New Facebook Group
Posted by Rob Childs in Site News
We’ve set up a new Facebook group for members and friends of the church to communicate through, you can join up by clicking on the Facebook logo on our main page or this one here:
We’ve set up a new Facebook group for members and friends of the church to communicate through, you can join up by clicking on the Facebook logo on our main page or this one here:
Mr R Paggett - 13th June 2010 am
Mr T Blackburn - 6th June 2010 pm
Mr R Childs - 6th June 2010 am
This year’s Holiday Bible Club kicks off on Monday 26th July at 6:30pm. Right now there’s frantic activity in planning and preparing for a whole week of fun and games.
The club is open for all children aged 5 to 11, more details will be available soon!
You can read a report of our mission week with students from OM Lifehope over the new year at the OM Lifehope website.
As you prepare a Bible Lesson for children, your most important job is to teach Truth. But it’s not enough to teach the truths, you need to apply the truths so this edition we think about Applying the Truth
How do I find the Application of the Central Truth?
1. An Application is: What does God want the child to do on the strength if this truth
Before finding the Application you need to know which category the children fall into:
i Are the children all saved? If so, there is no need to continue with preaching the Gospel to these children. The Application will be to show how to live their Christian lives; How to live for God.
ii Are the children all unsaved? Then your Application should show what Christ has done for them, emphasise their need to trust the Lord Jesus as Saviour and to warn them of their danger
iii Are some of the children saved and some unsaved? If you have a mixed class, then obviously you will need two Applications from the Truth - one for the saved and another for the unsaved.
The Application for the unsaved children won’t do the saved children any harm. It reminds them of what God has done for them.
On the other hand, the Application for the saved child will be good for the unsaved. It prepares them for what God expects when they do come to the Lord for Salvation
Consider the children in your class/club, not just as a group, but individually. Which category does each child fall into?
The answer to that question determines the type of application you are looking for.
How do I find the Application?
Please be careful here. This next bit may seem very easy on paper, but when you come to do it for real - for next Sunday’s Lesson - it may become a little harder, but don’t give up
On a separate sheet of paper, Write out the truth you want to teach. Perhaps you are going to teach about Isaiah being caught up into heaven. (Isaiah 6) The obvious truth from that passage is God is Holy… So, write down God is Holy
Write it down - Don’t try to do it in your head - write it down. You’re going to pray and think and by writing down the Truth, you’ve settled it - it’s before your eyes and you won’t forget it as you pray and think.
As you pray and think, ask yourself ... If God is Holy, What does God want the child to do on the strength of this truth? At the end of what you’ve written, write the words, Therefore you should...
When you consider therefore you should... your answer is the Application - What God wants the child to do on the strength of this Truth: God is holy therefore you should be holy too. saved child). God is holy therefore you should confess your sin to him (unsaved child)
Remember, I said this looks easy but it takes a bit of thought and lots of prayer; What does God want the child to do?
For a bit of practice, find the Applications for these truths and who they are for (i the saved or ii the unsaved)
Jesus Christ died for sinners:
God speaks through the Bible:
God cares for you:
God rules over all:
Jesus Christ is coming back:
When do I Apply the Central Truth?
Not right away.
Take your Progression of Events and slot in where the Central Truth naturally appears
As you tell the Bible story you bring the children along with you and when you reach the first time the Truth appears, you simply explain the Truth
Isaiah heard the Angels call out Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord! And he realised God is Holy. That means God is different from you and me, he is pure and perfect. God never sins - He never does anything that is wrong and everything he does is right.
Don’t drag it out - you may be Teaching a Lesson but the children are listening to a story. So go back to the narrative. When you come to the where the truth appears again, then you apply it
When Isaiah realised how Holy God was he fell down because he realised he was not holy. He realised that God wanted him to be holy too. God wanted him to stop living like all the others who didn’t love God. If you’re a Christian God wants you to be different too, he wants you to stop telling lies and being disobedient. That’s how you can be holy - by being different even though it is hard. God is holy and he wants you to be holy too.
Now go back to the narrative again until the truth comes up and teach it and apply it again
When Isaiah realized God is Holy, he said “I am a man of unclean lips” He realized he had sin in his life. If you’re not a Christian, you need to know that God is Holy and a because God is Holy, your sin puts a barrier between you and God and because of that barrier, you are separated from God. The only way you can come to God is by putting your trust in Lord Jesus Christ. Then you can be holy too.
