“And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.” 1 Peter 2:5a NLT Have you ever thought about what it takes to build something? Perhaps you are in the construction, design or building industry and you know exactly what it takes. I believe the average person doesn’t really know all that it takes to build something from scratch. Even if you have ever bought something at Ikea and put it together … you are not building it from scratch. To build a house it takes skilled planning and design by an architect. Once the architect has the design together it needs to be looked at by an engineer to make sure everything works from an engineering perspective. The plans then go to the city or county and need to be approved by the permitting agency. At almost every stage of the house being built there are inspections and people signing off on the work being done. As you approach the end stage of the building project, there are more inspectors who sign off and issue the final certificate of occupancy. Now, I know that I probably left off several things in the process. The point is it takes a lot to build one house. Several years ago I helped a friend, who is a master plumber, run the initial plumbing in a house that was nothing but framed walls and a roof. As I helped him pull pipes and glue pipes and so much more, I realized just how much went into building something. The plumbing alone took a lot of work and a lot of knowledge, experience and expertise. That day I learned things about plumbing that I would have never thought of otherwise. There is a lot that goes into building something. Peter tells his readers that there is something that God is at work building. God has been at work building it since the beginning of time. In fact, Peter tells his readers about God’s detailed plans that existed long before the events ever took place. The plan involved the building of God’s kingdom, which Peter refers to as God’s spiritual temple. There was a cornerstone to God’s plan and the cornerstone is Jesus. Jesus is the cornerstone of this spiritual temple, the church, and everything God is building will begin with Jesus. The rest of the stones, Peter writes, are us. We are the “living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.” You and I are the individual stones that make up the church, the body of Christ. Every stone is important and every stone is needed. I wonder how many of us have really thought of it that way. Have we ever looked at our faith journey with God as a building project? God is building into us to bring us to a full and complete faith. As we are built up spiritually, God is building up his spiritual temple. The church is the body of Christ with each and every stone a part of God’s perfect plan. We are the living stones that God is using. So how is God building into you this week? If you have never thought of it that way before spend some time meditating on how God has built your faith over time. God is building up all of us as living stones and God is building us into his spiritual temple, the church. This Sunday we talk about why we remember. The message will help us think about how God helps us remember all that God has done in us. I look forward to sharing this message with you Sunday. It was exciting to kick off our “Paving the Way” campaign last Sunday. If you weren’t in church you can go to Paving the Way and check it out. God is at work at St. Andrew’s and I can’t wait to see you in church!