Names | Cornerstone - Isaiah 28:16-17 | June 21

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Then talking about the names of God as Sandy is teaching the kids,

we are talking about sort of God as our rock today.

And actually, Sandy's going to come back and share a bit of a testimony for

her of the name of God, the rock.

But before she does, I just want to say how awesome it was. I don't know if you saw Samuel, right?

You're Samuel. Okay. I always mix up which one's which. y'all are getting so

old and looking like real people now.

And he came and sat down. I was like, oh, he's sitting with Benjamin.

But then Benjamin wasn't there.

I was like, how awesome is that? That's a big kid came and joined in too.

And I just thought about what if all of us, as Jesus says, whoever comes to

me as little children, what if one Sunday we just all came and sat with the kids?

That'd be crazy, but you're welcome to do it. There's little pads on the back for the older adults.

But yeah, that was just amazing. So Sandy's going to come up.

Let me pray. God, thank you that we are all your children.

Thank you for being a firm foundation, a solid rock that we can trust,

that we can stand upon, that we can put everything, our full weight.

Men, you do not fail and you do not falter while everything else might wash away.

Whatever structures we've built on top might be burned away,

God, that you never fail.

And so I pray that you would just make your word alive to us today.

Speak to us through it boldly.

May we have the ears to hear, may we have the hearts that are receptive to it.

I pray that you would share your word mightily through Sandy's testimony that

it might impact our lives greatly.

And I pray that we would come to trust more and more in you,

our rock, our firm foundation, our cornerstone,

and not just have you be another brick in the wall of our lives that could come

and go, but have you be what everything else is built on.

So awaken our hearts this morning, your spirit enliven our hearts,

encourage us and lift us up.

Amen. He's set on my comfort zone, y'all. That's it.

The kids so most of you know me those of you don't know me my name is sandy and terry's my husband,

so zach had encouraged us to share testimony of how god has revealed himself through our lives,

and so i'm going to share a testimony about how god spoke to me through a rock.

And I want to just say, too, that I want to say how much I enjoyed Elliot sharing

his testimony last week.

And sharing testimony always inspires me to listen more carefully to the Lord.

Because He's always speaking to us. And we just need to have ears to hear what He's saying.

So today I'm going to share a testimony about how God spoke to me through a rock.

But first, I need to give you a little background.

For those that you know me, know that I really like rocks.

I like river rocks especially, but really any kind of rock I just really like.

And over the years, we, Terry and I, have been given literally tons of rocks.

And it's been amazing. One time, we were given access to this huge,

enormous rock pile that was collected.

The rocks were collected from the ground on several acres of land so that the

farmer could farm the land.

So there was this, I mean, enormous rock pile. And we were able to drive a truck right up to it.

And it says, get these gorgeous rocks. Put them in the truck and take them off.

And we got several truckloads. And then another time when Hurricane Ivan came

through, the river was jammed up with rocks because of the floodwaters.

And so a backhoe had to come in and dredge the river, and all the rocks were put up along the bank.

And we got permission from these two sweet little ladies that lived in a house

right next to the river to drive a truck right up to the river and collect rocks.

So we got several more truckloads of rocks. And so out of those rocks,

I have built rock walls and pathways and statues and steps and all kinds of things.

That's just a little background, but you need to know about me.

So on with the story.

So one day, this was several years ago, I was walking down a road near our house.

And at that time, there weren't a whole lot of houses on the road.

Now it's pretty built up.

But during this time, there was a lot of pasture field and there was some woods.

And it was a nice place to take a walk.

So I'm walking down this road, and I'm getting near the end of my walk,

and I noticed that on the right-hand side of the road, the land had been cleared,

in preparation for a house to keep up.

And so I'm looking down, it's kind of like this, and I'm going,

how in the world are they ever going to build a house down there?

Kind of looking at it and I buy this rock that's like wow that's a cool looking

rock so I go to take a closer look at the rock,

and then I like it even more and so I brought a viewable this is how tall the

rock was and about how wide it was,

and it was also that And it's kind of like a rectangle, rectangle it.

But the cool thing about this rock is that the top and the bottom of this rock

were perfectly flat at a 90 degree angle.

It was like incredible. It was like a saw had been taken to it and just made

a 90 degree angle. and both.

