Beyond the Weekend

August 16 | Two Foundations

August 16, 2021

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24

Read: Matthew 7:13-27
Listen: 
Matthew 7

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Jesus closes his Sermon on the Mount with one last powerful illustration. He knows the people on the hill will face countless choices as they re-enter their lives in the towns. He understands they will need to choose between the wide road (simmering contempt, lustful desires or hurting someone back) and the narrow road (peacemaking, loving their enemies and praying for those who harm them). They will encounter people who sound like great Bible teachers but don’t display the fruits of humility, reconciliation and love.

We, too, get to choose every day to follow Jesus and do what he says. We begin with one big choice to trust Jesus. Then every day after, we face hundreds of choices as we interact with coworkers, friends, spouses, children and neighbors. We choose whether or not we will live in a way that reflects Jesus’s teachings and character of humility, reconciliation and love.

This week we will study Jesus’s last example in this sermon on the hill about two foundations. We discover how our choices each day compound to create a foundation that stands firm or succumbs to life’s storms.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Pay attention to your choices today as you react to people. Ask God to reveal if your tone, manner and words reflect Jesus’s character and teachings. “God, I need your help today as I choose to follow you. Please give me strength by your Spirit to live in a way that shows others who you are. I desire to make each choice today one that honors you and builds a firm foundation in you. Amen.”


NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN

Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 12.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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