The Stones That Cry Out - 1 Peter 2:4-12

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, 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.

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

builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone that causes people to stumble,

and 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

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. Dear friends, I urge you,

as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such

good lives among the pagans, that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds

and glorify God on the day he visits us. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the privilege of approaching

your holy throne in worship and to bring to you our concerns and our cares. We ask that you would

help us to leave our troubles at the door this morning, Lord, and simply enter into your holy of

holies to elevate our worship to you. Be with us, Lord, as we look at your word. And may you be

speaking this morning through your Holy Spirit. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. I was reading during

the week about this church in California that decided to sell its building and open a brewery.

And the church's pastor was interviewed about this. And let me quote him just so I don't,

so I'm not unfair to the guy. I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if a church could figure out

a way to make a product where they split the profits with local community groups? We love beer.

Why not do a brewery? I'm not making this up. I promise this is a real story. He went on to say,

my sermons get better after a few beers. You might need a few yourself when I'm done telling you about them.

They also do this thing called Faith on Tap, which I quote from the website,

is a discussion group for people of all religious, political, and social affiliations

to engage in respectful dialogue over craft beer and wine,

which is exactly what you want people drinking when they're talking about politics and religion,

beer and wine. By the way,

one of the local community groups that they split the profits with,

local abortion clinics,

one of which is on the floor above where the church meets.

And the church's name

is Greater Purpose Community Church.

Greater Purpose?

Really?

Making and selling beer

to fund abortion?

Is that really what Jesus had in mind

when he said,

I will build my church

and then died for his church?

You see,

guys like this so-called pastor

bow to the pressures of the world around them,

which tells them

the church has to look

like the culture.

The church needs to get with the times,

adapt,

integrate,

or else sit down

and shut up.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,

it was a magnificent scene.

Throngs of adoring crowds

lining the roads and shouting,

Blessed is the King

who comes in the name of the Lord.

And the Pharisees

said to Jesus,

shut them up.

They're making too much of a racket.

But Jesus said,

I tell you,

if they stay quiet,

then the stones

will cry out.

Because God

will always

get the glory

that is due to him.

And that's the name

of our sermon this morning.

The stones cry out.

Because you see,

friends,

God's purpose for the church

is not to bow

to a world system

that tells it

to sit down

and be quiet.

Peter tells us this morning

that we are living stones.

And because we,

the church,

are alive,

we are living,

we have two great purposes.

Two main ways

in which we,

the living stones,

cry out

to the living God.

If you have one of the sheets

in front of you,

you'll see that the two ways

are vocal

and visible.

The church

needs to be vocal

and it needs to be visible.

So let's dive right in

verses four and five.

Let's have a look.

As you come to him,

the living stone,

that's Jesus,

rejected by humans,

but chosen by God

and precious to him,

you also,

that's the church,

like living stones,

are being built

into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood,

offering spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ.

My brother is a stone cutter.

He does monuments,

headstones,

that kind of thing.

And last year,

he designed and built

this World War I monument

in Middleton.

It's absolutely beautiful.

It's basically

an enormous limestone plaque,

thick,

several meters long,

engravings, poetry,

and it's got all the names

of the fallen soldiers

from the Middleton area on it.

And people flock

to see this thing.

It's stunning.

It's an example

of wonderful craftsmanship.

And people admire

the engravings

and the poetry

and reflect on the sacrifice

of the brave men

whose names are on the stone.

But at the end of the day,

impressive and all as it is,

it's just a lump of stone.

Because you see,

it's dead.

It's inanimate.

It doesn't have life.

It'll last for a time,

but then,

ultimately,

it will fade away.

But Jesus is the living stone,

Peter tells us.

You come to him

not to admire something

made by men,

not something

made out of rock.

You come to him,

the living stone,

the rock of ages,

because he is

the beautiful savior.

He is the secure,

immovable,

permanent,

rock of ages.

And back in the gospel accounts,

when Jesus asked Peter,

who do you say I am?

Peter said,

you're the Messiah.

You're the son

of the living God.

And Jesus told Peter

that this revelation,

this knowledge

that Jesus is

the Messiah,

is the son of God,

is the rock,

Jesus said,

on which

I will build

my church.

And look at verse 5.

Not only this,

but verse 5,

we,

the church,

are living stones

that are being built

on top of this rock

to form a house.

Now,

I don't know

if you've ever built

your own house.

My brother has,

with the help

of the other brother,

the stone cutter,

and it's a great exercise

in patience

and working together

and,

not my brother,

as you understand,

they're not patient

or anything like that,

but it's a great exercise

in patience.

That's what they tell me.

But this is not

a literal house

that is being built.

This is not a community center

in Carragalline.

This is a spiritual home,

one that is based

on the reality

that Jesus

is Lord.

That's what a church is.

Not a building.

Not an organization.

It's a group of sinners

saved by grace

being built

onto the rock

of ages.

Sinners

saved out of darkness,

Peter tells us,

to be a holy priesthood.

Now,

you remember

what holy means,

right?

Holy means

set apart

from sin.

Separated from sin.

Separated from the lusts

and desires

of this world.

And in the Old Testament,

God set aside

priests

for himself

who would make

sacrifices for the people.

Lambs,

goats,

turtle doves,

that kind of thing.

They would make

these sacrifices

and then atone

for the sins

of the people.

Most famously,

once a year,

on what the Jews

still call

Yom Kippur,

the Day of Atonement,

the high priest

would go into

the Holy of Holies

in the deepest part

of the temple

and make atonement

for the whole people.

Now,

these priests,

they were sinners

themselves.

Just like you and me.

All people are.

We know this.

So,

they didn't just need

to atone

for the sins

of the people.

They needed to atone

for their own sins

as well.

And in that sense,

those priests,

the Old Testament priests,

represented people

in front of God.

Before God.

But we live

on this side

of the cross.

We live on the side

of the cross

where Jesus became

the complete sacrifice

to appear for us

in God's presence

and atone completely

for our sins.

We don't need priests

to enter into

a building

made by men.

Because Jesus,

unlike those priests,

he didn't have any sins

of his own.

He didn't have to atone.

For his sins.

And because of this,

Peter tells us,

we are a priesthood

whose sins

have already

been forgiven.

So,

we don't make sacrifices

for other people.

We don't represent

other people

before God.

The reason

we're a priesthood,

friends,

is we represent

God

in front of

other people.

Not the other way around.

And so,

the sacrifices we make

are not animals.

You'll see this quote

if you have the notes

in front of you.

The writer to Hebrews

says this,

Jesus suffered

to make the people

holy

through his own blood.

Through Jesus,

therefore,

let us continually

offer to God

a sacrifice

of praise.

A sacrifice

of praise.

The fruit

of lips

that openly

profess his name.

See,

the purpose,

friends,

of the church

is to be

vocal

in its praise.

We,

the living stones,

we cry out

because the great

rock of ages

made us alive.

The purpose

of the church

is to be vocal

in its praise.

And this sacrifice

that Jesus

made

shows that

lambs don't belong

in altars.

They belong

in slow cookers.

Take a bit of garlic

and rosemary.

Try it sometime.

It's lovely.

Keep it away

from the altar.

We,

the living stones,

we cry out

in the praise

and worship,

the sacrifice

of praise

and worship,

the spiritual sacrifice.

And we continually

offer this sacrifice,

Peter says.

Now,

I don't know about you,

but I find that challenging.

Oftentimes,

frankly,

we just don't feel like it.

Whatever's going on

in your life.

Are there times

you don't feel like it?

There are times

I don't.

How about things like this?

You're late

getting out the door

on Sunday morning

because the kids

knocked over a vase.

Or the baby

needed a nappy change.

Or the dog

made a mess

on the carpet.

I don't have a dog.

I have a cat.

She looks after herself.

How about this?

You just had a fight

with somebody

in the car

on the way to church.

Your wife,

your kids,

whoever.