So I looked up this rock and said, you are coming home with me.

It was pretty heavy, but I maneuvered it up to the side of the road,

and then I had to walk home to get my car to come back and fit it.

So on the way home, I start thinking.

Where am I going to put this rock? Am I going to put it in my flower garden?

Am I going to stand it up? Am I going to lay it down?

I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do with this rock.

And then my thinking, as thinking often does, translated or transitioned into something else.

And I started thinking about this podcast I'd been listening to by a teacher named Graham Cook.

Some of you might be familiar with him.

He's a great Bible teacher. And Sally, you would love him. He's pretty.

So anyway, he said something that really stuck with me.

And he said, whenever God gives me a revelation of who he is,

I plant a rock in my garden and pour oil over it as a memorial stone.

So that when I see the rock, I'm reminded of the revelation that God showed

me. I thought, that is so cool.

And so then I'm still continuing on my walk back home. I'm thinking about what

God has been teaching me.

And at that time, I was researching the Bible about God's name, I Am.

And I was finding other scriptures that kind of gave me more insight to God's name being I Am.

And I actually found this old study that I did.

And so some of the names that I had written down were, I am the Lord, that is my name.

I am God Almighty. I am the Son of God.

I am your salvation. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the bread of life.

I am the vine and you are the branches. I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to me but to the Father.

And I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

So that's just a more little background. So fast forward, I finish my walk,

get my car, go back and get the rock, bring it home, put it in a wheelbarrow, take it to my backyard.

And I'm back to my first question.

What am I going to do with this rock? Where am I going to put it?

And so I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do with it.

And boom, God said clearly to me.

He said, I am your rock.

And it was such a clear word from the Lord.

And I saw, I just saw in the Spirit exactly what to do with this rock.

And so what God showed me was a picture.

I made a lot of rock sculptures, all the rocks that I have.

And he showed me to make the words, I am, out of rock.

So this is what I made. I don't know if you can see it or not.

But I saw that this rock was the vertical for the capital letter I.

And because I have so many rocks on our property,

I was able to go rock shopping and find all the rocks I needed to make this

memorial to God for showing me that he is I am.

And so literally, I probably made this sculpture in about 30 minutes.

I mean, it was like, oh, use that rock, use that rock.

And it was such a fun experience such a fun thing to do gosh and so after I made it,

I went into the house got the bottle of olive oil poured it over the top and

it is a real special thing,

and I put it in a place where I can see it on my kitchen window when I go out

the back door I see it and And I'm just reminded of,

that God is my rock, He's my safe place, He's my strong foundation,

the end thank you for sharing that sandy um.

It's a beautiful thing to hear the ways that god speaks to his people and so

thank you for being willing to be vulnerable and share that,

and for the reminder that one god is still speaking he speaks in lots of ways,

but also that he is our rock and we have,

these scriptural evidences that speak of that in such strong ways that He,

as our rock, He is strong.

He is sturdy. He's unbreakable.

He is a firm foundation. He is dependable. He's reliable. He's the bedrock of

truth. He's a shelter for us, as it's often paired with the idea of fortress.

In Psalm 62, it says, truly, my soul finds rest in God.

My salvation comes from Him. Truly, he is my rock in my salvation. He is my fortress.

I will never be shaken. So he provides this firm ground for us to build upon our life upon.

So God, thank you that you are that firm foundation.

Thank you that you are the solid rock and that you are Yahweh,

Jehovah, the great I am who created everything, is in control of everything

and upon which everything leans and relies.

I just pray that we would make you the bedrock of our lives. Amen.

And so for me, as I've been thinking about this word rock,

I kind of fast forwarded a little bit to another sort of nearby idea that Jesus

and the New Testament authors pick up, but it originates in the Old Testament

as everything else does.

In Isaiah chapter 28. So if you want to hold on to Isaiah chapter 28, we'll come back there.

Isaiah 28 · chapter mention Isaiah 28 · chapter mention

And if you want to hold another finger in like first Peter chapter two, we'll go there as well.

And we'll hit some scriptures in between, but feel free to not try and bounce

around if you feel like it's going too fast.

