Living Hope

Dear Church Family,

This past Sunday, Pastor Jerry Ausbrook continued our Living Hope series by walking through 1 Peter 2:4–12 and reminding us of something powerful:

God is not just saving individuals, He is building something.

Peter describes us as living stones, being built into a spiritual house with Christ as the foundation. It is personal, but it is never meant to be private. We are connected to Jesus and to one another.

Three movements we see in the text:

Placed
God places us strategically.
Often, we do not realize it in the moment. But as we follow Him, we begin to see how He is shaping our identity in Christ and connecting us into His community.

Formed
God is forming us into people of light.
Not by our own effort, but through surrender. Scripture reminds us that in Christ we are a new creation, shaped with intention and purpose.

Sent
We are not just saved, we are sent.
God commissions us to live on mission, carrying His love, truth, and hope into the world around us.

At the center of it all is this truth from 1 Peter 2:10:
“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.”

Mercy is what binds it all together.
It is the “concrete” that connects the living stones.
We receive God’s mercy, and then we extend that same mercy to others.

Once we are placed in Christ, we are formed to become like Him, and then we are sent to reflect Him.

God is working in your life, even in ways you cannot see.
He is orchestrating more than you realize.

So the invitation is simple:
Respond to Him.
Trust Him.
Follow Him.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our Living Hope series.

-Pastor Aaron Perry