How did you do on Sunday? Did your teaching opportunity go well? The crucial question you should be asking yourself is this one: did your lesson point to Christ?
A recent letter suggested to me that, while there were probably some good moral truths to be gleaned from lessons about the Tabernacle or the twelve spies in Canaan, we could better spend our time in Sunday School teaching the Creation account more frequently. I responded with two basic goals for Old Testament Sunday School lessons.
One is to teach as much as is practical about the narrative thread of the Bible, the history of God's plan of salvation for humankind. This will provide a Gospel skeleton, a framework, on which to hang each of the lessons we teach. The creation of the world, and of human beings, and the fall into sin set in motion events that took place over many generations and centuries according to God's specific plan.
The more important reason to teach these Old Testament accounts, though, is that each of them points us to Jesus. A lesson about the Tabernacle will remind us that just as God chose to live among His people during their years in the wilderness and as they claimed the land He has promised them, so He chose also to live among His people in human form as Jesus of Nazareth, and He promises to be among us today through the Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments. The Tabernacle points to Jesus. Each Old Testament lesson should do the same.
Where was Christ is the lesson you taught on Sunday? A promise from God? A type? A fulfillment of a prophecy?
God's blessings as you teach God's children about Jesus even in your Old Testament lessons.
Showing posts with label the BIble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the BIble. Show all posts
Monday, October 22, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Learnings from "Second Grade Bible Sunday"
Our new congregation, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Des Peres, MO, recognized second graders and their families with the gift of a Bible for each student as part of the worship service this past Sunday. At least 80 percent of the students, including (I was told) many who are not likely to attend Sunday School. Still attendance was good for this event. What can we learn from this event and apply to other aspects of the Sunday School?
Personal contact bears fruit. It was obvious that the families of each second grader had been contacted, made aware of the event, and invited to participate. I'd like to think that contact was personal (phone or visit) rather than just by mail or blanket e-mail.
People responded to the offer of a significant gift. The Bibles presented were not cheap (a $25.00 value). They were special and personalized for each child. (Okay, the personalization was to take place later and that could have been improved, but it was a big deal for these kids.)
Give the event and the participants visibility. The students and their parents were invited forward by name during the worship service, introduced, and applauded. It was a relatively big deal. I've seen in other congregations a connection made between this gift of the Bible and the parents' baptismal promises. It would have been nice if the pastor had prayed with these families at the altar, but he did pray for all parents and students just moments before. How many other times will a second grader get to stand in front of the congregation and be applauded just for being there?
The worship event was tied to participating in that morning's Sunday School class. The students were encouraged to be in Sunday School that morning with their new Bibles. The Bible would be personalized with name-plates and other information, the students would meet the regular Sunday School teachers. It was an attempt to make this one-time event the beginning of a habit of regular participation.
I hope it works for these children, that they become regular students of God's Word!
How could this kind of milestone event be leveraged into regular participation?
What other events of this kind could be added to the congregation's calendar to encourage parents and children to participate in Sunday School?
What great ideas do you have for making the most of "Second Grade Bibles Sunday"?
Personal contact bears fruit. It was obvious that the families of each second grader had been contacted, made aware of the event, and invited to participate. I'd like to think that contact was personal (phone or visit) rather than just by mail or blanket e-mail.
People responded to the offer of a significant gift. The Bibles presented were not cheap (a $25.00 value). They were special and personalized for each child. (Okay, the personalization was to take place later and that could have been improved, but it was a big deal for these kids.)
Give the event and the participants visibility. The students and their parents were invited forward by name during the worship service, introduced, and applauded. It was a relatively big deal. I've seen in other congregations a connection made between this gift of the Bible and the parents' baptismal promises. It would have been nice if the pastor had prayed with these families at the altar, but he did pray for all parents and students just moments before. How many other times will a second grader get to stand in front of the congregation and be applauded just for being there?
The worship event was tied to participating in that morning's Sunday School class. The students were encouraged to be in Sunday School that morning with their new Bibles. The Bible would be personalized with name-plates and other information, the students would meet the regular Sunday School teachers. It was an attempt to make this one-time event the beginning of a habit of regular participation.
I hope it works for these children, that they become regular students of God's Word!
How could this kind of milestone event be leveraged into regular participation?