But we'll be in between those two verses. So Isaiah chapter 28,

Isaiah 28 · chapter mention

and then first Peter chapter two, Isaiah 28, we're going to start actually in verse 14.

I just want to read these words for us before we get too far.

This is a beautiful, beautiful proclamation, prophetic vision of Jesus coming

as the Messiah, which Jesus comes and picks up and applies to himself and so to his disciples.

But before that, it starts off in verse 14 of Isaiah 28.

Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem.

You boast that we have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead.

We have made an agreement with an overwhelming, when an overwhelming scourge

sweeps by, it cannot touch us for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.

So it talks about the people of Israel and how they've turned to other things

and they've built their life on these other things that are not Jesus, right? Not God.

And it calls it a lie for their refuge and a falsehood for their hiding place,

which we just contrasted with the idea that God is our refuge.

God is our hiding place. So they've exchanged that for a lie.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says.

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation.

The one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.

Hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.

Your covenant with death will be annulled.

Your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.

So we have this picture, this flash forward, this view from the past of God,

exchanging what they've built their life upon, the lies, for not just a rock,

but what he calls a stone, a cornerstone, a tested stone, a sure foundation.

And we see this, this, so I'm, I'm taking the idea of rock.

And I'm moving it forward with the idea of stone. I hope we make this connection readily.

We have this idea of the cornerstone of our lives, the sure foundation that

Jesus picks up, that the New Testament authors pick up.

And when they use that word, we look at verses like Matthew 21,

which I'll turn to. You don't have to worry about it.

They pick up this idea of the cornerstone.

But when our Bibles translate it, they're not quite sure what to call it.

It's definitely an important stone, but what building feature is it talking about?

So depending on your translation, it'll say kind of three different things,

which are all very important, which all communicate very important ideas and

slightly different ideas.

So we look at chapter 21, verses 42. Jesus picks up this idea.

He says to them, have you never read in scripture, the stone that the builders

rejected has become the cornerstone. This comes from Psalm 118,

that same picture that we see in Isaiah 28.

The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and

given to a people who will produce its fruit.

Anyone who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces. Anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.

So we have this continuing picture of Jesus as the cornerstone,

but your translation might say something like capstone.

There's translations that use the word capstone instead.

And what a capstone is, we'll kind of look at each of these pictures,

is when a building is finished, the final stone that is placed on top,

signifying the completion of it all, signifying that the building is done.

And Jesus is described as the author, the beginner, but also the finisher of our faith.

The one who is finished on the cross, he said those words, it is finished.

And we have this picture of him as our capstone, as the crowning moment of our

faith, as the rock of the church, as the author and finisher of all things.

This is the picture of Jesus as our capstone.

And it says that anyone who rejects him.

Who falls on the stone, it will

be broken to pieces and anyone on whom it falls will be crushed, which.

I've always viewed that picture as both a positive and negative,

as we throwing ourselves upon the stone, on the capstone, and we are broken

to pieces so that we might be rebuilt in the image of God.

And then on the negative side, those who have rejected the capstone on whom

it falls, we get that picture of a millstone back in the Old Testament where

the woman drops the millstone out of the window and it falls on one of Israel's,

fighters and it kills them.

Any on whom it falls will be crushed.

And so I've always thought of it as we who throw ourselves upon God and then those who reject God.

But it's actually, I think, a picture of both rejection and also this idea of of opposing him.

So when we reject God, when we oppose him, we are come crashing upon this stone.

We realize what, whatever we've built our life upon, whatever has crowned it,

whatever has finished it is unstable. And it falls apart when we encounter the

true living stone, as we see in Isaiah, this idea of living stone.

But it is true that we come and throw ourselves upon the stone.

We build our life upon the stone.

We get rid of whatever material that is ill-equipped for it,

and we structure our life around Jesus.

So that image is still true, but this is definitely an image of when we reject

and when we oppose him, the sure rock of our salvation for those who believe,

the immovable stumbling stone for those who do not. This is the idea of capstone.

Another picture that we see with cornerstone or capstone is this idea of keystone.

And I wish I'd put a picture in here to illustrate it more specifically.

But you've seen these in arches, you'll see this sort of keyhole-shaped stone

in the middle of an arch where each side comes together and rests upon this

keyhole-shaped stone. It's like a trapezoid.

