Gary Hamrick - Jesus Our Cornerstone (01/22/2026)
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In the midst of pronouncing judgment on both the proud northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and the scoffing southern kingdom of Judah for their rebellion, Isaiah inserts a glorious messianic promise in chapter 28:16 about God laying in Zion a tested, precious cornerstone as a sure foundation—fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Peter later confirms this stone is the living Lord himself, and those who trust in him will never be put to shame. The preacher challenged everyone to make Jesus not just a convenient brick in the wall of life but the true cornerstone of every aspect—marriage, relationships, work, finances, thoughts, and more—so that our lives are solidly built and aligned with him.
Opening Scripture and Prayer
Isaiah 28. We’re going to look at just one verse, then we’re going to kind of unpack this theme from the 28th chapter. But the verse I’d like to draw your attention to is verse 16. Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16—a very important verse in your Bibles. We’re going to talk about this.
Isaiah writes this: «So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.»
Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we are glad to be in your house. We are glad, Lord, that we get to celebrate you and fellowship with one another, and now to open up your word to study the Bible together. I thank you for all those who have gathered here and those who are watching online today. We just want all of it to bring glory and honor to you, and we pray that in the process our hearts would be strengthened, that we would be built up in our faith, and that we would be more conformed into the image of our Savior Jesus.
So have your way with us, Lord. May we have ears to hear what you would say to us. May we have hearts that would receive what you would want to teach us today—either by way of encouragement or by way of challenging us, or both. We just thank you for loving us as our Father, and we commit ourselves to you now as we study this passage together. It’s in Jesus' name we pray, and everybody said amen.
Historical Context of Israel
Well, as we’ve been saying so far in our study through the book of Isaiah, this is a divided time in the nation of Israel. Following the reign of King Solomon of Israel, the nation went through a civil war, and the nation split north and south. The northern kingdom retained the larger name Israel. The southern kingdom was named after one of the southern Jewish tribes: Judah.
Isaiah is a prophet who was called roughly 740 BC by God to minister almost exclusively to the southern kingdom. He is called by God to prophesy and to preach to the southern kingdom of Judah. But chapter 28 is an exception. Here in chapter 28, the first part of this chapter, Isaiah is actually prophesying against—giving a word for—the northern kingdom of Israel, which is also known in your Bibles and in this chapter as Ephraim. Israel to the north is also known as Ephraim, by one of the larger tribes of Israel, and that’s how Isaiah is going to refer to the northern kingdom here in the opening parts of chapter 28.
Judgment on the Northern Kingdom
So if you’ll glance back with me at the first few verses of chapter 28, here’s what he says against the northern kingdom. Verse 1: «Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley—to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong—like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour—he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like a fig ripe before harvest—as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand, he swallows it.»
So let me just kind of clarify what Isaiah is saying here. Again, you know, the people of Israel—both north and south—are distant from God at this time in their history. They have rebelled against him. They are worshipping idols. They are distant from God. And so God sends various prophets to wake them up, and one of these prophets at this particular time is Isaiah.
And Isaiah has a prophecy about the northern kingdom, and he refers to this wreath he talks about in the first few verses of chapter 28—this wreath, this flowering wreath, but he says it’s fading. Now the wreath that he’s referring to—actually in verse 1 he talks about that city. That city. So the wreath that is fading is a city, and the city he’s talking about is the capital city of the northern kingdom, which is Samaria.
And he says about Samaria: you know, you’re the beautiful pride of the fertile valley—for now. But God is going to bring his heavy hand upon you because of your rebellion and your wickedness. And the heavy hand that God is going to bring against the northern kingdom is in the form of the Assyrian Empire—a very ruthless people who would take up, on a map today, the territory of Iraq mostly.
And so he’s saying, you know, there’s going to be a forceful, strong, powerful thing that comes against you from the north. That’s why he says in verse 2: like a hailstorm and like a destructive wind, like a driving rain and flooding downpour—which is not too unfamiliar to our day. And he says this is going to come upon you forcefully, and it’s going to—he, that is God, will throw it forcefully to the ground—saying Samaria, you’re going to fall. The northern kingdom, you’re going to be judged by God because God’s wrath is coming in the form of the Assyrian Empire.
And he says in verse 3 that you’re going to be trampled underfoot. Trampled underfoot. Now this—the Assyrians—we know from history they’re going to swoop down upon the northern kingdom roughly 723 BC. The Assyrians are going to swoop down on them, and Isaiah just uses like a metaphor here. He says it’s going to be like someone who takes a ripe fig in his hand and swallows it. That’s how the Assyrian Empire is going to be—they’re going to come on you and they’re going to eat you like a Fig Newton. That’s what he’s basically saying—that they’re going to come down upon you.
