ROCKY FAITH

A Culture of Shallow Belief

• Our culture builds convictions on feelings, not truth.
• When tested by hardship or contradiction, those convictions collapse.

The Rocky Soil - Faith Without Depth

• Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21
• "Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow... The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away."
• Emotional response is not the same as spiritual transformation.
• When life gets hard, shallow faith either walks away or clings to platitudes.

Ethic of Self

• Faith shaped by what feels right.
• God becomes a tool for self-fulfillment, self help.
• When God doesn’t meet our expectations, we abandon or revise Him.

Good Soil - Understanding

• Matthew 13:23
• "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
• Not “everything happens for a reason” (determinism), but God is present in all things.
• Romans 8:28
• "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
• Jesus humbled Himself to death - true strength through surrender.
• Philippians 2:6–11
• "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant... He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord."

Rooted Faith: Know, Experience, Hold Fast

• Rooted faith comes from:

1. Knowing God - through Word, prayer, and community.
2. Experiencing God - not just information, but transformation.
3. Holding fast - especially in hardship.

• Bring sorrow, confusion, and fear into His presence

Growth Through Struggle

• Deep roots grow when water is scarce.
• Faith deepens through difficulty and active spiritual formation.

Rooted for the Storm

• Matthew 7:24–25
• "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."
• Don’t settle for convenience, tradition, or shallow optimism.
• Jesus invites us to be rooted - to know, experience, and hold fast to him.
• Don’t walk away. Don’t give up. Grow roots. Know Him. Trust Him. Hold fast.

Reflection Questions:

1. When has your faith been tested by hardship or disappointment?
2. What spiritual disciplines help you stay rooted in God?
3. How can you deepen your roots in this season of life?

Action Step: This week, choose one spiritual practice - prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, or silence - and pursue it daily. Journal what God reveals to you through it.