“If you place faith in Christ, the chief cornerstone, you belong to God. No one is EXCLUDED.”
I. NO (11-12)
11 So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh — called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. 12 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
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II. BROUGHT (13)
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 3:18
8 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
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III. NOW ONE (14-16) (unified in Peace through the cross)
14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, 15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Galatians 6:15
15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.
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IV. BROUGHT (17-18)
17 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Romans 5:1
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
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V. A PICTURE OF (19-22)
19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him, the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him, you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.
Philippians 3:20
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
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“If you place faith in Christ, the chief cornerstone, you belong to God. No one is EXCLUDED.”
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Community Life Group Questions
- What is one thing that stood out to you from today’s sermon?
- What was our condition before God before Christ? (11-12) What does no hope mean to you? (Read Colossians 1:21)
- How does it feel to be brought near through no effort of your own? (13) (Read these first, then answer – Romans 8:1, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Why is it important that we see and understand that Jesus is the cornerstone? (Read Acts 4:11-12, Isaiah 28:16)
- How can we pray for you?