Responding to Violence

Too many times in the past few weeks, we and the children we teach have witnessed sudden, violent attacks on ordinary people, people going about their daily lives with every expectation of peace and safety. It may cause us and the children we teach to be afraid for ourselves and for those we love.

It may be that conversations and questions about such events will be raised by the students you teach. You may wonder, how should I respond?

Your response, of course, will be your own, but I would encourage you to include these three things.

• Lead your students in prayer for the victims of violence, their families, and their attackers. Yes, I believe that prayer is a valid response to fear. It acknowledges that, though we may feel powerless and vulnerable, we have a God who is powerful, who loves us so much that He gave His own Son into the hands of violent men to save us. Pray that God will calm our fears, comfort those who are injured or grieving, that He will protect us from all evil, and that He will turn the hearts of those who would seek to hurt us to love---for us and for Him.
• Remind your students of God's love and power. The God who protected Abraham as he traveled, David as he defended Israel from enemies, and Daniel when he was threatened for his faith, is able also to protect us and will do so according to His will.
• Encourage your students to be strong in faith and bold in witness. Teach God's Word, the good news of salvation, each week to nourish and sustain your students.

God would not have us cower in fear. Instead He calls us to trust in Him.

 God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

That Pesky Lesson about Potiphar's Wife!

One of the toughest criticisms I get as a Sunday School editor hinges on the inclusion of "those awkward stories" in the sequence of lessons we create.

It is made more difficult because we have promised our customers a unified curriculum, that is, the same Scripture text is taught at all levels of our material, early childhood through adult.

The stories with violence net us a few messages from customers each year; the stories involving sex generate even more. Joseph's temptation to sexual sin with Potiphar's wife. David's sinful actions resulting from his lust for Bathsheba. Why don't we just skip these awkward lessons and spare the teacher awkward moments in class? There are several reasons.

• They are part of God's Word. They are often integral to the salvation narrative. They teach important lessons about God's plan for us and His love and forgiveness.
• Sensitivity to these lessons varies greatly from place to place and teacher to teacher. We leave it to the local teacher to make adaptations they need to be comfortable teaching the lesson.
• Those issues about which the Church fails to speak are seen as "fair game" by the world and Christians alike. If we fail in Sunday School to teach what God's Word says about sex outside of marriage, homosexual sexual activity, divorce, and other "tough issues," we leave our children to learn their values in these areas from the world.

Wait! Shouldn't those things be taught in the family by the child's parents? Absolutely. So also should all other lessons that are taught in Sunday School. Our role is to support and supplement the Christian education provided by the home.

So what should the Sunday School teacher do? Know your students and their parents. Communicate with the home whenever there may be concerns. Adapt every lesson to local conditions and sensitivities. But, please don't fail to . . .

Teach God's children His Word!