Pride builds towers to make a name for ourselves and avoid what God asks; humility takes up a cross and trusts Him even when it's scary.
God offers real life on the other side of surrender, but we keep trying to build our own version of a good life on our own terms. The Tower of Babel shows people who wanted to worship God while ignoring His word; Jesus calls us instead to give up our own way, take up our cross, and trust that He knows what's best.
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Point 1 of 7
The Tower of Babel shows people worshiping God while disobeying His clear command.
Pastor Bill walks through Genesis 11, where all humanity spoke one language and settled in Babylonia instead of spreading out as God had told them to after the flood. They built a ziggurat, a tower meant to reach into the heavens as an act of worship, while at the same time refusing to scatter as God commanded, making it religion without relationship.
“Pride builds towers, humility takes up a cross”
— Pastor Bill Bush
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Point 2 of 7
Babylon represents humanity's recurring pattern of one-world power and one-world religion built on human pride.
Pastor Bill traces how Babylon functions throughout Scripture as a symbol contrasted with Jerusalem, the city of God, and connects it to the spirit of antichrist that resurfaces in the book of Revelation. He frames this as the same lie from the garden repeating itself: people trying to be like God instead of trusting Him.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 3 of 7
Pride is usually rooted in fear, and it shows up when we worship God but ignore His word.
He unpacks how the builders said staying together and building the tower would keep them from being scattered, essentially rejecting God's instruction while still claiming to worship Him. He compares this to churchgoers today who attend but ignore what discipleship actually requires, and illustrates how fear drives pride through stories of arguing kids, animals acting aggressive when afraid, and even his own encounters with mountain lions.
“the source of most pride is fear”
— Pastor Bill Bush
“Do you realize that the difference in maturity and wisdom and power and ability and understanding between you, me and God is vastly further apart than you and a three year old”
— Pastor Bill Bush
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Point 4 of 7
God confused the languages and scattered the people as an act of judgment that was also grace, protecting His redemptive plan.
Pastor Bill explains that God's scattering kept humanity from reaching a point of no return, forcing them back toward His plan that would eventually produce Abraham and the road to Jesus. He uses the illustration of time as a cruise ship, where people have real freedom to make choices but God alone decides where the ship ultimately docks.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 5 of 7
Jesus calls His followers to give up their own way and take up a cross rather than build their own towers.
Pastor Bill reads Jesus' words about denying yourself, taking up your cross, and losing your life to truly find it, contrasting 'your way' with 'Yahweh.' He warns that refusing this call leads either to personal anarchy, walking away from God's authority, or to legalism, turning obedience into a transaction to control God.
“You can have your way or you can have Yahweh”
— Pastor Bill Bush
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 6 of 7
Even Jesus' own disciples worshiped Him while doubting Him, yet He still commissioned them to make disciples.
He points out that after the resurrection some of the eleven disciples worshiped Jesus but still doubted, paralleling how many believers today worship while doubting God's ways for their lives. Despite that doubt, Jesus declared His authority and sent them to make disciples of all nations, promising to be with them always.
“I'm gonna worship you, but I'm gonna doubt you”
— Pastor Bill Bush
“Jesus climbed on a cross so we can pick up a cross”
— Pastor Bill Bush
A story from life
Pastor's wife recounts how his late mother would allow herself to feel the grief of a hard moment, then get up and do what needed to be done
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 7 of 7
Real identity is found only in God's plan, not in towers we build for ourselves like career, sexuality, or possessions.
Pastor Bill argues that 'making a name for ourselves' is really about finding identity and purpose apart from God, and warns that marriage, parenting, possessions, and sexuality were never meant to be our identity. He points to Jesus' own Gethsemane prayer as the model of honest, humble surrender: admitting the difficulty while still praying 'not my will, but thine.'
Related passage
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Take it into your week
Pastor Bill's challenge is to have your own Gethsemane moment: be honest about what's hard, and then surrender anyway.
Application
Check whether your worship matches your obedience
Lay your life down next to what Jesus actually asks of a disciple and be honest about whether your time, money, and focus match up with your Sunday worship.
Name the fear behind your pride
When you feel resistant or defensive about what God is asking, recognize it's likely fear, and be willing to admit that instead of digging in.
Make room in your calendar and checkbook for disciple-making
If you want to help reach people, start making practical room in your schedule and budget to support that mission rather than just gathering for yourself.
Stop looking for identity in towers
Whether it's marriage, kids, possessions, or sexuality, stop building your sense of self on things God never meant to hold that weight, and root your identity in what He has already told you.
Have your own Gethsemane moment
Be honest with God about what feels too hard or scary, sit in that honestly like Jesus and like the preacher's own mother did, and then choose 'not my will, but thine be done.'
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI