Church of the Living God Galveston - 11AM Sunday Sermon, March 24, 2024.
Explore this week's collection of sermon notes, memes, and thought-provoking questions, perfect for sparking discussions with friends, family, and neighbors. Feel inspired? Share these insights on social media, or pass them along through text or email.
YOU ARE LOVED by God the Father, Jesus Christ His son, and the Holy Spirit. You are loved by the Church of the Living God leadership team, and you are loved by your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
In construction, a cornerstone is the principal stone: the largest, most solid, and most carefully constructed piece, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. Once the cornerstone is set, you have the basis for every other measurement since everything is aligned to it. In both the Old and New Testaments, Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone, and we are the structure being built on Him.
“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 trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line’” (Isaiah 28:16–17).
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 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” (Ephesians 2:19– 21).
Is everything in your life aligned to Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone?
Why was Jesus willing to die for his Church?
They were able to answer the question that Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:13-18: “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Who do YOU say Jesus is? Jesus is The Christ, the Son of the Living God! Do you also see that, or are you just playing church? You can play the part without becoming the Church. You’re not a Christian because you were born in America, or because you showed up at church, or even because you were baptized. You are one when you answer the question, “Who is Jesus to you”?
Have you answered the question?
The church is not a building, rather “the Church” means CALLED OUT ONES, the living stones. It is we who are called out of darkness and selfishness, we who are new creations-something that has never existed before.
1 Peter 2:4-10: Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
We aren’t a religion, we are HIS CHURCH. There is no grey area in this, you either choose to follow Jesus, or you choose to follow sin. He calls us out of darkness and in to His light.
Are you part of the called out ones?
Jesus didn’t just save you from sin, He saved you TO HIMSELF. Jesus saw something worth dying for in you. He sees our potential, He sees the purposes He has for us, and through His love, He draws them out of us. It is He that does the work of cleaning you off and of sanctifying you, after all, you catch a fish and then you clean it. As you begin to submit to Him, and He begins to work on your heart, you begin to desire the things of God, and not the things of the world, and that is how life transformation occurs.
Has your life been transformed in to something new?
The Pharisees majored on the minors. They did a great job following rules, but missed out on the major commands of God.
What are the majors? Love God and love people. Do justice and walk in mercy.
Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings”.
The reason for the duplicity of the “church” version of people vs. the “home” version is that we often want the appearance of righteousness instead of the real thing.
Do you care more about being loving or being thought of as loving?
Let us stir up love and good works in each other as we gather together.
Hebrews 10:23-25: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
The Church is a potluck dinner, it is not a McDonald’s Happy Meal. The church is not created to be consumerism where you get the meal you ordered, your plastic toy, and if you don’t like it you try the Taco Bell down the street. The Church is a potluck, we ALL bring something, we all come to contribute our gifts for the betterment of everyone. What if you’re needed to stir someone else, to not just be filled, but also to fill?
What can you bring to our weekly “potluck”?
Your destiny and purpose here on earth is to LOOK LIKE JESUS and to live selfless before Him. You were never created for yourself. Everywhere Jesus went, they treated him wrongly. Are you going to pick up your own cross and follow him, are you willing to also bear wrongs? Are you willing to love those who do not or will not love you? If not, you are just playing the part, not being it.
Do you look like Jesus to this world?
Disclaimer: Sermon notes, memes, and ideas presented are curated, designed and repackaged by Jennifer Parke, and while the ideas, message, and notes resonate with the intent and meaning of the sermon, they may not fully reflect the speaker's underlying beliefs. Questions or Comments, email: info@colg.org
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