A House Divided

Passage

Familiarize yourself with the following passage:

Matthew 12:22-37, Mark 3:20-30

Some people brought Jesus a man who was demon possessed who was blind a mute, and Jesus healed him. The people were amazed and started wondering Jesus could possibly be the Son of David that God had promised them. The religious leaders were angered upon hearing these speculations. They claim that only by Satan’s power that Jesus was casting out demons. Jesus told everyone that a house divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan is driving out Satan, then he is divided against himself and his kingdom would not be able to stand. Jesus said if He drives out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived. Jesus continued by saying that you must tie up a strong man before you can enter his house. He also said if anyone is not with Him, then they are against him. Next Jesus reminds everyone that a tree is recognized by its fruit. Good fruit means a good tree and bad fruit means a bad tree. It is what is in the heart that makes a person good or bad. If we fill our hearts with good, then good will be produced, but if we fill our hearts with bad, then bad will be produced. We will be held responsible for every word we speak, both the good and the bad.

Object Lesson:

A House Divided

Supplies Needed:
• Wooden blocks
Directions:
1. Ask for two volunteers. Have the two children work together to build a simple house with 4 walls.
2. Talk to the children about how simple this task was. Ask them what made it so easy. Explain that when we work together, things get done much better and faster.
3. Now ask for 4 volunteers. Tell the children they will also be building one house, but they are not working together. Each child is responsible for the wall directly in front of them and may only touch the block they are putting on their wall.
4. Talk to the children about the difficulty of this task. Ask them what made this task so much harder than the first. Explain that when we are not working together, things are much more difficult and much slower to accomplish, if they can be accomplished at all!

Memory Verse:

Mark 3:24-25
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand, If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Jesus Connection:

The Pharisees and teachers of the law could not deny the reality and supernatural power of the miracles that Jesus was performing. To admit that these miracles were powered by God would be to admit that Jesus came from God, just as he had been saying. The only other option was for the Pharisees to attribute the power to Satan. We know that God is not divided. James 2:9 says that even the demons know this and shudder. Jesus’ power is from God. For those of us who know this, it is plain to see that Jesus is the Messiah that the Pharisees have been waiting for.

Songs

The Wise Man Built His House

The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down

Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man's house stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rain came tumbling down

Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the foolish man's house went "splat!" [clap hands once]

So, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And the blessings will come down

Oh, the blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayer go up
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Games/Activities

Three-Legged Race

Supplies Needed:
• Bandannas
• Obstacles
Directions:
1. Pair kids up in twos. Tie the pairs together at the ankle using a bandanna.
2. Select an area for a start and finish line and line the children up to race.
3. The first pair to cross the finish line wins. (If you have a large group, split the kids up into heats, with the top two pairs moving on to the next round.)
4. For the obstacle course, use objects that can be found in your classroom to create obstacles on the race track. (ie: going under a table, through a doorway, between chairs).
5. Race one team at a time against the clock to determine the winner.

Crafts

Coloring Page

Supplies needed:
• Coloring page
• Scissors
• Stick glue
• Colored paper
Directions:
1. Give each child a coloring page and scissors. Supply the table with stick glue and colored paper.
2. Create a patchwork of the coloring page by cutting different shapes from the colored paper and gluing it to the coloring page.