Golden Bells Stories Jesus Told
A certain rich man...
#423
Welcome to #423
Will you be at the P.I.C meeting tonight?
Of course! We must make the pond better! ole Tadp e Hous
ole Tadp ity rs e iv n U
This is
!
the life
Supermarket Tadpole Gymnasium
Pond Improvement Club
My Mercedes is the best in the pond!
Tadp o Mans le ion Hey bro! Let’s chill out.
When I grow up I’m going to rule the pond!
One day I’ll extend my house and it will be even bigger than that mansion!
My mansion has city views! I think I’ll retire here!
There was once a little pond full of tadpoles.The tadpoles thought their pond was a wonderful place! One day, one of the tadpoles started feeling strange...
1
The tadpole discovered he could walk! He could jump! There was dry land! Green grass! Blue skies! The tadpole realised he was not a tadpole anymore. He had left the pond behind forever. Now he was a frog!
Sometimes we behave just like tadpoles in a pond. We think that our life on this earth is everything. We only think about the things we can see right now. We even plan our futures in this world. We do not realise that things are going to change and that our life in this world will come to an end. The tadpole in the comic was not born to be a tadpole forever. He was not born to live in the little pond. He was born to be a frog! He was born to live outside the pond! Don’t be mistaken. Your life is not just about the things you have on earth and the things you can see right now. You were born for something bigger and somewhere better. You were made for God. You were made for eternity. In #423 we are going to look at another story Jesus told. A story about a man who was a bit like one of these tadpoles. A man who forgot God, forgot his soul and forgot eternity. A man who God said was a ‘fool’. It is a serious story with a serious warning, so even if you are only very young, you had better start to do some serious thinking!
...From Claire
2
KS
KidsStory
There was once a man. He was a very ordinary man.
The very ordinary man started to think. He thought and he planned and he sorted things out.
Then he started to work very hard. Treasure Box
The very ordinary man made a little bit of money. Then he made some more... Then lots more! Money! Money! Money!
Treasure Cupboard
Hard work pays off. Soon the very ordinary man became a very rich man. The very rich man started to spend his money. Then he spent some more... Then lots more!
Spending! Spending! Spending!
Treasure Shack
The very rich man bought some things. Then he bought some more... Then lots more! Things! Things! Things!
3
Treasure House
The very rich man was very pleased. He looked at all the things he had stored up. He had everything! He wanted nothing. The very rich man started to think. He thought and he planned and he sorted things out...
“I have many things... I will never need to work again... I can take it easy and live the dream! I will eat. I will drink. I will be happy. I will...............� Turn the page >
Treasure City!
4
Continued from p4...
Suddenly God interrupted! God spoke to the man.
“You FOOL. Tonight your soul will be required of you!�
R.I.P That same night the man died. What happened to all the things he had stored up? He lost everything. He had nothing.
About Us... goldenbellsmag.com.au is a free, online kids Bible teaching magazine and a resources website for religious education teachers. If you would like to order printed copies of this magazine, please contact us (minimum quantities apply). We also welcome your ongoing feedback. goldenbellsmag.com.au mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au
mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au 5
Activities ngs...
3 Thi
There are three important things to remember from #423. To ousethe name of each easure Hin reveal them, write down the first Tr letter object below. The first one has been done for you.
Grass
G
1 1 1
mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au
6
g n i r u o l o C omCC petition C
7
Send your entries to Golden Bells by
Win be p ners to ubli in # shed 424!
2 5
August 19th - Curly has some great prizes to give away!
8
e l b i B e h t n Fools i 1
The FOOL
SAYS
there is no God
2
The FOOL
MAKES an idol
3
The FOOL
LAUGHS at sin
4
The FOOL
HATES
teaching
‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” ’ - Psalm 53:1 ‘Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favour.’ - Proverbs 14:9 ‘The fear of the LO RD is the beginning of know ledge, but fools despise wis dom and instruction.’ - Proverbs 1:7 ‘Professing to be wise, they became fools, an d changed the glory of the in corruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.’ - Romans 1:22-23
Match each of the statements above with the most relevant verse.
2
We could not fit the memory verse on the back page for this issue. Look it up in Bible Bits verse 31 (on the back page) and write it here instead: _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
2
_______________________________________________ 9
Competition Corner Lessons from the Parable of the Rich Fool... s his ho lay “He w r himself is God res fo treasu wards God. o any ht not ric es us with m not provid t we should .” , bu things nd on them ) ia d n depe I n from (Sharo
Everything on earth will pass away, so focus on God rather than on earthly treasures that ‘moth and rust doth “Th corrupt’ Rich e Parab le of (Sarah from Fool t “This means not to put Tasmania) o seek t teaches the he us worl you trust in worldly things d bu things o not t to f king but in Jesus Christ. You seek this dom t he of (Jare can’t serve two masters. d fro God.” m Luke 9:25, ‘What is the Sout h Wa New les) profit if a man could gain the whole world but loose his soul.” (Caleb from If your name New South Wales)
Thanks everyone - there were heaps of entries in the Rich Fool Competition! There were lots of good answers… and some bad answers... and some pretty weird answers too! If you missed out on a prize this time you have another chance in…
is on this page, your prize is on the way!