Then go back to the narrative again and finish the story.
You haven’t just told a Bible Story; you’ve taught a Bible Lesson.
It’s taken us a while to get here, but now that we’re here, I hope you’ve enjoyed the articles. I hope you’ve put some of it into practice. Above all I pray that as you Teach a Bible Lesson children will know the great Truths of Scripture and as you apply that Truth, you will have the reward of seeing children coming to Christ for Salvation.
Last time I left off with you asking, What is God teaching me?
Very often God uses what he teaches you, to bring life to what he wants you to teach the children, so we come to The Truth to Teach
Five Categories
When you understand what God is teaching you, the answer to the question What is God teaching me? will fall into one of five categories and when you realise which category, it helps you concentrate on a specific subject to teach. The five categories your Truth will fall into are…
1. A Doctrine to Believe
A Doctrine is
So, when God shows you a doctrine in the passage, you will be teaching a Biblical Truth.a principle of belief, a body of religious, scientific or political teaching and principles
A few examples of a Doctrine are: God is Eternal; Jesus Christ is Lord; The Church is the body of believers; Satan is a real person; Jesus Christ is coming back again.
Of course as you read God’s Word, you’ll find many, many more Doctrines to Believe.
2. An Example to Follow
Children can be hero-worshippers and if you can give the children someone to look up to from the Bible, Jesus being the biggest and best hero, you can give them Examples to Follow e.g.
Maybe you’re teaching the Life of David and you understand that David killed the giant because he trusted God then the Example to Follow would be Trust in God as David did
Maybe you’re teaching from Joseph who rejected Potipher’s wife. The Example to Follow could be Be like Joseph - flee from sin
A Warning to Heed
Obviously a Warning to Heed is the opposite of an Example to Follow. In this case you want to warn the child NOT to be like someone else e.g.
Maybe you’re teaching about King Saul, who lost the kingdom when he offered sacrifices - after Samuel had instructed him not to. The Warning to Heed could be Don’t be like Saul - Listen to God and obey him.
Maybe you’re presenting the Gospel and the Warning to Heed is Don’t wait and be too late - Be a Christian today
4. A Promise to Claim
This is a wonderful opportunity to bring assurance to the child who has just trusted the Saviour, or children who have fears and worries. What else can he or she stand on, other than the promises of God. E.g. A great Promise to Claim is God says I will never leave you or Them that come onto me I shall in no wise cast out These and other promises encourage children to trust God for all sorts of things.
5. A Command to Obey
This is easy to understand. As you read the passage, God tells you to do something and it has to be obeyed e.g. You may be teaching the Ten Commandments and the Command to Obey is You shall not steal. Maybe you’re teaching about the Lord Jesus as a boy and the Command to Obey is simply to Obey your Parents
When you ask What is God Teaching Me? and God shows you something, the Five Categories help you concentrate your teaching to one area and not ramble and try to put in all sorts of truth and meaning.
The reason for that is, when you read the passage and jot down everything, you will probably find a number of truths in one passage. However, to teach them all will only lead to confusion for the children (and possibly even yourself). That being the case, learn this adage: Teach a Little and Teach it Well
That means, of all the truths you have written down, Choose Just One Truth.
But not any truth; Is there a truth that appears more than once?
As you go back over the Progression of Events the truth you chose will appear at two or three different stages of the Bible Passage …. That’s the one to choose, because it’s the truth that fits naturally into the Bible story a number of times.
The Truth you have chosen is The Central Truth of the passage. Yes, there are other truths but teach the Central Truth. Because it appears a number of times you can reinforce it a number of times
To do that, tell a bit of the story to get the children’s attention and when the Truth appears - teach it. Then tell another bit of the story and when the Truth appears - teach it and apply it to the children’s lives. Then tell another bit of the story and when the truth appears again - Teach it and apply it again but in another way. Then finish off the story.
What you should be aiming to do, (as far as the children are concerned) is tell a Bible story but (as far as you are concerned) you will Teach a Lesson by mingling in Bible Teaching. The children listen better and are more attentive, because you are telling a story… but when you come to the part of the Progression of Events where the truth appears, they continue to listen for when you come back to the story. That way they cannot help but hear Bible Truth of the Passage.
When you teach the Truth, go back to the story and when you come to where the truth appears, you teach the truth again, but this time you apply it in a way that is relevant to the children.
