08/23/2026
CHURCH: THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF GOD’S WORD
ISAIAH 51:1-6, MATTHEW 16:13-20 AND ROMANS 12:1-8
AUGUST 23, 2026
PASTOR HOWIE MAXSON
“Everlasting Salvation for Zion (Isaiah 51:1-6, NIV)
[God said] ‘Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
‘Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.’”
“Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-30, NIV)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’
Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’
Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter [a piece of rock], and on this rock [a mass of rock] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
“A Living Sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8, NIV)
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
These three passages trace the foundation of God’s people from ancient covenant to the Church’s mission today. Isaiah calls us to listen and draw near to God, to seek righteousness and keep God’s teaching in our hearts (www.firstbaptistlacrosse.org) The “rock from which you were hewn” is a metaphor for God’s covenant people, grounded in the promises to Abraham and the living tradition of faith. (Mirfield Community of the Resurrection) Today, we are the people of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We are the New
Covenant people of God. Our identity, like the people Isaiah wrote to, and our direction come from God’s Word; not from self-made religious systems.
Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices and to use the gifts God has given—such as wisdom, faith, healing, and service— “as instruments of righteousness” (Mirfield Community of the Resurrection). Through us the “rock” of God’s Word is lived out in diverse ministries, all serving the common good. The gifts are not for personal glory but for the unity and mission of the Church. And we must realize that the Church is bigger than anyone singular congregation. So, what Paul teaches is broad, spanning all congregations everywhere who are faithfully fulfilling the Gospel.
Jesus affirms Peter’s confession of faith and declares, “On this rock I will build my Church” (Mirfield Community of the Resurrection). The “rock” is not Peter’s personal strength but the confession of Christ as Messiah, rooted in God’s Word. Jesus gives Peter the “keys” to bind and loose, symbolizing authority to lead in mission and unity.
This passage shows how the “rock” becomes the foundation for all communities that serve all people, including Jews and Gentiles.
Our identity and mission come from God’s Word and covenant, not from human traditions alone. Romans 12 shows how God’s gifts are used in unity; Matthew 16 shows how one confession of faith (the “rock”) unites diverse believers in this congregation and all congregations and denominations. Isaiah calls us to listen and follow God; Romans calls us to live out God’s will in service; Matthew calls us to build and lead the Church in mission. The “rock” in Isaiah is the covenant foundation; in Matthew, it is the confession of faith in Christ; in Romans, it is the living out of that confession through gifts and service.
In short, we are on a covenantal journey: from God’s call to listen (Isaiah), through the use of God-given gifts in unity (Romans), to the building of the Church on the Gospel confession of faith in Christ (Matthew). The Church is the living embodiment of God’s Word, grounded in faith, empowered by gifts, and mission driven. We are the living body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 12:27-13:13, NIV)
Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and spirit; and love your neighbors as you love yourselves. “We are the living body of Christ” means that as believers, united in Christ, interdependent, and called to serve one another in love we are a reflection of His own selfless service to the world. Maranatha!
