A Good Heart and a Strong Foundation: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 6:43-49

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it. I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 6:43-49 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 6:43-49 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 6:43-49 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever planted a tree or seen fruit growing on a tree? What kind of fruit was it, and what did it taste like?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how Jesus talks about good hearts and wise choices. He teaches us how our words and actions show what is in our hearts and how to build our lives on strong, good foundations.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
evil: (adjective) Very bad and against God.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
foundation: (noun) The strong base that a house or building is built on.
heart full of evil: (phrase) A person’s mind and feelings that are only interested in doing bad things.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
obey: (verb) To do what a rule or a person tells you to do.
produce: (verb) To make or grow something.
teachings: (noun) The lessons or truths that a person tells to others.
thornbush: (noun) A bush that is covered in sharp thorns.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

build: (verb) To make something by putting parts together.
crash: (verb) To hit something with a lot of force.
deep: (adjective) Going a long way down from the top.
destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
dig: (verb) To make a hole in the ground.
evil: (adjective) Very bad and against God.
fig: (noun) A sweet fruit that grows on a tree.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
foundation: (noun) The strong base that a house or building is built on.
fruit: (noun) The part of a plant that has seeds and is often good to eat.
grape: (noun) Small round fruit used to make wine.
heart full of evil: (phrase) A person’s mind and feelings that are only interested in doing bad things.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
obey: (verb) To do what a rule or a person tells you to do.
pick: (verb) To pull a part of a plant off with your fingers.
prepare: (verb) To get something ready.
produce: (verb) To make or grow something.
teachings: (noun) The lessons or truths that a person tells to others.
thornbush: (noun) A bush that is covered in sharp thorns.
thorny weed: (phrase) A wild plant with sharp points that can hurt if you touch it.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

against: (preposition) To be in a position that is opposite to someone or something.
because: (conjunction) For the reason that.
build: (verb) To make something by putting parts together.
building: (noun) A place with walls and a roof where people live or work.
built: (verb) To have made something like a house.
call: (verb) To speak a name to get someone’s attention.
cannot: (verb) Not able to do something.
come: (verb) To move toward a person or a place.
completely: (adverb) In a way that is total or finished.
crash: (verb) To hit something with a lot of force.
deep: (adjective) Going a long way down from the top.
destroy: (verb) To break something completely.
dig: (verb) To make a hole in the ground.
easily: (adverb) Without any trouble.
evil: (adjective) Very bad and against God.
fall down: (phrase) To drop to the ground by accident.
fig: (noun) A sweet fruit that grows on a tree.
fill: (verb) To put as much as possible into something.
find: (verb) To see or get something you were looking for.
flood: (noun) A great amount of water that covers the land.
foundation: (noun) The strong base that a house or building is built on.
fruit: (noun) The part of a plant that has seeds and is often good to eat.
grape: (noun) Small round fruit used to make wine.
hear: (verb) To receive sound with your ears.
heart: (noun) The part of a person where they feel and think.
heart full of evil: (phrase) A person’s mind and feelings that are only interested in doing bad things.
house: (noun) A building where people live.
kind: (noun) A type of thing.
known: (adjective) To be recognized or understood.
like: (preposition) Similar to something else.
listen: (verb) To pay attention to a sound with your ears.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
mouth: (noun) The part of the face used for eating and speaking.
move: (verb) To go from one place to another.
obey: (verb) To do what a rule or a person tells you to do.
only: (adjective) Just one and no more.
pick: (verb) To pull a part of a plant off with your fingers.
prepare: (verb) To get something ready.
produce: (verb) To make or grow something.
rock: (noun) A hard piece of stone from the ground.
save: (verb) To keep something for the future.
show: (verb) To let someone see something.
teachings: (noun) The lessons or truths that a person tells to others.
thing: (noun) An event or an action.
thornbush: (noun) A bush that is covered in sharp thorns.
thorny weed: (phrase) A wild plant with sharp points that can hurt if you touch it.
tree: (noun) A tall plant with a trunk made of wood.
water: (noun) The clear liquid that we drink to stay alive.
well: (adverb) In a good way.
will: (verb) A word used to talk about the future.
without: (preposition) Not having something.
word: (noun) A sound or group of letters that has meaning.

Summary of the Passage

This passage shares more of Jesus’ teaching to the people. In the first part, Jesus talks about trees and fruit. He says that good trees make good fruit, and bad trees make bad fruit. People are like trees. If a person’s heart is good, they will speak kind and helpful words. If a person’s heart is bad, they will say hurtful things. What comes out of our mouths shows what is inside our hearts.

Then Jesus asks his followers why they call him “Lord” but do not obey him. The word “Lord” is a title for a king or a master who has the power to give orders. To explain this, Jesus tells a short story about building houses. He says some people listen to his words and obey him. These people are like a wise builder who digs deep and builds his house on strong rock. When a big flood comes, the house stays standing because it has a strong foundation. But people who hear Jesus’ words and do not obey are like a man who builds his house without a foundation. When the flood comes, that house falls down with a loud crash.

This passage teaches us that our hearts and our choices matter. Good hearts bring out good words and actions. When we listen to Jesus and obey, our lives will be strong, like a house built on a rock.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Only Good Trees Produce Good Fruit
43 “A good tree does not produce bad fruit.
And a bad tree does not produce good fruit.
44 Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces.
You won’t find figs on thorny weeds.
And you can’t pick grapes from thornbushes!
45 Good people have good things saved in their hearts.
That’s why they say good things.
But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil.
What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts.
Two Kinds of People
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but you don’t do what I say?
47 The people who come to me, who listen to my teachings and obey them—I will show you what they are like:
48 They are like a man building a house.
He digs deep and builds his house on rock.
The floods come, and the water crashes against the house.
But the flood cannot move the house, because it was built well.
49 “But the people who hear my words and do not obey are like a man who builds a house without preparing a foundation.
When the floods come, the house falls down easily and is completely destroyed.”
Luke 6:43-49 (ERV)