Or how about this?

When you don't like

the songs

the musicians pick,

or you don't like

the fact that we're

sitting over here now

and not over there.

None of you would ever

think that,

of course.

But friends,

this is not

about us.

This is not

about us.

This is about Jesus.

Look at verse 6.

Jesus is the cornerstone

set in Zion,

God's holy city.

Literally,

the hill

Jerusalem is built on.

Figuratively,

and to us,

the church.

Jesus is the cornerstone

of the church.

He is the foundation

of everything we do here.

Regardless of how we feel.

Regardless of what kind

of mourning we've had.

And on this foundation,

look at what Peter says,

we are being built

to sacrifice ourselves

in humble adoration

of what he has done for us.

Being built.

This is not once and done.

This is a lifelong pursuit.

This is not something

we're going to get right

straight away.

And that's why

we don't sing

about how perfect we are.

We sing about

how perfect Jesus is.

And not only that,

look at verse 9.

The church is a chosen people.

There's that word again.

Chosen.

Deliberate.

Not an accident.

Just like Jesus was chosen,

the church is chosen.

Just like Calvary

was God's plan,

the church is God's plan.

Not dependent on you and me

getting all of this right

all of the time.

Because,

man,

are there days

where we get this

dramatically wrong.

because we're all people.

I said to someone

at home group

the other night,

at some point

over the next six weeks,

if I haven't done so already,

I'm going to say something

that you're not going to like.

Or you're going to say something

I'm not going to like.

Because we're people.

And that's what we do.

We get upset with one another.

And it's why we don't sing

about ourselves.

It's why we sing songs

about Jesus

who came into this world.

So that regardless

of what way we are,

regardless of

how we're feeling

towards one another,

we know

that the church

is the chosen

people

of God.

And not just chosen.

Not just a priesthood.

But look at what Peter says.

We are

a royal

priesthood.

You know what that means?

Because Jesus

is the king

and we are

the holy priesthood

in service

of the king.

we share

in the inheritance

of the king.

We get to

experience

when we go to be with him

the same glory

that he has

with his father.

And despite all of the things

happening to us

in this day and age

where it can be

really difficult

to be a Christian

and sometimes

just really difficult

to be a human,

we can look forward

what we talked about

in week one

to this living hope

of the assurance

of sharing

in God's glory.

Peter says

we belong to God

as his special

possession.

And here's the reason

to declare

the praises

literally

the excellencies

the greatness

of the God

who called us

out of darkness

and into the light

of eternal life.

The purpose of the church

is to be vocal

yes

in our praise

but also vocal

in our witness

to other people.

The stones cry out

in worship

and they cry out

in declaring

the gospel

to talk it up

to actually

open our mouths

and tell people

about what Jesus

has done for us.

Now those of you

who are new enough

to this Christianity thing

maybe

in the last year

or something like that

why are you here?

Why are any of us here?