What other events of this kind could be added to the congregation's calendar to encourage parents and children to participate in Sunday School?
What great ideas do you have for making the most of "Second Grade Bibles Sunday"?
Monday, July 23, 2012
What Makes Sunday School Material Lutheran?
I am frequently astonished at the willingness among Lutheran congregations to employ un-Lutheran material in their Sunday Schools and Christian education programs. What's up with that? It raises for me all sorts of questions.
Are they saying that the material we use doesn't make a difference?
Do they not understand the central place that the Sacraments have in the life of every Christian?
What do they expect volunteer teachers to do with un-Lutheran content?
Is the material really edited sufficiently to become Lutheran? Can it be?
What happens when un-Lutheran student material is taken home? Isn't a picture worth a thousand words? Are we in fact promoting heresy?
What is the long-term impact of using un-Lutheran material on the faith and life of teachers and students?
So, how do you know if material is Lutheran? Let's start with three basics.
Lutheran material teaches about sin and salvation, Law and Gospel, and God's forgiveness.
I occasionally hear complaints about the including so much discussion of sin and evil in our CPH Sunday School material. Without an understanding of sin however, and a realization that the world is tainted by it, the students have no real need or desire for God's forgiveness and the salvation He offers through His Son, Jesus.
Lutheran material teaches that God alone is able to work salvation and forgiveness.
God is the active ingredient in our faith relationship with Him. He is the potter; we, the clay. He is the giver; we are beggars who have nothing and bring nothing. He is life; we are dead in sin and unable to act in any way to merit His grace and mercy.
The Bible is the Word of God, contains no error or contradiction, and is the means by which God makes Himself known to us and shares His gifts with us.
Lutheran material will teach more than just Bible facts. It will teaches the meaning and message of the Scriptures.
(Last year I wrote about a simple tool for judging material; it is call "The Temple Test.")
The material you use as you teach God's children His Word will make a difference in their lives now and in eternity. I pray that God will guide those who make the crucial decisions about material. God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
Are they saying that the material we use doesn't make a difference?
Do they not understand the central place that the Sacraments have in the life of every Christian?
What do they expect volunteer teachers to do with un-Lutheran content?
Is the material really edited sufficiently to become Lutheran? Can it be?
What happens when un-Lutheran student material is taken home? Isn't a picture worth a thousand words? Are we in fact promoting heresy?
What is the long-term impact of using un-Lutheran material on the faith and life of teachers and students?
So, how do you know if material is Lutheran? Let's start with three basics.
Lutheran material teaches about sin and salvation, Law and Gospel, and God's forgiveness.
I occasionally hear complaints about the including so much discussion of sin and evil in our CPH Sunday School material. Without an understanding of sin however, and a realization that the world is tainted by it, the students have no real need or desire for God's forgiveness and the salvation He offers through His Son, Jesus.
Lutheran material teaches that God alone is able to work salvation and forgiveness.
God is the active ingredient in our faith relationship with Him. He is the potter; we, the clay. He is the giver; we are beggars who have nothing and bring nothing. He is life; we are dead in sin and unable to act in any way to merit His grace and mercy.
The Bible is the Word of God, contains no error or contradiction, and is the means by which God makes Himself known to us and shares His gifts with us.
Lutheran material will teach more than just Bible facts. It will teaches the meaning and message of the Scriptures.
(Last year I wrote about a simple tool for judging material; it is call "The Temple Test.")
The material you use as you teach God's children His Word will make a difference in their lives now and in eternity. I pray that God will guide those who make the crucial decisions about material. God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Why is biblical literacy important?
If you've followed this blog for very long, you will not be surprised to hear me say that the heart of Sunday School is sharing the Gospel of salvation through Christ with God's children.
Since that is the case, one could wonder why I have been slow to buy into the workshop rotation model of Sunday School.
Workshop Rotation
The workshop rotation model chooses to focus on just a few Bible accounts each year. The selected sections of Scripture are taught through several workshops (drama, video, art/crafts, cooking, and many others). Children attend a different workshop each week and study the same Bible account for three, four, or five weeks in a row. There are some significant positive aspects to this model. Repetition is a powerful teaching tool; students are likely to learn the Bible account and its application to their lives well through the month of instruction. Variety in learning styles are accommodated in the different workshops. A student who must miss an occasional week of Sunday School will not miss an entire lesson. Assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each workshop and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, I can certainly affirm this model.
