The primary goal of the report is to clearly communicate the facts of what happened in our class. A second, significant goal is to pass along the consistent vocabulary we use. For instance, “Anyone who hears His voice and follows after Him” is a line from a song we sing that we also use nearly every week to answer some version of the question, “Who can come to Jesus?” Announcements, like wardrobe advisories and changes in our class schedule, appear prominently at the top of the e-mail as needed. Sometimes I attach pictures or the MIDI file for a new song. An unintended consequence has been that I have helpful files to refer to the next time I teach a lesson on the same subject.
Your version of a lesson outline or e-mail update will be shaped by your unique circumstances, including how much time you can spare! I enjoy writing, and, as an empty nester, can afford the extra minutes for a detailed report. The mom who made the original request would have been helped even by a list that included the Bible passages read and the main points of the lesson. Some teachers prepare this ahead of time and send it home with the children as they leave class. That’s great! I find my lesson flexes into something a little different from my prepared plan nearly every time, so I prefer to post the information afterwards.
Whether or not we implement a new communication pipeline flowing towards parents, we can make an intentional effort to foster an atmosphere of openness where they sense their questions and comments are welcome and their concerns for their children will become our concerns, too.
So here it is – The Tabor Children’s Church Report for 6-26-11!
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ONLY TWO
We started with a game in the upstairs hallway. The children stood in the center and listened for directions that divided them into groups each time – boys/girls, blue eyes/all other colors of eyes, etc. It didn’t take many turns for them to notice no matter what the criteria, we always had two groups, and no one was standing in the middle. Asking them to keep in mind that “2” was the number of the day, we headed downstairs to our room.
After a few songs, we turned to Matthew 13 for our Bible lesson. The children were asked to listen for the two groups Jesus talked about. They correctly identified the wheat and the weeds at the end of the reading and understood why the farmer would leave the weeds to grow rather than hurt the wheat. We used a cover sheet to slowly look at a picture from the bottom up that showed a mixture of wheat and weeds (“tares” or “darnell”.) It was easy to see how much alike the two plants are. A second close-up picture showed the heads of the two grains side by side.
Additionally, we had a cylinder vase with drinking straws in it and a painted Pringles can as a cover. We knew there were two groups of straws, and watched to see when we could identify them as the can was drawn slowly upward. The can was nearly at the top of the straws before we could see the difference, but then it was easy! The top two inches or so of several of the straws had been painted bright red. Any of us could easily sort them into two groups.
Without turning to it, we referenced the story in Matthew 25 of the sheep and the goats. Over and over, we saw the theme of two groups.
Next we looked at a dozen balls of wadded foil. Of course, our job was to separate them into two groups, but they all looked exactly alike. With some discussion, the children concluded they must be different on the inside. Once we put our magnet wand to work, separating the balls was easy. We saw that some of them had a rock inside and others had a center that was made of BB’s which were drawn to the magnet.
We thought back to all our groups of two. There are many kinds of people in the world, but when God looks at them, He only sees two groups, because He isn’t concerned with what color we are or where we live or if we are smart or not-so-smart. God sees the world divided into those who know and love Jesus and those who don’t. He looks on the inside.
Ephesians 2 gave us two more groups – dead and alive. We know there isn’t a third group! Living things are either alive or they have died.
4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God's grace has saved you. – Ephesians 2:4-5 NIrV
Those who have come to Jesus and trusted Him to pay for their sins have the promise of this verse, “He gave us life even when we were dead in sin.” The call of God to all of us is to ask Him for a new heart that loves and serves Jesus.
Our last illustration was two mylar balloons that looked exactly alike – until they were released! One lifted to the ceiling and the other fell to the floor. The only difference in the balloons was what was inside. We can look exactly like a Christian on the outside for a time – even a lifetime – but it is our heart God is looking at. The good news is that He promises a new heart to all who come to Him, believing in Jesus. He can change a “rock heart” that isn’t drawn to Him at all to a heart like the BB’s that jump to the magnet and hang on. He promises a heart that clings to Jesus to anyone who hears His voice and follows after Him.
We ended our lesson time with prayer and used the remaining class time to visit three sorting stations, including the foil balls from our lesson. We also had a snack and played a game with the rhythm instruments.
Until fall…I think!*
For the Gospel,
Necia
*This was a random Children’s Church class in the middle of summer, as a high school group was presenting a drama. Parents of the younger set could choose whether or not their children were ready for some of the elements to be portrayed and opt for Children’s Church. Our regular class year is September through May.
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