Stumbling Stone to
Living Stones
Psalms 118:15-24 –
New International Version (NIV)
15 “Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.”
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.”
Where do “shouts of joy and victory” resound (verse
15)?
What has done
mighty things (verse 16)?
What will the
Psalmist proclaim (verse 17)?
In your opinion,
what it mean when the Psalmist says “the
Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death” (verse
18)?
What does the
Psalmist ask to be opened so that he can “enter
and give thanks to the Lord” (verse 19)?
Where do the
righteous enter (verse 20)?
Why is the
Psalmist giving thanks (verse 21)?
What has become
the cornerstone (verse 22)?
Who has done this (verse
23)?
How are we to
respond to all that the Lord has done (verse 24)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
Matthew 16:13-20 -
New International Version (NIV)
13 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,
he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah;
and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for
this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then
he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
What question did
Jesus ask his disciples (verse 13)?
How did the reply (verse 14)?
How did Jesus
change the question (verse 15)?
Who answered (verse
16)?
In your opinion,
what does it mean to say “you are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God” (verse 17)?
Who revealed this
answer (verse 17)?
What does Jesus
call Simon son of Jonah (verses 17 and 18)?
What will Jesus
build on the rock that is Peter (verse
18)?
What do the “keys from the kingdom of heaven” allow Peter
to do (verse 19)?
What were the
disciples not to tell (verse 20)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, what is the difference
between the “stone the builders rejected”
that has become the cornerstone of Psalms 118:15-24 and the “rock” upon which Jesus will build the
church of Matthew 16:13-20?
Romans 12:3-13 - New
International Version (NIV)
3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not
think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with
sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of
you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members,
and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in
Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given
to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with
your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching,
then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;
if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if
it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another
above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your
spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the
Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
How should we not think of ourselves
(verse 3)?
How should we think of ourselves (verse 3)?
What do each of us have (verse 4)?
In your opinion, how do the many “form one body” (verse 5)?
What belongs to all the members (verse 5)?
What do we have “according to the grace given to each of us” (verse 6)?
How should we prophesy if our gift is
prophesying (verse 6)?
How should we give if our gift is giving (verse
8)?
In your opinion, why must love be sincere (verse 9)?
How should we respond to evil (verse 9)?
How should we be devoted to one another (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “never be lacking in zeal” (verse 11)?
When should we be patient (verse 12)?
Who should we share with (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how does knowing that
Peter was given the knowledge that Jesus was the “Messiah, the Son of the living God” by the Father in heaven in
Matthew 16:13-20 help us be understand the “faith
God has distributed to each of you” that Paul talks about in Romans 12:3-13?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s command
in Romans 12:3-13 to “If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance
with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is
teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give
encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it
diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” follow the lead of the Psalmist who says “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done”?
1 Peter 2:1-10 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn
babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your
salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans 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.”
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 cornerstone,”
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,
“A
stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
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, God’s special possession, 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.”
What should we do
with “all malice and all deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (verse 1)?
Why should we crave “pure spiritual milk” (verse 2)?
Who is “rejected
by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (verse 4)?
What are we “living stones” being built into (verse 5)?
Who will “never be put to shame” (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that to
those who do not believe the “stone the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (verse 7)?
Why do people stumble (verse 8)?
Why are we a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession” (verse 9)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that we
“once were not a people, but now . . .
are the people of God” (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how
does Paul in Romans 12:3-13 and his discussion of the individual gifts of the
many members of one body help us to have a greater understanding of the chosen
people, royal priesthood and holy nation that Peter calls us in 1 Peter 2:1-10?
In your opinion, how special is it that
the one who Jesus said “you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” in Matthew 16:13-20
is the one who tells us that “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans 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” in 1 Peter 2:1-10?
In your opinion, how
does the Psalmist claim that “you have
become my salvation” in Psalm 118:15-24 an amazing anticipation of Peter’s
statement to we who come to Jesus that “once
you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” in 1 Peter
2:1-10?
In your opinion, what do these passages,
from Psalms, Matthew, Romans and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?
Next, back to Peter 2:11 –
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