Part 1: The Cornerstone Series

The House of Faith

Part 1 – The Cornerstone

Rev. Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Ministries

www.PS127.org

WELCOME

I would like to welcome you to the very first House of Faith Ministries gathering of believers.

I know we have all had a trying time this past few weeks, and the effects I pray will not be lasting, since our goals are to worship and praise God on His terms.

We will be in a state of transition over the next few weeks, and I pray that God strengthens us and gives us peace as we reconstruct and form a Body of Believers who are dedicated to serving Jesus Christ and His ministry here on earth.

I know that the Holy Spirit is with us, and covering us, and within us, and I pray that we can learn to share that with others in hopes of brining the lost of this world to our Lord.

We know that the scriptures are very clear that it is God’s will that all are saved and come to knowledge of the Truth, which is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. (1 Timothy 2:4)

INTRODUCTION

With the beginning of a new Church, and more or less a new body of believers, I felt it necessary to start a sermon series which hopefully will help explain why I chose the name “House of Faith” for the new church.

While I was attending Seminary at Dayspring Ministries, I believe it was during my second term there where I took a course entitled “The House of Faith”.

The title alone really inspired me. But it wasn’t until we began the study, when I realized what a wonderful teaching this was, and how it really made sense of Christianity.

The basic teaching in a nutshell is this.

Our faith is like a house built for God.

The foundation of that house is the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets.

This would mean the writings in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Word of God.

The Word of God, we are told in scriptures by Jesus Christ Himself, is to be the very foundation we are to build our house to God on.

But there is a key to that foundation.

As with any structure that is built, the very foundation that holds the entire construction together is built from and around something called a cornerstone.

This cornerstone, as it is known, is the perfect block, as perfect as you can find, so that the entire structure will be square and solid upon the completion of its building.

We are told in the scriptures that Jesus Christ IS this cornerstone.

He IS the key that ties the teachings of the Old Testament to the teaching of the New Testament.

As we’ve discussed before, Jesus Christ is the theme of the Old and New Testaments.

Jesus Himself said, “I did not come to do away with the law” referring to the Old Testament which was known as the Law of Moses, Jesus said, “I came to fulfill it.”

Fulfill what, the teachings of the Prophets, who prophesied the coming and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And what was the teaching of the Apostles?

The Apostles writings are all about Jesus Christ and His ministry.

You see, Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the perfect rock, that all the Holy Scriptures are written on and about.

Therefore the teachings of the Holy Word can hold strong whatever is built upon them because they are Truth.

So we build our House of Faith upon the Truth of the Holy Word, with Jesus Christ as the Cornerstone.

We are told that the actual building of our Spiritual house is done by God Himself.

Psalm 127:1

“Unless God builds the house, those who labor do so in vain.”

Over the course of the next few weeks we will be discussing what the four walls of our hours are, and how they work together to hold up our roof, which is our Spiritual defense against the attacks from the devil in our lives.

We will se how important it is for us to foster and nurture each of the walls in our Spiritual house, and how as you grow in one area, it leads to the construction of the next area of your life.

We will begin our series on the House of Faith with discovering how Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone.

SCRIPTURE READING

Ephesians 2:20, 21

“…built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING

ILLUSTRATION

You’ve likely heard the story about the man who walked past three brick layers at work.