For dad only:
Building Gold, Silver, Precious Stones
You, Dad, are building a home on the foundation of Jesus Christ. What you build on that foundation can be worthless or eternal.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. (1 Corinthians 3:11-13)
Are you building a fireproof home? Or will all the amusements, entertainment, and selfishness disappear in one moment when Jesus comes back?
Deep-digging prayer
When building a home, you build to match the quality of the foundation. Kids may build a kid’s fort in the woods on logs lying on the ground. This building will not have textured drywall or solid brass light fixtures.
Contractors build strong foundations for buildings they expect to last a long time. The rest of the structure logically should match the groundwork.
Since Jesus Christ set the standard for all we do, you cannot build a strong home without prayer. This is not just about ritual, memorized prayers. You must infuse your home with the Spirit of Prayer. Communication with God will last forever. Build that into your kids.
Bible Memorization
Another eternal construction material is the Word of God. Inspire your kids to memorize scripture. Get your 10 and 12 year-olds memorizing Proverbs. They will need to know how to stay away from fools and follow wisdom. Help them memorize character-building scriptures. They need to know doctrinal verses. They need to memorize passages on overcoming lust, defeating anger, and loving God. They will have it ready and waiting when the time of testing comes.
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Read this to the kids:
Rusty to the Rescue
Last time, Rusty mysteriously disappeared trying to rescue his aunt.
“I brought back a kid,” the gruff man said, dragging Rusty along, kicking and trying to get away.
“How did you end up with him?” another man said. Rusty looked at the man sitting in an office chair. He looked more clean and friendly than the guy who had been driving the truck.
“Stowaway. Must’ve jumped in the back of my truck when I stopped by the dame’s house.”
“Did you get her stuff?” the guy in the chair said. Ignoring Rusty.
“Nope. Someone was there.” The gruff man looked down at Rusty. “What are we going to do with this kid?”
The man in the chair turned more toward Rusty. “Hi, son, what is your name?”
“I would rather not say.”
“Oh, I see. Well, there is no reason to be upset. I was just going to announce you to your aunt.”
“Where is she?” Rusty demanded.
“Follow me.” The man stood up and walked down the hallway.
Rusty realized the mean guy had let go of his arm. He glanced around at the door and windows to see if there were some quick way he could get out and find help.
“Move it kid,” the gruff voice said beside him. Rusty followed the nicer man down the hall.
The man was knocking on a door.
“Who is it?” a woman’s voice said.
“Martha, it’s me. I have a guest for you.”
“Let me guess, the bank sent down an officer to have me sign for a transfer of funds?” the woman’s voice said from behind the door. She opened it and continued, “Or you have another crummy ring to—” her eyes saw the boy standing in front of her. “Rusty!”
“Aunt Martha!” Rusty lunged forward and hugged her.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” she said. Then she whispered in his ear, “Play calm and we will be okay.”
“What was that?” the gruff guy said.
“Grab him, Jake,” the business-looking guy said.
Rusty struggled against the mean guy who ripped him away from Aunt Martha.
“What was that for?” Aunt Martha asked.
“Martha, I have been right civil with you. I offered to marry you, fair and square.”
“Except for dragging me out of the house and holding me hostage here. And you threatened me if I did not marry you, remember? You said I’d never see my family again.”
The man smiled. “Yes, and now we have a new threat with our new hostage.”
“Greed will be the end of you,” Aunt Martha scolded. “Henry did not get his money by greed, you know. He worked hard and gave a lot. You do the opposite, you—”
“Hey,” the man’s face grew red, “if I wanted a sermon, I would go to church. Now, look. Either you go down there and meet the Justice of the Peace with me and get those forms signed, or I will make sure this boy here never sees anyone who matters to him or you, again.”
“Mr. Matthews, I do not intend to marry you for love nor money. Threats and blackmail will not do the trick either. I married Henry because I loved him. He was poor when I married him and I still loved him. You, I could never love, with or without Henry’s money.”
“Oh! Stop talking about Henry!” the man spat.
