Fireproof Foundation – 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.  If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

Summary:

In this Active lesson, students will build an “office building,” then determine how the building is like the foundation that their spiritual lives are built on.

Materials Needed:

• 1 long fireplace match (or one of those long fireplace lighters)
• 3-4 garbage bags
• Bible
• Materials with which kids can build

Preparation:

1. Spread the garbage bags out flat in the middle of the room.
2. Form 5 “design teams”.
3. Say:  “Imagine you’re all employees at the prestigious architectural firm Buildings ‘R’ Us. You’ve just won an important contract to design a 4-story office building. The people who’ve hired you tell you they expect your creation to stand up to rigorous structural tests.
   Each of you is a member of one of 5 design teams at Buildings ‘R’ Us.
   4 teams will each be responsible for designing 1-floor of the office building.
   The 5th team will be responsible for laying the foundation for the building.
   Both the foundation and the floors should fit on the garbage bags in the middle of the room.”
4. Tell teams what floor they’ll be responsible for and assign one team to lay the foundation.
   Tell that team they must build their foundation on top of the garbage bags.
5. Then say: “You each have 10 minutes to build your floor or complete the foundation. Then we’ll put all the parts together. You can use anything in this room as building materials or anything on the church grounds. But remember-you only have 10 minutes to gather your materials and build your floor. Ready? Go!”Have design teams put together the office building and work together until it can stand on its own.
6. Then say: “OK, now let’s test this building to see if it’s a strong design.”
7. Light your match.
8. Ask:
   • “Is this building strong enough to make it through a terrible fire? Why or why not?”
   • “If you knew I was going to set fire to your building, how would your team have built its floor or foundation differently?”
9. Blow out the match, then ask a volunteer to read aloud 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
10. Have the students get together with their design-team members and discuss this question:
    “Knowing that my life is going to be ‘tested by fire,’ what would I change about the way I’m living my life today?”

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