“BE WISE!”
Season: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain
Episode 14: “Be Wise!”
Today’s Bible Bite: Matthew 7:24-27
Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6S3cRVLMFQ (Saddleback Kids – The Parable of the Two Builders)
“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13, NLT)
At the end of Jesus’ sermon, he closed with a warning. Those who listened to His words and then obeyed would be wise: however, those who had heard, but then chose to ignore the things He had taught them would be foolish…and would suffer the consequences. He compared the wise and foolish to two builders. Those who took Jesus’ lessons to heart would be like a man who built his house on a rock. Rock isn’t the easiest place to build from, but those who make the effort to build a strong home on a strong foundation, don’t have to worry when a storm comes—their house will stand firm. Those who obey Jesus, even though it takes effort and can be quite difficult sometimes, also will handle the troubles of life better—the storms will come, but they will remain strong because they have Jesus helping them.
However, those who choose the easy way are like the one who built on the sand. Sure, the building may be easy and the location seems perfect—who doesn’t like a seaside location?—but when the rain begins to hit the beach, the sand shifts and the building will collapse. When we aren’t building our life on Jesus’ teachings and obeying the good things He taught, we will find ourselves collapsing too—because everything we build our life on will end up shifting and washing away. Jesus didn’t teach these things because He didn’t want us to enjoy life, but rather so that we could get the most enjoyment out of life possible—not just here on earth, but in heaven with Him forever, too!
Think about it...
• Jesus made it clear that it wasn’t good enough to just listen to His sermon. What did He say we should do about all the things He taught?
• Jesus said that people who obeyed what He taught were like a wise builder. How?
• He also said that people who chose to disobey were like foolish builders. How?
• It is important for us to always obey God. We will make mistakes sometimes, but God tells us that if we ask Him to, He will forgive us and help us to do better. What areas of obedience do you need God to help you with?
Prayer: Thank you, God, that Jesus has provided us with instructions to live by. Help me to be wise and obey. Please show me when I’m being like the foolish builder and doing things my own way. Help me to be more like Jesus each and everyday!