petition
om Curly’s Colouring C
Hi everyone – I’m Carlton (Curly)… I really like the Parable of the Rich Fool as it teaches us not to lay up treasure on earth, which will soon pass, but rather lay up treasure in heaven which will last forever!! I read Bible Bits and drew my version of the rich fool on p7&8. Your job is to color my picture in! I have some nice prizes for the winners… but you have really got to impress me… 10
g n Don’ i n r Wa “I... I... I...”
Don’t be like the rich man who thought and planned and sorted things out... without God!
A fool forgets
God
Treasure Cupboard
Treasure Shack
A fool forgets their
Soul
Treasure House
Treasure Box
Don’t be like the rich man who was so busy getting ‘things’ that he forgot the most important thing he had!
R.I.P A fool forgets
Eternity 11
Don’t be like the rich man who thought his life on this earth was everything!
’t be a fool!
Lessons from the parable If you leave God out of your life, you can be sure that one day He will unexpectedly interrupt you. When you suddenly meet God, you will realise that life is not yours, things are not yours, time is not yours and you may be left with nothing at all. Don’t forget about your God.
The Bible Warns... “Prepare to meet your God.” (Amos 4:12)
The most precious thing you have is something you cannot see (that is why it is easy to forget!) It is something that is inside you. It is the part of you that was made for God. The part of you that will live forever! It is your soul. Don’t forget about your soul.
“What will it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
You might live until you are 21, 55 or even 100yrs old... then you will die. Dying is the end of life and the beginning of eternity. Eternity is forever and ever. It goes on and on and on... etc. However long your life may be it will seem like 5 seconds when compared with eternity. Don’t forget about your eternity.
“For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14) 12
Young Christians Page
A man came to Jesus and asked Him to settle a family argument. His brother had inherited some money, part of which was rightfully his, but his brother would not give it to him. Jesus replied by telling the man that there are more important things in life than money and possessions. He then told the story of the rich farmer to illustrate what He meant. The farmer had an excellent crop. “This is good” he thought to himself and stored up as much as he could. With so much stored away he felt secure and decided to use all his effort to have a good time eating, drinking and making merry. But then something happened. Something that he had not thought about. Something quite unexpected. His life ran out and he died. Everything he possessed, everything he had worked for, he had to leave behind. His possessions were gone, his plans were over. Things had changed. Everything he thought important, everything he thought worth working for, everything he thought made up his life was finished.
God said, “You fool!”
No, it was not an insult, nor was it abuse. It was a fact. The farmer had made some terrible and tragic mistakes.
Mistake #1
He thought life was all about possessions
The things he could see, have and enjoy now were the things that he had set his heart on. He forgot that none of these things were permanent. None of them could be relied on. In the end, either you go, or they go. The Bible says the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
13
Mistake #2
He forgot about the things you cannot see
Just because you can’t see a thing does not mean it is not real. He looked at himself and saw a successful man, someone to eat, drink and be merry. He forgot the part of him he could not see – his soul. He looked after his body but he forgot his soul. He forgot about heaven. He forgot about life after death.
Mistake #3
He forgot things would change
Nothing stays the same. Not the crops – they rot. Not the barns – they fall down. Not even ourselves – we must all die. The farmer was like the tadpole who thought his pond was forever and beyond it there was nothing more. The Bible calls this sort of person a fool. Someone who provides only for now and not for the real future. Someone who thinks living is made up of getting all you can and thinks security and happiness is found in possessions. Someone who thinks life is only what you can see. Yes that is the life of the fool. “For the fool has said in his heart, there is no God” and he lives that way.
Mistake #4
He never thought about God
The farmer thought about his farm, his crops, his barn and his future. He thought about Himself but he never thought about God. God was not part of the farmer’s plans. The unseen God, the God who made Him, the God who he was made for – he left Him out! Jesus then talked about the things a Christian should be concerned about. It is not possessions such as clothing and earthly wealth that really matter. A Christian’s heart is somewhere else - the Christian looks forward to eternity. Jesus says that the Christian who seeks first “the Kingdom of God” will have “all these things added” to them. In other words, if we concern ourselves with the heavenly things that really matter, God will ensure our earthly needs are supplied.
14
Bible Bits
[NKJV] Luke 12:15-31
Golden Bells #423 is based on the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke chapter 12. Here is the original story for you to read.
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” 22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will
put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
mail@goldenbellsmag.com.au