God's Building Project (Building Dedication Service)

It is good to be with you all this morning, both those of you who are here in person and

those of us who are joining us on the live stream.

Before we come to God's Word this morning, there's one more thank you that needs to be

given.

Pastor Nick has spearheaded from a staff and elders point of view this process the whole

time, and we just want to acknowledge him and Beth for the many late nights and extra

meetings that it took for this project to happen.

And so we just want to give thanks especially to Pastor Nick for his leadership in the building.

So let's...

It's...

I've had the privilege of being around Trinity for long enough to know what it was like when

we were moving out of the Humphrey Street building, that we were renting and looking for a spot

and seeing God provide and seeing God continue to provide as we looked and prayed that the

God would give us the right spaces in the right places to continue the ministry that he's

called us to.

And it's taken a long time to get here, to address needs that we saw from the very start

of moving into this building to actually get to this place.

And it's exciting.

But you know, buildings are not the point of the church as God defines it.

They're useful tools.

They're important markers for the presence of God's people in a community.

They can be wonderful aesthetic pointers to the beauty and grandeur of God.

They serve an important role in providing a place for the church to function in a community.

And they have served as architectural centers for towns and cities and mark the spiritual presence

here on earth in important ways.

But as we turn to God's word this morning and we look at 1 Peter chapter 2, we're taking

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

a break from our series in the Psalms to look at 1 Peter chapter 2 if you want to look there

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

on your phone or in your Bible.

God is building something better than just a building.

God is building something better than just edifices.

And that's what we're going to see as we look at this passage this morning.

So we're going to read and I'm going to pray and then we'll look at this for just a few minutes this morning.

1 Peter chapter 2 verse 4 says this.

1 Peter 2:4

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

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.

For it stands in Scripture,

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious.

Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who believe, but to those who do not believe,

the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone

and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do.

But you, 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.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for this word.

Lord, we thank you for the gathering that we are able to do this morning

to celebrate your faithfulness and goodness to us.

Lord, we pray that as you speak to us through your word this morning by your spirit,

Lord, that you would give us receptive hearts

and that we would be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving

for all that you have done and are doing and will do

in and through your church for your glory.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

God is building a better building.

It's not a building made out of stones,

but it's a building made out of people.

People who will last forever

and a people that God has called to display his glory here on earth.

What does God say about this building?

This passage gives us three ideas.

This is a rich passage.

We're not going to do deep exegesis of all of it,

but simply three quick thoughts

as we reflect on our thanksgiving for this morning.

What does God say about this building that he is building?

The first thing is that you see in the very beginning of verse 4,

he says,

As you come to him,

come to whom?

Come to Jesus Christ,

a living stone rejected by man,

but in the sight of God,

chosen and precious.

This is the one we come to.

And then in verses 6 through 8,

we see Peter unfolding from the Old Testament,

who he is,

quoting from Isaiah 28 and Psalm 118,

to say,

This is the cornerstone.

Now, what is a cornerstone?

We didn't lay a cornerstone next door.

They used laser levels

and some really cool technology

to pour concrete instead.

But in the old days,

they would put in a cornerstone.

And what a cornerstone would be,

the first stone that was laid

that would set the frame of the building.

It would make it plumb by being level.

It would create the right angles of the walls

by its shape.

And it would be heavy.

It would be weighty, typically,

so that it would not be moved easily.

And on this cornerstone,

all the other building blocks,

all the other stones that were added on top of it,

found their place and their lines

in order that they might build

a solid building that would stand and withstand.

And Peter says,

God has laid the cornerstone of his building

in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ,

the one rejected by man

as he came to earth,

and yet chosen and precious to God.

chosen as the one before the foundations of the earth

that God would send to be the architect

of his salvation and his plan.

Chosen because he is the son of God,

precious and loved by the Father.

Chosen to be the one through whom,

as we see at the very end of verse 6,

whoever believes in him

will not be put to shame.

Pastor Nick laid out earlier

the truths of the gospel.

