1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)

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.”

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,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people 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, 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.

The Holiness Tradition 

This tradition is about being changed on the inside so we actually start to look like Jesus, living a surrendered life of obedience that flows from a genuine response to God’s grace. It’s not about following rules for the sake of rules or just trying harder; it’s about the Holy Spirit renewing our hearts so our actions reflect God’s goodness. Holiness means our hearts are turned toward what is right, and God’s grace helps us overcome sin in real ways. Obedience isn’t a burden but something we do because we love God.

Living Stones

• Jesus says to Simon, “You are Peter [Petros], and on this rock [petra] I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). There’s a wordplay here: Peter himself is “the rock,” but the true foundation is Christ. More precisely, Peter’s bold confession that Jesus is the Messiah is the bedrock on which the Church is built.
• Exodus 17:6 — “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:4 — “For they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”

True Self and False Self (Katie Skurja’s M&M Analogy)

• Peanut = Imago Dei (Genesis 1:27) Chocolate = Shame and brokenness (Genesis 3) Candy shell = False self we show the world (Matthew 23:27&28)
• Holiness begins with living from the center, our true identity in Christ.

The Danger of Denial

• Thomas Kinkade illustration, glowing houses hiding deep pain.
• There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon, denial makes the dragon grow.
• Naming truth is the beginning of healing, “What comes into the light loses its power” (John 3:21).

Crisis in the Church

• Barna + Navigators study: only 1% of leaders think they’re forming people well.
• 77% of Christians want transformation but don’t experience it.

Spiritual Formation

• Spiritual formation seeks to bridge the gap between desire and change.
• “What’s the main thing God gets out of your life? The person you become.” -Dallas Willard

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

In your final meeting of the session, share your hopes and plans for the summer. 

CONNECT WITH GOD (Use one of the below practices or choose one from a previous week.)

• Prayer of Surrender (Adapted from — Jon M. Sweeney in The Lure of Saints on spiritualityandpractice.com and the Prayer of Surrender inspired by St. Therese of Lisieux)
• Assume a position of prayer. Close your eyes and open your hands and surrender your life to God’s mercy. You know what it is you need to surrender, but it is hard to let go of it. Don’t be discouraged. The repeated handing over to God in prayer will work its own miracle. What is important in this prayer is perseverance in the words and gestures of surrender. Real gestures such as opening your hands, or symbolic gestures of opening your soul, are both important.
• One way to effect this surrender is to repeat, as a mantra, your deepest desire. For example, “God, my God, I want to be filled with you.” After each uttering of this mantra, pause and let whatever objections, reservations, qualifications, etc. rise to the surface of your consciousness. Then resume: “God my God, I want to be filled with you.” Repeat this process for as long as your prayer time lasts.

Ignatian Prayer with Isaiah 6:1-8. This practice asks you to engage your imagination and your senses as you encounter God in scripture. 

• Ask one person to facilitate, reading Isaiah 6:1-8 slowly. As you listen, engage your senses. Assume a posture of openness and allow for extended time of silence.

What do you see?

What do you hear? 

What do you smell?

What do you feel?

What do you sense in your body?

• Reflect on God’s holiness in Isaiah 6:1-8. Let God speak to you through the way you are encountering this scripture today.
• Close together in prayer.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Pray Together and then Read 1 Peter 2:4-10.

Alone: Reflect/journal on one or more of the following prompts: 

• How does this passage help you reflect on the holiness tradition? 
• Is there an area of your life where you feel called to pursue deeper holiness? What steps could you take?
• In pairs: Share your personal reflections from the prompts above. Encourage one another to engage curiosity, confusion, or bigger questions.

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read the passage again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.

• Review the main points from the sermon outline. 
• How would you describe the “Holiness” Tradition? 
• Which “identity statement” in 1 Peter 2:4-10 resonates with you the most? 
• What does it mean to be called a “living stone”? 
• How does knowing you are “God’s special possession” or “a royal priesthood” shift the way you view yourself? 
• What does it mean for Jesus to be the cornerstone? 
• What ‘s hard for you about the holiness tradition? What’s helpful to you? 
• How might the Holiness Tradition find balance alongside another tradition in Streams of Living Water? 
• What questions do you still have about the message or scripture passage? 

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: Reflect on the below quote together from Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster. 

“Holiness means the ability to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. It means being ‘response-able’, able to respond appropriately to the demands of life. The word virtue (arete) comes into our New Testament from a long history in Greek philosophical tradition, and it means simply to function well. Virtue is good habits we can rely upon to make our life work.”

PRAYER 

Before you say goodbye for the summer, share prayer requests and pray with and for one another.