The Southern Kingdom’s False Security
Now as Isaiah is saying this to the northern kingdom—which is unusual because, again, his ministry normally targets the southern kingdom—meanwhile, here’s what’s happening in the southern kingdom. The southern kingdom, the people of the south—they’re chuckling that their brothers and sisters to the north are getting in trouble. They’re chuckling that brothers and sisters in the north are getting spanked now.
I don’t know how it was in your household when you would discipline one child but not necessarily another, but I can tell you in the Hamrick household—and I’ve got two sons sitting over here on the front row—when I would discipline one, the other kid would snicker in the corner, and then you’d have to turn to the kid who’s snickering and say, «You want some of this too?» You know? And they’d stop snickering. But it’s like when one kid gets in trouble and maybe gets spanked, the other kids are like, you know, like that.
Okay, that’s what’s happening in the south. The southern kingdom—they’re snickering like, our brothers and sisters to the north are getting spanked by God. So Isaiah says, «Hey, you want some of that? You want some of that? Because it’s coming your way too.»
Now look further here in chapter 28, and here’s what he says. Here in verse 14 he says, «Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.» Now Jerusalem is the capital of the southern kingdom, so now he’s talking to the people of Judah, and they’re scoffing, they’re mocking. They’re like, «Ah, no trouble is going to happen to us. They’re getting spanked, but not us, ” you know, that kind of thing.
So Isaiah says—verse 15—he says, „You boast, 'We have entered into a covenant with death; with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.'“
So Isaiah is coming back to them saying, you’ve made a lie your refuge and falsehood your hiding place. You have a false sense of security. In other words, you think you’re untouchable—because they even say that. You boast, „When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by"—this is the end of verse 15—"it cannot touch us, ” you know. And so they’re going around—they’re singing like MC Hammer, you know, «Can’t touch this.» And if you don’t know MC Hammer, ask someone who was in the 90s. But anyhow, that’s kind of—they’re going around like, we’re untouchable, we’re fine. You know, God is spanking the north, but we’re fine here in the south.
And Isaiah says, think again. Verse 18 says, «Your covenant with death will be annulled.» Okay, now it’s a figure of speech—that in other words, they’ve made a deal with death that they were untouchable and they’re not going to be harmed. Isaiah says that your covenant with death will be annulled, and he adds in verse 18, «Your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes, it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through. The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.»
So Isaiah says, in other words, to the south: your turn is coming. Don’t be so full of yourselves as to think that God is unaware of your rebellion, because the north and the south were equally guilty. It’s just that God was taking turns, okay. And actually what we learn from the Bible and from history is that when the Assyrian Empire sweeps over—coming from the east, coming from the Iraq area—and they sweep to the northern kingdom of Israel, they besiege the northern kingdom. They actually assimilate the northern kingdom into the Assyrian Empire.
And history and the Bible tell us that then the Assyrians moved from the northern kingdom of Israel down towards Egypt, and they’re going to take Egypt, and they pass through the southern kingdom of Judah on the way. And on the way they inflict great damage, great harm. Now the Assyrians don’t end up taking the southern kingdom of Judah as part of their territory—that’ll be the Babylonians later. So for now God has spared them being swallowed up into the Assyrian Empire, but nevertheless they’re getting spanked on the way, because the Assyrians, when they come through the southern kingdom of Judah, they are inflicting damage and terror among the people of Judah.
So Isaiah is warning them: your turn is coming. You’re going to get some of this—a taste of it. You won’t be completely swallowed up by the Assyrian Empire, but you’re certainly going to get a taste of it. Because listen—this is the way God deals with us. As part of God’s love and mercy, he will never allow us to remain the way we are when we’re on a reckless path. And when we’re on a reckless path, God will intervene. And when God has to intervene—versus when we come to our senses and humble ourselves—when God has to intervene, it usually is unpleasant at first.
And this is what Hebrews tells us. The writer of Hebrews says, you know, no discipline seems pleasant at the time—only painful. However, it produces a harvest of righteousness later, you know—you reap a harvest later—for those who’ve been trained by it. So in other words, when we yield our lives to Christ and when we surrender to him and we respond to his discipline—which isn’t pleasant at the time—when God gets our attention, then it does eventually produce this harvest of righteousness.
