A Joyful Sunday

For those of you who don't know, I have become the co-ordinator for Sunday school for the elementary aged kids.  Our church is small enough to need two rooms, one for babies to 5 year olds and one room for elementary aged kids.  Six months ago, the woman who was coordinating wanted to step down and I was asked to take her place.  I knew at the time that I didn't have time to handle it all, but asked if she would be willing to split the responsibility between elementary aged kids and nursery.  Coordinating the elementary group means making sure we have enough people to help out, that those who are helping out have the materials they need to teach the lesson, training and making sure everyone has completed the paperwork necessary to work with the children and choosing new curriculum.  My job is made infinitely easier by the fact that we can use resources purchased or generated by "The Mother Ship."

When I started as the coordinator, we were using "The ABC's of God" curriculum developed as part of Desiring God Ministries established by John Piper, which investigates the attributes, or character, of God.  As we neared the end of the curriculum, I decided to use to "The Promises of God", also a Desiring God Ministries publication.  It investigates God's many promises in the Bible and how He has been faithful to fulfill all of them.  So far, we have discussed God's promise to all people and God's promise to believers.  Last weeks promise dealt with God's promise to unbelievers.  This is not a fun promise to teach because, basically, the Bible says that God's promise to unbelievers is to send them to hell when they die.  I almost considered not including it because, really, who wants to hear all that fire and brimstone message, especially young kids? Wouldn't it be safer to make sure kids hear only about God's love for them and the Sacrifice He made for them?  After praying about it, and knowing that the person teaching that day is wise and loving, I decided to go ahead with the lesson.

Three kids put their faith in Jesus Christ that day--3!  The total number of Sunday School kids attending is 12 and three of them are mine, who have already put their faith in Jesus Christ.  That blew me away.  And it reminded me that God uses the hard messages as well as the loving messages to move in peoples' hearts and of how open to hearing God's word kids are.  It was an awesome day.  I give God all the glory for what He is doing in the church, in the hearts of these precious kids and in the hearts of the people in my church.  Praise God through who all blessings flow!

"The Lord is good to all.  He has compassion on all that He has made."--Psalm 145:9
"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise."--Galatians 3:29
"For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."--Psalm 1:6