The previous entry in my Bible Stories series considered a portion of Matthew chapter five. Today, I want to focus on a portion on scripture at the end of Matthew chapter seven. I am passing over the middle portion of the Sermon on the Mount. While there are some nuggets of teaching that are easy for children to understand, most of the teachings are more complex than what would be taught to children, especially young children. The story of the wise and foolish builders is one of my favorite stories to teach to children. Although it is called a story, it is actually more like Jesus is drawing a parallel between the story and how people live their lives. This account is found in Matthew 7:24-27.
In several of the past few blogs I have written in my Bible Stories series I have mentioned making sure that children understand vocabulary which is used in the lesson. For this lesson, you need to make sure that children understand what the word foolish means in order for them to fully understand the point of the story (which I think they can easily do).
I think a great way to approach the teaching of this lesson is to use the children’s song “The Wise Man Built His House upon the Rock.” (As a side note, I do not know if that is the official title of the song, but that is the name by which I have always called the song.) The song clearly explains the message of the lesson, and will help children remember the lesson. However, I would not rely fully on the song to teach your children this lesson. The song fails to mention what makes a man wise (hearing the teachings of Jesus and putting them into practice) or what makes a man foolish (hearing the teachings of Jesus and not doing them).
Matthew 7:24-27: “”Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””
All Scripture reference is taken from the ESV.
Read the previous Bible Stories: This Little Light of Mine
Also read the related article: The Wise and Foolish Builders