Building on the Rock: Strength in Life's Storms
Summary
Life is full of storms—trials, hardships, and unexpected challenges that come to everyone, regardless of how wise or foolish we may be. The crucial difference is not whether we face storms, but what our lives are built upon when those storms arrive. Jesus, in Matthew 7, makes it clear that the only foundation that will stand is himself—the rock. It’s not enough to simply know about Jesus or agree with his teachings; true wisdom is found in putting his words into practice, shaping our priorities and daily actions around his values.
Storms are inevitable, and they serve a purpose: they reveal what our lives are truly built upon. Just as a leaky roof is only discovered when it rains, the true foundation of our lives is exposed in times of trouble. Sometimes, storms are the result of our own choices; other times, they come through no fault of our own. Regardless, they are opportunities for us to examine our lives, to see where we may have built on sand—on our own desires, control, or cultural values—rather than on Christ.
These storms, though painful, can be a gift. They offer us a chance for course correction. Jesus’ story is not just a warning of judgment, but an invitation to turn around, to stop building on unreliable ground, and to start building on him. It’s never too late to make that change. The Apostle Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 3, reminding us that while Christ is the only true foundation, we are responsible for what we build upon it. Some things we invest our lives in will last; others will be burned away. The wise person learns from the storms, deconstructs what is faulty, and rebuilds with eternal priorities.
Reflection is essential. When storms reveal our weaknesses or misplaced values, the answer is not to escape or ignore them, but to honestly assess and make changes. This is not about earning God’s favor, but about trusting that Jesus, who gave his life for us, truly has our best in mind. Communion is a reminder of this trustworthiness—Jesus is the rock who can be relied upon, even when everything else is shaken. As we remember his sacrifice, we are invited to examine our own foundations and, if needed, to make the course corrections that will help us stand firm in the next storm.
Key Takeaways
- Storms are inevitable for everyone, regardless of faith or wisdom. Jesus never promises a storm-free life, but he does promise that those who build on him will stand firm when the storms come. The presence of hardship is not a sign of God’s absence or displeasure, but a reality of living in a broken world. [26:17]
- The storms of life reveal the true foundation of our lives. It is only in adversity that we discover whether we have built on Christ or on something less stable. These moments of crisis are diagnostic, exposing what we truly trust and value, and giving us a chance to see ourselves honestly. [28:03]
- Storms can be a gift, offering us the opportunity for course correction. Rather than seeing hardship as punishment or something to escape, we can view it as a gracious warning—a check engine light—inviting us to turn back to Christ and rebuild where needed. It is never too late to make Jesus the foundation of your life. [30:38]
- What we build on the foundation of Christ matters for eternity. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3 remind us that while salvation is by grace, the way we live and the priorities we choose will be tested. Investing in what is eternal—God’s kingdom, love, and truth—ensures that our lives have lasting significance beyond the storms. [36:55]
- Wisdom is found in learning from the storms, not just surviving them. Deconstruction—honestly examining and dismantling faulty beliefs or priorities—is necessary for growth. The wise person allows storms to reveal what needs to change, and then courageously rebuilds with Christ at the center, trusting that he is good and trustworthy. [43:21]
Youtube Chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[17:09] - Opening Prayer and Gratitude
[18:46] - Series Introduction: Building Your Life on the Rock
[19:00] - Reading Matthew 7:24-29 Together
[19:58] - Jesus as the Rock: The Only True Foundation
[20:52] - Shared Priorities and Daily Actions
[21:22] - Wisdom: Not Just Knowing, But Doing
[22:29] - The Storms of Life: Their Role and Reality
[24:54] - The Difference Between Rock and Sand
[25:27] - Storms Are Inevitable
[27:16] - Storms Reveal Our Foundation
[28:55] - Storms as a Gift: Opportunity for Course Correction
[30:38] - Jesus’ Warning and Invitation
[34:04] - Building on the Foundation: Paul’s Teaching
[36:55] - What Lasts: Investing in the Eternal
[40:22] - Learning from Pain: Redemptive Suffering
[41:57] - Deconstruction and Rebuilding
[43:21] - Three Questions for Reflection
[50:01] - Communion: Remembering the Rock
[54:11] - Closing Prayer and Blessing
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: Building Your Life on the Rock
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### Bible Reading
- Matthew 7:24-29
(The wise and foolish builders—Jesus’ teaching on building your life on the rock or on sand)
- 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
(Paul’s teaching on Christ as the only foundation and the importance of what we build on it)
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### Observation Questions
1. In Matthew 7:24-27, what is the main difference between the wise and foolish builders? What does Jesus say happens to each house when the storm comes?
