What good are we doing if we teach Bible stories as an end in themselves?
"OK kids what did we learn today?"
"That David was little but he killed Goliath with God's help!"
That's correct! End of day.
That was my way of doing things for quite some time!
I was convicted.
"OK kids what did we learn today?"
"That David was little but he killed Goliath with God's help!"
That's correct, but let's take it a step further:
How do we see Jesus in this story? How do we apply it to our lives?
Before we can ask these questions to children, we have to ask them to ourselves, and really grapple with them.
It's no lie that Jesus is found from Genesis to Revelation. We must look for him in all things!
John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
There.
Colossians 1:16-17, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
There.
Ephesians 1:7, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."
There.
If the Bible tells us these things and we adhere to it as the Holy Word of God, then it's a crime to teach children Bible stories without connecting them back to Christ! Isn't that the hinge of our faith? Without Christ, nothing would have happened and further, nothing would be in existence.
The entire Bible is a metanarrative of Jesus' life and the AWESOME part is that we are in it too! We are involved in this masterpiece love-story and it's all true!
So, I've been challenging myself to find Jesus in every bit of scripture I read, in every lesson I plan, and in every situation I face in my own life.
I challenge you to do the same!