The Rejected Stone Becomes the Cornerstone of Hope

What do we do to apply this cornerstone practically? We believe in him. We cling to him. We fly to him. We trust in him. We worship him. We rest in him. Because the cornerstone carries the weight that we cannot. That is the offer of the gospel. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And in him comes every benefit in this world and the next. And so why would you pass this opportunity to believe? [00:52:29] (37 seconds)  #TrustInTheCornerstone

Everybody's trusting in something. But the bible, because Jesus has been given this glorious position of chief cornerstone, declares to us that all other ground is shifting sand. And that Jesus must be the basis of our confidence and trust. Not in ourselves, not in our religious efforts, not in our good deeds, but we trust in a person, the resurrected Lord. There is no substitute for the rock. All other ground is shifting sand. [00:41:02] (37 seconds)  #RockNotSand

Every indicator at that moment when Jesus died was that all hope was lost. The stone was rejected and cast aside as so much useless rubble. But unbeknownst to them, God had a plan. After the dark night of grief and sadness on Friday, and the silence of the tomb on Saturday, then came the morning of the first day of the week, and the dawn of the pivot point of all human history. [00:32:32] (31 seconds)  #DawnOfResurrection

The resurrection is the vindication that Jesus' death was effectual. What humanity despised, God exalted. What the world threw away, God enthroned. What the builders rejected, God made essential. At the cross, Jesus took, looked like a failed Messiah. At the resurrection, he was revealed as the only savior. This is the Lord's doing and not our own. By the way, this is the pattern of God's kingdom. [00:35:07] (38 seconds)  #VindicatedByResurrection

What practical good is it that Christ is not rejected in your heart, but received, and that is he is established as the cornerstone of your life and the local church, And the universal church. What practical good is it? Well, in Jesus dying sacrificially. Rising victoriously. Ascending caringly. All of this work that is his is by God. And what good is it? In doing this, Jesus has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. [00:49:14] (37 seconds)  #LifeAndImmortalityThroughChrist

We worship him not with temporary enthusiasm but with enduring faith. Do you know how valuable and sincere your worship is? Check yourself on your worst day. Everybody can come to church on Easter and they're playing the music, the horns and the instruments and we're all singing. Everybody can worship on Easter Sunday. The quality of your worship is measured by how you worship on your worst day. [00:52:03] (26 seconds)  #WorshipOnYourWorstDay

The people couldn't receive Jesus because he came as a serving, suffering savior, not as a military champion. And so the people couldn't understand this Jesus. And he uses this metaphor of like the stone rejected and the stone established to help people understand that this Jesus came in a different way than you expected. This stone and cornerstone language used by Jesus and Peter helps us understand the work of Christ in coming, dying, and rising again. [00:27:18] (37 seconds)  #ServantSaviorRevealed

Can you imagine having come from despondency and grief and worry, having come from that feeling that everything was lost to the hope that Jesus is in fact alive. The tomb is empty. The tomb is empty. And the disciples are worried and hopeful all at once. With these dramatic events, the suffering servant stood vindicated. And by the way, the resurrection is the vindication of his messianic reality. [00:34:07] (34 seconds)  #EmptyTombHope