The children still hear a story - but you’ve taught them a Lesson.
But… how do you find the Application of the Truth?
That’s for next time, but give this a try. It will take time but don’t give up; it will click into place.
Jackie
Last time we talked about setting your mind to think Bible Lesson. If youve done that, your whole approach to teaching children will be different.
Then there was the Progression of Events. Now I know that may have sounded patronising but there are valid reasons for doing that and they will become apparent but youll have to have patience as we consider The Meaning of the Passage
Ask God to show you what it means
This is important. You are going to teach what God wants you to teach not what The Book says. Yes, the book is a helpful guide, but perhaps this week, God wants the children in your class to know something different than what The Book suggests. Maybe something has happened in school or at home and a child needs to hear something special. You wont know and the book certainly wont know But God does. If you are open to the Holy Spirit, hell show you clearly what to teach. Believe me, when God shows you what the passage means, theres a buzz in your heart and the children will know because your lesson will be different and youll possibly meet some childs need because you took the time to Ask God what it means
Its almost time to look at The Book but not yet. Before you read The Book .
Read other Books
Get out the Bible Dictionary Read a good Bible Commentary get to know the background of the passage and what other learned scholars suggest. Then youre allowed to read The Book but only as a help, not as the be-all-and-end-all of your Lesson.
Jot down everything that seems relevant.
What has God shown you? What did the Commentators suggest? Have you gleaned something yourself? Jot down all the truths you can find: What does it tell you about God; About the Lord Jesus; The Holy Spirit; About the Church; Christian Living? Jot down everything and anything that seems relevant even if it seems silly and irrelevant
Compare all this information with the Progression of Events and slot everything into place into where it relates to the Progression of Events.
With the Progression of Events written out, when youve asked God what the passage means armed with all the background information and commentators thoughts, ask yourself .
What is God teaching me?
One of the most frightening (and yet exciting things) a Pastor has to face, is that, in his study, he, the Pastor, is the first person to get God’s message for that weekend. He has to apply it to his heart even before the church gets it. There’s no better feeling in the world than to hear God’s voice teaching right into your heart. When God speaks, it makes the passage live and change lives and in turn, it makes the sermon alive.
It just as wonderful when God speaks to you as a children’s worker, charged with teaching God’s Word to boys and girls. Your lesson lives . and the children enjoy it even more. Not because you are a better teacher, but because God has given you something to teach. So ask yourself What is God teaching me?
Maybe it is just for you Praise the Lord! but you can adapt it for the children. Maybe there is a situation in your class or in their school and God wants to help his little children. Maybe, prayerfully, God wants to reach out and save a child that week and The Book doesn’t cover that. Maybe a child has problems at home and God wants to comfort that child who knows? You will when you ask What is God teaching me?
It may not be the same as The Book. So what? Are you going to teach The Book or what God has given you! You must teach the answer to What is God teaching me?
You’ll need to go that extra mile you’ll need time to develop your own lesson That means more time set aside - You’ll maybe need to get your own visuals and/or Word Strips You’ll have to abandon The Book. Oh Horror! But then, if God has helped you get this message for the children, do you not think he is able to help you teach it?
This part is the most wonderful part of teaching children; God meets with you regularly and speaks with you regularly and your own personal relationship with God increases and deepens So, be sure to ask yourself What is God teaching me?
I want to ask a question at this point. When should you begin preparing next Sunday’s Bible Lesson? The answer is On Sunday night!
Now that simply means get out your Bible, have a look at The Book to see what the next passage is (that’s all) and then take five or ten minutes reading next Sunday Bible passage.
On Monday - Read the Bible passage again a few times until you start to know it 30 minutes
On Tuesday, Write out the Progression of Events 30 minutes. Then go over it and put in what you missed - 15 minutes
On Wednesday - Ask God to show you what it means and meditate for a short time. 15 minutes
Then, still on Wednesday, start reading the other books Dictionary, commentary and The Book 30 minutes
Until nest time please understand, you probably wont hear Gods voice as soon as you start reading. It takes time and prayer. Thats why you need to read and re-read and ask “What is God teaching me?”
You’ll experience the joy of hearing God speak to you and when you come before the children, your Lesson will be on fire; and the children will listen and the children will learn and the children will want to know more and the more they know . The sooner they will be ready to trust the Lord as Saviour.
