A Lesson without a Story is an Incomplete Lesson.

In Bible College I learned that the theological definition of faith is ‘active belief’. This means that to believe something is not enough; you must act on that belief in order for that belief to be transformed into faith. Therefore, if you want to put your faith in Jesus, you can’t just believe in Jesus, you need to act on that belief by putting your faith in Him. That active belief becomes faith. I could now go on with various biblical references to unpack this concept from James, John, and the Apostle Paul, but instead – let me shift to another way of explaining faith. In Sunday School, as a young boy, my teacher told me a story about a young girl whose bedroom was on the second floor. In the middle of the night, she was awakened by the smell of smoke followed almost immediately by the sounds of sirens out in the street. As her dad had taught her, she felt the door and, noticing it felt warm, she knew not to open it. She went to her window and opened it instead. As the cold night air rushed in, she heard the firemen below instructing her to…

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Always Bring Your A-GAME!

Always Bring Your A-Game! One cannot over-emphasize the eternal impact and importance of your weekly investment into the lives of the children God has entrusted to you. It is during these formative years that children make decisions that will shape the direction of the rest of their lives. They need your best! Too often we compare ourselves to others and wish we were better – or get discouraged by what we can’t do. God makes no such comparisons. He asks only that we do our best and be our best. I call it bringing our A-Game each and every week, regardless of ministry size, number of kids, or what challenges we face. God sees that dedication and faithfulness and I believe He honors and rewards it with results in changed lives. Here is a checklist to help you bring your A-Game to your classroom! Appearance. First impressions make an impact! What do kids think when they see you? From our outfit to our smile – we need to be attractive to kids. Fun hats, playful jewelry, costumes, and most of all, a big smile will communicate to kids instantly that they are going to enjoy learning from you. If you…

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Unlock Learning with Intentional Questions

The Quest for Quality Questions! The story goes that a student once asked his wise old mentor, “Why is it that every time I ask you a question, you respond with a question of your own?” to which the teacher responded, “Why do you think I do that?” Obviously, the teacher understood the power of questions. Questions are the key that unlock answers and unravel the mysteries of our world. Children love questions! At the earliest age, “Why?” seems to become one of their favorite words! I remember when my young son would play a verbal game with me by asking “Why” after every answer I would give to see how far I was willing to go before I figured out I was just being played. A popular magazine has as its tag line, “Enquiring minds want to know.” This would be a perfect tag line for children! A wise teacher doesn’t ask questions off the cuff – they intentionally plan them in advance! Here are some Quick Tips on how to use questions to engage children in learning to use questions. Then I’ll go deeper on how to ask questions that truly change lives. Ask questions that are more…

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Tell kids you LIKE them… it means more to them than “I love you.”

Many years ago, I was visiting with family and having fun tussling with one of my nephews who was about seven years old at the time. He was a kid I only got to see a few times a year, but we were pretty close. One of our favorite games was “Pillow Monster.” I would pile pillows on top of him while he was on the couch, and then “attack” the pile of pillows. I would “never notic” that he had escaped from under the pile as I trashed the pillows, jumping up and down on them pretending I was attacking him. He would laugh hysterically completely unaware that I could hear him behind me, knowing he wasn’t under the pile of pillows. Then, he would cover me in pillows and jump on the pillows, but of course, I wouldn’t be able to escape! It always ended in an exhausted heap of hugs to watch TV or something more relaxing. One time as we settled down to catch our breath, I blurted out, “Michael, I love you.” His response surprised me but had a profound impact on me. He said, “Uncle Karl, of course you love me. You’re my uncle.…

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Teaching Teenagers

While our church is between youth pastors, I’ve been leading our yourh ministry. I’ve been a Kids & Youth Pastor in the past, and done this interim role before – and I always enjoy it. People often ask me how is teaching teenagers different from teaching kids, or preaching to adults for that matter. Honestly, I love it. It’s the best of both worlds! Too many youth pastors, I think, teach them as though they are already adults – as though they are suddenly “too cool” for the “kid stuff.” I beg to differ. Instead, I find you get to enjoy a really fun blend of both styles. Teenagers are not little adults. Don’t let those those big bodies fool you! They may start to interact as peers, but they are FAR from peers. If you want to be effective in ministry with teens, you must respect them as emerging adults, but secretly understand that they are more big kids than little adults. And actually still crave kids stuff more than they will admit. Let’s talk simple brain development. How is the teenage brain different from the chid they were just a few years ago and the adult they will…

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