A research report recently crossed my desk with the sad news: when asked to name a Sunday School curriculum they remembered, the most frequently mentioned was . . .
Veggie Tales!
Yes, that's the one where the talking and singing vegetables teach children to be moral citizens.
I'm sad.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Where's Jesus?
In the past two weeks, the Church has marked the festivals of Christ's ascension and the birthday of the Church on Pentecost. It has been nearly two thousand years since our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to the Church He left behind.
We know, of course, that Jesus has not left us really. He is truly in heaven, but He is also truly present with us here. It is a great comfort to know that Jesus has fulfilled the promise He made to His disciples to be with them always.
So, where is Jesus today? He is ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God. He is present with us, fully human and fully divine according to His promise. He is present in His Word and Sacraments. Wherever His Word is preached and taught, and wherever the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are administered according to His Word, Jesus is present.
He is with us in the Divine Service. And He is with us in the Sunday School classroom.
Does your Sunday School curriculum teach God's children about the Means of Grace? about Jesus' presence through Word and water, bread and wine, according to His promise?
I pray that the children you teach are not missing out on this "sweet comfort."
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
We know, of course, that Jesus has not left us really. He is truly in heaven, but He is also truly present with us here. It is a great comfort to know that Jesus has fulfilled the promise He made to His disciples to be with them always.
So, where is Jesus today? He is ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God. He is present with us, fully human and fully divine according to His promise. He is present in His Word and Sacraments. Wherever His Word is preached and taught, and wherever the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are administered according to His Word, Jesus is present.
He is with us in the Divine Service. And He is with us in the Sunday School classroom.
Does your Sunday School curriculum teach God's children about the Means of Grace? about Jesus' presence through Word and water, bread and wine, according to His promise?
I pray that the children you teach are not missing out on this "sweet comfort."
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
Monday, May 13, 2013
WOW! CPH Has All That?
I've heard that some congregations are looking for new Sunday School material, something that is family-friendly, recognizes the Church Year, is experiential and relational, is easy to prepar, and contributes significantly to biblical literacy.
I have good news: Sunday School material from Concordia Publishing House does all that and more!
Family Friendly: For thirty years, CPH has produced Sunday School material that is unified across all age levels. Everyone in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest can study the same biblical text each week, each using materials and techniques that are age-appropriate. The materials incorporate take-home materials that promote family discussion and further study about the lesson. Especially, check out the "Explore More Cards," published with our Cross Explorations material but useful with either curriculum. Our materials assume that families will worship together each Sunday and we incorporate elements of the Church's worship in the lessons.
Recognizes the Church Year: CPH Sunday School material is rooted in the Church Year; major festivals are recognized and often the focus of lessons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, Transfiguration, Holy Week, and Easter lessons are taught on appropriate Sundays; Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, and other festivals are noted and often incorporated into the lesson. About half of the Sunday School lessons each year teach the Bible account that is read as the Gospel in the Divine Service in congregations using the three-year-lectionary.
Experiential and Relational: CPH recognizes that children learn best by applying Scriptures to life experience. The youngest children spend time each week in activities that provide a real-life experience to which the Scriptures can be applied; lessons for older children use role play and discussion to help student apply what they learn from the Bible to their lives between Sundays.
Easy to Prepare: Each lesson has a one-page study of the theological and bibical content of the lesson, handy materials lists, scripted teacher talk (so you know what to say, even if you put it in your own words), and a simple four-part outline. In addition, a 30-minute podcast about the lesson is available each week.
Biblical Literacy: the sequence of lessons in Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations materials has been carefully designed to teach the entire narrative of salvation history over a three-year-plus period, with the most significant parts of that history (Advent, Christmas, and Easter) taught every year. Lessons repeat every third or fourth year, so that as student grow they encounter God's Word again and again in age-appropriate learning.
In addition, CPH offers consistent instruction using both Law and Gospel, lessons that are truly centered in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, two choices of material (check them out at our new Web site: cph.org/sundayschool), realistic full-color Bible art, varied modes of instruction and story presentation, and a wealth of supplementary material.
What are you looking for in Sunday School material?
