There Was a Little House

There Was a Little House A Lesson for the Feast of Dedication

Introduction Happy Sabbath. Today is a great day to begin preparing for the Feast of Dedication. A happy and wonderful day that will take place on Sabbath, December 21st. The Feast of Dedication talks about the rebuilding of his church AND building up your spiritual house.

For this lesson we focus on the spiritual house. Hmmm. Now what does that mean? Keep listening and you will see.

Parable • You see little ones, in the

Bible, God would often use what are called parables to teach the people. What is a parable? Simply put, a parable is a short story used to describe important lessons that we should know about God and not only that, but how to obey Him. Pretty awesome right!

The Wise Man • Now that you know what a

parable is, can you think of any? What about the ‘Wise Man.’ Let’s read about it in Matthew 7: 24-27. Does that sound familiar? It should. Think about the song,“The wise man built his house upon the rock and the rain came tumbling down……

The Wise Man • That’s a great song.

It not only sounds good but it is a way for us to learn. Lets look at some key words and phrases in the song to see what they mean to us today.

Key Words & Phrases • Wise man = saint (a person who OBEYS the Lord)

• House = YOU and the type of life you live everyday

• Rock= JESUS CHRIST • Foolish Man = wicked person

(someone who DISOBEYS GOD)

• Sand = the world • Rain & Floods= temptations from

Satan & the troubles you may have in life

Breaking it Down • So we see in the song that

the wise man built his house upon the rock, which is Jesus

• Who is Jesus Christ?

• Where does He live?

• What are some important

things that Jesus has done for us? Ex: He created you.

Your turn?

Breaking it Down • We also learn that the foolish man

built his house upon the sand, which is this world. This is not good.

• Why? Because so many bad things are happening in this world. Many, many people disobey God. To disobey is to sin.

• Christ does not like it when we sin.

In

fact, He hates sin so much that one day, He is going to destroy this world with fire as well as all the bad people in this world

• So who would you rather be? A wise

man (woman) or foolish man (woman)

Breaking it Down • One key part to remember in the song

is that the rain fell and the floods rose up for both the wise man AND the foolish man

• Remember that the rain and floods

represent the temptations from Satan as well as any troubles you might face.

• What is temptation? The desire to do

something bad or wrong. In this case, to DISOBEY GOD.

• Who is Satan?

• How can you disobey God?

Ex: stealing a piece of candy. Your turn.

Breaking it Down • What are some troubles that

you might face? Ex: I got made fun of as a child for not celebrating Christmas. Your turn.

• Both the saints and wicked

people will experience temptations from Satan and troubles in life, but they will handle it differently, which brings us to the second part of our lesson.

Lets Talk About the House • Why would God compare us

and our lives to a house? God often uses things in our lives that are very familiar and important to us so that we can better understand his truth.

Lets Talk About the House • Think about your home.

What comes to mind? This is where you have shelter and warmth, where you live with your mommy, daddy and siblings. This is where you eat, sleep and play. There is love and comfort in your home. In other words, your home is an important part of your life.

Lets Talk About the House • Now lets think of what you

need in order to make a home, a home. For example, you need windows. Your turn.

Lets Talk About the House • There’s something else.

In fact, it is the important of the home in order for it to remain in place. You know what that is? The foundation! It is a solid and level layer of stone, brick or cement that is placed underneath a home to give it support.

Lets Talk About the House • Now you can see the

windows, the walls, the roof and doors but you cannot see the foundation of your home.

However, without it, your home would collapse. It would not be able to stand.

A good house has a good foundation. And with a good foundation, your home can withstand wind, rain and snow.

Putting It All Together • Lets connect a few dots.

Remember that I said a foundation is typically made of cement, stone or brick?

Basically, it is a slab of rock.

Now lets think of the song, “The Wise Man.” Who did we say was a rock? So the rock/foundation = Jesus.

Now who did we say was like a house again? The house represents you and your life.

Conclusion • Just as a house needs a foundation in order to remain and stand strong.

• YOU (house) need Jesus (foundation/rock) in your life in order to remain and be strong.

• Why?

Jesus teaches us how to be good by obeying the 10 commandments & testimonies.

• By obeying God we become strong.

We can ignore that wicked Devil and not listen to him when he tries to get us to sin.

• And even if we may feel sad or angry because of bad things in this world we will always be ok because we Christ is with us.

• He will save us and take us to heaven one day.