Until next time
Jackie
The EFCC recently published four articles by our Pastor; Rev. Jackie Brown on teaching the gospel to children. We’ll be republishing those articles over the next four months on this site:
Rev David Bessant and I did a survey and at least 90% of churches that replied, agreed on the need for Training. Since then, I have been invited to conduct Teacher Training Weekends in a couple of churches and the teachers seemed to enjoy and appreciate them, hence the invitation to write this mini series of articles on Working with Children.
I could get all theological about the Biblical Basis of Child Evangelism but I suspect you already know why you teach children. It’s not because you like children; not because the regular teacher was off sick for a couple of weeks; not because you got too old for Sunday School; and not even because the Pastor asked you to help out for a couple of weeks ten years ago. Maybe it is for one of those reasons but above all, the Lord Jesus himself said
It is not the will of their Father in Heaven, that any of these little ones should perish (Matt 18:14)
That’s the reason we teach boys and girls the Gospel
There are bound to be people who have been reaching children for many, many years and I’m sure they could teach me many lessons. Maybe what I share will be like ‘Teaching Granny how to suck eggs’ Please forgive me if it seems like that - that’s not my intention. Please read with an open mind and if something is different, at least give it a try to see if it helps. If not, keep on with serving the Lord in your own, better way.
If teaching children is new to you, I hope you don’t allow fear to keep you from trying. Remember, you won’t get it right the first time; often in the Lord’s service, we need to have a few ‘practice runs’ before it clicks into place. So, please be patient and ‘hang in there’ - it will become easier.
I hope you enjoy these suggestions and above all, learn something to help and improve your ministry with the boys and girls God has charged you to reach.
I don’t know the format of everyone’s Kids Korner or Sunday School but I imagine that somewhere in the hour you have with them, there is the Bible Story. That’s where I want to concentrate my suggestions.
Telling a Bible Story or Teaching a Bible Lesson
The first thing I would like every children’s worker to do is stop ‘Telling (or ‘Doing’) the Bible Story’. Anyone can tell a story but not everyone can teach a Lesson. Instead I would like you all to get the mindset that you are teaching a Bible Lesson. There is a big difference.
It has been said that I must have swallowed the Blarney Stone so like most people from Ireland, if someone was to give me a subject, I could start a story in minutes. But, when it comes to Bible Stories and Bible Lessons, there is a vast difference. I’m firmly convinced that even professional school teachers find teaching a Bible Lesson totally different to teaching in class
I hope you have noticed I have been saying Bible Lesson; so, the first exercise for you is to stop thinking and saying Bible Story and instead, start thinking and speaking about Bible Lessons.
Now, having said that, the children still want you to tell a story; that’s okay, but in your mind, you are going to teach a Bible Lesson. You still talk about the Bible Story - to the children - but in your mind, it’s the Bible Lesson
So, where do you start this Bible Lesson? Well, it is a Bible lesson so let’s start there.
I suspect you have been given ‘The Book’ from Go Teach or Scripture Union and that gives you all the information you need - but you’re not going to teach ‘The Book’; you’re going to Teach a Bible Lesson. So! Find out what passage ‘The Book’ suggests and then put the book away… Crazy, I know.
But, instead of reading the Book Read the Bible passage a number of times. Not once or even twice - but four, five, ten times or until you know the Bible passage from which you will Teach a Bible Lesson.
When you think you know the Bible passage take a pencil and notepad and Write out the Progression of Events.
The Progression of Events is simply that. As each Bible passage progresses, it contains certain events. So, write down each event as it happens. How many times have you read the Bible and think to yourself “I’ve read this passage a dozen times and I never saw that before” Well, it’s the same with the Progression of Events - so go back and read the passage again and put in the bits you missed the first time.
Funnily enough, you will only get to know the Progression of Events when you read the Bible passage a number of times. So go back and do it again and put in the other bits you missed the second time. Go on, I dare you, try to prove me wrong - you did miss something didn’t you!
The reason you write out the progression of events is because you cannot trust your memory when you begin to teach the children. It only takes something unexpected to happen - like a child falling off his chair or a door slamming and you are distracted. Children need to know now and will ask questions in the middle of the Lesson. By the time you’ve dealt with the distraction or question or whatever, you’ve forgotten where you where. With a Progression of Events written out, it only takes a glance and you’re back on track.
Now, I know that probably you do all that and there’s nothing new here, But as Jimmy Cricket says “C’mere! There’s more! and I’ll go on from here next time.
Every blessing, Jackie
