The Way of Jesus: Week 1

Firm Foundation

The Bible never promises us a life of ease and comfort. Jesus actually promises quite the opposite. He tells His followers in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” As His followers, we will unavoidably experience a variety of challenges and opposition. However, Jesus also tells that when we build our lives on a firm foundation, when the rain comes and the floodwaters rise, we will not collapse if we are building our “houses” on a rock. A foolish person who builds their house on the sand may have a similar looking house, but when the rain comes, it will collapse.

We may not be building an actual house on sand or rock, but we are building our lives on our beliefs, values, and the implementation of those beliefs. When we are getting our beliefs and values from the Word of God, we are building our lives on a firm foundation that will last. They withstand the cultural “rains and floodwaters” because they are true, and the truth will always yield a life of freedom (John 8:32). In a time in history when the current of culture involves an inundation of lies that stand contrary to who God is, what the Bible says, and how disciples of Jesus are to live, it is more important than ever that we as believers are clear on what the Bible teaches. There is a real enemy that is crafty, that wants to deceive us, subtly pervert the truth, and lead a generation astray. As believers, we are not to fear him, but to simply model what Jesus did when interacting with the devil in the wilderness. He combated his lies with truth, and was ultimately victorious because He had the truth already in Him before the onslaught of lies.

As a church, we want to be prepared for the cultural storms of lies and deception that are already hear by knowing the truth of God’s Word. We encourage you to commit to reading the Bible every day this year, and possibly digging into these other resources that may help you wrestle with the questions of culture while standing firm of the truth of God’s Word.

RESOURCES
 
Week 1 Sermon

Confronting Christianity

10 Questions Every teen should ask (and answer) about the Bible

Understanding the Bible