FAITH'S FOUNDATION (2 OF 4)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Matthew 13:53-58
This content is part of a series.
Faith's Foundation (2 of 4)
Series: A Faith Based Life
Jeff Strite
Matthew 13:53-58
Open: A man named Gregory P. Elder told of growing up on the Atlantic Coast. And what he loved to do as a child was to spend his time down at the beach. For hours each day, he'd sit on the sand and build castles and intricate cities. But one year his joy in these creations was threatened by bullies who decided it would be fun to smash everything he made.
What was he to do? They were bigger than he was. And there were too many of them for him to fight. What was he to do?
Well, he decided to change his approach to how he built things.
He built the same kinds of castles and cities…but now he placed a new foundation underneath them: cinder blocks, rocks and chunks of concrete.
When his tormentors appeared - he disappeared. And eventually, they found their entertainment… elsewhere.
APPLY: It matters how you build things.
It matters what kind of foundation we lay for our buildings, our homes and our works of art
ILLUS: They say that the Tower of Pisa in Italy is one of the most famous buildings in the world
But it has a "little problem".
It's foundation was too shallow to hold the building up on the soft soil it was built on. The tower has stood for over 800 years, but it leans 18 feet off center. One day - experts say - it will fall.
All because it wasn't built on the right foundation
Hebrews 11:6 says that "WITHOUT FAITH it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
The foundation of our relationship with Jesus is faith.
Unless we exercise faith in that relationship with Christ there is a shallowness to our foundation. We can tend to lean off center… and even fall over as Christians.
Now, that brings us to our text for this morning.
Up until the incident we're reading about here in Matthew 13 Jesus has been fairly busy.
Matthew chapter 8 we're told that H ...
Series: A Faith Based Life
Jeff Strite
Matthew 13:53-58
Open: A man named Gregory P. Elder told of growing up on the Atlantic Coast. And what he loved to do as a child was to spend his time down at the beach. For hours each day, he'd sit on the sand and build castles and intricate cities. But one year his joy in these creations was threatened by bullies who decided it would be fun to smash everything he made.
What was he to do? They were bigger than he was. And there were too many of them for him to fight. What was he to do?
Well, he decided to change his approach to how he built things.
He built the same kinds of castles and cities…but now he placed a new foundation underneath them: cinder blocks, rocks and chunks of concrete.
When his tormentors appeared - he disappeared. And eventually, they found their entertainment… elsewhere.
APPLY: It matters how you build things.
It matters what kind of foundation we lay for our buildings, our homes and our works of art
ILLUS: They say that the Tower of Pisa in Italy is one of the most famous buildings in the world
But it has a "little problem".
It's foundation was too shallow to hold the building up on the soft soil it was built on. The tower has stood for over 800 years, but it leans 18 feet off center. One day - experts say - it will fall.
All because it wasn't built on the right foundation
Hebrews 11:6 says that "WITHOUT FAITH it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
The foundation of our relationship with Jesus is faith.
Unless we exercise faith in that relationship with Christ there is a shallowness to our foundation. We can tend to lean off center… and even fall over as Christians.
Now, that brings us to our text for this morning.
Up until the incident we're reading about here in Matthew 13 Jesus has been fairly busy.
Matthew chapter 8 we're told that H ...
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