Building the Great House of the Lord

1 Peter 2.1-5

• 1 Pet 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
• 1 Pet 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
• 1 Pet 2:3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
• 1 Pet 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
• 1 Pet 2:5 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.
  

God builds His house on the foundation of Christ and then uses us as the stone.

He takes us and builds us upon ONE ANOTHER!

He builds his house by binding us together to make something greater than what we would be by ourselves.

First Peter gives us five ONE ANOTHERS to bind us together.

1. Love ONE ANOTHER

1 Pet 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

2. Live in Harmony with ONE ANOTHER

1 Pet 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

3. Offer hospitality to ONE ANOTHER

1 Pet 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

“Hospitality is the lost art of the modern church” RAS

4. Clothe yourself with humility toward ONE ANOTHER

1 Pet 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

5. Greet ONE ANOTHER with a holy kiss

1 Pet 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

As a sign of unity between believers.

Conclusion

• We are building the Great House of the Lord.
• One stone won’t do it.
• Instead we become the Living Stones Built upon “ONE ANOTHER”
• We are to accomplish something greater than we could accomplish by ourselves!

The Best is Yet to Come

John 1.1-11

This is the first miracle of Jesus.

A few thoughts.

1. Jesus loved a good party

• Remember he was accused of being a “glutton, a drunkard and a friend to tax-collectors”

2. Jesus cares about People’s Predicaments

• Mary knew the trouble the family was in when they ran out of wine.
• Jesus was sent to earth to reconcile man to God yet he took time to care about People’s Predicaments.
• He still cares

3. Jesus has the power to do what is needed

• Going out and buying that much wine was out of the question
• He used this opportunity to reveal a greater truth:
• “God always has a higher purpose when revealing His Power”
• As wine symbolized joy, Jesus was ushering a new day.
• Old wine brought death
• The New wine would bring life and joy.

4. We have a part to play in miracles

• Jesus asked the servants to do what they could. Get the pots, fill them with water
• We must do what we can do and then trust God to do the rest.

5. Jesus always saves the best for last

• The Master of Ceremonies call the bridegroom over and said “usually a host serves the best wine first, then when everyone is full and doesn’t care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But you have kept the best until now!”

Rom 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

RAS

Thinking, THINKING, thinking

Why are some people successful and others not? John Maxwell says, “Successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.” We must be good thinkers and we must be thinkers of good.

First, be a good thinker. James Allen in his book As A Man Thinketh wrote, “Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.” Let me challenge you to take 15 uninterrupted minutes each week to think about TABLE TALK. How can you make your TABLE better? Who can you invite? How can you go the extra mile to encourage someone from your TABLE? Take time to be a good thinker.

Secondly, be a thinker of good. The Apostle Paul puts it this way,

Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Being a good thinker and a thinker of good will change your life and the lives of those around you.

RAS