45 minutes
- Opening
- 4
- Passage
- 5
- Questions
- 24
- Application
- 7
- Prayer
- 5
Total · 45 minutes
Sermon Study · Leader Edition
From The Ground Up
September 27, 2026 · Austin Axen
Leader preparation · 2–3 minutes
Your aim for this conversation
Read 1 Peter 2:1–8 and revisit Austin’s three images: child, living stone, cornerstone.
Keep the group focused on concrete growth, mutual service, and confidence in Christ.
Timing plan
The Big Idea
God builds his people from the ground up as we lay aside what hinders growth, long for his Word, build one another up, and stand on Jesus our cornerstone.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
01
Grow up as his children
Lay aside what hinders growth and long for the nourishment of God's Word.
02
Build up his church
God joins different people as living stones in one spiritual house.
03
Stand upon his cornerstone
Jesus is the chosen and precious foundation for a life and a church that endure.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read 1 Peter 2:1–8 together. Which image catches your attention most: newborn infants, living stones, or the cornerstone?
1
1 Peter 2:1 · Essential · 7 minutes
What to lay aside
Peter names malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Have you considered that in your own quiet time this week? Has that been hard? You do not need to be specific in your answer.
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Invite private self-examination without putting anyone on the defensive or requiring disclosure.
Follow-ups to have ready
- Which of these can hide behind outwardly respectable behavior?
If it stalls
Read the five words slowly and allow silence.
2
1 Peter 2:2–3 · Essential · 7 minutes
What to long for
Peter says to long for pure spiritual milk so that we grow. What has been shaping your appetite for God's Word lately, and what small practice could help you return to it?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Move from guilt or a vague goal to a realistic way of receiving Scripture.
Follow-ups to have ready
- What competes for your attention when you want to read or meditate on Scripture?
If it stalls
Ask what nourishes a newborn and let the image lead into Peter's point.
3
1 Peter 2:4–5 · Essential · 8 minutes
Living stones together
Peter calls believers living stones being built together into a spiritual house. Where do you see a need to strengthen someone else in the church, and how could you take part?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Connect belonging to mutual responsibility in the church.
Follow-ups to have ready
- How does the image change if we think only about our individual growth?
If it stalls
Ask what happens to a wall if its stones remain separate.
4
1 Peter 2:6–8 · Optional · 7 minutes
Built on Christ
Jesus is precious to those who believe, even though others reject him. Where might you feel pressure to be quiet about following him, and how does his place as cornerstone steady you?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Name social pressure without equating faithful witness with aggression or certainty about outcomes.
Follow-ups to have ready
- What does 'will not be put to shame' promise here, and what does it leave open?
If it stalls
Return to Peter's contrast between God's assessment of Jesus and human rejection.
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Pray about which of the five things in 1 Peter 2:1 you need to lay aside.
- Recommit to reading and meditating on God's Word this week.
Application
Choose one practical way to encourage or serve someone in the church this week. Pray for each other's growth in the Word and life together.
My notes
Close in prayer
Ask God to help us lay aside harmful ways, desire his Word, strengthen one another, and trust Jesus as our cornerstone.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the September 27, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.
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