Two Builders

Short Talk (SHT041) Two builders © Jane Hulme 2015 Aim of Short talk: Main themes: Biblical references: Props: SHORT TALK: “TWO BUILDERS” (SHT041) To encourage people to listen to Jesus’ words and then to obey them. Listen and obey Matthew 7:24-27 Table, on top of which are: two very large and flat glass casserole dishes, large flat rock, small bucket filled with damp sand, jug of water, two Styrofoam cups and a black marker pen. ........................................................................................................................ Do any of you like building with Lego or Knex?  Jesus told a story about two builders.....  It went a bit like this: A wise man needed to build a house.  He looked around until he found a nice piece of rock to build on. (Lift up the rock and show it to the congregation before putting it into the first casserole dish)  First the walls went up.....then the roof.....(Lift up one of the Styrofoam cups and show it to the congregation)  Finally the windows and the doors were fitted...(Draw windows and door on the Styrofoam cup and show it to the congregation then place it upon the rock in the casserole dish) When the house was finished the wise man moved in,  and enjoyed his new home. One night a storm got up.  The rain came pouring down.....let’s hear some rain (tap two fingers against the palm of your hand then while the congregation continue to do this, pick up the jug of water and gently pour some water on top of the Styrofoam cup) The streams rose.....(Pour some water on top of the rock)  and the winds blew and beat against that house.....let’s hear some wind....whoooooh The good news is that at the end of the storm the house was in one piece.  Not a bit of it had fallen,  because it had its foundation on the rock. Now there was a second man who needed to build a house.  Unlike the wise man, this man was foolish and decided to build his house upon sand. (Pick up bucket of sand and make a sand-castle inside the second casserole dish.  First the walls went up.....then the roof.....(Lift up the second of the Styrofoam cups and show it to the congregation)  Finally the windows and the doors were fitted...(Draw windows and door on the Styrofoam cup and show it to the congregation then place it upon the top of the sand-castle in the casserole dish) When the house was finished the foolish man moved in,  and enjoyed his new home. © Jane Hulme 2015 2 One night a storm got up.  The rain came pouring down.....let’s hear some rain (tap two fingers against the palm of your hand then while the congregation continue to do this, pick up the jug of water and gently pour some water on top of the Styrofoam cup) The streams rose.....(Pour some water on top of the sand until it dissolves under the cup and the cup drops down)  and the winds blew and beat against that house.....let’s hear some wind....whoooooh The bad news is that at the end of the storm the house was completely destroyed.  The foolish man couldn’t live in it anymore,  because the house had its foundation on the sand. Jesus told this parable to show us that if we listen to him and obey His teaching,  we are like the wise man, who built his house on the rock. When the storms of life come along.....the difficult times in our lives,  like illness or an accident or some other problem,  then our lives won’t totally fall apart. However, if we don’t listen to Jesus and don’t obey His teaching,  then we are like the foolish man, who built his house on the sand.  When the storms of life come along,  then we risk our lives totally falling apart. So a challenge for you this morning.....  Who are you going to listen to most of all?  Who are you going to obey? © Jane Hulme 2015 3