Sermon on the Mount

Are You Ready for the Storm?

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Many years ago, when I was working at a home in upstate New York, the owner invited us downstairs to take a look as his foundation. On reaching the bottom step, he turned and smiled, then flicked on the lights and pointed. There to our astonishment we saw that the entire back wall, consisted of an enormous rock ledge.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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.” Matthew 7:24-25 ESV

In New York, building your house on rock is a curiosity, but here in Florida it would be a miracle. Here we have nothing but sand, and while we have lived here, I have learned it is wise to keep an eye on the forecast from June through September because that is hurricane season. They advise us to have extra water on hand, keep our cars filled with gas, buy a generator, and have an evacuation plan in place. Just like our weather forecasters, Jesus warns that storms are coming, and the question is not whether they will arrive, but whether we are ready. How I wish that the Christian life was like one long sunny day at the beach. But the reality is that health crises come, car accidents happen, and sometimes people we trusted walk out on us. Real life has only three forecasts. We are either in a hurricane, have just come out of one, or a storm is on the horizon. Jesus says that we cannot change the forecast, but we can be prepared by putting into His words practice. Loving our enemies, forgiving one another, turning the other cheek, and spending time in prayer; are not just nice suggestions, good ideas or wonderful ideals. Putting these words of Jesus into practice is the rock foundation that prepares us for the hurricane. Don’t wait for the storm to arrive. Turn to Jesus right now, confess any sin, and ask Him to be Lord of your life. He is the Carpenter of Galilee and only He can help us build our house on the rock!

Where is Your House Being Built?

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“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 NKJV

This morning, I wanted to show an often-overlooked side of nursing home ministry. Sure, our friends are mostly in wheelchairs, and some don’t have the ability to communicate well anymore, but they still love to laugh and express their worship as joyfully as children. Though I have been serving at Life Care Center for almost seven years, what has been happening there over the last two years is almost like a revival. Our dining room has been filling up with residents; more volunteers have been participating and the sense that God is on the move is reflected even in the staff. This week’s theme was trusting in God’s Promises, and though this is a Sunday School song, it is more biblically sound than a lot of the hymns. When Jesus ended what we call, “The Sermon on the Mount”, He says that there will be rains falling, floods rising and winds blowing in our lives. But then He promises that if we build our lives on the rock of His teachings that no matter what comes, our eternal home will still stand strong. I do hope you enjoy today’s video, and maybe even sing along. If you hear God’s call to nursing home ministry, stay tuned. I will be sharing more articles and videos over the next week to help you if you dare to enter God’s service in this much needed field.

Happiness Through Meekness

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One of the central reasons for our recent travels was to attend our first cousin’s reunion. The last time many of us had seen each other was at our grandmother’s funeral in 1996, so to say it had been a while is certainly an understatement. As our adult lives were lived out hundreds of miles apart, we had gradually given up on ever getting together until my sister in cahoots with my cousin Katrina began lobbying to get us together. Before arriving at the restaurant for the first night of our reunion, my cousin Doug, who of all my cousins I knew the least, messaged me that he had something to give me privately after dinner. How surprised I was when he led me to his car and presented me with a small bag. “I think these belonged to our great grandmother and I figured you might like to have them.” Doug said.

On opening the bag, I found three aging hard cover books. by Billy Graham. “Wow, thanks Doug.” I said. “This is really amazing. “

“Yeah, and even better.” he added. “They are all signed by Billy Graham!” (Though it turned out only two of the three was signed.) Of course, I profusely thanked Doug, but somewhat forgot them until after returning home. While I was unpacking, I gently looked to find a good spot on the book shelf for these aging first edition books, but was so intrigued with the one named, “The Secret of Happiness.” that I took it out and began to read. What I thought was a rather innocuous subject about Christian happiness, actually turned out to be a wonderful exposition on the beatitudes and how they related to our modern age. Now you might think that a book written in 1955 would be terribly dated and have little to do with our 21st century culture. But I was surprised to discover that many of the same issues facing society back in the era of the idealized ’50’s were quite the same as today. This morning, I came across a paragraph from a chapter on Meekness that I found shockingly relevant to our headlines in August of 2025.

” This reversion to barbarism now effects whole areas of our social life. Neighbors quarrel with neighbors. Fighting is a major problem in our schools and the “gang wars” of the teenagers have come to present a serious menace in our cities. Fathers and mothers wrangle and bicker. Homes are disintegrating. High government officials in Washington engage in name-calling and in heated dispute, not at all in keeping with the dignity of their office.

Why and how has this savagery crept into our social life? It is because we have forgotten Jesus’s words, ‘ Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ ” *

* Billy Graham, “The Secret of Happiness,” Doubleday and Co. 1955