[7] https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/the-stones-of-herods-temple-reveal-temple-mount-history/

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