Pick up any ordinary rock. You can find them everywhere: in your driveway, on the playground, in your flowerbed, even tiny pebbles in the soles of your shoes. What could possibly be special about something so ordinary?
The answer is simple: In the hands of God, even the commonplace can become extraordinary.
I have chosen “sacred stones” as the dominant theme of this blog because stones are often used to signify something that is holy or set apart for special purposes. Think of the boulders of Stonehenge, the blocks of the Pyramids, and the walls of the great cathedrals. Or consider the chiseled cornerstone of your local courthouse and the granite headstones at a cemetery. Stones have always been used to mark ground that is hallowed or sacred.
This is no less true in the stories of the Bible. In Genesis, Jacob worshiped God by setting up pillars of stone at Bethel (Gen. 28.18; 35.14). In Exodus, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Ex. 20.1-17) and set forth guidelines for building a stone altar (Ex. 20.25-26). Joshua set up twelve stones of remembrance at Gilgal after the Israelites crossed the Jordan (Josh. 4). He later built a stone altar after they defeated the city of Ai, as was commanded by Moses (Josh. 8.30ff; cf. Deut. 27.1-9). Then in his farewell speech to Israel–and perhaps with a nod to Jacob’s heap of stones that were a witness between him and Laban (Gen. 31.43ff)–Joshua set up a stone as a witness against the people’s pledge to be faithful to God (Josh. 24.26-27).
We recall the story of David and Goliath, which reminds us how an ordinary stone can become a remarkable weapon in the hands of an expert (1 Sam. 17). David would later write, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge…” (Ps. 18.2). The fortress would literally take shape as the temple was built under King Solomon’s direction: “At the king’s command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones” (1 Kgs. 5.17).
In the New Testament the place of worship is no longer defined by buildings made of stone, but by the presence of the “Living Stone” upon whom our faith is built. As Paul writes, we are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2.20-22). Likewise, the Apostle Peter (whose name literally means “rock”) writes, “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” (1 Pet. 2.5). As a result, our worship is not defined by a building, but by a Person. It’s not a question of Where, but a matter of Who.
In short, sacred stones are often used in the Bible, in history and in life to mark a place of worship. This blog is a virtual place of worship where you and I can talk about how we can better lead and practice worship.
The great artist and sculptor Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” That’s an appropriate image of a life of continual worship: the potential of the stone bursting forth as the Master artist chisels away unwanted material. Worship leaders are especially privileged to be part of the process whereby God shapes his people into a holy temple that honors him. May each of our lives be like an altar of sacred stones, set apart for the glory of God.
