1. The wise builder builds upon a rock. Christ is the only Rock, the only foundation upon which we can build and structure our lives. ‘For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ’
2. The Lord is not a lifeless rock, but the living stone. We are ‘built into a spiritual house’ 1 Pt 2: 2-5)
• We are to thirst after His Word: we are to crave for pure spiritual milk (1 Pt 2: 2)
• We grow through His word (1 Pt 2: 3)
• We come to the Lord as to a living stone through His word (1 Pt 2:4)
• We are built up a spiritual house by Him through His Word (1 Pt 2: 5)
3. The wise builder faces a storm. There have always been storms in life, and there always will be. The wise man is not exempt from the storms because he builds an excellent house. In fact, the major reason for building a solid house is to assure that he will be able to weather all storms. It rains ‘on the righteous and the unrighteous’.
4. Jesus demanded that people should listen. One of the great difficulties which face us today is the simple fact that people often do not know what Jesus said or what the Church teaches. People often have a quite mistaken notion of what Jesus said and of what the Church teaches. The first step to Christian life is simply to give Jesus Christ to be heard.
5. Knowledge becomes relevant only when it is translated into action. It would be perfectly possible to pass an examination in Christian ethics with the highest distinction, and yet not to be Christian. Knowledge must become action. There are people who know the teachings of Jesus quite well but hardly put them into practice.
Gone are those days when people were ignorant of things. We are living in an information revolutionary age. Knowing is not an issue but the real issue is doing. We all know what is to be done and what is to be avoided. We all know how we would be judged on the final day and criterion for the judgment is also known to us. We all know where God likes to dwell when it is a choice between the rich and the poor. In spite of knowing everything we live as if we are ignorant of things. We even know what it means to put all these teaching into practice. It demands discipline and that is what we lack today. Let us ask the Lord to make us disciplined in all the aspects.
Courtesy
The Preacher’s Outline and the Sermon Bible
William Barclay’s Commentary
2. The Lord is not a lifeless rock, but the living stone. We are ‘built into a spiritual house’ 1 Pt 2: 2-5)
• We are to thirst after His Word: we are to crave for pure spiritual milk (1 Pt 2: 2)
• We grow through His word (1 Pt 2: 3)
• We come to the Lord as to a living stone through His word (1 Pt 2:4)
• We are built up a spiritual house by Him through His Word (1 Pt 2: 5)
3. The wise builder faces a storm. There have always been storms in life, and there always will be. The wise man is not exempt from the storms because he builds an excellent house. In fact, the major reason for building a solid house is to assure that he will be able to weather all storms. It rains ‘on the righteous and the unrighteous’.
4. Jesus demanded that people should listen. One of the great difficulties which face us today is the simple fact that people often do not know what Jesus said or what the Church teaches. People often have a quite mistaken notion of what Jesus said and of what the Church teaches. The first step to Christian life is simply to give Jesus Christ to be heard.
5. Knowledge becomes relevant only when it is translated into action. It would be perfectly possible to pass an examination in Christian ethics with the highest distinction, and yet not to be Christian. Knowledge must become action. There are people who know the teachings of Jesus quite well but hardly put them into practice.
Gone are those days when people were ignorant of things. We are living in an information revolutionary age. Knowing is not an issue but the real issue is doing. We all know what is to be done and what is to be avoided. We all know how we would be judged on the final day and criterion for the judgment is also known to us. We all know where God likes to dwell when it is a choice between the rich and the poor. In spite of knowing everything we live as if we are ignorant of things. We even know what it means to put all these teaching into practice. It demands discipline and that is what we lack today. Let us ask the Lord to make us disciplined in all the aspects.
Courtesy
The Preacher’s Outline and the Sermon Bible
William Barclay’s Commentary
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