What’s the Big Thing today?
Some big things! Photo by Creatas/Thinkstock.com
Ken Sapp, over at CreativeYouthIdeas.com today recounted a story of the great Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln was riding home from church in his carriage one Sunday when his secretary asked how he liked the sermon. “Not very much,” said the president. His response surprised the secretary because the preacher was popular and most people considered him a very gifted speaker. When asked what the problem was, Lincoln replied, “He did not ask me to do anything great.”
Applying Bible truth
When we are communicating Bible truth, whether to kids, teens or adults, do we apply to their lives the truth we are teaching ?
Do we make sure that they know the “great thing” God wanted them to do as a result of what they had heard from us? Do they understand that, though they are young, they can do great things for God?
Asking the right questions
We often ask the children, “What have you learned today from this Bible lesson?” It’s good to do that. It helps us assess the effectiveness of our communication.
But let’s not forget to also ask the children to consider this , “What are you going to do about it?” (They don’t need to answer aloud, but they will benefit from considering it.)
Knowing something and doing something about it are two different things.
A “call to action”
Secular marketers and advertisers call it a “call to action”.
- Sign up here!
- Buy Brekky Crunch today!
- Order your copy now!
We don’t need to be so “in-your-face”! But we can point children in the right direction, and encourage them to consider what action they could take to follow up on what they have learned.
For example, wouldn’t it be great if our kids were able to say something like this?
Today I learned:
… that Moses worshipped God in the desert and up a mountain as well as in the Tent of Meeting. I can worship God anywhere.
Now I will:
… come to God at any time when I want to pray or worship him; in any place, not just church – Even silently in school or out in the back yard.
Today I learned:
…that God wants me to honour and respect my parents
Now I will:
… come in from playing outside, or clean my room, when they ask me.
Today I learned:
…Barnabas was kind to Saul when he was just converted. He introduced him to the disciples and stood up for him.
Now I will:
…be a friend to the new kids in my class and try to encourage and help them
Abraham Lincoln wanted to be asked to do “something big”. Any of the three outcomes above, and plenty more besides, are BIG things! We’d be stunting our children, rather than stretching them and encouraging them grow, if we fail to help them see the big things God is calling them to do.
Oh, and by the way, will you ask yourself, as I do, “What big thing did God speak to me about today? How can I make a start?”
Then pretty soon we’ll have some practical examples to share with our children of how God helps when you tackle the big things!
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I absolutely love the story that you posted from Ken Sapp’s blog. You bring up some really great and thought-provoking points that I know I’ll be referring back to as time goes on and I continue to advance as a children’s minister. Thank you for taking the time to share these thoughts!