Why Must We Talk about Sin?

I recently exchanged some e-mail messages with a parent who was concerned about the content of some material we publish here at Concordia Publishing House. The parent was upset that for several times in a row, we had chosen to address frankly with the target audience of the resource the issue of sin in our lives. Why did we have to keep bringing up this dreary, depressing topic? Children need to hear the Gospel, to hear about God's love!

I don't believe I got anywhere with this customer. What was wanted was not possible while remaining true to our Lutheran beliefs and what the Scriptures teach us about sin and grace.

Teaching the Gospel without first teaching the Law is ineffective, even spiritually dangerous. The Gospel message will be treated lightly ("God loves me; that's nice.") or even ignored ("That's probably fine for others, but I don't really need that right now."). Until the sinner (and the Bible is clear, that is all of us) is convicted of the sin and fully aware of the consequences of sin (God's wrath and eternal death), the promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation through the work of Jesus our Savior will have no sweetness. They will literally fall on deaf ears.

The goal of Christian education would seem to be making both the Law and Gospel as personal as possible for each student. Not just "Peter sinned" but "I sinned." Not just "God loves the world" but "God loves me and gave His Son Jesus for me."

Teach the Law each week. Find it in the Scripture text and in your own life and the lives of your student. Then teach the Gospel and apply it fully and richly. Make each lesson the cause of celebration. "Rejoice with me! That which was lost has been found!"

The Benefit of Color Printing

I had occasion at least twice this month to defend the use of full-color printed material in our Sunday School curricula at Concordia Publishing House. It seems that some churches, maybe many churches, are looking for materials for Sunday School that are completely reproducible locally on the church's copier or the teacher's home computer printer.

The Logic
From one perspective, this seems to be an attractive alternative. The publisher provides everything in one book or on one CD. The teacher makes only as many copies that he or she thinks will be needed that week (and, I guess, runs back to the copier if one extra student shows up). The church saves money, because they don't have to buy extra student material that they might not need.

The Reality
The publisher has to increase the price of the book or CD, because most of the cost of developing the material (thinking, writing, editing, producing, and even printing) still exists even for the black and white book pages or digital files on the CD. The church pays the office supply store for the student pages (paper and toner) instead of the publisher. The teacher makes a couple of extra copies, just in case, and still has extras, resulting in more cost not less (but not directly to the Sunday School budget line, I suppose).
And the students miss out: no full-color, realistic Bible art; no full-color activity pages; no stickers; no full-color posters.

The Question
Am I the only one who cares?

Would teachers, parents, students, and church leaders rather just have a mono-chrome curriculum?

Isn't this a matter of priorities for the congregation? How much is Christian education worth?

Is the educational contribution provided by full-color materials not worth the investment?

How much does color help you as you teach God's children His Word?