header
  • ASK ANY QUESTION NOW
  • PARTNERS
    • The Gym
    • PreSchool
    • LifeGate Counseling
    • LaAmistad
  • About
    • What We Believe
      • Our Story
      • Our Core Commitments
    • Our Leaders
      • Staff
      • Job Opportunities
    • Common Questions
    • Contact
  • Visit
    • Visit Overview
    • Sunday
    • Tours
    • I'm New
    • Exploring Peachtree
    • Baptisms
      • Baptisms Overview (Gen Info)
      • Baptism FAQ
      • Baptism Scriptures
      • Dates and Register
    • Weddings
      • Weddings General
      • Weddings Venues
      • Wedding Inquiry
      • Wedding Music
    • Lodge
    • Parking
  • Watch
    • Watch Overview
    • Messages
    • All Series
    • Live
    • Stories
  • Connect
    • Belong to a Community
    • Bible Studies
    • Children & Family
      • Children and Family
      • The Nest
      • The River
      • The Fort
      • Volunteering
      • Faith Milestones
      • S.A.I.L. Ministry
    • College
      • College Ministry
      • College Trips
    • Grand Adults
    • Men
    • Music
      • Concerts and Events
      • Kellett Recital Series
      • Adult Music Opportunities
      • Student and Children's Music Opportunities
    • Red Dot
    • Students
      • Student Ministry
      • Sunday Nights
      • High School Ministry
      • High School Calendar
      • High School Series
      • Middle School Ministry
      • Middle School Calendar
      • Middle School Series
      • Fifty6 Ministry
      • Fifty6 Calendar
      • Fifty6 Series
      • Confirmation
    • Support Groups
    • Women
      • Women's Ministry
      • Presbyterian Women
      • Word Before Work
      • Peachtree MOPS
      • Feast & Flourish
      • Women's Community Bible Study
      • Women Mentoring Women
    • Young Adults
  • Serve
    • At Peachtree
    • Hospitality
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Police/Fire Rescue Insurance

    • In Mission
    • Mission Overview
    • Habitat for Humanity
    • Mission Giving
    • Anti-Trafficking
    • Development
    • Education
    • Relief
    • Mission Trips
    • Foster Care
    • Student Sponsorships
  • Give
    • Learn About Giving
    • Estimate of Giving
    • Give Now
    • Trust
    • Stock Contributions
  • Grow
    • News and Events
    • Can’t Wait for Sunday
GROW
  • News and Events
  • Can’t Wait for Sunday

Study Guides RSS

« Previous Next »

100% Chance of Rain

8/21/2016

In Gordon MacDonald’s book Building Below the Waterline, he cites David McCullough’s book The Great Bridge in which the author tells a fascinating story about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, which spans the East River, connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn. In June of 1872, the chief engineer of the project wrote,

“To such of the general public as might imagine that no work has been done on the New York tower, because they see no evidence of it above the water, I should simply remark that the amount of the masonry and concrete laid on that foundation during the past winter, under water, is equal in quantity to the entire masonry of the Brooklyn tower visible today above the waterline.” †

The Brooklyn Bridge remains a major transportation artery in New York City today because 144 years ago the chief engineer and his construction team did their most patient and daring work where no one could see it: on the foundations of the towers below the waterline.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his listeners “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  ‎The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  ‎But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  ‎The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7.24-27)

The Lord creatively challenges us to think about the foundation on which our lives are based.

  1. If someone were to ask you what the foundation of your life is, how would you respond?
  2. Every Sunday in the Sanctuary we sing, “Christ is made the sure foundation . . . and our confidence alone.” Are those mere words, or can you say with confidence and integrity that you have confidence in Christ?
  3. What are the similarities and differences between these houses and their builder-owners?
  4. What does this passage suggest about the kinds of people who face storms?
  5. At this point in your life, do you need to learn more, or practice what you have learned?

 

 


† Gordon MacDonald, Building Below the Waterline (Peabody, Massachusetts, 2011), 1.


« Previous Next »

CONNECT

SUBSCRIBE
RSS

SHARE

PRINT
Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter  Share via Email

SERIES All Series »

Storm Stories

Blue skies, sunny, 80 degrees. There’s a good chance that the morning forecast in heaven is perfect.  Here on earth, though, we get freezing rain and all sorts of calamities. Storms in life are inevitable. The first response may be to cry out in fear. But if we have ears, we may discover a surprising peace, a deeper wisdom, and a more binding love.


Others in Series

09/04/16
Safe in the Storm
08/28/16
When the Storm Blinked
08/14/16
What Are You Doing Here?
08/07/16
Sailing Against the Wind

CONNECT

SUBSCRIBE
RSS

SHARE

PRINT
Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter  Share via Email
  • ABOUT
  • What We Believe
  • Our Leaders
  • Common Questions
  • Contact
  • VISIT
  • Visit Overview
  • Sunday
  • Tours
  • I'm New
  • Exploring Peachtree
  • Baptisms
  • Weddings
  • Lodge
  • Parking
  • WATCH
  • Watch Overview
  • Messages
  • All Series
  • Live
  • Stories
  • CONNECT
  • Belong to a Community
  • Bible Studies
  • Children & Family
  • College
  • Grand Adults
  • Men
  • Music
  • Red Dot
  • Students
  • Support Groups
  • Women
  • Young Adults
  • SERVE
  • At Peachtree
  • Hospitality
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Police/Fire Rescue Insurance
  • In Mission
  • Mission Overview
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Mission Giving
  • Anti-Trafficking
  • Development
  • Education
  • Relief
  • Mission Trips
  • Foster Care
  • Student Sponsorships
  • GIVE
  • Learn About Giving
  • Estimate of Giving
  • Give Now
  • Trust
  • Stock Contributions
  • GROW
  • News and Events
  • Can’t Wait for Sunday
SUBSCRIBELOGIN
Peachtree Church, 3434 Roswell Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30305 | © 2000-2019 Peachtree. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy