Sermon by – Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick – Vox Church
My Personal Event Notes …
🌟 MIRACLES happen when men come together to seek Jesus together.
✝️ What Does It Mean to Be a Man Named by Christ
1 Peter 2:4–10
“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 stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are 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 were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
🤳 He Names You
- The good, the bad, and the ugly. Movie: the guys are searching for a hidden treasure… like our life, they finally find where the treasure is.
- The gun scene… the tension between the three archetypes of the masculine soul.
- Which one are you?
- Divine vigorously — we have to push that force toward something to redefine your life.
🧐 Archetypes of the Masculine Soul
🤡 The Ugly
- Believes life is about having a good feeling
- Hedonist: half man, half animal
- Not a planner, lives for the moment
- Says: “I don’t know what is going to happen next but I’m just going to jump in.”
⚡ The Bad
- Shrewd and calculated
- May do the right thing outwardly, but does it for himself
- He is alone — a mercenary, not a soldier
- Fights for himself and his own success
🚩 The Good
- Not weak, but not perfect
- Comes up with his own way
- Fearless, shows no emotion
- Never sees himself as out of control
🧠 All Seek the Treasure
- Are these the only options?
- Modern culture rejects all three
- Today masculinity is seen as dangerous
- We are told not to use Divine vigor
The World would call us to be Blondy mixed with Mr. Rogers
Is my life worth sports, golf, and video games? — We lose our Divine vigor by focusing on anything other than God and the Word.
🕯️ Mixed Messages in the Bible About Men
🕊️ Abraham (formerly Abram)
Rise: Trusted God enough to leave everything and journey into the unknown (Genesis 12)
Fall: Lied about his wife being his sister out of fear, twice (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18)
Redemption: Becomes the father of many nations and the model of faith (Romans 4:16)
🕊️ David
Rise: Anointed king, defeated Goliath, known as a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 16–17)
Fall: Committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11)
Redemption: Repented deeply (Psalm 51), and remained in God’s covenant promise (Acts 13:22)
🕊️ Jacob (renamed Israel)
Rise: Inherited the promise of Abraham and Isaac; wrestled with God (Genesis 25–32)
Fall: Deceived his father and brother; fled and lived in fear (Genesis 27)
Redemption: Renamed Israel after wrestling with God and reconciled with Esau (Genesis 32–33)
🕊️ Jephthah
Rise: Outcast who became a mighty warrior and judge in Israel (Judges 11:1–11)
Fall: Made a tragic vow leading to the sacrifice of his daughter (Judges 11:29–40)
Redemption: Despite his error, he is listed among the faithful (Hebrews 11:32)
The picture of masculinity we hold in our mind is important.
🪦Regardless of your mix, they all look for a treasure buried in a grave of a man who has no name…
We are all looking for a name and an identity.
🏛️ Identity
- What is our name built on?
- Money? Success?
Han Solo had no people; it’s how he got his last name.
📖 Identity Formation in 1 Peter 2
“Come to Him”
Come to Him with all the questions and brokenness.
Identify the false archetypes you embraced.
👾 Revelation 2:17
“To the one who conquers… I will give a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”
📖 The Theme of Naming
• All throughout the Bible:
o Adam names animals
o Abram renamed to Abraham
Abram is renamed Abraham in the midst of a long season of waiting and suffering. Though childless and aging, he continues to follow God in faith. When God reaffirms His covenant, He changes Abram’s name—from “exalted father” to “father of many nations”—transforming his pain into promise and marking a new identity rooted not in present circumstances, but in future fulfillment (Genesis 17:5)
o Jacob renamed to Israel
Jacob is renamed Israel after wrestling with God all night, refusing to let go until he receives a blessing. God gives him a new name, Israel, meaning “he struggles with God,” marking a shift in Jacob’s identity from deceiver to one who contends with God and prevails (Genesis 32:28)
It wasn’t right away. They had to suffer first.