Jesus' life,

his death and his resurrection

have done all that we need

for our salvation

so that we might be able to come

to God

and be a part of his building

that he is building.

It is Jesus' work

that is his salvation

that builds this building.

And not only is Jesus

chosen for this purpose,

but he is also precious.

He is precious in the sight of God.

And he is precious

in the sight of God's people.

Because he is the one

we are called to adore

and to worship,

to serve,

and to cherish.

He is the one

precious

because he has shed

the ultimate price

for us.

He came and gave up

his very own life.

He shed his own blood

for us.

And this is why

he is precious

to us.

As he has come,

as we enter into

the first week of Advent

and as we think

about Christmas,

we think this is the one

who has come,

this precious child

who will be the Savior

of the world

and bring joy

to all people.

And he didn't just die,

but he rose from the dead

so that he might be

the first of many

living stones.

This cornerstone

is the one

on whom we,

his church,

stand.

And even if this building

and the brand new one

next door

falls apart,

which it probably will

at some point,

even if those

crumble and fall,

the church that God

is building

will stand.

That's why we're

going to sing

after the sermon

the church's

one foundation.

The church's

one foundation

is Jesus Christ

her Lord.

She is his new creation

by water

and the word.

From heaven

he came and sought her

to be his holy bride.

With his own blood

he bought her

and for her life

he died.

So God is laid

for the church broadly

and for the church

individually.

Jesus Christ

is the cornerstone,

the basis upon which

he's building something.

But he is building

something on top of that.

He is building

people.

People made

in his image.

People called

by his grace.

People who have come

to experience him.

And so this is what

we see in verse 5

as Peter outlays this.

You yourselves,

he says,

you,

you the church,

you who are

following Christ,

you are being built up

as a spiritual house.

And this is God's

plan A.

The church is not

about programs.

It's not about policies.

It's not about

aesthetics.

All of those things

can be good and helpful

parts of church life.

But that's not the point.

The point is people.

People.

And God wants

to make a people.

A people who are

a royal priesthood

offering spiritual sacrifices

as Peter goes on

in verse 5.

He's bringing up

temple imagery.

And remember what the temple

was in the Old Testament.

The temple was

the meeting place

of God

where God manifested

his presence

on the earth.

The place where

God and man

could meet.

The place where

sacrifices were given

so that

unholy people

could approach

a holy God

and actually know

the God of this universe.

And this is what

the temple represented

in the Old Testament.

And the amazing thing

that Peter says

is now in the New Testament

with Jesus Christ

this cornerstone

the new building

is not a place

where you have to go

in Jerusalem

but the new building

is the people of God

scattered throughout

the earth

and this is the presence

of God

among his people.

And this is what

he calls us to be.

And not only that

but he reminds us

as you look down

to verse 9

and he has these

this list of titles

almost

of chosen race

a royal priesthood

a holy nation

a people

for his own possession.

This is all language

that comes from

the other great story

of the Old Testament

that every believer

would know

the Exodus

as God delivered

his people

the Hebrews

from slavery

in Egypt

and brought them

through the Red Sea

and to the

to the brink

of Mount Sinai

he spoke these words

to his people there

out of all the peoples

of the earth

I have chosen you

and I will be your God

and you will be my people

and you will be

all of these things

in this covenant

relationship with me.

And now we know

that Jesus

worked a greater salvation

for us

and is building

a greater people.

The fulfillment

of those promises

in Exodus 19

are fulfilled

in the church

and the salvation

that we have

is greater

it's not just

from slavery

in Egypt

but it's from

the slavery

and bondage

of sin and death.

And what God

is calling his people

to be

is to be

a distinct people

a people who will be

fully his

in every way

and this is what

we get to participate

this is why we gather

and this is why

we scatter every week

as God's people

so that we can be

distinctively

and fully his people

in this world.

You see God

is not impressed

with buildings

that stand

empty

and beautiful.

He's looking

for living stones

people

who will carry out

his purposes

in the world.