2. According to the sermon, what are some examples of “storms” that can come into our lives? ([26:46])
3. In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, what does Paul say about the foundation and the materials used to build on it? What happens to each kind of material?
4. The sermon mentions that both the wise and foolish experience storms. What does this tell us about following Jesus and facing hardship? ([26:17])
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### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does Jesus emphasize not just hearing his words, but putting them into practice? What does this reveal about what it means to be wise in God’s eyes? ([21:22])
2. The sermon says storms “reveal the true foundation” of our lives. Why do you think hard times show us what we’re really trusting in? ([28:03])
3. Paul says that what we build on the foundation of Christ will be tested by fire. What might it look like for someone to build with “wood, hay, or straw” versus “gold, silver, or costly stones”? ([36:55])
4. The pastor described storms as a “gift” that can lead to course correction. How can pain or hardship actually help us grow or change for the better? ([30:38])
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### Application Questions
1. Think about a recent “storm” or hard time in your life. What did it reveal about your foundation—what you were really trusting in or building your life on? ([43:34])
2. Are there areas of your life where you realize you’ve been building on “sand”—your own desires, control, or cultural values—instead of on Jesus? What are some specific examples? ([32:53])
3. The sermon talks about “deconstruction”—honestly examining and dismantling faulty beliefs or priorities. Is there a belief or habit in your life that needs to be deconstructed and rebuilt on Christ? What would that look like? ([41:57])
4. When you face hardship, is your first instinct to escape, ignore, or honestly reflect and make changes? What would it look like to choose honest reflection and course correction this week? ([42:24])
5. Paul says what we build on Christ matters for eternity. What is one practical way you can invest in something eternal—like God’s kingdom, love, or truth—this month? ([37:28])
6. The pastor said, “It’s never too late to make Jesus the foundation of your life.” If you sense a need for course correction, what is one step you can take this week to start rebuilding on Jesus? ([30:38])
7. Communion is described as a reminder that Jesus is trustworthy and gave his life for us. How does remembering Jesus’ sacrifice help you trust him with the storms you’re facing right now? ([51:17])
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Closing Thought:
As you reflect on these questions, remember that storms are not a sign of God’s absence, but an opportunity to see what your life is built on and to make changes that will help you stand firm in the future. Jesus invites us to build on him—the only foundation that lasts.
Devotional
Day 1: Building Your Life on the Rock Means Putting Jesus’ Words into Practice
True wisdom is not just hearing Jesus’ teachings but living them out daily.
When Jesus tells the story of the wise and foolish builders, He makes it clear that the difference between the two is not knowledge, but action. The wise person is the one who hears His words and puts them into practice, building a life that can withstand the inevitable storms. It’s not enough to simply know about Jesus or agree with His teachings; the foundation is laid when you shape your priorities and habits around Him. This is a call to examine whether your daily actions reflect the values and priorities of Christ, not just your beliefs. [19:00]
Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
“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. 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. 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.”
Reflection: What is one specific teaching of Jesus you know but have not yet put into practice? What step can you take today to begin living it out?
Day 2: Storms of Life Are Inevitable—But They Reveal Your Foundation
Both the wise and foolish face storms, but only storms show what your life is truly built on.