What do you think we are missing?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Family Friendly: For thirty years, CPH has produced Sunday School material that is unified across all age levels. Everyone in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest can study the same biblical text each week, each using materials and techniques that are age-appropriate. The materials incorporate take-home materials that promote family discussion and further study about the lesson. Especially, check out the "Explore More Cards," published with our Cross Explorations material but useful with either curriculum. Our materials assume that families will worship together each Sunday and we incorporate elements of the Church's worship in the lessons.
Recognizes the Church Year: CPH Sunday School material is rooted in the Church Year; major festivals are recognized and often the focus of lessons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, Transfiguration, Holy Week, and Easter lessons are taught on appropriate Sundays; Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, and other festivals are noted and often incorporated into the lesson. About half of the Sunday School lessons each year teach the Bible account that is read as the Gospel in the Divine Service in congregations using the three-year-lectionary.
Easy to Prepare: Each lesson has a one-page study of the theological and bibical content of the lesson, handy materials lists, scripted teacher talk (so you know what to say, even if you put it in your own words), and a simple four-part outline. In addition, a 30-minute podcast about the lesson is available each week.
Biblical Literacy: the sequence of lessons in Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations materials has been carefully designed to teach the entire narrative of salvation history over a three-year-plus period, with the most significant parts of that history (Advent, Christmas, and Easter) taught every year. Lessons repeat every third or fourth year, so that as student grow they encounter God's Word again and again in age-appropriate learning.
In addition, CPH offers consistent instruction using both Law and Gospel, lessons that are truly centered in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, two choices of material (check them out at our new Web site: cph.org/sundayschool), realistic full-color Bible art, varied modes of instruction and story presentation, and a wealth of supplementary material.
What are you looking for in Sunday School material?
What do you think we are missing?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Monday, May 6, 2013
What Is at the Center?
Why do some folks take so much time choosing a treat from a box of chocolates?
It's because it's all about the center, the heart, the core, the inside. We want the center to be the very best among the many choices in the box.
Sunday School lessons are also about the center! What the lesson is designed to teach! Everything else either supports the central truth of the lesson, or it is window dressing.
But I heard it again this week, that some folks actually don't care about the center of the lessons in the material they purchase for Sunday School. "It's easier to fix the theology than to add the window dressing!" Forgive me for being blunt, but that's not my experience.
If the center of the lesson, the theological point that it intends to teach, is wrong, everything essential in the lesson will be wrong as well. The introduction will introduce the error. The discussion questions will draw out the error. The activities, if they are chosen carefully, will continue to teach the error.
A moralistic lesson with a kernel of Gospel tacked on will still be, at its heart, a moralistic lesson. Unless, of course, the lesson was all window dressing in the first place.
A Sunday School teacher has twenty, or perhaps thirty, opportunities a year to teach a child about the saving truth of the Gospel, which God shares with us in Word and Sacrament. I challenge you to make each of the opportunities count. Don't settle for material that is not centered in the Gospel.
Thanks for all you do to teach God's children His saving Word!
It's because it's all about the center, the heart, the core, the inside. We want the center to be the very best among the many choices in the box.
Sunday School lessons are also about the center! What the lesson is designed to teach! Everything else either supports the central truth of the lesson, or it is window dressing.
But I heard it again this week, that some folks actually don't care about the center of the lessons in the material they purchase for Sunday School. "It's easier to fix the theology than to add the window dressing!" Forgive me for being blunt, but that's not my experience.
If the center of the lesson, the theological point that it intends to teach, is wrong, everything essential in the lesson will be wrong as well. The introduction will introduce the error. The discussion questions will draw out the error. The activities, if they are chosen carefully, will continue to teach the error.
A moralistic lesson with a kernel of Gospel tacked on will still be, at its heart, a moralistic lesson. Unless, of course, the lesson was all window dressing in the first place.
A Sunday School teacher has twenty, or perhaps thirty, opportunities a year to teach a child about the saving truth of the Gospel, which God shares with us in Word and Sacrament. I challenge you to make each of the opportunities count. Don't settle for material that is not centered in the Gospel.
Thanks for all you do to teach God's children His saving Word!
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