This parable of the wise and foolish builders can be found in Luke 6:46-49
We started with a demonstration of a well-built house and a not-so-well built house.
We built two houses of Duplo. In a tray we put a brick for the well-built house, and a pile of sand for the not-so-well-built house. We poured water around the brick, and the house stood firm. We then poured water around the sand pile making sure it was washed away, and the house toppled. At the same time as doing this, we told the story.
In our environment we could not plan for a house that completely collapsed!
One other idea we had was to ask the participants to build two houses from wooden bricks. We would put one on a solid base, and another on a piece of material, both of which could be shaken. The drama of the water would be missed here though, but you could combine the two! Over to you to be creative!
Here are some teaching ideas that you may find useful.
We then briefly told the story again. We explained what Jesus meant by building on the rock or the sand. We made the point that trusting Jesus and what He says is like building our life on solid stable and safe ground. Not trusting Jesus may cause all sorts of problems.
Here are some of the points we made:
What was Jesus trying to teach us?
Let’s start with the man who built his house on the sand - the foolish builder!
Jesus was saying that if we ignore what He says, if we think that Jesus is “not for me” then, when things gets tough and difficult, our lives could come tumbling down. Why? Because Jesus’ teaching, and His way of living, really is the best. If we ignore Him we could well end up in a mess.
And what about the man who built his house on a rock - the wise builder?
Jesus was saying that if we build our lives on Him, it is like building our lives on a rock. But what on earth does that mean?
Well ….. Jesus was telling us that if we have Jesus in our lives, and we love Him, if we listen to Jesus, if we do what Jesus says, and if we trust what Jesus says, Jesus will always look after us, and keep us safe even when things are bad. That is what Jesus meant when he talked about a storm. And all of us will have bad times / storms in our lives. Jesus told us that would happen! …. John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble/hassle, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is saying that He in charge of the world and all that happens to us.
As usual we try to teach only one point, and we chose “Trust what Jesus says”. In other words - Build on the Rock!
We emphasised things like, Jesus said He would be with us, Jesus said he would forgive us if we believe in Him, Jesus loves us, and so on.
There are a number of downloads on this page that I hope you find useful.
This is a small booklet telling the story. (PDF Download here)
This, is from Lambsong. They have agreed that we can use and alter the material in any way and make it available to others. Our thanks to them.
To print this booklet.
Although the pages in the PDF look in a muddle, they are not! Simply follow these instructions and all will be well!
We tend to give out a simple card that summarises the teaching.
A simple colouring sheet to give out.
jpg download here; This is a graphics file but should print anyway!
A "Spot the difference" sheet for those who enjoy this.
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