Friends,

we hope

that this is what

Trinity

will always be about

and I think

I can speak

for the elders

to say

we want you

to hold us

accountable

if we ever

get too caught up

in buildings

and programs

and we forget

about people

remind us

rebuke us

call us back

to what 1 Peter

tells us

God is building

this building

of people

for his glory

but even now

Peter's not done

he said

God has laid

a cornerstone

of Jesus Christ

and now he's building

this edifice

this building

of people

but this people

now has a purpose

this is what

we see in verse 9

in the second half

you are all

these wonderful

things

so that

that might be

a clear translation

that you may

proclaim the excellencies

of him

who called you

out of darkness

into his

wonderful light

friends

the living stones

that God raises up

have a story

to tell

each one

of us

in his church

have a story

to tell

of how God

has met us

and how God

has shown us

the darkness

of our own sin

and the lostness

that we have

apart from him

and he has brought

us into his

marvelous light

the marvelous light

of his son

and we have

this story

to tell

and this is what

his purpose is

for us in this world

is to be a place

where

we now have

a mission

to broadcast

the good news

of what God

has done

in Jesus

to all people

we who have

experiences

deliverance

are now

to be a clarion

bell

ringing out

resounding

across the city

of New Haven

and the region

of New Haven

County

and the state

of Connecticut

and to the ends

of the earth

stones

and boards

and drywall

cannot speak

but living stones

can

and we must

this is God's

purpose

and we pray

that it might

be true

we pray

that this pulpit

every Sunday

would proclaim

the good news

of Jesus Christ

we pray

that as we gather

we would be

strengthened

and deepened

in our experience

and our richness

and our appropriation

of that

and then as we get

sent out

to live our lives

in schools

and homes

in workplaces

and in leisure times

in everything we do

that the living stones

might then be scattered

and not only

would the message

be proclaimed here

but it would be

proclaimed as we

as my seminary

professor would call

we would gossip

the gospel

have you heard

about this

have you heard

the latest news

Jesus Christ

died on the cross

and rose again

from the dead

this is the most

important thing

you'll ever know

better than

People magazine

that we would be

so captured

by this

that we would be

gossiping it

for others

because we know

that as God

has called us

on this mission

he is building

a building

that one day

will have

its completion

and the vision

that we see

in Revelation

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

where God

gathers his people

from every tongue

and tribe

and nation

across the globe

that he's going

to gather people

from every people

group

because he is

the creator

of all things

deserves the worship

of all

of his creation

and as he gathers

this incredible

collection

of people

the living stones

they will worship

him

and glorify him

and that's why

he has us

on this mission

because that's

where we're headed

and that's where

we're going

we're on this mission

so that God

would be rightly

worshipped

by all of his

creation

we're on this

mission

so that more

may know

his saving

power and grace

we're on this

mission

so that God

may be glorified

and so that Jesus

the cornerstone

might also be

lifted up

as the capstone

so that he might

be seen

in all of his

glory

and so as we

come this morning

to dedicate a

building

we remember

that God

is building

a bigger building

this

physical space

is not for

our glory

it's not so

that we can have

a bigger footprint

in the city

but it's

that in this

in the halls

of this building

the people of God

may be built up

that children

and adults

will be trained

and equipped

to know

more deeply

the grace of God

in Jesus

and sent out

on the mission

that God has

called us to

as his church

this

is our prayer

and our hope

that this building

might be a place

where the song

of the gospel

would be so

deeply planted

in our heart

that it would

burst forth

in all that we

do

for his glory

amen

let's pray

Lord we thank you

for

calling us

to this

and we thank you

for the amazing

work that you

have done

in Jesus

for us

Lord we pray

that as we

continue to

give thanks

to you

this morning

Lord that our

hearts would be

full

of gratitude

for the work

that you

have done

and are doing

and Lord we pray

that we would be

fervent

both in prayer

and in service

to continue the work

that you are doing

in this church

and through this church

for your glory

we pray this

in Jesus name

amen