My guess is

that at some point

somebody

maybe you're sitting

next to

or somebody

else in this room

or somebody else

in a different church

that person

my guess is

told you

about

the gospel

told you

about why

they go to church

on Sundays

told you

about the nature

of sin

told you

about their own

struggles with sin

and then told you

that God

sent his son

into the world

so that those sins

are paid for

that if you simply

believe

on the Lord Jesus

that your sins

are forgiven

God called you

out of darkness

Peter says

by putting someone

in your life

who has declared

to you

his excellencies

and now as part

of the church

we

are to do

the same thing

that's our purpose

also

we're born again

because we heard

the good news

and our purpose

in being born again

is to spread

the good news

not just to show up

and be part of a club

or an organization

but to actually

declare

the excellencies

of the one

who called us

out of darkness

and into the light

do we do that

are we actively

engaged

in telling others

about their need

for Jesus

am I

are you

things like this

maybe you ask

how

well

when you take

a coffee break

at work

in fact when you

take your coffee break

tomorrow

I work at home

at the moment

so my coffee break

is by myself

but you might be

with other people

tomorrow

when you take

your coffee break

your go to

conversation

is it the results

of the world cup

final

or is it

last night's

prayer meeting

when you're

gathered around

the table

maybe you're a

student

in a student

center

UCC

CIT

wherever you are

and your friends

are all talking

about how

the planet

is going to be

dead soon

because of

single use

plastics

do you join

into that

or do you

tell them

you know

I was dead

once

and I came

back to life

because Jesus

made me alive

is your social

media platform

Facebook

Twitter

whatever the case

might be

is that something

you use just

to spread more

outrage

and more

gossip

or to debate

whether

Kanye West

is really a

Christian

or not

or do you

simply use

that platform

to point people

towards the tender

love of Jesus

every opportunity

you have friends

is an opportunity

to declare

the excellencies

of the one

who called you

out of darkness

because the stones

cry out

because we're

alive

just think of

that image

stones are

dead

inanimate

objects

that are

given life

by the rock

of ages

when Jesus

said that

if they stay

quiet

the stones

will cry

out

I don't

think that

was just

hyperbole

he really

meant

I will

get glory

no matter

what happens

the rest

of the world

friends

you see

it's dead

in its sin

and our

purpose

the church

is to

declare to

that world

the praises

of him

who gave

us life

we were

not God's

people

Peter says

and because

of God's

mercy

not anything

we've done

because of

his mercy

he made us

a chosen

people

for himself

we ought to

be vocal

in our praise

and vocal

in our witness

it's not just

about Sunday

morning

it's about

the rest

of our week

too

so

we are to

be vocal

and secondly

and finally

I only have

two points

today

normally I

have three

I don't

know what

to do

with myself

finally

the church's

purpose

is to be

visible

look at

verses 11

and 12

dear friends

I urge

you

as foreigners

and exiles

abstain

from sinful

desires

which wage

war against

your soul

live such

good lives

among the

pagans

that though

they accuse

you of

doing wrong

they may

see your

good deeds

and glorify

God

on the day

he visits

us

immigration is

in the news

a lot these

days isn't it

you know we

all know the

tragedy of the

lorry container

in Essex

with the people

from Vietnam

we saw

large protests

in Ucderard

and Galway

this summer

people protesting

against a direct

provision center

for asylum seekers

and I'm not

going to go

into it

but much

of what's

said and

reported

is just

ugly

it's just

not nice

there will

always be a

segment of

the population

in every

country

including this

one

that just

wants to

say

go home

you don't

belong here

this is our

home

that's how the

world views

Christians

you don't

fit in here

you need to

adapt

the world

is changing

you need to

integrate

keep your

religion to

yourself

recognize

you don't

belong here

and you know

what

in one sense

they're absolutely

right

we don't

belong here

and that's what

Peter is saying

this is actually

the third time

in the letter

so far

that Peter has

referred to

Christians as

foreigners

strangers

exiles

all means the

same thing

we don't belong

here

this is not

our home

we're just

passing through

on the way to

something greater

Paul put it

another way

we're not

citizens of

Greece

or Rome

or Ireland

or the UK

or the US

we are but not

really

Paul says

our citizenship

is in heaven

and so Peter

says

because we're

just passing

through

