Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth
September 16, 2007
CHRIST AT THE CENTER: SOLID AS A ROCK
Scripture: Luke
6:46-49
INTRODUCTION
More than ten years ago, as
we were making plans to build the Smith Christian Community Center at the
corner of 16th Street and what was then called Lombardy Way, our
executive director Bill Rice (rest his soul) commissioned a company to drill
into the ground so that we could determine what was down below the excavation
site.
After several weeks of boring
beneath the surface, the report was returned to us with some bad news and some
good news. The bad news was that almost
the entire back half of this property was sitting on top of a geological
formation somewhat similar to
Many months later, as the
dynamite charges were detonated, some of us can still remember how we, in the
words of Truman Capote, “feared for the china,” as well as for our stained
glass windows in the sanctuary.
Fortunately, no damage was done, and today, our
But I will always remember
and never forget what that surveyor said years ago: “The foundation under this
church is solid as a rock.”
I
Now, please hold onto that
statement for a few minutes while I take us on a slightly different path that
will come back full circle before we’re through. During the 1970’s and 1980’s when Dr. Paul
Eckel was the pastor here, he stepped into this pulpit one particular Sunday
and announced rather boldly, “Today, I am going to preach the greatest sermon
you have ever heard.” The people in the
pews were rather startled, and then Dr. Eckel began with the Beatitudes in
Matthew chapter 5 and proceeded to preach the entire Sermon on the Mount from
memory – without a note!
To tell you the truth, that
has always impressed me. We have taped
to this pulpit the words of The Apostle’s Creed, The Lord’s Prayer and the
Benediction, just to be sure we don’t forget.
So to memorize all the words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a major
achievement, and Paul Eckel was right – that was and is the greatest sermon
ever preached!
Now, you probably know that a
similar version of that sermon is also found in chapter 6 of Luke’s Gospel, and
both Matthew and Luke conclude what Jesus said with the same story. I have not memorized all the words, but
fortunately, they are printed in the Bible, so let me read first from Matthew
chapter 7:24-27, and then our text today from Luke 6:46-49. Remember, Jesus is speaking now:
Everyone
then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who
built his house on rock. The rain fell,
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not
fall, because it had been founded on rock.
And
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a
foolish man who built his house on sand.
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. (Gospel of
Matthew)
Why do
you call me “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who
comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the
foundation on rock; when the flood arose, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it, because it had been well built.
But the
one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground
without a foundation. When the river
burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house. (Gospel of
Luke)
Woven together, these two
versions of the same story describe a person like you or like me who has a
decision to make. Either we will build
our lives on the solid foundation of faith in God as we follow the will and the
way of His Son our Savior, Jesus Christ…or we will try to go it alone and built
our lives on our own self-reliance and survival skills.
The first way, said Jesus, is
like building your house on the rock – the second way is like building your
house on the sand. And when the storms
come, as they surely will, with the rolling thunder of fear and anxiety, the
lightning strikes of temptation, the howling winds of trauma and tragedy, and
the pounding rain of discouragement, loneliness and a sense of isolation – when
the storms come, said Jesus, the house built on the rock will stand, but the
house built on the sand will fall.
I think we all know what He
was talking about. Frank Sinatra was
supposedly quoted early in his career, saying “I’m for anything that gets you
through the night, be it prayer, pills or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” That’s a life built upon the sand.
A justice of the peace
refused to marry a couple because of a technical error on the license. The young man asked “Well Judge, could you
just say a few words to get us through the weekend?” That would be a marriage built on the sand.
Michael Vick, one of the most
talented quarterbacks who has ever played for the Atlanta Falcons, had a secret
game called dog fighting going on at his estate in Virginia, and when the truth
came out, that house built on the sand of deception and illegal gambling came
crashing down.
My friends, we need to pray
for him and for ourselves as well, because the truth is that all of us have the
same choice to make, and we actually make it over and over and over again,
every day of lives. Either we choose to
put our trust and faith in God and follow the will and the way of Jesus, or we
try to go it alone and make our own way.
That’s the reason why this
cartoon is taped to the bookcase in the pastor’s office. I look at it every day, picturing a group of
people walking in one direction called “the beaten path,” and a man walking in
the opposite direction alongside an anxious looking woman who appears to be his
wife. The sign above reads “Off,” and
she is saying to him, “I don’t know if this is such a wise thing to do,
George.”
