How long is it since you read The Rock Sermon? It’s in the Bible, and it’s brilliant. As we saw yesterday, Jesus, probably his eyes twinkling, gave the nickname to Simon the fisherman, of Rocky. That’s what Petros means! It was a joke, which some didn’t get. We even use the word ‘impetuous’, meaning like Peter once was. From early on, some folk misunderstood Rocky’s place in the church, falsely concluding that he had become in some way ‘the church’s one foundation’ – the rock on which it was built. Peter himself contradicts such a mistaken notion. The church is built on the Big Rock – Jesus – not the little rock, Simon Peter. Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah meant that now he could be shaped and built into the structure of God’s community, which we call church. This confessions is the first and basic requirement of all true Christians. In the First Letter of Peter you can read his Rock Sermon. Read it for yourself, it is in I Peter 2: 4-10 It’s full of puns and pictures of living stones, precious stones, foundation stones, corner stones, capstones, stumble-block stones we trip over. All these stones are instances of Jesus the Rock, not Simon Peter. It puts the emphasis where it truly belongs, on Jesus, not on Peter. It is a masterpiece of witty preaching, and today’s challenge is, to read it slowly and enjoy all the different levels of meaning in it. For example: As you come to him, the living stone – rejected by men 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. I Peter 2: 4-5
A Prayer: Thank you Lord, that all who come to you in repentance and confessing their faith in you, are built into a living structure, which you inhabit and in which you dwell, even the hearts of all your praising people.
Now read I Peter 2: 4-10