Community Part 2: You Need Me

 

-1 Peter 2:1-10

 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

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. For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe

,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The God we serve is not one of isolation.

He is one of intimacy and interaction, 
perfect community and unity.

God does not need us...He is independent from us.
We, on the other hand, are dependent people.
We need God and we need each other.

It's one of the reasons that Jesus said

 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself"

God knew that we would need both...God and others
In our own little world it should not be population...me
our world needs to be populated with others and over populated with Jesus and 
His love.

In peter it says that we are stones....living stones
There is nothing special about a rock!
...if it is alone.

But like it says in 1 peter, we proclaim the greatness of God when we are together.
When we are together we are like a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Others see Jesus when we're together.

This is why I need you and YOU need ME.

We are living stones...rejected by men...chosen by God
to be built up together! 
not separate 
this is the community we have been called to.