But when we’re living in rebellion to God, God loves us so much that he’s not content to just let us stay on this wayward, reckless path until we reach our ultimate destruction and separation from him. So God will come along from time to time and he will spank us. He will allow things in our lives to get our attention. That’s not an unloving father—that’s a loving father, okay.
And the Assyrians are part of God’s discipline to help wake up the people whom God loves. And they will respond, but there’s going to be a lot of heartache along the way.
The Messianic Promise in Verse 16
In the middle of all of this—in the early part of chapter 28: judgment coming to the north, judgment coming to the south—in the middle of all of this is inserted verse 16 that we opened our Bible study with: this wonderful promise of a messianic hope.
Verse 16 again: «So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: See, I lay a stone in Zion"—Zion is just another word for Jerusalem, for Israel—"a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.» This is a messianic promise in the middle of this judgment.
And I love this about the way that God communicates to us through Scripture. As we’ve seen in previous times as Isaiah writes and prophesies, Isaiah interrupts the pronouncement of God’s judgment to herald the good news of God’s salvation—that in the middle of all of this judgment, judgment, judgment, Isaiah says, but God’s got a cornerstone, a tested stone, a sure foundation. And if you’ll build your life on this stone, if you will come to this stone and find refuge, you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be saved.
New Testament Fulfillment in Christ
Now how do we know that Isaiah 28:16 is actually a messianic prophecy that was fulfilled in Christ? Well, the easiest way that we understand Scripture is by looking at Scripture as a commentary on Scripture. And the apostle Peter in his first epistle—in 1 Peter in your New Testaments—quotes this verse, Isaiah 28:16, and says specifically this is a reference to Jesus.
Now you can turn there, but to save time I’m just going to throw the verses up on the screen for you. It’s 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 4 to 6, and this is what Peter writes: «As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God"—because Christ was rejected, forsaken, nailed to a cross, but he was chosen by God «and precious to him—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.»
And then he adds, «For in Scripture it says"—and he quotes Isaiah 28:16—"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.» So Peter tells us specifically that Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 28:16 was a future reference—700 years before Christ—about Christ. It’s a messianic promise that the stone, the cornerstone, is Jesus.
And Peter actually personifies the stone—gives life to the stone, gives meaning to the stone of Isaiah 28:16—because let me just highlight for you the words «in him.» Because this is what Peter adds. In the Scripture in Isaiah 28 in your Bibles, you’ll notice that Isaiah just talks about a chosen, a precious cornerstone, and «the one who trusts will never be"—Isaiah says—"dismayed.» Peter expounds on it: «never be put to shame.» But Peter adds «trust in him» so that everybody understands that the reference of Isaiah 28:16 is about a person—not just a stone like some inanimate object, but a real living being. This is a reference to the Messiah, to Jesus, being the cornerstone—the tried and true and tested stone, the precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. And the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
Now this is important, folks, because our Bibles present Jesus as that cornerstone. He is the one upon whom the foundation is built. He’s that cornerstone. A corner in a cornerstone is laid—all the rest of the building is squared off of that stone. So everything about our lives needs to square with Jesus.
And Isaiah writes here prophetically about—he’s this, your foundation. Like, you’re going to need Jesus in your life. You’re going to need the Messiah because he’s going to be the one who will save you, forgive you, love you. He’s the one that dies for you. So all of this is pointing towards Jesus.
Now there are a few places in the Bible where the Messiah or the Lord himself is referred to kind of metaphorically as a rock or a stone. And the reason is because, like a rock, the Lord is strong, sturdy, reliable, dependable. He is unbreakable. He’s the bedrock of truth. He’s the shelter that we can seek in the storm.
This is why David, for example, will write in Psalm 62 verse 2: «He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.» Amen.
Three Descriptions of the Cornerstone
So when we talk about this, I want you to look in your Bibles there at Isaiah 28:16, and you’re going to note with me three things that he says about the Messiah as the stone, the cornerstone of the sure foundation.
Here’s the first thing he says: he is a tested stone. He’s a tested stone. Jesus has been tried and tested and proven true. He is the real deal. He’s been through the fire of betrayal, humiliation, abandonment. People have slandered him. People have falsely accused him. People denied even knowing him. And then people ultimately crucified him. So he’s been tested for sure.
But through it all—through all of that betrayal and false accusations and crucifixion—Isaiah will say later in his letter: like a lamb led to the slaughter, he never opened his mouth. He didn’t retaliate against his enemies. And nor did he deviate from the plan of God for the salvation of the world. Jesus was tested, and he was found true as the only Son of God who was faithful to complete the will and purpose of God and for our sake. He’s the tested stone.
