Laying the foundation

Obviously, each of the parables of Jesus are important. They all contain truths that we need to know if we are to live a life that is pleasing to God. However, one parable stands out to me more than the others. It is one I have probably referred to more in my sermons than any other. It is the story Jesus told of two men who built their houses, one on a foundation of sand and the other on a foundation of rock. When storms came, the house built on sand collapsed. When the same storm came upon the house built upon the rock, the house stood because it had a solid foundation. In the parable, the house represents the person's life. Jesus is teaching us that our lives need to built upon something that can withstand the storms of life.

Right now, we are going through a storm. This pandemic has taken many lives and shut down our nation and much of the world. Businesses have closed, and some are unlikely to reopen. People have lost their jobs, and the stimulus checks they've received won't do much to keep food on their tables or pay their bills. Churches have been forced to hold their services online or in their parking lots with strict guidelines to follow. Schools have closed in most states for the year. We are about six weeks into a lock down, and people are starting to protest the restrictions that have been placed on them. Some states are beginning to lift some of their restrictions to slowly return things back to normal, but no one knows what normal will look like post-pandemic.

This storm is going to cause a lot of lives to collapse. Those who collapse will do so because of the foundation upon which their lives were based. This is true of Christians as well as non-Christians. Being a Christian is no guarantee that your life is built on something solid that will support you in a storm. Many believe that foundational rock is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I've preached that as have many other pastors, but I think it goes even deeper than that. In addition to our relationship with Christ we need to hold to a sound theology.

Some who love Jesus have a theology that is a mile wide and an inch deep. They may go to heaven when they die, but when the storms of life come against them they have nothing that will help them withstand that storm. They lack the theological depth they need to withstand the storm.

In too many churches, sound theological preaching and worship has been replaced by feel-good sermons and entertainment. We want to crowd as much entertainment into our services as we can in order to appear "relevant," and to ensure that people are not inconvenienced too much we end with a 10 minute sermonette that lacks any theological depth. As people drive home from the service they might talk about how good the service was or how much they liked the new worship song, but there isn't a lot of discussion about how the sermon answered some question they had or touched them in a significant way.

Many people are trying to determine how this pandemic will affect the church when it ends. I believe one of the impacts the church will feel is that people are going to be looking for churches that provide theological depth to what they are doing. People are hurting, and they are afraid. They want something solid in their lives they can hold onto when the next storm comes. I believe many will seek a place where they can get the theological grounding they need for themselves and their families.

Pastors, I encourage you to examine your messages to ensure they contain the theological depth your people need. They are trusting you to provide them with the theological truths that will strengthen them for the days ahead.