The True Tale of Patrick Much myth and legend surrounds the story of Patrick, born in Britain in the late 4th century. St. Patrick is often reduced to a mythical figure who performed magical feats (like driving all the snakes out of Ireland). The truth, as usual, is better than fiction! All that can be known about Patrick comes from two documents written by him, one of which is “The Confession,” his short autobiographical account. In it, Patrick
For many of us, Sunday school is a deeply rooted tradition, although it is actually a rather modern institution. Have you ever wondered about the origins and history of Sunday school? If so, here are a few facts you may find interesting. The idea of a “Sabbath school” for poor and uneducated children began in England in the late 18th century. Visionary evangelicals like Robert Raikes devised a plan to gather poor, uneducated working children into education
“Dear God, “I heard a cosmic story and wondered if it’s true. The Moon was stealing glory and this is what he’d do.” So begins a highly enjoyable and quite profound new children’s book from Crossway Books, cleverly titled Fool Moon Rising. Husband and wife team Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty wrote and illustrated this “rhyming, rollicking tale” about the moon’s prideful folly in believing that his radiance and light actually emanate from himself! The moon’s boasting
Q: Who made you? A: God made me. (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12: 1; Acts 17:24-29) from A Catechism for Boys and Girls What is catechism? The term “catechism” is one that may well bring up images of a strange, outdated method of instruction. But catechizing has been a time-honored and effective practice throughout Protestant as well as Catholic history (though the catechisms of each obviously differ dramatically in content.) There are some very good reasons
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” served as Pastor at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England from 1854-1891. Here are words of wisdom on children’s ministry taken from a chapter in his book “Come, My Children:” “Nowadays, since the world has in it, alas! so few of Christian mothers and grandmothers, the church has thought it wise to supplement the instruction of home by teaching held under her fostering wing. Those children who have no such parents
I’ve listened to quite a selection of Scripture cd’s over the past 30 years, but haven’t found any I like better than the Hide the Word cd’s put out by Mark Altrogge, senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Indiana, Pennsylvania and writer of such great songs for worship as “I Stand in Awe” and “I’m Forever Grateful.” From Mark’s Forever Grateful Music website: “Hide the Word combines the power of music with the power of repetition
Do the elderly members of your congregation know the names of the children and their parents in your church? Is there much meaningful interaction between the youth and children’s departments? Does fellowship exist across the generations? If the answer is no or you’re not sure, you may want to consider some creative planning to bring together the different age groups in your church. This is a good thing to do because it promotes love, unity and warm
The July 31, 2009 broadcast of the Albert Mohler radio program features an interview by guest-host Dr. Russell Moore with singer and musician Andrew Peterson on the need children have for rich, wonderful story. Dr. Moore asks the question, “Does storytelling matter to children?” The program discusses the importance of telling the right stories–and telling the right Story–to children, demonstrating how storytelling has everything to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Children need narrative that includes
Your church, like mine, is likely blessed with dedicated volunteers who gladly give their time and energy to children’s ministry. But have you ever known volunteers who serve so willingly they never seem to make it to “big church” on Sundays and Wednesdays? I’ve seen that happen at times in my church–a worker gradually falls into a pattern of rarely gathering with the church to hear God’s word preached, to pray and sing together, or to partake
Tony’s review got me thinking about singing in the church, especially regarding children. As the folks at Sovereign Grace Music demonstrate, there’s no better time to instruct our children in the doctrine of singing than when they are young. Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:16-17 teach this doctrine. Too many times we give children simplistic and man-centered songs to sing, or even silly songs, yet most children enjoy learning songs that are God-centered and that “teach.” As they
Sam (not his real name) is a sixth grader who attends our Wednesday night AWANA club. He is a bit of a jokester, always coming up with witty remarks under his breath or pulling a prank on one of the other kids. But one night he surprised me by asking a serious question. He wanted to know why God allowed guns to be invented, since people use them to hurt other people. I sensed from a certain,
Have you seen the video called “The Watchmaker,” produced by Kids4Truth? It is a nicely told parable illustrating the folly of believing that the human race sprang into being by random chance. Just as the intricate parts of a watch could not possibly come together by accident to create a sophisticated timepiece, so the even more intricate and detailed workings of the human body and mind could never have come about by chance. Rather, man is the
Summertime is a more relaxed season of the year for many families (although with vacations, baseball, and family reunions our schedules can still be hectic!) But summer is a good time to remind ourselves as parents that growth in the grace and knowledge of God doesn’t take summer breaks. The summer months present a great opportunity for Christian moms and dads to faithfully model disciplines of Bible study, prayer and fellowship to their children. Here are a
Did you ever think of using a small multimedia projectors in your Sunday School or Children’s Church? I’m not a very good geek. I’d like to be one, but alas know too little about technology and am dependent on the kindness of strangers when it comes down to it. If you’re like me (or especially if you’re not!) you’ll appreciate this information on a neat little piece of gadgetry that even a technology-challenged person like me can make
Teaching children to pray is an important job for parents and church leaders. Even very young children can be taught the rudiments of prayer, such as bowing their heads, closing their eyes and speaking to God in simple phrases. As children grow, they can learn to pray more and more in accord with the big, overarching themes of the Bible. Here are just a few ideas to start the wheels turning on ways children can grow in
We know we love ’em. We know we want them to know and love Jesus. We know that Jesus loves them; he gathered the little children to Himself and used their simple trust to demonstrate what pleases our Heavenly Father. So knowing that we love them, knowing Jesus loves them, and knowing that we want them to know and love Jesus, let’s take a look at what the Bible says about teaching them! What Does The Bible
