The Chief Cornerstone

THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE

1 Peter 2:4-8; Ps. 118:22, "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the Corner." Eph. 2:20, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Cornerstone."

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Preacher Personality

1. A woman who lived next door to a preacher was puzzled by his personality change. At home he was shy, quiet and retiring, but when she attended his church he preached like a house-on-fire and ran back and forth waving his arms. It was as if he were two different people.

2. One day she asked him about the dramatic transformation that came over him when he preached. “Ah,” he said, “That’s my altar ego.”

B. TEXT

1 Peter 2:4-8, "4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame" (Isa. 28:18). 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” (Ps. 118:22) 8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" (Isa. 8:14).

C. THESIS

1. As humans, we do not know what tomorrow will hold. Many things are “up in the air” – uncertain: our jobs, our family life, our friends, our future.

2. But the main question is: “What are you depending on? Where do you derive your strength? When things go wrong, what do you try to hold onto to support yourself?

3. You can’t depend on the government, or human justice, or money, or on people; all will fail you. But there IS one foundation that will never fail you – Jesus Christ! Let Him be your Cornerstone & Capstone and you shall never be ashamed or helpless. He will be your strength!

4. The title of this message is “The Chief Cornerstone.”

I. PURPOSE OF THE CORNERSTONE

A. BEGINNING OF THE BUILDING

1. The cornerstone is a large stone laid at the base of a building, against, and around which, the rest of the structure is built. These stones, in some ancient buildings, were as much as twenty feet long and eight feet thick. Jesus is the Alpha, the Beginning of all things, including the Church.

2. WESTMINSTER ABBEY ILLUSTRATION

a. Even good things don't last forever. Westminster Abbey was 450 years old when the caretakers noticed that the oak timbers holding up the roof were nearly at the end of their useful life. Parliament worried how they would ever find timbers of that size at any cost.

b. Then the superintendent of the building received a telephone call from the Royal Forest Manager. He asked if they were ready for his trees yet? He had been expecting a call for the last decade and decided to see if the oak trees, planted when Westminster was built, were needed on schedule.

c. The parliamentary planners were amazed. The necessary trees had been in possession of the government from the very day when the building was completed so many centuries before. And so, the trees were cut, milled and the Abbey roof restored like new again. I have wondered if they planted a new set of trees for the 25th Century?

d. In a like manner, the amazing God, our Lord, provided a sprout from the root of Jesse millennia before the New Covenant Church was founded. He who is the Chief Cornerstone of His Church, the Bride of Christ - Jesus of Nazareth – will never fail to be there when we need Him!

B. UNSHAKABLE STABILITY

1. The cornerstone, being massive, is unmovable; all the other stone-blocks derive their stability from it. Peter said that the Jews rejected Jesus, but Christ became the cornerstone in spite of them.

2. Without Him there would be no church because it wouldn’t be able to stand. IN JESUS CHRIST WE ARE UNSHAKABLE!

C. UNIFIES THE STRUCTURE

1. In Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul tells us that Christ is He who joins the whole building/ Body together. The Cornerstone connects two walls of the building and is the stabilizer. Christ, as the Chief Cornerstone, units the Jews and Gentiles into one people.

2. In Rev. 7:9, John saw the Church in Heaven, as being “from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” Isn’t it wonderful that in Christ there are no racial or economic distinctions!