Biblical Literacy
The workshop rotation model offers depth in biblical instruction. What it lacks is breadth. The students will encounter only ten or twelve Bible stories a year. This compares to the potential for learning forty or fifty Bible stories a year in a more traditional model.
The Bible is a library of books that together recount the amazing record of God's creation and preservation of a chosen people through whom and to whom He sends His Son, Jesus, as the Messiah, the Savior from sin, death, and Satan and the giver of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Students who learn the full scope of salvation history over time will be better able to understand and connect the various accounts in the Bible and find application to their lives. They will see God's love through a broader array of varied Gospel images. And, assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each lesson and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, the broader approach will provide both proclamation of the Gospel and increased biblical literacy.
From my perspective, it is a better way to teach God's children His Word.
What am I missing?
What approach do you take in your congregation?
Since that is the case, one could wonder why I have been slow to buy into the workshop rotation model of Sunday School.
Workshop Rotation
The workshop rotation model chooses to focus on just a few Bible accounts each year. The selected sections of Scripture are taught through several workshops (drama, video, art/crafts, cooking, and many others). Children attend a different workshop each week and study the same Bible account for three, four, or five weeks in a row. There are some significant positive aspects to this model. Repetition is a powerful teaching tool; students are likely to learn the Bible account and its application to their lives well through the month of instruction. Variety in learning styles are accommodated in the different workshops. A student who must miss an occasional week of Sunday School will not miss an entire lesson. Assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each workshop and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, I can certainly affirm this model.
Biblical Literacy
The workshop rotation model offers depth in biblical instruction. What it lacks is breadth. The students will encounter only ten or twelve Bible stories a year. This compares to the potential for learning forty or fifty Bible stories a year in a more traditional model.
The Bible is a library of books that together recount the amazing record of God's creation and preservation of a chosen people through whom and to whom He sends His Son, Jesus, as the Messiah, the Savior from sin, death, and Satan and the giver of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Students who learn the full scope of salvation history over time will be better able to understand and connect the various accounts in the Bible and find application to their lives. They will see God's love through a broader array of varied Gospel images. And, assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each lesson and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, the broader approach will provide both proclamation of the Gospel and increased biblical literacy.
From my perspective, it is a better way to teach God's children His Word.
What am I missing?
What approach do you take in your congregation?
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Temple Test
Christian apologetics is on my mind a lot these days. The writings of Ken Ham and Brad Alles urge us to be a bit more deliberate (no, a lot more deliberate) about preparing Sunday School students to face a world that is often hostile to their faith.
How can we make sure that the lessons we teach on Sunday morning will be distinctively Christian and Lutheran?
A wise man who helped me get started in the Sunday School editing business, Rev. Earl Gaulke, spoke occasionally of using the temple test.
It works like this. Just ask yourself: Could the lessons we teach, the materials we use, be taught in a temple of another faith (Jewish, Islam, Baptist, etc.) without causing those who worship and study there to object? If there would be no objections, our lessons have failed the test! They have not adhered to the truth of Scripture that Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]" (John 14:6 ESV).
We do the children we teach a disservice when the lesson we teach present godless morality, Christless salvation, or religious life absent the Sacraments through which Jesus promises to be with us. That hour of opportunity each week, when God's children gather in your classroom to study His Word, is too precious to waste!
Am I too harsh?
How do you evaluate the material you teach?
How can we make sure that the lessons we teach on Sunday morning will be distinctively Christian and Lutheran?
A wise man who helped me get started in the Sunday School editing business, Rev. Earl Gaulke, spoke occasionally of using the temple test.
It works like this. Just ask yourself: Could the lessons we teach, the materials we use, be taught in a temple of another faith (Jewish, Islam, Baptist, etc.) without causing those who worship and study there to object? If there would be no objections, our lessons have failed the test! They have not adhered to the truth of Scripture that Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]" (John 14:6 ESV).
We do the children we teach a disservice when the lesson we teach present godless morality, Christless salvation, or religious life absent the Sacraments through which Jesus promises to be with us. That hour of opportunity each week, when God's children gather in your classroom to study His Word, is too precious to waste!
Am I too harsh?
How do you evaluate the material you teach?
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