September 7, 2022 8:00 pm
In 1889, the most ambitious private home construction project in the United States began. On-site manufacturing produced some 32,000 bricks a day. The work continued until the completion of George Vanderbilt II’s “summer house”—six years later. The result was the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. To this day, it remains the largest private residence in America, with 250 rooms (including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms) consuming a staggering 178,926 square feet (16,226 sq. meters) of floor space.
This project, ambitious as it was, was nothing compared to the “building” intentions Jesus proclaimed to His disciples in Matthew 16. After Peter had confirmed that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16), Jesus declared, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (v. 18). While theologians debate the identity of the “rock,” there’s no debate about Jesus’ intentions. He would build His church to stretch to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19–20), including people from every nation and ethnic group from around the globe (Revelation 5:9).
The cost of this building project? The sacrifice of Jesus’ own blood on the cross (Acts 20:28). As members of His “building” (Ephesians 2:21), purchased at so great a price, may we celebrate His loving sacrifice and join Him in this great mission.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Bill Crowder, and I entitled our reading, Building the House. In 1889, the most ambitious private home construction project in the United States began.
On-site manufacturing produced some 32,000 bricks a day. The work continued until the completion of George Vanderbilt II's Summer House, six years later. The result was the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. To this day, it remains the largest private residence in America with 250 rooms, including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms, consuming a staggering 178,926 square feet.
That's 16,226 square meters of floor space. This project, ambitious as it was, was nothing compared to the building intentions Jesus proclaimed to his disciples in Matthew 16. After Peter had confirmed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Jesus declared, I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. While theologians debate the identity of the rock, there's no debate about Jesus's intentions. He would build his church to stretch to the ends of the earth, including people from every nation and ethnic group from around the globe.
The cost of this building project? The sacrifice of Jesus's own blood on the cross. As members of his building, purchased at so great a price, may we celebrate his loving sacrifice and join him in this great mission.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 to 20. You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Let's pray. Lamb of God, thank you for your sacrifice. Enable us to celebrate you in our heart as well as with others in the family of faith. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Bill Crowder and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-02-28 12:49:05 / 2023-02-28 12:50:31 / 1
