Monthly Archives: September 2014

Taming the Covet Monster + Free Family Devotional

September 30, 2014

Lately, I’ve half-jokingly pondered writing a children’s book on coveting…specifically as I have watched my 3-year-old grandson. His parents are hard at work trying to battle the “covet monster” in him. But in thinking about writing a book for this little covet monster, I would have to admit that his grandma has the same problem—surprise, surprise! Good news! You don’t have to wait for an imaginary, not-yet-written book. Here is a free family devotional on the subject by Sally Michael based on her curriculum The Righteous Shall Live By Faith. The devotional includes the following elements:

Teaching

Wanted: Senior Saints for Our Children

September 29, 2014

I love seeing gray-haired saints ministering in our nurseries and classrooms! (Especially now that I am quickly becoming one of them.) Personally, my family has been, and continues to be, greatly ministered to by mature older believers. This should be the norm in our churches. Consider these statements from Pastor Clint Archer in his new book, The Home Team: God’s Game Plan for the Family:

Vision Encouragement

Oh no, a child is BORED!

September 24, 2014

This article by Geoff Thomas had me laughing and then…really thinking. While you may not agree completely with his perspective (I sure didn’t), there is still a lot to consider is his short article. Here is how he begins:

An elder preceded the minister into the pulpit and then came to the front and addressed the congregation. “Last week…a child was bored in the service.” A gasp went through the congregation. Men looked at their feet, women cried quietly, and children went white. “The church officers are meeting with the minister during the week and will announce our conclusions next Sunday. In the meantime we want to apologise to that child and his parents and all the other children,” the elder concluded before leaving the pulpit. The ashen-faced preacher came to the pulpit, and in a trembling voice began the service…

(“A Child

Encouragement Parenting Homeschool

Bible Lesson “Dates” – An Update

September 23, 2014

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Back in July, I posted about my daughter’s endeavor to schedule not only play dates for her children but also Bible lesson dates. Here is an update from her about how things are going. Hopefully, it will serve as an encouragement for other moms to give this idea a try.

If you were to sit and observe us, you would see two mothers juggling babies and doing their best to get two very active toddlers to listen to Bible stories and remember important themes. After 15 years of Sunday school classroom experience, being mommy-as-teacher has proven to be my hardest role yet. The first week of our Bible school, all went well, because all was new. The second week—during the story of the Fall—unruly students were given a prolonged definition of sin using real life illustrations and Ephesians 6:1. Our two wigglers calmed down in the third week, but only after Cain murdered Abel. In the end, we have resorted to promising cookies after the lesson in exchange for listening ears. So far, it has worked.

After the story, we sing a few children’s praise songs using the drums, bells, and shakers we have at home. Then we go to the dining room table to color the workbook page and repeat and apply the lesson story and themes. A week’s worth of preparation comes down to 30 minutes of intensive teaching and discussion. Sometimes it’s tempting to wonder if the result is worth the effort.

But then consider this: After a hard lesson on Cain and Abel, I took David and Elizabeth for a walk to the local gas station for ice cream. While we admired cars and trucks along the way, I started asking David questions about the Bible story. To my surprise, he was able to correctly identify both brothers and what they did. From there, we were able to talk about sin, loving God, and the consequences of both. It wasn’t in-depth by any means, but it was the basic things that a three-year-old heart in the throes of rebellion needed to hear and understand.

Bringing the curriculum home has helped us to grow as parents and believers in at least four ways:

Teaching Vision Parenting

Be Careful of the “We” Word

September 22, 2014

Have you ever said or heard these kinds of phrases in the classroom…?

We believe that God sent Jesus into the world to save us.

We trust Jesus, and He has forgiven us for all our sins.

We love Jesus and want to do what He commands.

When we die, we will go to heaven and live with Jesus forever.

