Fri/Sat/Sun—November 17–19•Using the Right Building Materials If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is...It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:12–14) When I was in elementary school, I got the idea that I wanted to dig a cave. I don’t know if I was prompted by something I saw on TV or in a movie, but I talked my mom and dad into getting me one of those helmets with the miner’s light on the front, and I started digging. We lived in Florida, which is primarily sandy, so I was burrowing down to get some wet soil so the sides wouldn’t cave in. Then I started digging sideways, and every few feet I would put a “brace”— a board on each side of the tunnel, holding up a third board which supposedly secured the roof. Of course, nothing was bracing the sand between the boards, but it looked pretty good. You’ve probably already guessed what happened. One day I was working way down into my backyard, and the tunnel collapsed. I was buried inside this cave, and I remember wondering if I would die. You can imagine my delight when, after five or ten minutes, I saw my dad pulling away the boards so he could dig me out. I had built with inferior materials, like the “wood, hay or straw” mentioned in today’s passage, and I suffered the loss. In building our lives, we need to make sure we’re using the right materials. God calls us to build His Kingdom and to tend the culture. As Christians, we want to leave our mark on the world. But what good will it do if we leave the world a better place but we don’t leave the world for a better place? Or as Jesus once asked, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”(Mark 8:36). WEEK Week 6 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the quality of each man’s work will be tested by fire? Have you experienced the consequences of building with “inferior materials”? Daily Reading: Ezekiel 35:1–40:27, James 1:1–3:18, Psalm 116:1–118:18, Proverbs 27:23–28:2 FOR YOUR SMALL GROUP November 13–19 How would you describe the foundation of your faith? 38 ■ Who participated in establishing that foundation? ■ What else was important to the start of your faith journey? ■ On the picture blocks, write in names of people who have helped build their faith. My Faith
20514 Man in Mirror
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