because this

is all

temporary

don't

integrate

don't adopt

the world's

customs

and practices

do stand

out

instead he

says

abstain

from sinful

desires

which wage

war

against your

soul

have you ever

done this

maybe you go

to another

country

and you're

going through

immigration

and the

border guard

says

what is the

purpose of

your visit

he normally

doesn't smile

when he says

it

and you say

travel

business

shopping

watching the

spring box

hammer England

whatever the

case might be

what they're

really asking

is this

if I let

you into

this country

are we

going to

have any

trouble

how are you

going to

conduct

yourself

if I let

you across

this border

basically

they want

you to

enjoy your

trip

and then

go home

preferably

after spending

lots of

money and

stimulating

the economy

in essence

they want

you to be

invisible

no trouble

keep

yourself

and that's

what the

world wants

to know

about us

friends

how are we

going to

act

you say

you're a

Christian

Dan

what does

that mean

what does

that look

like

and Peter's

answer

the Lord's

answer

is to live

such good

lives

among the

pagans

among those

who don't

believe

that they

actually

see

our good

deeds

they don't

just hear us

talk about

them

we don't

keep silent

but we

don't stay

invisible

we cry

out by

being vocal

and we

cry out

by being

seen

by being

visible

to other

people

now

we're not

necessarily

talking about

housing the

homeless

feeding the

hungry

clothing the

naked

although those

are all good

things and we

can and should

and must do

those things

but what Peter

means here

is our

conduct

our conduct

the way we

live our

lives

ought to be

done in

such a way

that people

can actually

see when

they look

at us

yes they

actually do

abstain

from the

sinful desires

of wage war

against their

souls

and literally

abstain

apeko in

Greek means

hold back

from

you might

say be

distant

from something

think of it

another way

fast

from something

just don't

eat it

just don't

ingest

the sinful

things the

world does

every day

and you say

okay fast

from what

well

have you ever

heard people

talk like this

and I apologize

if anyone

this is what

your name is

I'm not talking

about you

I just pluck

these out of

nowhere

did you hear

about Jane

she's married

to Pat

but I heard

she's carrying

Joe's baby

I don't

have any

holidays

left

so I'll

just get

a doctor's

note

and go

out sick

they won't

know

and I need

the time

off anyway

I'm not

going to

finish this

assignment

by the

deadline

so I'll

just make

up a sob

story for

the lecturer

and get

an extension

for a week

abstain

from such

things

don't

participate

in such

things

the things

the world

does

without even

thinking

about them

gossip

deceit

cheating

the world

has enough

to throw

at us

as it is

and boy

does it

throw stuff

at us

all you

Christians

you're just

ignorant

you're just

narrow minded

homophobic

they say

we're in

a cult

that we

only want

your money

they say

that we

talk

a big

game

that we

say we're

Christians

but they

look just

like us

there's

nothing

different

about them

so let's

look like

it

let's be

different

visibly

different

radically

different

from the

world

around us

let's cry

out

not just

in our

praise

not just

in our

evangelism

but by the

way we

live our

very lives

in our

homes

at university

at work

at the

shops

wherever we

go

live our

lives

in a way

that points

to God

honest

humble

respectful

because Peter

says

and take

a look

by seeing

our conduct

our good

deeds

the unbeliever

might glorify

God

on the day

he visits

us

that they

might say

you know

what

there actually

is something

visibly different

about these

people

that they

might see

these stones

that were

once dead

but are

now alive

and are

overflowing

in a

visible

crying out

of godly

living

and if we

do this

friends

it's not

just for

our own

sake

because here's

the point

if we do

this

if we

visibly

look different

from the

world around

us

we're pointing

to Christ

we echo

Christ

Christ

who came

into the

world

but didn't

look like

the world

we didn't

bow

to Satan's

temptations

bow to

me

I'll give

you all

the kingdoms

of the

world

throw

yourself

off this

ledge

if you're

really

God

he'll

save

you

if not

I'll

save

you

Jesus

didn't

do that

he followed

the will

of God

his very

life

and his

manner

of conduct

the way

he lived

that life

his brief

life on

earth

pointed

to God

pointed

to the

father

and we

ought to

mimic

and honor

that example

in how

we live

our lives

so that

even for

those who

hear our

message

and reject

it

and there

always will

be plenty

of those

even for

those people

who reject

our message

that on the

day of

judgment

they might

stand in

