Sermon Central
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This Could Be The Start Of Something Big: Look Around Series
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Jan 19, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Did you know that Jesus is a bricklayer? He is the best bricklayer ever! And has chosen never to work alone; he wants your help!
Look Around
4 As you come to him, the living Stone-- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"
8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message-- which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
(NIV)
What is the 3rd largest nation on the face of the earth?
1) China 1,335,200,000
2) India 1,175,410,000
3) The Nation of FACEBOOK.
If you put all the Facebookers together in one place, there would be over 350 Million people, all gathered somewhere in cyberspace. The United States of America has a population of only 308,340,000. In the Nation of FACEBOOK, we choose our own Facebook towns, some with populations of over 1000 (thanks for being my Facebook friend) and at least within our Facebook community, we are the mayor. We preside over our neighborhood of Facebook friends, some residing on the other side of the world while others are under our roof. We update our Facebook neighbors on our status and respond to their posts, like meeting at a global backyard fence.
Why? We have a need to belong, to connect, to fellowship, to support and be supported. It is as old as the Voice governing the Garden Who said,
"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
(Gen 2:18 NIV)
A certain man responded to his insurance company this way following an accident: I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block #3 of the accident form, I put "trying to do the job alone" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the accident I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the 6th floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of brick.
You will note in block #11 of the accident report that I weight 135 pounds. But to by surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull, and broken collar bone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were 2 knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind, and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of my pain.
At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block #11.
As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs, and lower body area. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.
