There are a variety of wonderfully exciting and visually appealing resources designed for the Sunday school classroom these days—high-tech digital media being just one example. There is no denying that these types of teaching tools have a special draw for children. But we must be extremely careful. As more than one pastor has cautioned the church: “What you win them with, is what you win them to.”

Recently we received an encouraging note from a teacher, Yvonne, who is using the Jesus, What a Savior curriculum in her classroom. Here is what she said: (more…)

Imagine your children 20 years from now. What do you want them to “stand upon” and have full confidence in? What will provide the only unshakable bedrock for them in the midst of the world’s changing norms and values? What will they hold fast to as they are bombarded with more and more information in our digital age? How will they be able to discern truth from error in a world of competing ideas and beliefs?

In the past few weeks, the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation has been highlighted and celebrated. We would do well to pass on to our children and students the importance of this historic event. The very essence of the Gospel was at stake as Luther and the other reformers reaffirmed the eternal truths of Scripture. One of these truths was the importance of the authority of Scripture alone. For Luther, it was truly a matter of life or death. Here is an excerpt from an article titled, “Here We Stand” by Albert Mohler:

Martin Luther’s great moment of theological clarification came at the climax of a command performance. Facing the threat of martyrdom and execution, Luther appeared on trial at the Diet of Worms before the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Asked on what authority he dared to defy the Pope and the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, Luther famously replied: (more…)

We live in an increasingly postmodern world in which truth is no longer valued to the degree it once was. More often than not, people understand “truth” to be relative and self-defined, meaning that each person defines truth in a way that seems best to him or her. Furthermore, the acceptance of “absolute truth” has become a thing of the past—an old notion that is considered to be the source of intolerance and arrogance. Every day we are bombarded by a secular worldview, which is militant to absolute truth. Standing against this tide of postmodernism is the Truth of God—objective, absolute, universal, unchanging, and made knowable through God’s Word, the Bible. And that truth is not only necessary for salvation; it is also relevant for every aspect of life.

In her book Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey recalls the following quote from the late Francis Schaeffer:

Christianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital “T.” Truth about total reality, not just about religious things. Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality—the intellectual holding of total Truth and then living in the light of that Truth.

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What might happen in our classrooms if we took these words by David Wells to heart:

Until we recognize afresh the centrality of God’s holiness, until it once again enters into the innermost fibers of evangelical faith, our virtue will lack seriousness, our belief will lack poignancy, our practice will lack moral pungency, our worship will lack joyful seriousness, our preaching [and teaching] will lack the mordancy of grace, and the church will be just one more special interest pleading for hearing in a world of competing enterprises.

 (God In the Wasteland,
© 1994, page 145)

The centrality of God’s holiness…Does it enter into the innermost fibers of our classrooms? If so, how? First of all, we need to define God’s holiness. Here is a helpful summary:

…the word signifies everything about God that sets Him apart from us and makes Him an object of awe, adoration, and dread to us. It covers all aspects of His transcendent greatness and moral perfection, and is characteristic of all His attributes, pointing to the “God-ness” of God at every point. The core of this truth, however, is God’s purity that cannot tolerate any form of sin (Hab. 1:13), and calls sinners to constant self-abasement in His presence (Is. 6:5).

(from The Reformation Study Bible,
Ligonier Ministries © 2005, page 168) 

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Ponder the words of the psalmist for a minute,

One generation shall commend your works to another,
        and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
        and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
        and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
        and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
Psalm 145:4-7 ESV

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Children Desiring God is excited to announce the release of two, brand new booklets for parents, pastors, and those involved in ministry to children.

Children and the Worship Service

Jesus is opening His arms and inviting children to come to Him. One of the ways we reflect this truth to our children is by welcoming them into the most central, most regular, most valuable, and most corporate activity of the church. When we encourage families to worship together, we communicate to the children that they are a part of the congregation and, as such, should be included when the church gathers to worship. The presence of children also serves as a reminder to the church of its responsibility to nurture the faith of the next generation.

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Sunday school is a primary means for building intergenerational unity in the body of Christ. Discipleship on any level tends to knit hearts together, but Sunday school has the unique ability to partner all generations to bring the gospel joy of knowing Christ to the youngest in our churches. A strong partnership of parents (and grandparents) and Sunday school teams can begin now in your church.

If you are a parent, here are eight practical ways for you to partner with your child’s teaching team. (more…)

Another Sunday school year is upon us. For those of us involved in children’s and youth ministry, we have another season filled with opportunities and responsibilities to teach the next generation the glorious deeds of the Lord. Yes, this is joyful ministry—at least it should be—but when done with the diligence it deserves, it is also hard work. Here is a great reminder from Jerry Bridges:

A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. (more…)

Discipline is helping children to grow, not controlling behavior. It is a long process that needs to be mostly positive in nature, but firm and loving. So relationship building is incredibly important.

Managing a classroom—keeping it under control, is something we can do the first time we ever walk into a group of children, and maintaining a well-run classroom achieves another goal—training our children in righteousness:

• teaching them to walk in a manner worthy of being called Christians
• having their behavior match their beliefs
• exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit because their souls have been touched

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Attentive, well-behaved children sound like a teacher’s dream. However, our goal is not simply well-behaved children, but children who joyfully submit to God.

It starts with an understanding of authority structure God has put in place, which brings about calm order and joyful submission. Jesus is the best example of one living under submission (Philippians 2:5-8; Luke 22:42; John 4:34). Resentment toward authority structures is actually rebellion toward God’s hierarchy in creation.

Freedom is not being able to do whatever you want; freedom is knowing and loving God and living joyfully under the authority structures that he has ordained.
—Tedd Tripp from the Biblical Parenting Conference
September 19-20, 2008

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