For the week of April 13, 2026
MONDAY
Day One: God’s Plan Foretold in Old Testament Scripture
Sermon Focus: Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we believe in Him and we behave in obedience to Him.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
Sermon Point: Peter reaches back to three OT passages to show us how God designed the invisible church. He does this to affirm how the invisible church was foreordained even before Christ came – it wasn’t an afterthought or a His reaction to man’s sinful choices. No, this was God’s salvation plan set in place before the foundation of the world. Literally centuries before Christ’s birth, God’s prophets spoke of His future role as the Living Stone – chosen by God, rejected by many – the Cornerstone on Whom God would build His church. Those who come to Him become living stones sharing His honor, while those who reject Him stumble.
Sermon Reflection: How do you personally respond to Jesus as the Cornerstone—do you find yourself resting on Him as chosen and precious, or resisting Him in certain areas of your life?
Application: Today, spend some time in personal praise and worship – offer up your gratitude – pray in faith for all God brings to your mind as you listen to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3diYWjL1i8&list=RDM3diYWjL1i8&start_radio=1
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise God for His perfect wisdom and eternal purposes; thank Him for Scripture fulfilled which fuels our hope in Scripture yet to be fulfilled. Pray that He strengthens us to trust in His faithfulness and believe every single one of His promises.
- Repent for all the times you have stumbled over Christ’s call to obedience for God’s Glory Alone. Pray that the Holy Spirit help us to cherish Jesus as our chosen and precious Cornerstone more and more each day.
TUESDAY
Day Two: Zion
Sermon Focus: Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we believe in Him and we behave in obedience to Him.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
Sermon Point: In the OT, Zion is known as the place where the “people of God” reside; a place that God loves. Zion is often referred to as the City of God, where King David built a fortress in Jerusalem. Over time, the definition of Zion expanded in scope and meaning. When Solomon built the temple, Zion was included in the temple area. By the time we get to the NT, Zion refers to the totality of God’s Spiritual Kingdom, a special place of God’s eternal Presence. According to tradition, it’s where the Disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost – where the invisible church was born. It makes perfect sense, then, that God would place Jesus – the Living Stone through the Resurrection and the Cornerstone of the church – at the heart of Zion, the center of His saving plan.
Sermon Reflection: How does the expanding biblical vision of Zion reframe the way you understand God’s protection and presence in your own life?
Application: If we are in Christ, we are the temple! So today, be filled with His Spirit! Give thanks, praise, and submit to those around you out of reverence for Christ. Then…put on the full armor of God so that you can stand strong in God’s strength as you obey your commission to go make disciples.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Confess all the ways you have tried to fashion the church into a place that’s more about your desires and glory, rather than about Christ’s. Pray that we would not resist the Holy Spirit’s work of building us up as living stones within God’s spiritual kingdom, faithful to His presence and responsive to His eternal work in the world.
- Praise God for His design of the church – that He gives unique gifts to each one of His children to be used for one another’s good and for the building of His Kingdom. Pray that each person who calls FM home would find his/her place to best utilize their unique gifts and talents for God’s Glory Alone.
WEDNESDAY
Day Three: Jesus, the Cornerstone, is the Inflection Point
Sermon Focus: Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we believe in Him and we behave in obedience to Him.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
Sermon Point: Jesus – the Living Stone – the Cornerstone – sits at the great divide in all of human history. He is what separates those who are on the wide dark path headed for eternal destruction from those who are on the narrow, well-lighted path of eternal life as heirs of the Kingdom of God. You are either built on Him or you are against Him. There is no middle ground.
Sermon Reflection: Where in your life are you attempting to stand in a “middle ground” with Jesus—holding back full allegiance even though He stands as the Cornerstone who divides the paths of life and destruction?
Application: In that area, choose one next step to take towards Christ today that will bring you into greater alignment with Truth. Now take it!
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God for His immeasurable grace that rescues His beloved children from the wide-dark path that leads to eternal destruction and gives the gift of faith which places us on the well-lit path of eternal life. Thank Him for His Spirit who strengthens us to walk in obedience to Him every ordinary day after another.
- Pray that here at FM, the Holy Spirit would align our hearts fully with Christ our Cornerstone and break every illusion of a middle ground in our discipleship. Pray that He would make us into disciples who are fully devoted to Christ in all we do and say.
THURSDAY
Day Four: Only Two Types of People
Sermon Focus: Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we believe in Him and we behave in obedience to Him.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
Sermon Point: Believers and unbelievers stand on either side of Jesus, and Peter contrasts the clear divide between them. For those who believe , Jesus – the Living Stone – has become the Cornerstone, the rock on which the foundation of their faith and the church is built. For unbelievers, Jesus is the stone the builders (religious authorities) rejected. For believers, the Cornerstone is chosen by God and precious; for unbelievers, Jesus is a stone that trips them up, something that’s in the way of obtaining their selfish desires. He’s offensive to them because their pride is hurt by His humility and because they refuse to believe that He was the promised Messiah. Peter’s contrasts reveal this Truth: belief leads to honor and eternal life, while unbelief leads to shame, and eternal destruction.
Sermon Reflection: How does Peter’s clear divide between belief and unbelief challenge you to examine the foundation on which you are building your life? What areas of unbelief still exist in your heart?
Application: Eternal destruction or eternal life hangs in the balance for every person on the planet. Identify someone within your daily sphere who does not profess faith in Christ. Look for ways to engage him/her in a meaningful way every day, in addition to praying for him/her daily, starting today, throughout the rest of this month.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Repent of the ways you continue to resist Christ’s Lordship in your life, stumbling over His call to believe the Truth (ALL of it) and to behave in obedience to it in thought, word, and deed.
- Pray that God would let the weight of this great divide move us to deeper faith, fuller surrender, and such unwavering devotion to Jesus that we cannot help but get up each day excited to be about our mission of making disciples in our everyday, ordinary lives.
FRIDAY
Day Five: Why Unbelievers Stumble
Sermon Focus: Christ is the cornerstone of our faith: we believe in Him and we behave in obedience to Him.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”
Sermon Point: Peter states it simply and clearly: unbelievers stumble because they disobey the Word – God’s Truth. Deep within each of us is a nasty bent toward rebellion and pride, and so we refuse to obey His Word, and our lives become messed up and warped, so much so that we don’t even realize how crooked we’ve become. That’s where and how we all start, on that wide, dark path – each of us in dire need of a Savior who can rescue and restore us. A Living Stone to wash us in His blood so that we might be saved by grace through faith (belief and behavior) – justified, sanctified, and one day glorified as we walk hand-in-hand with the Holy Spirit in obedience to God.
Sermon Reflection: Where do you see the subtle bents toward pride or disobedience in your life revealing how easily we can drift into the crookedness Peter describes?
Application: Spend some time in repentance and consecration today. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any pockets of rebellion and pride in your heart. Where they have hindered your relationships with those around you, go to whomever you need to go to in humility to seek forgiveness and restoration.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God today for the incredible gifts of repentance and forgiveness –for how they allow our relationships with Him and one another to continue to grow stronger and deeper. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us be a people who continually offer up our spiritual sacrifice of repentance (like we learned in 1 Peter 2:4-5) because we don’t want anything to hinder our communion with the Lord.
- As you consider where we all start out in this life – on the wide, dark path that leads to eternal destruction – ask God to deepen our gratitude for a Savior who rescues, washes, and restores.