True statements, correct? Well, each statement is true for those who have come to true saving faith. But in most classrooms, it is highly likely that there are also unbelieving children and youth present. So using the term “we” may be inappropriate and even dangerous. “We” may serve to communicate a false sense of assurance to unbelieving students. Therefore, be careful in using inclusive language in the classroom. By being careful about the way in which we say the above statements we not only affirm and encourage true believers in our classrooms, but we also challenge those who haven’t yet come to saving faith. For example, a teacher could say…

Teaching

Help, I’m a Substitute!

September 17, 2014

As wonderful as it would be to have the same consistent Sunday school teachers and small group leaders every week, we all know there are times when substitutes are necessary. Most of the time, an absence from the classroom is planned well in advance, and adequate arrangements can be made to prepare a substitute. Other times, however, a last-minute need arises, and there is little time to prep the substitute. In either situation, we have found that providing substitutes with a “quick guide” to the classroom schedule, curriculum, lesson, etc. is a valuable resource. That is why all of our newly revised curricula contain a 2-page “Quick Guide for Substitute Teachers and Small Group Leaders” in the appendix section. Here is the quick guide for Jesus, What a Savior, but you can adapt this format for your own classroom setting and curriculum choice.

(Image

Vision Worship

Are They Really Worshipping God?

September 15, 2014

As much as I delight in watching a roomful of 6- and 7-years olds jubilantly singing songs of praise to God in the classroom, I am reminded of these important words from worship leader and song writer Bob Kauflin:

"Worshipping God" means different things at different ages. Younger children, who may not know God yet, may still participate enthusiastically in various external forms of worshipping God. However, we want their worship to be from the heart, and not simply a matter of conforming. They need a clear knowledge of who God is and what He has done. That includes His nature, His attributes, and His works, especially our redemption through Christ. As the Holy Spirit enables them, they will become increasingly aware of their sinfulness before God, accept His gracious gift of forgiveness through the Gospel, and be included among those who will forever be growing in their love for and worship of God. In the mean time, our job is to help them be "dazzled" by the glory of Jesus Christ (quoting Paul Tripp). For one thing that means using more songs that tell us about God than how we feel about Him.

Curriculum Products Parenting

Now available for Android & iPhone: The Growing in Faith Together App

September 11, 2014

As Sunday School is starting this fall, Children Desiring God is excited to offer a new resource to help parents and churches partner together and extend learned beyond the classroom. Our new Growing in Faith Together App is now available for both iPhone and Android! Growing in Faith Together: Parent and Child Resource Pages (GIFT Pages) have been created to help parents interact with their children about the spiritual truths taught in Sunday school. (In our original curriculum, these have been known as Parent Pages or Take-Home Pages.) These GIFT Pages, which correlate with our elementary curriculum, provide parents a summary of what children are taught in class, discussions questions to help lead children

Teaching Bible Skills

Making the Most of Your Sunday School "Transition Time"

September 10, 2014

"Transition Time" is the time period at the beginning of class when children begin arriving. It is often characterized by children arriving at varying times. Depending on your classroom structure and routine, this time may be only 10 to 15 minutes in length. What happens during this time is important as it often sets the tone for the rest of the class session. Therefore, we would like to encourage you to carefully plan and prepare meaningful, God-centered, faith-nurturing activities. Here are a few suggestions:

Small Group Activities

At the beginning of the year, divide the class into groups of 5-8 children, each assigned to an adult small group leader throughout the course of the study. As soon as the children enter the classroom each week, they immediately go to their assigned group. This option maximizes the time that the children spend with a faith-nurturing adult who comes to know the children in his group on an increasingly familiar basis. The children feel welcomed and have a place to belong, and the setting is ideal for doing the following kinds of activities:

Devotional Encouragement Parenting

What Do Our Children Need from Us?

September 09, 2014

Consider these words from Dr. Joel Beeke,

The salvation of our children is priceless; their spiritual needs far outweigh their physical needs. They need our prayers—our earnest prayers with hearts aflame, both for their initial repentance and coming to Christ by faith, and for their life of ongoing growth in faith. Matthew Henry rightly declared that it is of far more value for parents who die to leave behind a treasury of prayers for their children than it is to leave behind a treasury of silver and gold.¹

¹From Praying for Our Children’s Salvation, ligonier.org