Isaiah also adds here that he is a precious cornerstone. Now in the world of gemstones, there are two classical categories: precious and semi-precious stones. The precious stones are things like diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires. And there are basically three reasons why a gem falls under the category of precious: number one, they’re rare; number two, their perfection—you know, the clarity and the perfection; and number three, how expensive and valuable they are.
And this speaks about our Lord in all those three ways. He is the rarest of all—I mean, there’s none like him. He was born of a virgin, of divine origin, the only Son of God. He’s best in quality because, though he was tempted in every way as we were and are, the Bible says nevertheless he was without sin. So he was perfect in quality. And he’s the most valuable because when you have any item that is one-of-a-kind, it has an inestimable worth. And that’s our Lord—he, there is nothing and no one comparable to him. He is of inestimable worth because he has no equal.
So he’s a tested stone. He’s a precious cornerstone. And then Isaiah says he’s a sure foundation. Now Isaiah is using building terminology here—he’s talking about a foundation. Obviously this is 700 BC, so Isaiah is unfamiliar with our modern building materials. You know, he doesn’t know anything about two-by-fours or metal beams or I-beams or soffits or drywall. He doesn’t understand any of that.
But one thing he does know—and this has been a timeless truth about any building, any edifice—he knows about the cornerstone. He knows that every beginning point of any building needs a cornerstone—that that beginning point lays the foundation for the rest of the entire building. The entire building is squared off the cornerstone. All other stones in a building are set in reference to that first-placed cornerstone. It is foundational, and it determines the angle and the integrity of the rest of the structure. If you don’t lay that foundation stone properly, the rest of the integrity of the structure will crumble.
So he understands this part, and that’s why he’s speaking about Jesus like a cornerstone—because that’s who Christ is in all those ways. Everything about our lives must be squared off of the cornerstone.
The Meaning Behind Cornerstone Chapel
Now let me just take a moment at this junction and just kind of pause and explain: this is the reason, by the way, behind our name as a church—Cornerstone Chapel. When we first started the church 27 years ago, I didn’t want to be a part of a denominational structure. There’s nothing wrong with denominations—I grew up in one. I’m thankful for my heritage—but that just wasn’t the direction that we wanted to go.
But neither did we want to be this independent church without accountability. And so shortly after we were first formed as a church, we affiliated with Calvary Chapel association. Chuck Smith was the pastor—he went home to be with the Lord in 2013. And Chuck really was my pastor for 20 years until he went to be with the Lord. And even before that—I mean, as a kid I was listening to Chuck on the radio, growing up, just, you know, cutting my teeth, my spiritual teeth, on Chuck’s teaching.
And so, you know, Chuck was like my spiritual dad for many, many years, even before I became a pastor. And so we affiliated with Calvary Chapel. It was a good fit with us. But here was the problem: for seven years of our church, when we first planted our church, we met over at Simpson Middle School here in town. And I was reluctant to name our church Calvary Chapel of Leesburg because I didn’t know necessarily where we would end up planting as far as a building goes—because we were just mobile at the time, in a school.
Most Calvary Chapels are called Calvary Chapel of—like Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, Calvary Chapel of Fredericksburg, Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. All over the country there’s 1700-plus Calvary Chapels around the country today. So because I didn’t know where we were going to land, I didn’t know if we should be Calvary Chapel Leesburg, Calvary Chapel Ashburn, Calvary Chapel Purcellville, you know.
And so we kept the «Chapel» part because of our affiliation, and the first part of our church’s name came from this passage—that Jesus is the cornerstone, and we want everything about our church to be about Jesus. This is who we are. We’re not just Cornerstone Chapel in name only. I’m constantly searching my heart and the heart of our church, asking important questions as it relates to Jesus as the cornerstone of our church.
I’m constantly asking questions like: Does this honor Jesus? Does this dishonor Jesus? Does this reflect well on Jesus? Are we lifting up Jesus? Are our people hearing about Jesus, learning about Jesus, and growing in a relationship with Jesus? Are we bringing glory to Jesus? Do we celebrate Jesus? Are we being true to the teachings of Jesus?
If you come here, you’re going to hear about Jesus—because it’s all about Jesus. And listen: the day that we stop talking about Jesus, the day we stop worshipping Jesus, living for Jesus, and leading people into relationship with Jesus—is the day this church dies. And God help us that that day never happens.