And that's the keystone on whom the other stones must lean to make that arch

structurally sound, that everything compresses upon it, and everything leans

against it, and without it, everything would fall apart.

This is this keystone and a catenary arch on which all other stones rest.

It absorbs the pressure from on all sides.

Everything leans upon it or else it will collapse without Christ.

We have this beautiful picture of this in an interesting way in the book of

Ephesians, where Jesus is, or Paul is writing about Jesus.

And he's writing about how the Gentiles have come to faith in Jesus.

They've come to put their faith in Jesus. As we know, Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles.

And Paul writes in several of his letters, there's no longer slave,

no free. There's no longer Gentile or Jew. There is no longer,

but we are all one in Christ.

In chapter two of Ephesians, he writes, therefore, remember that formerly you

were Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised. So this is who you once were.

He does this all the time, reminds us who we once were so that he can remind

us of the truth of who we are now.

At that time, you were separated from Christ. But now in Christ Jesus,

you who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who was made the two groups one,

and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two,

thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the

cross by which he put to death their hostility.

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

For through him, we both have access to the father by one spirit.

Consequently, here's the turnaround.

You are no longer foreigners and strangers. This is to all of us.

But we are fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household,

built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ Jesus himself,

the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building is joined together and rises

to become a holy temple in the Lord.

And in him, you two are being built

together to become a dwelling place in which God lives by his spirit.

So it's this picture. We have this idea of chief cornerstone,

but it's also idea of We together as his people, no matter what our background

is, no matter who we once were, have been restored in the sacrifice of his flesh and his blood.

And we are being built together. As we are being built together,

we're rising together as a holy temple towards the Lord.

And as we rise, everything comes together from both sides, Gentile and Jew,

you can see it, or those who are far off and those who are near.

We are coming together and resting on the keystone of Jesus that holds it all together.

We read that in the book of Colossians last week, that in him,

all things hold together.

So Jesus is our capstone. He is our keystone. And of course.

The most familiar idea is that he is our cornerstone.

The one who is laid down first. We see that Jesus is the first fruits,

the firstborn, those of the resurrection that he came and he laid his life down first.

The first one among from the dead, the first one resurrected that we might follow in his path.

Also, the cornerstone is not just the first stone that is laid,

but it is the first stone that is laid and which by every other wall and stone is laid and directed by.

It's the stone that is laid first and when everything else is built around.

It's interesting that historically speaking, people say that the cornerstone

of the temple, Solomon's temple and Derubable's temple, it hasn't been found.

What they're really saying is in all of the years that it has been destroyed and rebuilt and,

added to and changed into something else and all the archaeology that has been

taking place, they can't readily identify in this giant temple that was built

with purpose where the cornerstone is, which one it is.

And maybe there are cornerstones. Maybe it's missing. They generally say it's missing.

I don't think that means it's gone. But in the 3000 years of archeology,

they can't, they haven't discovered a stone that they can point to and say, that's probably it.

And then teachers have come along and noted how ironic that is,

that we can't point to a physical stone, which holds the temple mount together.

And while we come along as Christians and we proclaim that Jesus himself is

the stone that was built upon.

We pick up the words of Isaiah and the words of Psalm 118.

We pick up the words of Jesus himself. We pick up the words of his disciples, Peter.

We pick up the words of the apostle Paul that Jesus has become the chief corner or stone.

Whether or not there was ever or will ever be a recoverable physical stone in

the temple, Jesus is the one upon whom God's dwelling place is now built.

That our lives are set in reference to him and built upon him.

That Jesus is called overwhelmingly in scripture, the chief cornerstone because

he is the foundation of our faith and the axis with which everything else our lives should revolve.

And so then we turn into the book of first Peter, the apostle known for speaking wonderful truths.

When Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say that I am?

They, they, they give their answers, but then Jesus asked, who do you say that I am?

And so often Peter's the one who blurts out first often too rashly,

but in this moment, he speaks such a beautiful truth that you are the Christ,

the son of the living God.

And in that moment, Jesus turns to him and says, bless you because it is not

man who has revealed this to you. It is God.

And then he says, you are Simon. Now I'm going to call you Peter.

And on this rock, I will build my church.

And of course, Peter means rock, but Jesus is saying something more profound.

