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Helping Kids Discover Jesus

 


I am beyond frustrated how badly Evangelical churches are at helping kids discover Jesus. Many Sunday schools go over David and Goliath, Daniel in The Lion’s Den, and many other Old Testament stories, but if Jesus is mentioned at all it is usually at Easter. The problem is who Jesus really is does not get clearly defined. Few evangelical Sunday schools are equipped in how to explain Christology and Trinitarian Theology, that Jesus is The Fullness of Deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:9), He is the Son of God (1 John 4:15) who is One with the Father and Holy Spirit, One God in Three Persons Blessed Trinity (Matthew 28:19), and that He is God and Savior (Titus 2:13). My nephew went to Vacation Bible School and many Sunday schools at an Evangelical Church and he asked me, “Who is Jesus? Is he God or something else?” What a horrible indictment of the sad state of affairs in Sunday schools! Children not knowing who Christ is! Its time to forgo Noah’s Ark and Jacob wrestling with an angel and explain who Jesus is to children! That salvation is in no one else! (Acts 4:10-12). That Jesus Christ is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6) and that faith in Jesus The Son of God gives you eternal life! (John 3:16-18, John 6:40, Romans 10:9-10). 


Evangelical Churches and other modern models are failing the youth. Our greatest goal should be that kids discover Jesus and who He is, That He is God Incarnate and Son of God, The Messiah and Christ, The Lord God Himself! We cannot fail in this! The Gospels, not the Old Testament should be the focus of Sunday School till children can explain back who Jesus Christ is! That is what is important! Jesus! Why is it kids know the Garden of Eden, but cannot fully explain Emmanuel, God With Us?! I understand there are churches who are dogmatic in explaining theology and Christology, I am not claiming all Protestant Churches are failing in this; only that my own personal experience  in evangelical circles is when I was kid Jesus was not mentioned much at Vacation Bible School or Sunday School. I had to learn who Jesus truly is from my parents teaching me from the gospels at home, and attending a Baptist Bible program. Then as aforementioned my nephew had the same problem, he went to an evangelical church and knew not who Jesus was, and I had to explain Christ and who He is to my nephew! I wrote a post about how we need to be like The Lutherans were we do Confirmation and have kids memorize The Apostle’s Creed, and be able to explain they understand the fundamentals of the faith like Trinitarian Theology  and Christology. If we fail in this, then we fail as Christians! We arn’t Noahians, Davidians, Danielians, and Jacobians, we are Christians! Partisans of Christ! Jesus is our Savior and God! He is our focus!, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” (Hebrews 12:2), “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent,” (John 17:3), and “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11). And yet there are kids who are not being instructed in who Christ is, which makes having faith in Him problematic if you do not know who He is!!! Ugh! I am furious that this is happening and yet I am not surprised! I have seen Sunday Schools were they just put videos on and do not bother to teach! This is a problem, and we must deal with it! Do not assume as parents your children know who Christ is! You have to be diligent and teach them at home who The Blessed Savior, Lord, God, and Son of God is! We cannot rely on others to help our children discover Christ! We must make kids coming to faith in Jesus and knowing who He is a priority! Daniel and Lion’s Den can wait, David versus Goliath can wait! The Son of Man, and Son of God has to be The Focus! For salvation, eternal life, reconciliation with God, and knowing God is only possible in & through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen. 


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