We’re all about Jesus. We’re all about Jesus. Jesus is the cornerstone of his church—capital C—and he’s the cornerstone of our church—small c—not just in name but in practice. You’re going to constantly be hearing us exalting Jesus here, teaching about Jesus, helping people to find relationship with Jesus—because he is the cornerstone of the church, and he is the cornerstone of our salvation.
Jesus Brings No Shame
He’s the cornerstone of our salvation. Peter quotes again here in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 6—he’s quoting from Isaiah—and I want you to see something. He says, «And the one who trusts in him"—that’s Jesus—"will never be put to shame.» Listen: one of the wonderful things about coming into relationship with Jesus is he will never shame you. He will never shame you. He just wants to forgive you.
Jesus is about forgiving you. He’s not going to shame you. Did you ever have one of those school teachers—you know, if you didn’t do your homework: «Stand up, Mr. Hamrick. Stand up. Tell everybody why you didn’t do your homework.» Was that only my high school experience? I don’t know. But hey, how much would you want to cozy up to that teacher?
And it’s wonderful that Jesus doesn’t shame us like that. You know: «Oh, you’re coming to me again for forgiveness? I mean, haven’t we been around this barn a few times already? You know, what’s your problem? I died once—why can’t you live for me once?» And it’s wonderful that he doesn’t shame us like that.
You know, remember the story of the woman caught in adultery? The story of the woman caught in adultery in the Bible—now most Bible scholars say it was a setup, okay? That the religious leaders were trying to discredit Jesus, and so they were putting him on the spot in a public way to try to, you know, call him out and see what he would say in response to this.
They haul this woman before Jesus in a public square who was caught—this woman caught in the act of adultery. So she’s probably still wrapped in a bedsheet, I imagine. And they haul her in front of Jesus and say, «Jesus, we caught this woman in adultery—in the act itself. The law commands us to stone her to death. What do you say?» And then they kind of step back: «Let’s just see how Jesus handles this one, ” you know.
Because if he says, „Yeah, let’s stone her to death, ” then he’s going to be tough on the law. If he says, „No, let her go, ” he’s going to be soft on the law. Let’s just see where he comes down. And so Jesus—this is that story where he just stoops down and starts writing with his finger in the dirt. And then he stands back up. Nobody knows what he wrote. I sometimes wonder if he was killing time while they could pray, you know—you ever been in a situation like that? I have.
He stands back up and he says, „All right. You who are without sin, go ahead and cast the first stone.“ And then the Bible says one by one they left—the older ones first. You know why, right? Because the older you are, the longer you’ve lived life, the more sin you’ve got, right? So you’re more aware: „I’ve done a lot of stuff in my life.“ So they peel off until no one is left standing except Jesus and this woman.
And one of the most tender-hearted things about the way that he dealt with her was he didn’t shame her. For goodness' sake, she’s already humiliated and shamed enough—standing in this public square with all these people now knowing her deepest, darkest sin. And instead of shaming her, Jesus says, „Woman, where are your condemners? Where are they? Has anyone here condemned you?“ She says, „No one, Sir.“ He says, „Neither do I condemn you.“ And he says, „Go and sin no more.“
Now he wasn’t soft on sin because he told her, „Don’t sin anymore. Don’t do this anymore.“ But he was also heavy on grace because he says, „Neither do I condemn you.“ He knew her heart—that she’d experienced enough shame. What good is it going to do to heap shame? So he just loves her and tells her don’t sin anymore and dispenses to her much-needed grace.
The wonderful thing about coming into relationship with Jesus is that he’s the cornerstone you can trust—because he’s never going to put you to shame. He just wants to forgive you. He loves you and wants to accept you and receive you.
Making Jesus the Cornerstone of Every Area
Now here’s where it’s important in the last few minutes we have—so don’t tune out—because he’s not just the cornerstone of the church, but he is. And he’s not just the cornerstone of our salvation—though he is. The question becomes: if you’re a follower of Christ, is he the cornerstone of every aspect of your life?
This is the important question all of us must ask of ourselves before we leave here today. It’s one thing to say, „Jesus is my Lord“ because he’s the cornerstone of my salvation—okay, I get that. But I know a lot of people who talk about Jesus, can even quote Jesus, but Jesus is not really the cornerstone of their lives.
You know what he is? He’s just another brick somewhere else in the structure of their life—someone that you just insert conveniently in your life. And if you can insert him conveniently, you can remove him conveniently—because he’s just another brick in the structure of your life. Nothing will be affected really if he just comes and goes. But if he’s the foundation—if you remove the foundation, the whole building crumbles.