Life’s storms—whether caused by our own choices or by circumstances beyond our control—are unavoidable. Jesus never promises a storm-free life, but He does promise that those who build on Him will stand firm. The storms are not punishments, but opportunities to see what truly supports us. They reveal whether our trust is in Christ or in something less stable. Instead of resenting the storms, consider what they are showing you about your heart, your priorities, and your faith. [26:17]
James 1:2-4 (ESV)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Reflection: Think of a recent storm or challenge—what did it reveal about the foundation of your life, and how might God be inviting you to respond?
Day 3: The Gift of Storms—Opportunity for Course Correction
Storms can be a gift, giving you a chance to realign your life with Jesus as your foundation.
When storms expose the weak places in your life, it’s not a sign of failure but an invitation to change direction. Jesus’ story is not just a warning but a gracious signal—like a check engine light—urging you to stop, turn around, and build on what is truly secure. It’s never too late to make Jesus your foundation, no matter how far you’ve gone down another path. The wise person learns from the storm, deconstructs what was built on sand, and rebuilds on the rock. [30:38]
Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Reflection: Where in your life do you sense God calling you to a course correction? What would it look like to surrender that area to Jesus today?
Day 4: Build with Eternity in Mind—Invest in What Lasts
It’s not just about having Jesus as your foundation, but also about building a life of eternal value on Him.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that while Jesus is the only true foundation, we each choose what we build upon Him. Some things—like gold, silver, and precious stones—will last; others—like wood, hay, and straw—will not survive the test. The way you live, the priorities you set, and the investments you make in God’s kingdom matter for eternity. Don’t settle for a life that is saved but empty; instead, build with care, aiming for what will endure beyond this life. [36:55]
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (ESV)
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Reflection: What is one way you can invest your time, energy, or resources this week in something that will last for eternity?
Day 5: Communion Reminds Us—Jesus Is the Rock Who Can Be Trusted
Jesus’ sacrifice proves He is the trustworthy foundation for your life, even in the hardest storms.
Communion is a tangible reminder that Jesus gave everything for you—His body broken, His blood shed—demonstrating beyond doubt that He is the rock you can trust. When doubts or fears arise about surrendering your life to Him, remember the cross. Jesus has no motive but your good, and He invites you to build your life on Him, knowing He will see you through every storm. As you remember His sacrifice, let it renew your trust and commitment to make Him your foundation. [51:17]
Romans 8:32 (ESV)
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Reflection: As you reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice, what is one area where you need to trust Him more fully as your foundation?
Quotes
Jesus is the rock. He is the one source of truth. He's the one reliable uh foundation that you can build your life on. Regardless of what happens, you will stand firm. Last week, we just talked on a very practical level of what is needed to build your life upon the rock. People talk all the time about, you know, I'm I'm a Christian. I I I'm I believe in Jesus. Well, what does that really mean in real life? And it comes down to two things. It comes down to shared priorities and daily actions. [00:20:27]
And in the Bible, it's very clear that wisdom is not just knowing the right answer. It is living out what you know is true. That's why in ancient near east culture to be wise, to be considered wise, they would never even consider a young person, not because that young person wasn't wise, but because they had not had the track record of making wise decisions. because being wise was demonstrated through a track record of of making those decisions. [00:21:26]
A person who builds their life on Jesus is is not someone who knows about Jesus, but someone who has shared priorities and has created patterns of living around those priorities. They've said that Jesus is important, but they've also then created a way of living that reflects the priorities and the values of Jesus. Well, today I want to talk about just simply the storms of life. Says that the storms came and beat against the house. [00:22:12]
The first is the wise man puts the words of Jesus into practice and the foolish man does not put them into practice. And because of that, the characters in the story are named. It is not that someone is wise and because they are wise they put the words of Jesus into practice. A person is wise because they put them into practice. It's what they do that has made them wise, not what they know. [00:24:01]
Sometimes when I hear certain religious leaders speak, although they may not come right out and say these words, there is this implied idea that if you have enough faith, if you're good enough, if you have the anointing, if you have the blessing of God, that somehow you're going to get to avoid the storms of life. And you're not. The reality is storms come. It does not take long living in the broken world in which we live to experience the storms of life. [00:25:44]
