My heart is especially stirred up about Sunday School lately. I love the special times of extra stirring from the Lord. I think the extra stirage is partly from sharing in Richard's Bible college homework and partly from a VBS high but mostly because the Lord is good and loves to get us excited about ministry. My husband is just finishing up a Bible class on Inductive teaching and he asked me many questions on how I would teach this or that to the kids at church.
I told him I was not going to give him the answers because that's cheating.....just kidding.
In usual Rachel fashion, when I get excited about something, I expect everyone else in the whole world, and all the astronauts in space, to be excited about the same thing. This is how the good Lord made me and if you're not excited that the Lord has made me excited about being excited about teaching Sunday School then go read something more exciting....like athletes' comments to news reporters (yeah, I felt pretty good out there. yeah, my strategy was to go really fast. yeah, I guess the other guy was just a little faster. yeah, cuz he won by a little bit because he was a little faster). What? They ask athletes stupid questions! Those poor guys!
Well, I am excited about Sunday School! VERY excited about it lately! I now have two 2nd graders and have seen the full fruitage that comes from teaching these kids the Word of God! I could write a lot of sentences that end with these "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" about all the amazing exciting things the Lord has been stirring up in my heart over teaching these kids but we will just focus our thoughts around two points right now(hehe Calvary Hanford). Actually, I really only have one point.
MY POINT------->> Go Beyond Entertainment and teaching Application
Wait wait wait wait....this is the cool thing about teaching kids. You can shepherd and disciple these kids in an animated way that isn't just pure entertainment. You can walk into that Sunday school room with your flannel graph of Scripture empowerment and knock their socks off with an animated retelling of the Bible story. BUT DON'T stop there. Don't forget the APPLICATION part. This is where the fruit comes from and if you think those kids are not going to understand the application part then you're full of bologna! This is the hardest part to teach sometimes. You have to figure out a way that a child would apply this Bible lesson and make the application memorable. This is a tough one. You want some tips? Too bad. I tell you anyway.
Take an Inductive Bible class. Learn how to break down the scripture with the I O A; Interpretation, Observation, Application. You will get tons and tons and tons of benefits from learning that stuff. Just google it right now and get a quick overview. It will help in your devotionals and whenever you teach.
Use props and costumes for the application lesson. It helps it stick to their brains and hearts. Those kids will eat it up!!!
Share the gospel often. I mean all the time. Talk about the Holy Spirit often. The kids need to know that God would never ask them to do something they can't do. They need to know that they will mess up but God is not an angry God who wants to punish them but a loving God who is quick to forgive and so pleased when we want to please Him.
Sing about everything. Do you know the one thing that has never left my brain from my childhood? Not math facts, not spelling rules, not my naughty deeds (I think I was an ideal child). It's the songs! They are permanently in my head. Start singing! sing Bible verses, teaching points, frequent bathroom trips songs. Sing. Right now. Come on.
Stop thinking these kids can't take all this in. They can. I'm a lame teacher to think otherwise. Application, application, application....the ability to apply the scripture to our walk with the Lord. I am extra stirred up about children's ministry right now! It's been extra exciting to see the fruit coming from the kids! They are memorizing scripture, sharing the gospel with kids at the park, encouraging each other to obey the Lord. It's just so cool. They know the gospel so clearly. It just amazes me. They don't stay babies forever drinking their little baby milk! Give them steak....they will eat it up and ask for seconds!
Are you excited now? Good.
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