Another beautiful day! It was a blessed time with the Lord today. We had several of the GuitarMan's friends come to church and it was so good to have them worship with us. I taught on seeking God's will this morning in SS and as it is any time I teach, I also learned.
Children's Church is the same way. I am teaching from the Old Testament right now. I review what we have learned thus far and add a little to it each week so that we are in constant review but also adding to our knowledge. I really enjoy the chance to teach from the Bible and view it as a privilege. I also take it very seriously. I want to be sure I teach solid Biblical truth.
Some people think you would have to be a Bible expert to be able to teach. Certainly you should have some Bible knowledge and be a solid Christian. But more importantly, I think you have to be teachable yourself so that you are willing to dig into the Word and then share what God reveals.
I once knew a lady who shared with my husband that she did not believe all of the Bible was really true. She believed that most of the Bible was just moral stories. This woman was a teacher in the children's department and her husband a deacon!
Parents, if you utilize the children's programs in your church, find out what they are learning! Who is teaching and what do they believe? What happens when you leave the room? Please do not make the mistake of simply assuming they believe the Word to be infallible just because they are church members and possibly even hold an office within the church. This can be particularly hard if you are in a larger church. In a mega church there is just no way to get to know everyone. Don't let your guard down just because you are at church.
May I extend this to include Christian schools as well? So many simply have the word stamped on them but Jesus is not there within the walls. Many times students are there because their parents think it will be a better environment and "clean them up." But actually what happens is that those same students pull the other students down and your child winds up getting exposed to the very thing the "Christian "school was supposed to be protecting them from!
Perhaps the best remedy is to teach your children to have a solid, Biblical worldview so that they will filter everything through that. It doesn't mean that they will be perfect. It doesn't mean they will never participate in activities that disappoint you. They will still be human and learning and making mistakes. But what it does mean is that they will recognize false teaching. They will recognize sin. They will recognize conviction. And even when they take steps that pull them away from Christ you can trust that they know the truth. The Bible assures us they will come back to that truth.
Children's Church is the same way. I am teaching from the Old Testament right now. I review what we have learned thus far and add a little to it each week so that we are in constant review but also adding to our knowledge. I really enjoy the chance to teach from the Bible and view it as a privilege. I also take it very seriously. I want to be sure I teach solid Biblical truth.
Some people think you would have to be a Bible expert to be able to teach. Certainly you should have some Bible knowledge and be a solid Christian. But more importantly, I think you have to be teachable yourself so that you are willing to dig into the Word and then share what God reveals.
I once knew a lady who shared with my husband that she did not believe all of the Bible was really true. She believed that most of the Bible was just moral stories. This woman was a teacher in the children's department and her husband a deacon!
Parents, if you utilize the children's programs in your church, find out what they are learning! Who is teaching and what do they believe? What happens when you leave the room? Please do not make the mistake of simply assuming they believe the Word to be infallible just because they are church members and possibly even hold an office within the church. This can be particularly hard if you are in a larger church. In a mega church there is just no way to get to know everyone. Don't let your guard down just because you are at church.
May I extend this to include Christian schools as well? So many simply have the word stamped on them but Jesus is not there within the walls. Many times students are there because their parents think it will be a better environment and "clean them up." But actually what happens is that those same students pull the other students down and your child winds up getting exposed to the very thing the "Christian "school was supposed to be protecting them from!
Perhaps the best remedy is to teach your children to have a solid, Biblical worldview so that they will filter everything through that. It doesn't mean that they will be perfect. It doesn't mean they will never participate in activities that disappoint you. They will still be human and learning and making mistakes. But what it does mean is that they will recognize false teaching. They will recognize sin. They will recognize conviction. And even when they take steps that pull them away from Christ you can trust that they know the truth. The Bible assures us they will come back to that truth.
Very good post. I head up the Children's Church at our small church (165 people) and we have about 10 kids in our group. I make sure the teacher's are teaching sound doctrine because I give them the lesson. I like to mix old testatment and new or sometimes I mirror what the parents are learning from the Pastor's text. We don't use prepackaged literature and we don't do a lot of "silly" stuff. I feel it's bible time so we should be a litte more reserved. I enjoy the questions...they're great.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Hi, Lorrie
ReplyDeleteIsn't it so much fun to see the children retain what they have been taught? It's refreshing to hear that you think the Bible is enough. Keep it up...I know you must be a big blessing to those children and their families. :)