Peace Be Still (2 of 4)
Series: Building On Christ
Jeff Strite
Mark 4:35-41
OPEN: A mother and her young daughter were at home alone. The father was gone on a trip for his company and night was coming on. Outside, it became increasingly dark and disturbing. The moon was out, but the wind howled menacingly in trees and the branches of some of those trees brushed ominously against the house. As old houses will in a fierce windstorm, the wood creaked and moaned as the house was nudged by the wind.
It was kind of scary, and the mother and daughter were both uneasy.
As the mother was putting her daughter to bed, the young girl looked out the window at the bright moon and asked her mother "Is the moon God's night-light?"
The mother smiled and replied "Well, yes, you could say that".
Her daughter thought about that for moment - then asked: "Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?"
"Oh, no honey, God never sleeps."
"Oh," said the child quietly. "Well then, if God's going to stay up all night, there's no sense both of us staying awake." And with that, the little girl turned over in bed, pulled her blanket up to her neck and fell asleep.
APPLY: Now, why was that little girl able to go to sleep?
I mean, the night was still dark.
The wind was still blowing.
And she and her mother were still all alone in that house.
Everything was still the same…
Except something had changed.
What was different?
(wait for a response from the crowd).
That's right…God was the difference.
GOD changed everything for this little girl.
Once she brought God into her bedroom, her fear faded and her faith grew. Once she thought about WHO God was, and WHERE He was, and what He was capable of, she reasoned: If God was going to be up all night anyway… she knew she'd be safe, and she could sleep.
In our text this morning, we find this simple verse:
"Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don' ...
Series: Building On Christ
Jeff Strite
Mark 4:35-41
OPEN: A mother and her young daughter were at home alone. The father was gone on a trip for his company and night was coming on. Outside, it became increasingly dark and disturbing. The moon was out, but the wind howled menacingly in trees and the branches of some of those trees brushed ominously against the house. As old houses will in a fierce windstorm, the wood creaked and moaned as the house was nudged by the wind.
It was kind of scary, and the mother and daughter were both uneasy.
As the mother was putting her daughter to bed, the young girl looked out the window at the bright moon and asked her mother "Is the moon God's night-light?"
The mother smiled and replied "Well, yes, you could say that".
Her daughter thought about that for moment - then asked: "Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?"
"Oh, no honey, God never sleeps."
"Oh," said the child quietly. "Well then, if God's going to stay up all night, there's no sense both of us staying awake." And with that, the little girl turned over in bed, pulled her blanket up to her neck and fell asleep.
APPLY: Now, why was that little girl able to go to sleep?
I mean, the night was still dark.
The wind was still blowing.
And she and her mother were still all alone in that house.
Everything was still the same…
Except something had changed.
What was different?
(wait for a response from the crowd).
That's right…God was the difference.
GOD changed everything for this little girl.
Once she brought God into her bedroom, her fear faded and her faith grew. Once she thought about WHO God was, and WHERE He was, and what He was capable of, she reasoned: If God was going to be up all night anyway… she knew she'd be safe, and she could sleep.
In our text this morning, we find this simple verse:
"Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don' ...
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