He's saying, not on you, Peter, I'm not building my church upon you.

You're not the cornerstone, but upon that confession that I am the Christ,

the son of the living God, that I am the Messiah, that I am the chief cornerstone

that creation has been longing for.

Upon that confession of who I am, I'm going to build my church.

So Peter picks up that idea as he's writing this letter.

In the later eras of his life, starting in chapter two, verse four,

he says, as you come to him, to Jesus, the living stone rejected by humans,

but chosen by God and precious to him.

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.

For in scripture, it says, here's Isaiah chapter 28.

Isaiah 28 · chapter mention

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone.

Hold on to that word precious. We're going to revisit that. It shows up multiple times here.

And the one who trusts in him, in Jesus, in our chief cornerstone,

will never be put to shame.

Now to you who believe this stone is precious, but to those who do not believe,

no, to those who believe this stone is precious,

but to those who do not believe, as it's written in scripture again,

the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone that

causes people to stumble in a rock that makes them fall.

They stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called

you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.

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

That we, in following in line with the living stone of Jesus,

we are being built, that we ourselves are living stones being built into a house that praises God.

In him, Peter expands on this idea in Isaiah 28, in him, you will never be put

to shame if you trust in God.

This idea of trust and believe in the Bible is the idea of putting your full

weight upon, which if Jesus is the cornerstone, everything must rest upon him.

So if we trust and rest in him, you will never be put to shame.

You will be secure. You will never be disappointed. He will never fail or falter.

Sandy shared with the kids that parable that Jesus teaches in Matthew of the

builder, foolish builder, we sang the song, who builds his house in the sand.

And when the rains come, when the wind comes, it falls because it's not built up on the rock.

And then the wise builder who builds his house on the rock, who builds his house

on Jesus, when the rains come and the winds come, it stands strong because it's built on the rock.

And in that culture, they're talking about these areas of their lands,

they call them wadis, where when the storms come in a desert, the water,

is torrential and anything built in the way in these sands.

Will be washed away by these torrential rain.

But if you build your house on the rock, away from these wadis,

away from the disaster that's coming, you will stand strong.

So you're a foolish builder if you build your house in the wrong place,

if you build your house on the wrong things, but you are wise if you build it

on Jesus and his commands.

And I remember reading years ago, I think I still have the book and the book

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.

Who's talking about Rob Bell in 2026? I guess I am.

But he shares this this image for him of how he contrasts these metaphors of

your faith being like a trampoline versus your faith being essentially a wall.

He calls it this idea of brickianity.

And his point being that his view is to build your life like a trampoline.

Where the springs represents different doctrines, but you're focused on the

enjoyment of God's presence in the middle.

And so he talks about if a spring gets stretched or broken, it doesn't ruin your faith.

And then he contrasts it, this idea of Christianity, brickianity,

building your theology and doctrine as a wall, that if you pull out a piece,

it collapses around you, which is interesting with certain ideas.

We were talking about the Shroud of Turin this weekend with the kids listening to a podcast.

And if you think of the Shroud of Turin as a spring, which it's pretty cool

and interesting, and it might strengthen your faith, but ultimately your faith

isn't in this object that could or could not be real, then it works.

But if you talk about the resurrection of Jesus, or the birth of Jesus,

or the existence of Jesus, or any of these things in any other way than a solid foundation, a rock,

then that's not the type of faith or Christianity that the Bible speaks of.

We're supposed to build our lives on a sure foundation as a strong wall.

And sure, we might build other things on top of that, that we might end up pulling

or being burned or collapsing.

But ultimately, and the Bible speaks of Jesus.

As the foundational stone, which we build a strong wall of faith.

And it doesn't talk, trampolines didn't exist back then, so I guess I'll cut

them some slack, But it doesn't talk about faith in such a way,

that we build it around shaky things that are allowed to be stretched,

that are allowed to be broken, and they're allowed to be pulled.

Instead, we must build our foundation upon this strong rock wall so that when

the storms come, perhaps some things get washed away.

So it talks about in the building of our temple, that when the fires come,

maybe a few things get burnt away if we've built out of the wrong materials.

But ultimately, we're supposed to build based on the cornerstone.

So we must select the appropriate materials.

