Jesus is the Cornerstone
Pastor Brian Schafer
April 21, 2024
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When did we start believing that God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things at convenient times with nice people? When you study church history and read the book of Acts, you will see that God is always sending his church to difficult places to difficult things at difficult times with dificult people.
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Take your own notes here…
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The big idea this series: Don’t just tell me about the Resurrection of Jesus. SHOW ME what the Resurrection of Jesus looks like when it is taking root inside of your life.
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The power of Jesus was - and still IS - a threat to worldly power.
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Acts 4:5-7
The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
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To do something in someone’s name, is to do it in their CHARACTER and under their
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The only appropriate response to the AUTHORITY OF JESUS is the complete surrender of my life to His authority. If you are IN CHRIST and Christ is IN YOU, then you have been given His Authority.
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KEY: We have to exercise that authority with humility.
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Humility (minus)
Authority (minus)
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Take your own notes here…
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Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them. (Acts 4:8)
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The main character in the book of Acts is not Peter, John, or Paul. The main character is
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The answer to every prayer you could ever pray is more of the Holy Spirit.
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Take your own notes here…
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Acts 4:8-12
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,”Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
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A cornerstone is the first stone laid in the foundation of the building. The cornerstone determines the position of the entire building. The cornerstone is the “Key of all Keys.”
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Jesus is the
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Peter is standing before the Sanhedrin, next to the cornerstone of the Temple. And he is saying, “that’s not the cornerstone. Jesus is the cornerstone.”
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The Cornerstone of the Temple is also called the Noble Stone. It’s believed to be the location of the Holy of Holies. 1,000 years before that, it was believed to be the stone of the threshing floor of David, where he built an altar to the Lord in 2 Samuel 24. 1,000 years before that, this is believed to be the summit of Mount Moriah, where Abraham put Isaac on the altar.
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For Peter, it all began with a simple call from Jesus along the shore of Galilee: “Follow Me.”
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What is your response today?