Don't Forget to Say Thanks

Dear Sunday School Teacher,

You stepped up. You answered the call. You agreed to teach Sunday School.

You sacrifice personal time to study the Bible text and prepare a lesson each week.

You show concern for, and pray for, the students in your class.

You advocate, by what you do and what you say, for a strong Christian education program in the congregation.

Too often, you do all this without recognition or recompense.

It's a little thing, but let me be among those who say it . . .

Thanks!

Thanks for teaching God's children His Word!

"Lutheran Filters"?

I read occasionally, always when people recommend Christian education resources that are not Lutheran, that the user be sure to use his or her "Lutheran filter."

I could not agree more! But I suspect that I use my Lutheran filter quite differently than some might understand by that term.

A "Lutheran filter" is almost certainly not effective in the same way that a water filter that might be that is intended to trap particulates, microbes, and other harmful elements making water drinkable. ("Yes, that water was contaminated with cyanide, but it's okay now; I used my water filter"?) Lutheranism is not just the absence of heretical teaching. It is also the presence of specific life-giving doctrines (the Gospel, God's Word and Sacraments, the essential teaching of God's love, the concept of Christian vocation, and much more).

A "Lutheran filter" might be better seen as a visual tool that allows one to see clearly what is really taught in heterodox material so that it can be avoided completely. ("Ah, now I see the poison; I don't think I'll drink that water, filtered or not.")

If a resource was written to teach that a sovereign God demands perfect obedience and gives us His Bible to teach us how to become more like Jesus, what hope is there of correcting it? So what if it is a fun lesson? The kids you teach will really enjoy this activity?

Please, use your "Lutheran filter"!

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Why Have a Sunday School?

I really wanted to title this blog post "Get Rid of Your Sunday School, if . . . !" And as you see from the rest of this post, the "if" is really important and I certainly did not want the casual reader to take away the wrong message. Because, while I can imagine a congregation that would not need a Sunday School to assist in its mission, I have never "met" one.

But, if in your congregation . . .

• children are fully integrated into the worship service,
• families faithfully and frequently attend worship and receive the Lord's Supper,
• students attend a Lutheran Day School,
• parents have placed the Holy Scriptures into the hands of their children and provide daily family devoted time,
• children have a ready understanding of the salvation narrative, the basic accounts of the Bible, Luther's Small Catechism, and spend time each day in increasing that knowledge,
• parents regularly and comfortably discuss God's Word and its impact on their faith and daily life,

. . . then perhaps a Sunday School is not crucial.

On the other hand, what could it hurt?

God bless you for providing weekly opportunities for God's children to study His Word!