"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Sunday, July 31, 2011
"Gospel is good news, not good advice." I'm not sure who first used that phrase, but it has been sticking with me. (I think I first heard it when John Piper was defending inviting Doug Wilson to a "Desiring God" conference.)
Jared's Gospel Wakefulness, and call to Gospel Centeredness has been sticking with me too. I've been chewing on, meditating on, and trying to figure out how to explain it to others, and more importantly, how to model it.
This morning, while perusing Jared's awesome blog, I watched a Rich Mullins video that he posted. Which led me to another one. In this one, Rich talks about how God has no taste...because he loves you, and that we should be glad about that.
And that got me thinking. Isn't that the good news of the Gospel? We don't measure up, and it's OK, because God's already "knocked out about you", to use Rich's phrase.
Wow.
Now how do I live that? How do I explain that to my children?
Which leads me to my question for you. How do you teach, and by that I mean show, the Gospel as GOOD NEWS (not good advice) to children? Too many "Gospel for children" messages are object lessons that go from the concrete to the abstract. (I have learned not to use objects in my children's sermon unless the object I use represents the object it is, not something else. Kids just don't make the leap, like grown-ups do.)
Is the parable of the two Lost Sons (i.e. the prodigal son) the answer? What story do you tell? Maybe you just tell the story of Christ's crucifixion...but how do you tell a story, or explain to a four year old or a ten year old, what the Gospel really is? Or maybe the key is to show them? How do we do that? Please tell me your thoughts. I really want to learn from you!
Who has suggestions?
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Comments on "How Do I SHOW The Gospel To My Kids?":
2. salguod
- 07/31/2011 7:03 pm CDT
For a 4 year old? I'm thinking that Jesus Loves the Little Children is enough. (Isn't 'Jesus Loves Me' a big chunk of the gospel message anyway?) The little ones simply need to hear that. As they get older, I take every opportunity of their disobedience to point them to Jesus as the ultimate way to fix this problem. When they're little, it's all about obedience. But as they mature, they will see, even if they cannot express it, that they can't obey, even if they want to (and they frequently don't want to). I want to point them in their failings to Jesus. I can and do give them strategies to overcome, but they must understand that they will only truly overcome though Him.
My middle (14) is one who trouble finds regularly. She's asked me why God made her that way, a heart breaking question. I quote to her 1 Timothy 5:24:
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
All of us sin, but in different ways. Hers are more obvious than others, but no worse. I then call her to seek Jesus, the only true remedy for the sin that plagues us all, if she wants to become different than she is. I can teach, but only Jesus transforms.
I want their sin to be real to them, because only then will they be driven to Jesus. For that reason, I too am uncomfortable with the professions of faith of small children.
I'm not sure if that answers your question or not, but it's what I'm trying to do with my kids.
4. Bobbi
- 08/03/2011 10:35 am CDT
My mom taught "Good News Club" for the neighbor kids for many years. I own Bill Bright's 4 Spiritual laws booklets for kids with the good news gloves. I got them from Campus Crusade for Christ. When I teach 5 year olds I give them each a glove with the 4 spiritual laws and explain them. If one wants to pray I pray privately with him. Personally I didn't understand sin until I was 15. I was a slow learner.
Leave a Comment:
JESUS said, "Repent and believe the gospel." I'm uncomfortable with gospel presentations to young children who perhaps are not old enough to have a fully developed conscience, and, therefore, presumably not old enough to understand the depths of sin or the necessity of repentance. I think that problem brings about the need for parents to disciple their children right out of the womb. I don't think that answers your question, because I think it really depends on the kid's maturity. :-)