The following message is by pastor John Piper.

More information from Desiring God is available at

W.W.

Desiring God.org.

The scripture passage today is from 1st Peter, chapter 2 verses 1 through 10.

That's on page 1, 2014 your Pugh Bibles.

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it

you may grow up to salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men,

but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a

holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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 stumbled because they disobey the word as they were

destined to do. But you were a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you are not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

...