And it I also the reason I
carry this prayer in my pocket diary, a prayer written more than a century ago
by the Quaker author Hannah Whithall Smith.
As she decided to build her own house, her life of faith on the rock,
she wrote this prayer which I have shared with you before:
“Lord
Jesus,
I believe that You are able and
willing to deliver me from all the care and unrest and bondage of my…life. I believe You did die to set me free, not
only in the future, but now and here. I
believe that You are stronger than sin, and that You can keep me, even me…from
falling into its snares…
So Lord, I am going to trust You to
keep me…I give myself to You…body, soul and spirit…to be fashioned into
anything Your love and Your wisdom shall choose…I am yours.
I believe that you do accept that
which I present to You…and that You have at this very moment begun to work in
me and to will and to do Your good pleasure.
I trust You completely, and I trust You now.” (Paraphrase from “The Christian’s Secret of
a Happy Life” by Hannah Whithall Smith)
I pray those words on a
regular basis as a reminder, day by day, that my house needs to be built upon
the firm foundation with “Christ at the
Center: Solid as a Rock” – and today, as always, that is also my prayer for
all of you.
II
Which brings us now full
circle back to where we began this sermon – with the words of that surveyor who
told us as we were preparing to build the
This church, which was
officially launched in 1848 downtown and then moved here to 16th and
Peachtree in the early 20th century – this church has always been under-girded
by a firm foundation in Jesus Christ as the Center of our worship, work and
witness, and the Cornerstone who holds us all together.
When the storms of conflict
and controversy have hit this congregation, we have not fallen apart, because
by the grace of God, we have held fast to the heart of the gospel: the peace,
unity and purity which Jesus Christ has given to us through His life and His
love, His sacrificial death on the cross and the power of His glorious
resurrection.
Moreover, down through the
generations, we have been called to build upon our rock solid foundation, to
expand the ministry here and to increase God’s mission out there, which now
touches the lives of thousands of people in this congregation, across our city
and throughout the world.
As you know, all of that
requires staff and lay leadership, financial resources and adequate
facilities. So seven years ago, we began
a strategic planning process to discern God’s will for this church and to
develop a sense of direction at the dawn of this new millennium. The committee chaired by Jerry Hassebroek and
Roger Neuenschwander created this document, “Vision for a Centered Church –
2003-2006,” including a list of 15 strategic initiatives written primarily by
Craig Goodrich, many of which are already happening now. We then passed the baton to Roger
Neuenschwander and Florida Ellis who chaired another committee that developed
our “Long Range Action Plan – 2004-2007” and prioritized what we believe God
wants us to do and to become. For almost
two more years, Richard Felker, his Facilities Committee and an architectural
firm worked out a master plan for this entire campus, and estimated the cost to
be in the range of $40 million.
Knowing that amount would be
probably too much for us to raise all in one phase, we decided to tackle the
long overdue renovations and repairs of our older buildings and facilities
first, and then eventually look down the road toward future projects which will
include new construction and expansion of our facilities on this campus.
So we secured the
professional services of the fund raising firm Alexander Haas Martin &
Partners, led by church member David King and his team who helped us form
another committee to launch a capital campaign called “First Things
First.” Chaired by Doug and Florida
Ellis, that committee has worked very hard and the membership of this church
has stepped up to meet the challenge, so that today we have announced a number
that takes my breath away – more than $15 million which you have pledged and in
some cases already given for renovations, endowment, broadcast ministry
equipment, and mission in Kenya with the Presbyterian University, and here at
Johnson C. Smith Seminary in Atlanta.
As I have said many times
before, you are the most generous congregation I have ever known, and with
God’s guidance and gracious provision, we are being given the opportunity to do
something truly significant together.
Elder John McColl now chairs
our Renovations Committee and you are going to see some action before too long
as we begin the exterior stonework. It
will be challenging and exciting, sometimes frustrating and inconvenient, but
the end result will allow us to do God’s work more effectively and with greater
energy here at this center for mission and ministry on the corner of 16th
and Peachtree Streets in the heart of our city.
CONCLUSION
In closing, let me show you a
photograph of another church up in
I have never been there, but
this picture helps me remember – with all respect to our Independent Baptist
friends – that we are not only associated with Jesus Christ – we are centered
in Him, and He is alive and at work in and through us. So with Christ at the center of our life
together – built upon the solid rock and not upon the sand – the future of this
church is and always will be in His hands.
Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.