front of

the father

and be

without

excuse

that they

actually

really did

see us

pointing to

Christ

living out

this Christian

walk

with love

and honor

and sacrifice

that the

very way

we lived

our lives

pointed them

to the

rock

of ages

who made

us alive

so we're

the living

stones

who ought

to cry

out in

our praise

in our

witness

in the

way we

live our

very lives

in the

minutia

the details

of every

day

and we're

going to

finish

but let

me just

say this

first

in case

you didn't

already

know

most people

really don't

like this

message

just look

back at

verses 7

and 8

there's a

reason I

skipped

them

verses 7

and 8

Jesus

while he's

a precious

stone to

us

you might

say he's

like a

gemstone

he's like

a ruby

a sapphire

he's the

keystone

he's the

cornerstone

he's the

first stone

that's put

down

and then

everything else

is built

on top

of it

while we

see him

as that

Jesus

the stone

image

is rejected

by the

builders

rejected

by the

builders

now

who are

they

Jesus

meant the

Pharisees

in fact

Peter understood

this because

Peter was

standing next

to Jesus

when Jesus

called the

Pharisees

the builders

that rejected

the cornerstone

but it's

not just

them

it's not

just the

small group

of Jewish

leaders

in ancient

Palestine

who were

the Pharisees

they were

the ones

who said

we have

built the

way to

God

by our

own deeds

by our

own

righteousness

we have

a way

to get

to God

don't worry

about this

Jesus chap

you don't

need him

he's just

a troublemaker

who does

he think

he is

I am

the way

the truth

and the

life

no one

comes to

the father

except

through me

we are

the builders

we'll tell

you how

to get

to God

those are

the builders

anybody

who thinks

well I'm

okay

I'll be

able to

get to

God

I'm a

good enough

person

in my

own right

this stone

this Jesus

that causes

them to

stumble

Peter says

it's a rock

that they

fall over

that they

trip over

other

translations

say it's a

rock of

offense

the Greek

word is

skandalon

you can guess

the English

word that

comes from

that

it's

scandalous

this gospel

is scandalous

telling someone

that they're

a sinner

is scandalous

in an age

where we

just tell

everybody

follow your

heart

do what

makes you

feel good

do it

your way

and telling

them that

because they're

a sinner

they need a

savior

is scandalous

and telling

them that

you won't

find hope

in all of

the other

stuff that's

going on out

there at the

moment

I was at a

health food

shop recently

and there was

a little booth

outside

and they

were selling

angel tears

that's what

they call

them

angel tears

they say

they're the

tears of

angels that

fall to

earth and

become stones

and somehow

I don't

know I

don't understand

what it is

but anyway

they say

these things

point you

towards something

greater

if you have

this in your

life

you'll be

fine

or if you

have Buddha

in your

life

you'll be

fine

if you had

Mohammed

in your

life

you'll be

fine

or even

if you

have nothing

in your

life

you'll be

fine

because all

people are

basically good

and telling

people that

Jesus is

their only

hope for

being in a

right relationship

with God

is absolutely

100%

scandalous

and offensive

the gospel

message

friends

is scandalous

because it

tells people

that their

only hope

of life

after death

is in

Christ

and in

Christ

alone

he really

meant it

I am

the way

the truth

the life

no one

comes to

the father

except through

me

and that's

a rock

that causes

people to

stumble

is Jesus

tripping you

up

are you

trusting in

the work

of your

own hands

are you

sitting here

right now

and maybe

you've been

coming to

church for

years

maybe you

say I am

a Christian

but are you

sitting here

right now

confident that

you can stand

in front of

God

because of

the work

of your

own hands

stand in

front of

this judge

and the

judge will

declare you

righteous

do you

think God

will understand

I'm a good

person

if that is

you friend

I've got

news for

you

no person

is good

enough for

God

on their

own

strengths

you know

that old

saying

why do

good things

or bad

things happen

to good

people

the best

retort to

that I

heard was

a theologian

who said

that happened

once

and he

volunteered

when Jesus

came

the only one

good enough

to be

the rock

on whom

the church

could be

built

he was the

only one

good enough

your strengths

won't save

you

only Jesus

can

so do you

understand

the gospel

do you

understand

that Jesus

came

so that

regardless

of who you

are

what you've

done

how old

you are

it's never

too early

it's never

too late

do you

understand

that you

can have

your sins

forgiven

if you

just

come

to Jesus

and believe

because

Jesus said

anyone

who comes

to me

I will

not cast

out