Two Builders Facts for 3-8 Year Olds

Categories: Sermon on the Mount

• The end of the Sermon is coming near.
• Jesus shows his disciples the choices they have to make.
• It is important to remember that he’s talking to the people, the disciples, who found and entered through the narrow gate.
• They made that right decision, and they also are living a good, honest life.
• Jesus begins with, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
• “Mine” comes first in the sentence, meaning that’s the most important word.
• These are Jesus’ words from God. He speaks with authority and power.
• Now when he says, “These words of mine,” he is referring to all of the words he has just spoken.
• The first thing people have to do is “hear” Jesus’ words.
• Hearing them, though, is not enough.
• People also have to “put them into practice.”
• They have to act the way Jesus told them/us to.
• It’s not a checklist; it’s a way of living.
• The person who does what Jesus says is like a person who is “wise.”
• The word for “wise” could also be translated as “sensible.”
• That person thinks and plans ahead. He/she knows what is true and acts accordingly.
• That person also understands the need for obedience.
• That person demonstrates wisdom by building a house on a rock.
• A house built on a rock will be strong.
• Jesus continues: “When 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.”
• Severe storms like this are well known throughout Palestine.
• Torrential rains can happen suddenly; high winds come up; river beds that have been dry overflow with rushing water.
• Jesus assures his listeners that after the storm, the house built on rock will still be standing firm.
• Jesus knows there are going to be storms.
• It doesn’t say that the rocks are going to be a protection from the storms; it says they are going to provide a solid foundation during the storm.
• They don’t serve as barriers to keep the storm away; they are a support during the storm.
• It also helps to know that “rock” is a common metaphor for relying upon God.
• If the “house” is a metaphor for one’s life, then building on a rock is basing one’s life on a good foundation—on Jesus’ teachings.
• But then Jesus continues with a harsh warning.
• “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”
• The typical definition of a foolish man is one who is dull or ignorant.
• He might have really listened well, but does not take any of Jesus’ words to heart. He sees no reason to apply them to himself; he doesn’t think he needs to obey Jesus’ words.
• That person also builds a house, but he chooses sand for his foundation.
• Building on sand is easier and quicker than rock.
• Storms are going to come up in this person’s life, too.
• The description of the storm is similar, but it has a very different outcome.
• “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
• “Building on sand” suggests the builder has chosen a river bed, dry except for when it is the rainy season.
• When the rains come, the water rushes down and takes away the house with it.
• Some believe that life presents many storms that need to be withstood.
• This is the way the Greek reads: “And the rain came down, the rivers came up, the winds blew and they hit that house, and it fell. And its fall was great.”
• The last word in this sermon is “great.”
• Throughout this sermon greatness has been a theme.
• People of God work to express great righteousness and mercy, great faithfulness and obedience. People of the world have other goals.
• But the people he’s talking to are the ones who have gone through the right gate; they have heard his message very well. Those who choose to go out and do what Jesus says are those who build on the rock. But if they choose not to do what he says, they are those who build on the sand.
• If they look away from Jesus’ sermon and instead look to the world to find greatness, then they will have a great fall.
• It is the fall that will be great, or huge.
• This Sermon begins with God’s unconditional blessings and ends with a warning about how to lead one’s life: if we choose to follow the world’s teachings, we will have a great fall. (So, of course, we want to follow the Jesus’ teachings.)