• Rachel names a son; the father steps in and changes the name
As Rachel lies dying in childbirth, she names her son Ben-Oni, meaning “son of my sorrow.” But Jacob, refusing to let his son’s identity be marked by pain, renames him Benjamin, meaning “son of the right hand.” This moment reflects a father’s redemptive authority to speak a new destiny over his child—transforming sorrow into strength.
• Simon is renamed Peter by Jesus
Peter writes this passage — the name Rock
But Peter wants us to see that naming and metaphor is for all of us.
God proclaims Himself the Rock:
- Strong
- Steady
- Safe
He wants us to come to Him for our name.
🏠 What is Your House Built On?
If not God, it is wood, and it won’t last.
God provides ROCK through:
• Joshua
God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous, promising His presence as Joshua leads Israel into the Promised Land. The people cross the Jordan and set up twelve stones—memorial rocks—as a testimony of God’s faithfulness (Joshua 1:6-9; Joshua 4:1-9).
• Moses
In the wilderness, Moses strikes the rock at Horeb, and water flows out—God providing life from a hard place. Paul later writes that the Rock was Christ, revealing the deeper spiritual foundation behind that moment (Exodus 17:6; 1 Corinthians 10:4).
• Jacob
Jacob uses a stone as a pillow and then sets it up as a pillar, declaring, “Surely the Lord is in this place.” That rock becomes a marker of covenant and encounter—Bethel, the house of God (Genesis 28:10–22).
• David
David slays Goliath with a stone from his sling—God using a literal rock to bring down a giant and deliver Israel. David later declares the Lord as his rock, fortress, and deliverer, recognizing the true source of his strength (1 Samuel 17:49; Psalm 18:2).
Isaiah foretells the Messiah as the Cornerstone.
🎵 Psalm 118:22
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
🌌 Daniel 2:34-35
“A rock was cut out, but not by human hands…”
Jesus is that rock. To find our name, we have to come to Him.
- Hedonist — grow up
- The Bad — stop lying
- The Good — you need to engage
🛠️ Jesus Rebuilds Us
1 Peter 2:9–10 (see above)
Exodus 19 — Israel, God’s people, failed to obey.
God did the unthinkable:
He enters into the story and fulfills the Law.
Jesus:
- Born miraculously
- Passes through an exodus
- Baptized by water
- Sent into the wilderness
- Goes to the mount to fulfill the Law
He went to the cross to become the agent of grace.
Just as Jacob renamed a child, God is doing that for us.
🧳♂️ Rock Identity Building Blocks
⛰ Block 1: Closeness — “I am wanted by God.”
- We carry brokenness
- Struggle to believe God wants us
Peter: You are a chosen race
John 6:44 — “No one can come to me unless the Father… draws him.”
1 Thessalonians 1:4,6 — “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you…”
Desire to follow Jesus = evidence He chose you.
💼 Block 2: Vocation — “I have a purpose.”
- Aimlessness is breaking men.
- Career is not identity. You are a priest.
The old church wrongly separated priesthood.
Everyone in Christ is a priest. Your job is sacred.
Tim Keller: Every Christian is a minister. Live that way.
Start with:
- Home
- Family
- Friends
Bring flourishing to your little part of the Kingdom.
🌿 Block 3: Heritage — “I belong to a people.”
- Culture says: Be independent like Blondy
- But that kills us
We are called into:
- A spiritual people
- A gospel-living community
- A place where transformation happens
📊 Focus Question
Which one do you need to focus on?
- Do you seek affirmation? → Focus on Being Chosen.
Knowing is not enough.
You must go on the journey.
Identity is not just information. It is lived-out.
🕊️ Encounter God
Let the Holy Spirit meet your personality and encounter Him.
1 Peter 2:10
“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
📖 Hosea 2:1–2
_”Say to your brothers, ‘You are my people,’ and to your sisters, ‘You have received mercy.’”
Peter ties Hosea to the orphaned spirit.
God steps into our brokenness and buys us back.
💼 Jesus Paid the Price
He traded the same things Hosea did to redeem us.
Now we build our house on the rock:
- The Cornerstone
- The one no storm can shake
📟 Psalm 61:1
“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.”
VoxNotas 
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