Mark’s sermon on Sunday morning looked at the subject of house building. House building depends on several things, the first probably being location (do we want to be near the shops and amenities of a town or in a more rural area, for example.) In the Bible, house building often refers to household (referring to the family or people more than bricks and mortar) and labourers can often refer to those in church who serve God.
Location
Jesus taught His disciples that the location or foundation of a building was extremely important. (Matt 7:24-27) Whether we build on rock or sand matters enormously. When the storms of life come, our foundations are exposed and people who have built on things other than God will find that their houses do not stand. If God the Rock is the foundation, we will survive life’s storms together with God and each other.
Building Plans
Ps 127:1 reminds us that unless we base our decisions about life, family and church on God, what we do will not add up to much! Unless the Lord builds the house (family), then those who labour (the sons of the family) build in vain. God has good plans for us and so we need to involve God in every decision, base our lives on God’s Word, pray about all of life (family, work, church and so on) and listen and watch for God’s leading.
Building Materials
1 Cor 3:6-15 talks about the materials we use to build houses. God builds a household of faith, which is dependent on God to give the increase. We need to give God our best (gold and silver) rather than just giving Him our leftovers. He is able to use all we give Him – we need to give Him our time, effort and money, for with God as our foundation, planner and builder, God commands a blessing on our households!