“Lay Your Foundation”

Rodney Dangerfield, the guy who gets no respect, tells the joke, “I asked my old man if I could go ice-skating on the lake. He told me, ‘Wait till it gets warmer.’” While humorous, that would not be good for Rodney, nor any of us, -- because with a weak foundation, only bad things can happen that can hurt us, harm us, and have us fall through the cracks. 

In the Bible, we can always count on Jesus to teach us the importance of having a good foundation. For example, when we pray, we finish by saying, “Amen.” Jesus began his conversations by saying, “Amen.” He would say to people, “Amen, amen, I say unto you . . .” Our Bible translations say, “Truly, truly, I say to you.”  It was almost like Jesus was dyslexic. He took the last word and made it the first word. Now the word, “amen” means, “you can hang your life on these words.” Or, “you can put your full weight down on that.” What Jesus was saying is, “What I am about to say to you, you can hang your life on!” In other words, his words are a foundation that will hold you up and not melt away in troubling times. Friends, Jesus is our foundation, and he reveals himself through His holy Word, which is the foundation upon our lives of faith are anchored in Him. 

The pastor-author, Brennan Manning tells the story about a family in Chicago whose house caught on fire. They had to evacuate and were running out of the house when one of their boys remembered he had left his favorite toy. He got away from his mother, and ran back into the house and upstairs to the second floor. A moment later, he appeared at the smoke-filled window of his bedroom crying and afraid to move. His father down below, shouted, “Jump, son! I’ll catch you!” The boy cried, “But Daddy, I can’t see you.” And the father said, “I know, I know, -- but I can see you.” Even when it seems like there is nothing below us, the solid rock of Jesus Christ our Lord is there to catch us and save us. To trust in Jesus is to make him the foundation of your life. So, don’t be a fool -- lay your foundation.

This Sunday, October 17, we will continue in the “40 Days in the Word” sermon series. I am back from my wonderful trip to Florida with my Princeton Seminary Covenant Group. We, of course, solved all the church’s and world’s problems! I will be preaching on the parable from Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27, about the 2 builders, a wise man who built his house on rock, and a foolish man who built his house on sand. Please join us in the sanctuary at 8:00 am. At 10:30 am, we will also be in the sanctuary, while broadcasting on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

Blessings,

Pastor John