Stumbling Stones to Solid Rock: Becoming a New Church

The image of a stubbed toe on a rock names that sharp, familiar moment of pain when somebody wants to blame the rock, the path, the world, or whoever put that bed leg right there. The church can feel that same pain when conflict, disappointment, fear, or change becomes a stumbling block. Matthew’s question turns the church away from blame and toward identity: “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus does not ask Peter to trap him or shame him for uncertainty. Jesus opens a new door, a new way of becoming someone new.

Peter’s confession, “You are the Messiah,” brings both blessing and transformation. Jesus names Simon as Peter, the rock, not because Peter has everything together, but because Jesus is building something solid through a person willing to grow. The church receives that same call, not because it never stumbles, but because it can see Jesus in a new way, see itself in a new way, and try new things. The old “we’ve never done it that way before” rock can become a building block for a future rooted in justice, joy, inclusion, and liberation.

The pain after stubbing a toe requires tenderness. The church cannot rush into something new without naming bruises carried from old conflicts, old expectations, scarcity, fear, and rigid traditions. Jesus meets that pain with the question of identity: Who is Jesus today, and who is Diamond Bar United Church of Christ today? The church has not arrived after sixty three years, because God is still creating, shaping, and surprising this beloved community.

Jesus gives Peter keys not to lock people out, but to open doors wide. The keys do not control, punish, or bind people with guilt. The keys liberate, welcome, loosen people into grace, build belonging instead of barriers, and create healing instead of harm. The church becomes the living body of Christ when safe space, partnership, public witness, courage, compassion, and joy move beyond the walls. The stumbling moments of transition can become the very rock on which something new and exciting is built.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Stumbling rocks can become foundations. The rock that hurts can also become the place where God starts building. Pain does not automatically produce wisdom, but tenderness, honesty, and healing can keep pain from becoming a permanent prison. The church can name what bruised it without making those bruises its identity. [49:28]
• 2. Jesus builds through willing people. Peter receives his new name not because he is flawless, but because he is willing to grow. The church does not need to pretend it has everything together before God can use it. A faithful future begins when people remain open to seeing Jesus and themselves in a new way. [50:45]
• 3. The keys open doors wide. Jesus gives authority for liberation, not exclusion. Christian faithfulness cannot use guilt, fear, or control to keep people outside. The church bears Christ’s keys when it builds community, belonging, and healing for people who have been pushed to the margins. [55:25]
• 4. Becoming requires courage, compassion, and joy. Change can make a church freeze, replay old pain, or retreat into what feels familiar. God still creates through communities that pause, breathe, heal, and move forward. Public acts of welcome and justice show that the church is alive beyond its walls.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [44:07] - Stubbing Toes and Stumbling Blocks
• [45:48] - Who Do You Say Jesus Is?
• [46:27] - Peter, the Rock, and a New Church
• [48:03] - From Pain to Becoming
• [49:50] - Chosen to Grow and Try New Things
• [52:03] - Naming the Rocks of Tradition and Fear
• [53:40] - Who Is the Church Becoming?
• [55:04] - Keys to Welcome, Not Exclude
• [56:44] - Safe Space and Community Partnerships
• [58:41] - Justice, Joy, and Public Witness
• [60:10] - Pause, Heal, and Move Forward

Bible Reading

Matthew 16:13–20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered 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 tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” [45:48]

1 Peter 2:4–5
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 16, what answers do the disciples first give about Jesus, and how is Jesus’ second question different from the first?
2. What does Peter confess about Jesus, and what new name and calling does Jesus give Peter in response? [46:21]
3. What kinds of “rocks” can cause a church to stumble, according to the message—especially the rocks connected to fear, scarcity, conflict, change, and tradition? [52:03]
4. In 1 Peter 2:4–5, who is the living stone, and what are God’s people compared to as they are being built into a spiritual house?

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus does not shame the disciples for uncertainty but asks, “Who do you say that I am?” How can that question create room for honesty, healing, and new growth in a congregation? [48:45]
2. Peter is called “the rock” even though he is not perfect. What does this show about the kind of people through whom Jesus builds the church? [49:50]
3. Jesus gives Peter keys and speaks of binding and loosing. What might it look like for a church to use those keys to liberate, welcome, and create belonging rather than to control or exclude? [55:20]
4. Isaiah says that God is doing a new thing, while the message also makes space to name old bruises. Why might both honesty about past pain and openness to God’s future be necessary during a season of change? [53:13]

Application questions

1. What “stubbed toe” are you carrying right now—a disappointment, conflict, fear, hurtful memory, or change that has made you want to freeze or place blame? What would it mean to pause and ask what God may be building from it? [49:28]
2. When have you heard yourself think, “We have never done it that way before,” whether in church, family, work, or your own spiritual life? What good concern might be behind that thought, and what fear might it reveal? [52:05]
3. Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” How would you answer that question today in your own words? How does your answer shape the way you treat people, make choices, or face change? [53:40]
4. Peter was willing to grow, see Jesus in a new way, and become someone new. Where do you sense an invitation to grow or try something new in this season of your life? [50:39]
5. The keys of God’s reign are meant to open doors wide, loosen people into grace, and build belonging. Who in your neighborhood, workplace, family, or wider community may need a more visible sign of welcome from you or from the church? [55:24]
6. God’s people are living stones being built together, not isolated stones trying to stand alone. What is one practical way you can help build community, safety, healing, or partnership beyond the church’s walls? [56:46]
7. Courage, compassion, and joy can make the church’s public witness visible. What is one act of justice, welcome, or encouragement you could join in or support this month so that others can encounter Christ’s love? [59:33]