Jesus simply is implying here that that it the hard times, the storms show us something that you will never know about yourself without going through the storms, going through the problems. It's not the good times that show you what you've built your life on. It's the hard times. And then finally, the storms of life can be a gift because they provide the opportunity for course correction. [00:28:24]
Jesus is sharing this story as a warning. He's simply telling them that if you continue on this path, if you do not believe that I am the Messiah, if you do not hear my words and put them into practice, this is going to be the end result. The house is going to fall. Honestly, I think there's some correlation here with with this idea of who is the people of God. Jesus is saying that it is not those who are ethnically Jewish are the people of God. It is those who put their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. [00:29:32]
And what good will it be for you to gain the whole world yet forfeit your soul? or what can you give in exchange for your soul? You see, Jesus is presenting this paradox that those who want to be in control of their life, they want to live life on their terms, they want to be the boss, they want to be the leader, they're going to hang on to their life, control of their life, what ends up happening is you end up losing what you think matters so much. [00:31:35]
So the gift of this story, the gift of storms is first you have the opportunity for course correction. Number one is Jesus the foundation of your life. that that's really the main point of this story is that you know you're you're headed this way and you figure out, well, I'm going the wrong way. What am I going to do? Well, Jesus tells us this story so we have the opportunity to have a course correction and instead of building our life on sand, instead of building our life on what we want on our terms, maybe being religious, but the source of our own direction in life, instead we can make a course correction and we can make Jesus the foundation of our life. [00:32:37]
When you lead your own life, as with all of us, we hurt others, those who we care the most about. We make poor decisions. We cause pain. And we participate in literally the culture of evil that our world experiences every day. There's a second course correction this story offers us and we see this one in the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Paul, I think, is is thinking exactly of this parable when he writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 3:10. [00:33:46]
Paul says here that what you build on your foundation matters. Now he makes it very clear. No one can lay any foundation other than one already laid which is Jesus Christ. So he says hey when I came and I preached the gospel to you and we started this church. He says I laid the foundation for you and the foundation was Jesus Christ. But now how are you going to build on that foundation? [00:35:11]
So course correction number two is this. Are you investing your life in the things that are eternal? Paul says here that he paints a picture of the fact that you know basically you what you've built is going to be set on fire and what survives you see fire purifies gold and silver. It doesn't ruin it. But wood, hay, and stubble just go up in smoke. And so what Paul is saying is Christ is our foundation. But you and I, we have a responsibility to build something of eternal value, something about God's kingdom, something that matters. [00:37:25]
The main point of this entire story is that the wise person learns from the storms of life. Jesus has given us a glimpse of what happens if you build your life on Christ or what happens if you build your life on what you think is most important, the rock or the sand. But he tells us this story because we can respond to this truth by having a course correction and changing what we've learned from the storms of life. [00:38:30]
Deconstruction can be a very good thing and it can be a very bad thing. Especially I've watched people over the years deconstruct family members. I've talked with many of you as your some of you your kids have gone through periods of deconstruction and man that's so tough to watch them wrestle through as things that they used to believe get changed. But deconstruction is necessary if you're going to learn from the storms of life. [00:41:28]
The solution is not to escape. Is not just to move on. It's not just to like, hey, I don't want to talk about that anymore. Right? That's that's causing me pain. that's causing me stress. I I don't want to deal with my past. I don't want to deal with those choices. I don't want to deal with how I hurt you. I don't want to deal with how that shaped my life. I just want to move on. And we kind of come up with this kind of blanket pressure we put on everybody around us to act like nothing's happened. [00:42:44]
You know your life story better than anybody else in this room. You know the storms you've gone through. You've known the heartache, the trouble, the difficulty. You know the storms you've caused and you know the storms you didn't cause. You don't get to control the storms most of the time. But you do get to decide what you're going to build on. The promise of scripture is not that your life is going to be without difficulty and storms. The promise of scripture is that Jesus is the foundation. that if you build your life on him, you're going to make it through the storm regardless of what happens. [00:49:16]
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