Monthly Archives: August 2015

Interview with Sally Michael

August 31, 2015

In the current issue of CREDO magazine, “Let the Children Come to Jesus,” Matthew Barrett has an informative interview with Sally Michael. Here are some of the questions he posed to her:

What makes a good children’s book?
What is the number one mistake churches make when structuring and developing a children’s Sunday school curriculum for the first time?
What are the benefits of parents teaching their children not only the Bible’s story but the doctrines of the Christian faith?
How do you incorporate the gospel message in your parenting?

You can read the interview here (starting at page 14).

Teaching Vision Parenting Theology

God’s Rules and Biblical Balance

August 26, 2015

In the past, children’s Bible resources were often marked by “moralism,” whereby the end goal was to produce outwardly “good little boys and girls.” But what these resources often inadvertently encouraged was faithless little boys and girls, working hard in a futile effort to earn a right standing before God by keeping His rules. Hopefully, the church and parents have done away with using these kinds of resources. However, let’s be careful not to swing the pendulum to the other extreme: Bible resources that minimize God’s rules or see them in a negative manner. Pastor Burk Parsons offers a great call to a biblical balance in this regard:

I have heard people say that the Bible is just a list of do’s and don’ts. People who say that have not read the Bible. In order to combat this sort of thinking, some Christians will quickly respond by arguing that the Bible is not a list of do’s and don’ts

Teaching Vision

Arm them with the Gospel

August 25, 2015

One of the great privileges of teaching or leading a small group is the many opportunities to share the Gospel with children. But we often make an assumption that our children’s ministry volunteers are well taught and articulate in the “what” and “how” in communicating the Gospel to children. I know that, for myself, I had to unlearn many unbiblical notions concerning the Gospel. How so? I came to faith during the popular “born again” movement that was often marked by a shallow and skewed view of who God is, man’s condition, and the redeeming work of Christ. So when I first became a Sunday school teacher, many of those misunderstandings of the Gospel marked my interaction with the children. And even after I received solid biblical teaching concerning the Gospel, I then had to learn how to communicate it in a manner that was biblical yet child-friendly. Therefore, let’s be proactive in helping our children’s ministry volunteers

Teaching Vision Parenting Theology

The Why and What of a Christian Education

August 24, 2015

Dr. Albert Mohler makes a great case for why our children and students need a distinctly Christian education of the mind:

Christianity recognizes and affirms the importance of the intellect. The life of the mind is understood to be a central issue of Christian discipleship. The Christian is not only to live in obedience to Christ, but is also to serve Christ through the development of a distinctively Christian mind.

All too many Christians ignore the intellectual component of discipleship. This tragic reality betrays a misunderstanding of the gospel, for the gospel of Jesus Christ requires cognitive understanding. In other words, there is a knowledge that is central to the Christian faith. As the apostle Paul makes clear in Romans 10, faith comes by hearing, and that faith is established upon truth claims that are nonnegotiable and necessary for salvation.

Christian

Curriculum Products Youth

A Look Inside: Open My Eyes, Part 4

August 20, 2015

Today is the final day we are taking an inside look at the themes found in Open My Eyes, our new curriculum for senior high students on studying the Bible.

The need to study the Bible
Understanding the genres of Biblical literature
Learning inductive Bible study skills
Responding to God in faith from the heart

The final five lessons of Open My Eyes focus on presenting the work of the Word in salvation and presenting the Gospel message. Students will

Curriculum Teaching Products Youth

A Look Inside: Open My Eyes, Part 3

August 19, 2015

Open My Eyes is our brand new study for youth on studying the Bible and we are so excited to be hosting an Open My Eyes Classroom Kit Giveaway! We would love to you all but enter the contest, but why should you bother? This week we are looking at the truths taught in Open My Eyes and why it is important for teenagers to learn these lifelong skills. The study focuses on these four themes:

Curriculum Products Youth

A Look Inside: Open My Eyes, Part 2

August 18, 2015

Open My Eyes, our newly released study for youth teaches youth the lifelong skill of studying the Bible. The curriculum focuses on four keys themes, which we are looking at this week:

The need to study the Bible
Understanding the genres of Biblical literature
Learning inductive Bible study skills
Responding to God in faith from the heart

The main section of lessons in Open My Eyes varies between discovering the genres of Biblical literature and learning practical inductive Bible study skills. This gives students extra time to learn new skills before introducing the next one. If you do not consider the literary context the verses in the Bible are presented in, you may be very confused. There is a great difference between historical narratives and parables, letters and poetry. To correctly interpret a Bible passage, students need to learn to understand the author’s intended meaning through exploring the context. Christians can be deceived in their understanding of the Word if they do not carefully study the Bible. Open My Eyes gives students an overview of nine genres of Biblical literature to equip them in understanding the context.

Genres of Biblical Literature

Vision Parenting

Preparing Young People for Baptism

Jill Nelson - August 18, 2015

Baptism is a significant act of obedience in the life of a believer. Pastor David Michael is eager to equip the church to responsibly oversee the ordinance of baptism for young people without usurping the privilege of spiritual leadership God has given to parents. To that end, he developed a resource consisting of the following two booklets to help churches and parents partner together as they faithfully prepare a young person to follow the Lord in the obedience of baptism and to become a covenant member of a local church: CHBMEP Mentor's Guide Designed for parents and mentors (especially fathers), this booklet outlines a process, objectives, and sessions to a lead a young person through the meaningful process

Curriculum Youth

A Look Inside: Open My Eyes, Part 1

August 17, 2015

In case you missed the news, we released Open My Eyes last week, our first curriculum for senior high students. The 40-week study teaches youth how to study the Bible. This week, we are going to give you an inside look at the 4 themes the lessons are structured around:

The need to study the Bible
Understanding the genres of Biblical literature
Learning inductive Bible study skills
Responding to God in faith from the heart

Before being taught how to study the Bible, the first five lessons lead students to discover the steadfastness of the Bible and why it is

Vision Encouragement Parenting

What Our Children Need to See in Us

August 17, 2015

This is a great reminder from Joel Beeke:

Children are not looking for perfect parents, and they are remarkably forgiving. They have an uncanny way of knowing who their parents are and what they stand for. It is hard to keep secrets from anyone when we live under the same roof. Children are always reading the books of our lives. Besides the Bible, the way we live our faith from day to day is the most important book our children will ever read.

What children need to see is not a perfect mom or dad, and certainly not a mom or dad who never says, “I’m sorry.” They need to see in us an unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ, an unconditional love for them, and a strong bond of love for each other as husband and wife. They need to see a mom and dad laboring shoulder to shoulder, of whom the children can say: “My mom and dad hate sin, they love God, and their only hope is in Christ Jesus. They want