Rusty had been thinking while the two of them talked. “Didn’t Uncle Henry have a brother who tried to elope with you, Aunt Martha?”
Aunt Martha’s face lit up with a smile. “Yes, you heard?”
Rusty nodded, trying not to let the other men know what he was talking about. “I heard my mom talking about it to your sister. She said he tried to make you marry him before you got to marry Henry.”
Aunt Martha continued to look at Rusty with a big grin. She did not say anything and Rusty did not know what to say next.
“So what?” Mr. Matthews said. “Who cares, we do not need to know about the old man’s brother. We just need to go down to the courthouse and get those papers filled out. Then you can do as you please.”
“And you can legally take all my Henry’s money.” Aunt Martha said.
“Exactly. Now, what do I have to do? Twist this kid’s arm until he is screaming, or are you going to cooperate?”
Aunt Martha stepped out of the room and grabbed Rusty by the hand. “No need to be violent. Let’s go get married, Matthews.”
“Yes?” the man looked puzzled. “You’re serious?”
“I do not want Rusty here to be separated from his family. Now, how do you plan to get him back?”
“We will leave him at the courthouse when the papers are signed. If you mess things up, the deal is off, and harm may come to your beloved nephew.”
“Hey, boss,” the gruff man said. “Don’t you think the kid here will tell what is going on once you let him go?”
“Never.” Mr. Matthews looked down at Rusty. “You wouldn’t want me to hurt your auntie, here, would you?”
Rusty gulped and shook his head.
“Let’s go, Jake. I want to drive the Cadillac since the windows are tinted.”
“Oh boy,” the man said, “I get to be chauffer for a wedding!”
Soon, Aunt Martha and Mr. Matthews were inside the courthouse. Rusty started sweating as he sat in the car, staring at the building. Jake had him buckled tight in the middle of the back seat. Jake held Rusty’s arm, making sure not to let him escape. The car was running. It seemed to be taking a long time.
“When they are married, I can go?” Rusty asked.
“Sure, kid. You heard the boss say so, right? He’s an honest man.”
“Yeah right.”
“Hey, who’s that guy in the window of the courthouse?”
“Where?” Rusty looked and then saw a man who looked like Dad. He almost said so, but shut his mouth.
“He’s staring at us. I don’t like it. Do you know him?” He looked down at Rusty who glanced away really quick. “You know him, don’t ya’, kid? We better get out of here.”
Just then two black cars pulled up behind the Cadillac. Rusty saw uniformed officers surround the vehicle.
“Come out with your hands up!” one of them said.
“Oh man!” Jake opened the door and climbed out.
Rusty climbed out through the other door. While the police frisked the gruff-looking man, one officer put his arm around Rusty and asked how he was doing.
Rusty realized he was shaking all over. “I’m fine.” He looked up and saw Dad, Mom, and Misty come running across the courthouse lawn.
“Rusty!” they shouted as they surrounded him with a group hug. “You’re safe!”
“How did you know we would be here?” Rusty asked.
“Aunt Martha’s message,” Mom explained. “Uncle Henry’s brother took her to the JP a long time ago and tried to make her marry him. We figured if we came here and waited, she would show up with the kidnapper.”
Dad said, “You really took a big risk getting involved like this, Rusty. But, you did help bait the trap.”
Misty hugged Rusty, “I thought you were gone for sure. You could been killed. What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t really think until I was in the back of that truck. I was really scared.”
Aunt Martha came down the steps. Rusty ran to give her a hug. “You are a genius,” he said.
“You are a brave young man,” she said.
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Now discuss it!
Who do you love enough to risk your life for them?
Do you think Aunt Martha was scared? Why or why not?
How did it help Rusty to know the Lord in this situation?
Policemen and firemen are heroes. Why? Who else is?
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Read God’s Word together:
Standing Up for Others
So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet. On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared. For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
“Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.”
Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen. Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden.
Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him. In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman’s face, signaling his doom.
Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.”
“Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered. So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
(Esther 7:1-10, NLT)
Discuss the difference between heroism and selfishness!
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