Too many Christians have made Jesus just another brick in the wall of their life. And he needs to be the cornerstone—not just because he is, but because you acknowledge his rightful place. So I want to ask some questions. This is for all of us—just to kind of get us to thinking about these things. And this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s just to get us started.
Is he the cornerstone, for example, of your marriage? Do you love your wife in a way that is honoring her because you’re honoring Jesus as the cornerstone of your marriage? Are you, as a wife, respecting your husband because you’re respecting him as unto the Lord—because he’s the cornerstone of your marriage?
You see, the cornerstone again means that everything about our lives is built off the cornerstone—so that includes everything. And if you’re not married, you have to ask the same thing. You see: the cornerstone of your dating life—are you dating someone who shares the same values, principles, and faith as you? And do you put in place boundaries in your dating relationship that honor Jesus as the cornerstone of your relationship? Or is Jesus just a brick in the relationship?
And how about your sexuality in general? If you’re married, your sexuality needs to be faithfulness in marriage. If you’re single, your sexuality needs to be abstinence in singleness. This is if you want Jesus as the cornerstone. But people again conveniently: „I just think I want Jesus as a brick in my life because I don’t really like that whole restrictive thing on my sexuality.“
What about—oh—your social media? You say, „Really, Pastor G? Are you going to touch on my social media?“ Yeah, just for a minute if you don’t mind. I’m going to anyway if you mind—but you have a chance to sneak out. Nobody will notice.
There are some people I would never hire because of their social media. If you’re young, you need to be aware that when you put something out on social media, it’s out there forever, and it could hinder you from ever getting hired somewhere. You say, „No, no, I can remove it. I can take it off.“ Somebody has already taken a screenshot of it, brother, sister, okay? It’s out there for the rest of the world forever.
Are you proud of what you put out there on social media? Does it reflect Jesus as the cornerstone? And here’s something else: you may not have put it out there, but you retweet it, or people like it. Is your Facebook page and your Twitter feed—is it all, you know, full of a bunch of stuff that would be dishonoring to Jesus?
I’m amazed at some people: „I’m a Christian, but this was a funny little joke—I’m going to retweet.“ And then in the retweet there’s the f-bomb that’s dropped. It’s like, well, I didn’t say it. I know you didn’t say it—but are you reflecting on your social media that Jesus is the cornerstone? Does he have every part of your life, or is he just a brick in the wall?
How about this: how about in your business and in your work—your place of employment? If you’re an employee, do you show up on time? Do you honor God because you’re going to honor your employer by going the extra mile and having a strong work ethic? If you’re an employer, are you generous to your employees and kind to them because Jesus is the cornerstone of your business and Jesus is the cornerstone of your work?
Or what about your finances? Since it’s all come from him, is Jesus the cornerstone of your finances? Are you managing the money that he’s given you in such a way that it honors and glorifies him? Do you tithe? Do you give him a tenth? Or do you wait to the end of the month to see what’s left over? Do you honor him?
Are you out of debt—or at least do you have a method to pay down your debt? Because debt is a stronghold and strangles generosity, and generosity is the character of our Father. So if you want to be generous with what he’s given you, you’re going to have to get out of debt. You’re going to have to manage your finances as well—that you’re honoring him always in that category. It’s all his anyway.
Or what even about your friends? Have you chosen friends—do you surround yourself with people that will help build you up in your faith, and you help build them up in their faith?
And finally, just by way of discussion—again, it’s not an exhaustive list—what even about your thought life? The things you entertain in your mind—we talked about this last week. Do you take captive every thought, make it obedient to Christ because you want him to be the cornerstone even of your thoughts?
So along these questions—and many more, come up with your own—how about we move Jesus from the wall and get him back to the cornerstone where he belongs and make him the chief cornerstone of every aspect of our lives? Amen? Amen.
Closing Song and Prayer
We’re actually going to close our service with a song about the cornerstone, just to kind of cement this in our hearts. Let’s all stand. We’re going to pray, and then we’re going to sing.
Lord, we thank you that you are the cornerstone—not only of our church, not only of our salvation, but Lord, we trust that you are the cornerstone of every aspect of our lives. And I pray, Lord, that we would each search our hearts, search our lives, search our minds, and answer all those questions and more: Is everything about my life aligned with you as the cornerstone? Or is the structure of my life about to crumble because I’ve not given you the proper place that you deserve as the chief Cornerstone?
So Lord, I pray that you will challenge each of us to examine ourselves and to yield to you—to surrender to you every area of our lives with you as the cornerstone. This is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.