But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.—James 1:22-25

How easy it is for us to read the Bible, close the pages of this life-changing book…and walk away unchanged. Our response to God’s Word is much like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and forgets what he looks like.

When a man forgets his reflection in the mirror, is it because there something wrong with the image reflected in the mirror? Is the mirror faulty? No, and neither is God’s Word faulty, though we walk away unchanged. The problem is with us. We read but we do not apply; we do not consider what God’s words mean for our everyday lives.
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At Children Desiring God, we talk a lot about the necessity of teaching our children and youth the whole counsel of God. One measure of how well we have succeeded in doing this is to see whether or not they can answer these crucial questions, with increasing biblical depth, as they age and mature:

• What’s in the Bible?
• How should we read and understand the Bible?
• Who is the Bible about?
• What’s the main message of the Bible? (more…)

Back in the days when I taught science classes to homeschooled children, I used to emphasize the importance of careful observation. As an example, I would have each child choose a flower or a single leaf, and have them quietly study it for at least 30 minutes and record everything they could about it—size, shape, colors, texture, fragrance, etc. It’s amazing what comes to light about something when you really stop to ponder it. “Ponder—to think about, give thought to, consider, mull over, contemplate, meditate on…” The word “ponder” is not often used anymore in this fast-paced, sound-bite, digital media culture. So a verse like this is often readily passed over:

I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Psalm 77:12, ESV

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If you have ever listened or watched David and Sally’s Michael’s three-part “Vision for the Next Generation” series, you know that Psalm 78 plays a prominent role in establishing a vision for faith in the next generations. Consider verses 5-7:

He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God…

Pastor David Michael gives a brief summary based on this Old Testament text: (more…)

Don’t you love summer? Your children can put away the “have to read” books that school demands and the intense schedule of the school year, and have long leisurely hours to…read! The following list of books includes some that your children can read and some that you can read together to not only give them the pleasure of reading, but also to nurture their souls and character. (The list progresses from younger to older readers.)

Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes (Vol. 1-4)—Dave and Neta Jackson

Tales of the Kingdom—David and Karen Mains (Also sequels: Tales of the Resistance; Tales of the Restoration)

God Knows My Size! Silvia Tarniceriu—Harvey Yoder

The War for Mansoul—Ethel Barrett and John Bunyan (a contemporary version of Bunyan’s A Holy War). This book is recommended with the Midweek curriculum Fight the Good Fight and is available for a special offer of $8.99, while supplies last. We also recommend this delightful audio version. (more…)

Here is an aspect of parenting and ministry to children that is crucial for a right understanding of the Gospel:

Children need to learn early about their creature-Creator relationship to God. They are under authority and owe God complete obedience to His commandments…

They need to be helped to think theologically about their failures to obey—that is, they need to learn to see their sin in relation to God. So being dishonest is not only an unkindness to others, it is also a violation of the ninth commandment. Taking something that belongs to another child is not simply carelessness or selfishness, it is breaking the eighth commandment. A child’s disobedience to his parent is not simply hurtful or disrespectful, it is disobeying God’s fifth commandment.

By pointing out these connections to children we can help them see their actions in the light of God’s law… (more…)

Here are two quotes I came upon recently that challenge us to think about the purpose and priority of teaching our children and youth the deep things of God:

If we want to love God more, we have to know Him more deeply. And the more we search the Scriptures, and the more we focus our minds’ attention on who God is and what He does, the more we understand just a tiny little bit more about Him and the more our souls break out in flame. We have a greater ardor to honor Him. The more we understand God with our minds, the more we love Him with our minds. (more…)

I am constantly amazed and alarmed by the impulse to minimize the Bible in our church classrooms. Consider a typical Sunday school classroom. Let’s say you have an hour’s timeframe. How much of that time is actually spent reading and studying the Bible text? How does this compare to time spent on other activities? How much time are the children (of reading age) spending with their Bibles open, personally interacting with the text? Yes, the latter is unrealistic for 5-year-olds, but by second grade and onward, children should be spending an increasing amount of the Sunday school lesson hour being taught directly from Scripture.

In his article, “The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It’s Our Problem,” Dr. Albert Mohler says the following:

Christians who lack biblical knowledge are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge. Bible teaching now often accounts for only a diminishing fraction of the local congregation’s time and attention… (more…)

In my home office, I have a folder file titled, “Encouragement.” In it are notes—simple, handwritten notes from children I have taught throughout the years in Sunday school and midweek classes. Typically, I was given these notes during the last weeks of the class year. Some notes made me laugh. Some made me cry happy tears. Each note is precious. Each brings to mind a memory. Each is a source of lasting encouragement to this teacher.

So parents, don’t underestimate the power of your 5 year old’s barely legible “thank you” to a Sunday school teacher on a note card with accompanying car stickers or hand-drawn flowers. These notes are a valuable source of encouragement. Teach your children to be encouragers. Set an example of showing thankfulness to those who have served you. Use the next few weeks as an opportunity to encourage those who have served you and your child this past year.

Philippians 2:1-3—So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

1 Thessalonians 5:11—Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Romans 15:5-6—May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we quickly come to the completion of another school year, it’s a good time to look back and evaluate our ministry experience with children and youth. One way to do this would be to gather your ministry teams together and talk through the following questions:

• Was the Bible central in all of our teaching?
• Was God the main focus of every lesson?
• Was the Gospel proclaimed?
• Was Jesus made much of in our classroom, and did we feel His abiding presence from week to week?
• What evidences of grace have we seen God work in the lives of the children and youth in our classroom?
• How has God caused me to personally grow this year as I have taught and led these students?
• Have the students seen the love of Jesus through my demeanor, words, and actions?
• Did I spend time in faithful prayer for myself, the other teachers, and my students?
• What has been the greatest joy I’ve experienced this year in ministering to these students? Have I shared that joy with others for their benefit and God’s praise?
• Have we established good lines of communication with the parents?
• What has been my biggest challenge this year? Are there steps that I (and others) can take to help overcome this challenge?
• What would I have wanted to do differently? Why?
• Is there anything that we would want to communicate to the leadership?

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