But certainly, we all have some chaff and things that needs to get burned up,

that needs to get shaken.

So when the rains come, when the storms come, maybe some things get lost.

But our foundation is strong on Jesus, the only one who can bear it. Because ultimately...

If we strip it all away and Jesus is not there, then we've built our house on

something else and everything eventually is destined to fall.

We might not know it until the storms come.

This is the question I've been wrestling most with this week is how do you know

if Jesus is the cornerstone of your life?

And I think we can create some answers to that.

But ultimately, the answer is only when it's tested do we really know.

Only when everything else is stripped back do we find out.

If we strip it all away, is it all about Jesus? Do our lives honor Jesus? Is it true to Jesus?

Or is it following some other line that's not Jesus?

Are your relationships built on the foundation of Jesus?

And the way you interact with people, is your family, is your marriage,

is your life built on the foundation of Jesus?

And ultimately the question is, if you take Jesus away, does everything else

crumble or does your life just change slightly?

And that Pink Floyd song came into my mind. Is Jesus the cornerstone or is he

just another brick in the wall?

And that's the question that I've been thinking about this week.

Is Jesus just another brick in

the wall or is he what everything else is built on? So we can start by...

Evaluating where we place our trust, we can start there for sure.

Where is it that we place our trust? Do we become easily anxious or swayed,

come into fear when we see things in the news or when life changes in big ways?

Or have we built our trust in Jesus?

Another key aspect of making Jesus the chief cornerstone is letting him shape our identity.

A lot of people have opinions about who we should be and we have,

based on our own experiences, views about who we are.

But do we let God speak the truth over us beyond what we think or what we hear?

Do we allow His teachings to influence our choices and our actions?

This is another way we can determine if we're allowing our choices to be changed

and shaped by Jesus and the values that we see through him,

and those choices shaping the direction of the building,

again ultimately we're not going to know we can evaluate but we're not really

going to know until it's tested i just want to go back to that chapter isaiah

28 if you got your hand still there.

I have laid a stone in Zion. And this is what God says.

He is a tested stone. He is a precious cornerstone. He is a sure foundation.

You're not going to know until it's tested. And Jesus has been tested.

He's been, God has made himself human, being tested in every way, yet being without sin.

Ultimately going to the point of death to die for us.

Bible says, sometimes you'll die for a good person, but very rarely will anyone

die for those who don't deserve it.

And all of us are those who didn't deserve it. And Jesus chose us.

It says that he is a precious cornerstone. And we think of these ideas of precious

stones. What makes one stone precious and one stone not precious?

What makes diamonds valuable, what makes rubies and emeralds and jade these rare, precious stones?

In some cases, it's rare. It's rarity that makes it.

In some cases, it's beauty. It's the way that it catches the light.

They use words like brilliance and fire and clarity. A diamond isn't rare.

But it catches light in such a beautiful way that it is desirable.

Some of it talks about durability. Some stones are prized because they last,

but here is where the Bible picks it up. Now, Jesus is those things.

He is rare. He is durable and he shines brilliantly, but here's where the Bible picks it up.

Being a precious cornerstone, he is chosen. If a builder rejects the cornerstone,

how can it be integral into the building?

Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected, but God has made the chief cornerstone.

Jesus was chosen as the cornerstone, which makes him precious.

And then they pick up that line for us as living stones. We have been chosen

by God and are precious in his sight.

He has been chosen and assigned a place and a structure.

And he gives purpose to all of us who are built upon him.

So the stone that the builders rejected can still be the cornerstone,

not because of its physical properties, which have changed, but because its

meaning and placement did.

So what is it that we have our cornerstone built on? What have we chosen and

selected and placed in that space? Is it Jesus or is he just another brick in the wall?

This passage in Isaiah calls him a sure foundation. He is the only one that is unshakable.

He is the only one that's worth putting our full weight upon.

We don't really have the same, we have cornerstones and things like that,

but we don't build our houses the same anymore.

So this image doesn't necessarily stand with us, except for the fact that maybe

we've seen pictures of ancient archaeology sites where these walls are still

standing and there's a cornerstone that has made them.

What we do have, which we've all seen, is if a house in our context is destroyed,

maybe not modern ones, but certainly older ones,

what is the telltale sign that is still standing?

