Matthew 7:1 ff.

[Ishmael]

Tomorrow I am going to conduct a Bible study on this chapter in Matthew, what would you point out to my children? (5-6 graders)

[George Blaisdell]

Calvinist writes:

> Tomorrow I am going to conduct a Bible study on this chapter in Matthew, what would you point out to my children? (5-6 graders)

Sorry I missed the opportunity to respond in time for the kids! I hope you began with the end:

24 "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. 25 And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

For they need to learn to DO the sayings of Christ, and not merely to HEAR them, lest there come upon them a great fall of their house...

Anyone can talk, and hear.... Mouths are a dime a dozen, and ears a dime each...

But it is the doing of Christ's sayings that keeps us saved from the great fall of our 'house' of faith...

geo

[Ishmael]

Would you emphasize application only if you were my 5-6th grader's Sunday School teacher?

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Random thoughts about my Sunday School Class:

You know I can see each of their faces and know their names very well. There are 8 of them. 5 of them are children of chaplains and the other three are officers' kids... Army brats all.

But they aren't brats. Instead they are well behaved and responsive to learning the Bible. Three have learned to take notes and all of them can recite the Westminster Shorter Catechism to question 10, where we left off to do topical bible studies when we realized that I had orders to deploy.

I think that the children, my students, know quite a bit about the Bible already. I think that they apply what they know better than most adults. There is a seriousness about them in my class that I didn't really know kids of that age could muster.

Because of this I have made it my business to teach them Theology and Christian Anthropology by contrasting our worldview with the current secular worldview.

They act like they aren't getting the heady material sometimes and complain about the difficulty of their studies, but this past Sunday one of the girls came to me and asked if she might borrow a copy of Escape from Reason from me to read herself after I mentioned that the weeks lesson was drawn in part from the classic work.

........more to come............

[George Blaisdell]

Calvinist[/i] writes:


Would you emphasize application only if you were my 5-6th grader's Sunday School teacher?


Only? No.

But first? Yes!

For there is nothing like the natural righteousness of 5th and 6th graders. They love truth and hate hippocracy, and will easily become endeared to any scripture that tells them that words in the absence of actions lead to a great fall...

And the reason for this is in your observation that follows:


You know I can see each of their faces and know their names very well. There are 8 of them. 5 of them are children of chaplains and the other three are officers' kids... Army brats all.

There is a seriousness about them in my class that I didn't really know kids of that age could muster.


It's all about truth and integrity, and about not just talking the walk, but walking the talk. Kids understand this without effort - It is the adults that hem and haw...

I can tell you love kids like I do!

God bless you...

God's grace in your deployment.

geo