24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” – Matthew 7:24–27

Nobody wants a foundation problem. I’m glad to say that none of the homes we’ve owned has ever had one.  However, that’s not to say we didn’t have a scare in our current home. Shortly after purchasing our home, a major storm rolled through the county. Think “wind blowing horizontal rain falling in measurable inches” kind of rain.  I remember getting the call while sitting in my office when Robyn ever so graciously said, “Get your tail home, we’ve got a problem with all of this water.” And of course my immediate thought was, no, no, no, no, No, No, NO, NO, NO!  I rushed out in the storm, all the way home praying I didn’t have an issue with a leaky foundation.

Well, to my surprise, what I came home to find was a waterfall of water falling up over my downspouts directly into my basement window wells. While the matter was urgent in the moment, I was relieved to learn I didn’t have a foundation issue. I simply had a clogged gutter issue. It is simply amazing to see the potential damage a fistful of leaves and debris can cause.  So I called a trusted friend, bucketed out the window wells, cleaned out the gutter, and spared my basement from disaster.

I’d love to tell you that it didn’t happen again, but the truth is that another storm rolled through before I could tend to the source of the clog. And of course, more leaves clogged the spout and the entire process was repeated. Isn’t this just like life? I knew what I needed to do. I was even in motion to do it. But I didn’t get it done before we were at the mercy of another storm. I’m happy to say that again the basement was spared; but I’m even happier to report that it is not only spared but also safe because gutter guards have been securely installed on the gutters. And they work.  Even the recent downpours of rain that accompanied Hurricane Ida were accommodated and victoriously directed away from the house as the architect originally intended.

The point of this story is that our foundations need to be protected. All the more, our spiritual foundations need to be inspected to be sure they are firm and securely established on the Rock of Jesus.  Listen, storms are coming. It’s not an if but a when. The winds of trial will blow. The rains of hardship will batter us like waves of a storm; but when our faith is strong, we can trust the gutter guards of the gospel to redirect the flood away from the firm foundation we have in Jesus.

O’ man. I could preach right now! This week, we conclude the Sermon on the Mount with the familiar parable of the house built on the rock versus the house built on the sand. Please take some time to read Matthew 7:15-27 and consider what we need to do to inspect the security of our salvation. Friends, my hope and prayer is that some homes get established on the Rock this week. Would you pray with me for people to place their faith and trust in Jesus? After the full Sermon on the Mount, the invitation is there. I can’t wait to worship the Rock of our salvation with you this week.

Be sure to listen to the worship set as you prepare for worship.

Love you, church!­


Jerry Lingenfelter
Senior Pastor

SUNDAY AM PLAN
9:00 AM  – Worship Service On Campus & Online (Lancaster Campus)
9:15 AM  – Worship Service On Campus & Online (Myerstown Campus)
11:00 AM – Worship Service on Campus & Online (Lancaster Campus)

REGISTER KIDS OR SAVE A SEAT IN THE HIGH RISK SECTION – CLICK HERE

SUNDAY RESOURCES
Everything you need for Sunday is available on the Mission Church App under Sunday Resources or on our website.