Paul
Your Name
You'll Come
How Great Is Your Love
The Desert Song
You Are Good
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Rob & Jill
Isaiah 51
1 Peter 2:4-5
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Jon
The rock from which you were cut
Heritage of where we’ve come from
Living stones
Context of temple of the Holy Spirit
Things being cut away that you think you need
Next week is spiritual gifts (and 4 more weeks)
Based on tonight’s passages, some pictures come to mind
Look at the expansion of Christianity in the 1st century
Asia Minor, part of the Roman Empire, exploded with Christianity
Very pagan culture – like Las Vegas; what happens in Asia Minor, stays in Asia Minor
Pagan culture
Evangelical Covenant Church
Wants to plant 3 churches in Las Vegas that partner with existing churches
8 followers of Jesus Christ transformed Asia Minor
Has the message of Jesus Christ changed? No
Lots of excavations revealing details about 1st century life
Greek city on the coast of the Aegean Sea
City of Priene
How do these discoveries help reinforce Jesus’ message?
Main goddess was Athena -> human mind, justice, wisdom
Imagine worshiping the one true God in this context of peer pressure worship to smaller deities
Thanks to Demeter, god of food
Jesus turned water into wine and fed 5,000
Dionysus was the god of wine…
Scholars keep excavating more and learning more context
In the shadow of the temple of Athena was a communal situation
2-step bench like a synagogue
Closet for Torah
2 dove menorah
House of worship in this pagan city
When you worship one God, where does your source of life come from?
How do you survive when you’re told to worship various gods for food/wine/money/etc.
Early Christian movement was about communal living and small house churches
Priscilla and Aquila’s home
Athena was worshiped and had a temple
Every stone was cut and numbered individually for Athena’s glory
Temples and cathedrals remind us of the glory of the deity
Many different rooms full of free food and drink for patrons of Athena
Free health care
Marketing tool
Staples Center
Has statues of great athletes
Magic Johnson
Chick Hearn
Gretzky
Oscar De La Hoya
Something great going on here
All these things are marketing tools
Absolute devotion & adoration if they provide for our needs
Imagine your child comes home and wants to go check out a friend’s Athena worship service
What if your community isn’t flourishing as well as Athena’s?
What does He offer? Everlasting life
Where do you meet? Small building
Why do you gather there? To worship the king of kings
Acts 27???
Not in temples built by man
Our God doesn’t live in temples, He isn’t confined to manmade structures
Cathedral, wow, Grand Canyon – WOW
If He wanted it, don’t you think He would have built something amazing?
He is – living stones for a living temple
3 years’ time, only 120 people
All I need is a group of people committed to my ways
I don’t need large buildings or groups
We are the temple of God
Sounds very painful to be chipped from rocks and carved
Little things clinging to you that I need to chisel at your heart
Are you going to place your life into the mighty stonecutter’s hands?
You are beautiful in My sight
Underneath beautiful columns is an elaborate support structure
If the columns don’t go down deep, it’s not going to last
Some of us are going to be underground with our gifts
We need you to be you
God says I see you even though you’re underground
You aren’t a temple individually, but corporately
We are to Los Angeles what Priene was to Athena
Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
In Pergamum, Asclepius was worshipped – snake wrapped around a god, god of healing
Scholars believe the pool was of Asclepius
Jesus took that and turned it over
We are called to be the temple of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles
Paul
Use this song as a moment of preparation for this week
None But Jesus