Week Four

Stones that become precious

Finally in week four we recall how stones come in all shapes and sizes and speak to us of faith, hope and love, and our life foundation built on Jesus the cornerstone.

SEEDS TO SOW: What is truly precious in life?

Read Matthew 16: 13-19

Discuss how this passage reminds us that God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Read 1 Corinthians 3: 10-15

So what, to your mind, is this passage saying about the activities we carry out in the name of God? 

Read Matthew 21: 42-44

There is a backstory to the cornerstone analogy that Matthew connects with Jesus. Check out Psalm 118: 22-25 and the comments in the daily readings for Sunday 26 November:

Explore the story of the rejected Cornerstone when building the second temple. It was initially rejected but then used to hold up the south west corner of the outer wall to keep the whole building from sliding down the valley into the rubbish dump known as Gehenna. It was used as a metaphor of God’s choice over human choice when building the temple.

Does this give a new perspective on being rejected?

SEEDS TO SOW: These are open-ended and optional prompts and are designed for people wanting to develop their own resources in response to the themes. Perhaps if you are using this material as a group you could use these prompts to inspire a time of prayer, or drawing, or creative writing? They are a short and sweet, simply a starting off place for you and your imagination. Tailor and develop as suits your group.