I recently came across this "mini- sermon" from John Piper and it reminded me once again of my responsibility as a Sunday School leader for Grade 5 kids at my church. Here is a little sampling, but for the whole story, I urge you to read "Teaching Doctrine to a Six-Year-Old" http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2002/1198_Teaching_Doctrine_to_a_SixYearOld/
"My daughter, Talitha, is six years old. Recently she and my wife and I were reading through Romans together. This was her choice after we finished Acts. She is just learning to read, and I was putting my finger on each word. She stopped me in mid-sentence at the beginning of chapter five and asked, "What does 'justified' mean?" What do you say to a six-year-old? Do you say, There are more important things to think about, so just trust Jesus and be a good girl? Or do you say that it is very complex and even adults are not able to understand it fully, so you can wait and deal with it when you are older? Or do we say that it simply means that Jesus died in our place so that all our sins might be forgiven?.....
There are thousands of Christian families in the world who never have conversations like this. Not at six or sixteen. I don't think we have to look far then for the weakness of the church and the fun-oriented superficiality of many youth ministries and the stunning fall-out rate after high school. But how shall parents teach their children if the message they get week in and week out from the pulpit is that doctrine is unimportant? So, yes, I have a family to care for. And therefore I must understand the central doctrines of my faith – understand them so well that they can be translated for all the different ages of my children."
There is a part of me, while preparing my lessons for Sundays, that trys to rush through the planning and get it done. And sadly I will admit that there have been many days in the past (oh....10 yrs of doing this) that I have been on auto pilot for an entire lesson. But, something resonates deaper inside of me, where I am convicted that this is such a huge and very important task I have been given. I think back to my week as a counsellor this summer at CROW and I remember how amazing those kids were. They were the same age as the kids in my Sunday school class, but the concepts that they were pondering and the questions they were asking... I knew God was beginning to work in their hearts even at this young age of 10/11. How then, can I justify not pouring myslef into this task and feeding those kids already. I know that I have underestimated the importance of doctrine and plain biblical truths within a childs life, when those very foundations have meant so much in my own life. So, I think to myself. What a priviledge and amazing gift to teach and instruct these kids to love and live for the Lord!
My Cabin at CROW this summer.
