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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-6-21, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018. PAGE 15. From the Minister's Study Jesus is the cornerstone for our lives By Pastor Gary van Leeuwen Blyth Christian Reformed Church On one of the sideroads near Blyth there sits a house, built in the first part of the last century that has an interesting, and perhaps frustrating, quirk. It is not square. The story goes that after the builders placed the stakes for the foundation, sometime through the night before the footings were poured, someone moved one of the corner stakes out about two feet. In the morning no one remeasured the distances, and the footings were poured followed by the foundation. It was only when the builders started framing the house that they noticed the problem: one outside wall is significantly longer than its opposite. You can't notice the problem through casual observation, but the present owners have a hardwood floor, and that floor reveals the problem. From one end of the dining room to the other, only half the width of the house, there is a difference of nearly a foot. The floor at one end of the dining room is at least three boards wider than the other end. Today we use stakes to determine the placement of a house, but in ancient times they used a cornerstone. The builders would begin by placing a cornerstone on the building site and every measurement they made went back to that stone. The placement and layout of that building was determined by that cornerstone. In the Bible, in a number of places, Jesus Christ is referred to as a cornerstone. The New Testament authors were using Old Testament imagery found in Psalm 118:22 where we read that the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. That verse is quoted a number of times in the New Testament both by Jesus himself and by the apostles. As we know, Jesus was not very popular with many people of His time, particularly the ruling elite. Jesus was an itinerant preacher, and everywhere He went, while large crowds followed Him most of the time, there were others who rejected Him. The ruling elite, who rejected Jesus, did so because He was calling them to account, challenging their authority and privilege. Because Jesus was so popular, at least for the first couple of years of His ministry, they felt their position was being threatened and tried to discredit Jesus. Quoting Psalm 118:22, the New Testament authors had a very different understanding of Jesus. True, He might be rejected by the ruling elite and, later, even by popular vote, but that did not negate Jesus' importance. He was sent by God to become the cornerstone, the one who would determine how life should work, how we should live and what will be the outcome of life on this earth. The biblical authors understood Jesus to be the final authority on how life should be lived, not only in theory but in practice as well. Although people might reject Jesus, much as builders might reject a stone from their building, they would soon discover that the very one they rejected would become the cornerstone. When the apostle Paul adopts the imagery of Jesus being the cornerstone in Ephesians 2:19-20, he wants us to know that God is building a building for himself here on this earth whose every part is shaped by Jesus Christ. Paul is talking about the church, a community of people which is comprised of those who believe that Jesus was sent by God to die on the cross for our sins and who have committed themselves to serving Him wherever He might lead. The church ought to be shaped by the life, teaching and sacrifice of Christ. There are two lessons or applications for us, as we think about the Bible's teaching about Jesus as the cornerstone. First, if Jesus is indeed the cornerstone sent from God to this earth to bring salvation, then it follows that He will ultimately determine the outcome of history. In fact, He is shaping history so that God's purposes are accomplished. Whether we believe this or not is somewhat irrelevant if it is true. If it's true that Jesus is the cornerstone, then no matter if we reject Jesus or accept Him, ultimately our lives will be shaped by Him. Second, if we do believe that Jesus was sent to this world as BRUSSELS United Church Join us June 24 at 11:00 am Worship leadership by pastors from Huron/Perth Note: July worship time is changing to 9:30 am Everyone Welcome The Regional Ministry of Hope Everyone Welcome! Trinity Anglican Church St. John's Anglican Church t BLYTH BRUSSELS C� 9:15 am 11:15am MINISTRY OFFICE 519-357-4883 Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The Regional Ministry of Hope COME WORSHIP WITH USI For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 You're Invited to come worshp with us Sunday, June 24 at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. 650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School) Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. Coming Soon! Vacation Bible School July 2-6 - Ages 5-12 HURON CHAPEL PRESENTS PALIL'SPOW RFUL This series consists of practical choices and meaningful decisions you can PLAN make to impact your life today. Choosing these biblical truths from the Apostle Paul will help you to better experience the quality of life God intends for you to know and live. Join us as we begin this journey in making these powerful life choices. PROG June 24th -"The Choice To Move Forward." July 8th -"The Choice To Experience Peace" July 22nd - "The Choice To See The Good." July 1st - "The Choice To See Differently" July 15th -"The Choice Needed To Take The Next Step." July 29th - "The Choice To Discover The Joy." EVERY SUNDAY IN AUBURN @ 10am huronchapel.com the one from whom all of life ought to be measured, if we do believe that Jesus brings salvation to this world through His sacrifice on the cross, then it also makes sense that we are obligated to allow ourselves to be shaped by Him. For those who believe in Jesus, we must make it our commitment that our every attitude, value, priority, goal, thought, and action be in obedience to Him so that we can honour Him. If Jesus is the cornerstone, as Scripture declares, any other reference point for life is going to skew our lives. Like the house which had its corner stake moved, our lives will be out of square. Or, to put it positively, if we put our trust in Jesus Christ, affirming that His sacrifice on the cross brings salvation and His life teaches us how to live so we can live lives fitting to what God has made us to be. You're 97u iced 7o join ?/S X 11 7,Corsil�J SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH LN Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, JUNE 24 We invite you to join our church family in: Worship & Sunday School - 11 am Coffee & Snacks following the service Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm — Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Nursery care available 519-887-6687 Blyth United Church Est. 1875 Worship Service at 9:30 am Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 am - 2:00 pm blythunited @tcc.on.ca Accessible ® Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches OFFICE: 519-523-4224 THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph's Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N.