Anybody seen these old houses?

It's like these random chimneys in fields. So we have this picture of the thing

that lasts, even if we don't always have the picture of the cornerstone.

And Jesus is, Jesus is our chimney.

There's something to be said about lighting a fire in there, providing warmth.

There's so many places to go, but Jesus is the chimney that we build our homes,

our houses upon and around that we'll still be standing long after we're not.

Everything else may be burned away, but the Bible tells us that everyone who

trusts in him will never be put to shame.

And so here's where I wanna leave you with this picture of God as our rock,

our cornerstone, as Jake and Jenny and Terry come back up.

Here's my challenge to bring it home for us.

Take time to reflect on Yeah.

The foundation of your life, what is it built around?

Maybe if we get a little keys going, we can take some time now as I finish this up here.

Are there any areas where Jesus has become more of an afterthought than the core of who we are?

And if the core of who we are is not built on Christ, if our marriages are not

built on Christ, if our friendships are not built on Christ,

if the house is not built on Christ,

if the church is not built on Christ, if your life is not built on Christ,

in this country, you can go a long way without realizing it.

But if the storm comes, you're going to find out in the end.

When the difficulty and challenges come, when everything else is stripped away,

it's going to cause something in you, either tension or trust,

if Christ is or is not the cornerstone.

So evaluate, pray about what it might look like for you to make him your cornerstone.

Perhaps there's some practicality there. Maybe it means dedicating some time

every day to prayer, every day to being purposeful in the scriptures,

letting that be the voice that guides and directs you.

Maybe it's choosing to trust Him in a difficult situation where you're tempted

to rely on your own understanding.

Whatever it looks like for you, what is that next step today toward placing

Jesus as the chief cornerstone in which your entire life is built and directed.

And if you've just placed him as another brick in the wall that is perhaps important,

but if he's removed, it just changes your life slightly.

It just changes what your Sundays look like. It just changes what happens day to day.

Very little, very minimally.

Just reevaluate. What does it look like to build everything off of the cornerstone of Jesus.

And as you do this, by very nature of what it means that he's our cornerstone,

everything else begins to align itself,

to fall into place and to be structurally sound because of who he is.

For all who place their trust in him will not be put to shame.

And your life will become a testament to his strength,

and his love as the only stone that is sure, as the only stone that is chosen

and precious, as the only stone which provides a strong foundation, the rock who is like,

God, who is like the rock that he is, no one else.

Lord, I thank you that you are a firm foundation, that we may trust in you,

that we might build our lives upon you, that everything else might fall in line with who you are.

Because everything else is temporary, but you are eternal. Everything else is

shaky, but you are solid.

And if we've experienced the storms, we know where the rock is.

People talk about hitting rock bottom.

If you're not there, there's nothing else to build on.

I pray we will throw ourselves upon you, God, that we will build our lives upon

you, that this church will be built upon you, upon Jesus, that we will never

go through a meeting with each other where you are not the center,

the foundation of why we gather?

Are our relationships here built on you?

And if you're removed, does that fall apart? Are marriages built on your,

today's Father's Day dads, are parenting styles built on you?

I confess that too often,

my relationships, my parenting, these aspects of my life are not built on you.

I confess for this group, this church that too often you are not just another

brick in the wall and you are not the chief cornerstone.

I make that confession. And I pray that we would turn, that we would repent,

that we would, as the word repent means that we would think differently.

And as we think differently, that you would change what we believe,

that you would change our hearts, that you would change how we act,

that you would take your rightful place in a spot that only you can fill as the chief cornerstone,

as the capstone that everything leans upon as it's structurally built up in

praise and thanksgiving to you as the capstone, the author and finish of our faith.

I just invite you to sit just for a minute or two.

Make your confessions in the places that Jesus has not been placed as the cornerstone in your life.

Pray for him to take that rightful place and not just be another brick in the wall.

That he is building in us individually, in us collectively, with our brothers

and sisters across the world, a church that will last.

Come and burn up the things that don't belong, God. Come and get rid of the

materials we've sucked in,

that are shaky and unsure.

Redirect the entirety of our lives.

Redirect our gaze. give us the new name that you have called us by,

chosen and beloved, a new creation built into a temple worthy of your presence.