FAMILY NEWSLETTER FEB 23 - MAR 16

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1 SAUL S CONVERSION FAMILY NEWSLETTER FEB 23 - MAR 16 THE CREEDS OF OUR FAITH This year we are focusing on teaching some foundations of our faith. Most of our story choices have been based around the Apostles Creed. This rotation focuses on teaching from the following statement of faith: I believe in the holy Catholic Church and in the communion of saints Or as we like to paraphrase it for kids: I believe that through Jesus my sins will be forgiven and I will have new life We hope that in this rotation kids will be able to: Know the story of Saul s conversion on the road to Damascus Believe that God changes hearts - He can turn even the hardest heart to Himself Worship God for the wonderful work He did in Saul Explore how Jesus can change our life Recognize Saul (aka Paul) as a main contributor to the early church and the New Testament Identify that the story comes from the book of Acts and it follows the gospels and the ascension of Jesus into heaven Celebrate that we can encounter the same Jesus that Saul encountered today STORY IN FOCUS: ACTS 9:1-22 MEMORY VERSE We encourage families to make scripture memorization a priority in their faith journey! Consider implementing an incentive program as a family to encourage your children in their memorization journey. This can be as simple as a sticker chart or even include prizes or special family activity rewards. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT As we explore the topic of conversion through the story of Saul it brings to mind the wonderful privilege and serious responsibility of helping children become followers of Jesus. This newsletter features an article written by Pastor Lee that helps begin a fresh dialogue about leading our children towards a relationship with Christ. Join the conversation by reading the article at the end of the newsletter.

2 BIBLE BACKGROUND CONTEXT OF SAUL S STORY: Jesus ascended to heaven with a command to His followers to witness of Him in all the world after receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to Jesus followers at Pentecost and they proclaimed the mighty works of God in foreign languages 3000 repented and were baptized The believers lived in community, worshipping God together and caring for each other Daily, more people were saved and joined in their fellowship Peter performed miracles, spoke in the temple, gave glory to God for the healing and pointed to the resurrection of Jesus Peter called the Jews to repentance for forgiveness of sins Peter and John were arrested for speaking about the resurrection of Jesus Peter and John spoke a defense before the Sanhedrin Peter and John are commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore, and threatened when they refuse to The believers pray for boldness and are strengthened by the Spirit Signs and wonders are done by the apostles, and more and more believe The apostles were arrested by the Jewish rulers and put in prison, but were freed by an angel and told to preach in the temple When the apostles are found again and told to stop preaching Christ; they refuse and continue preaching Jesus as the Christ The Jewish leaders are enraged and want to kill them; Gamaliel convinces them to let this movement run its course, for it will fail if it is not of God The apostles are beaten and commanded again to stop preaching, they rejoice at being worthy to suffer for Jesus name Stephen is arrested and sentenced to death on false charges Stephen is stoned Like Jesus, Stephen asks that the sin of his executors not be held against them Saul (aka Paul) approved of Stephen s execution Saul ravaged the church, going from house to house dragging off men and women and putting them in prison The church scatters, preaching Christ as they go SOME THOUGHTS ON SAUL S CONVERSION BEFORE MEETING JESUS: Saul is breathing threats and murder against the followers of Jesus Saul is zealous making it his mission to stop the Way in its tracks. He is leading the persecution, going out of his way to track down and arrest followers of Jesus. Damascus was a 6-day journey from Jerusalem, by foot! SAUL ENCOUNTERS CHRIST ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS Saul is on his way to Damascus when suddenly Jesus appears to him in a blinding flash of light. The light is described by Paul as brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13) Jesus called him by name. Saul was chosen on an individual basis and pursued by God for a purpose for the good of all God s people (the building of the church). (Gal. 1:15) Jesus identifies strongly with His Church; persecuting His people is persecuting Jesus personally. This encounter with Christ is the basis for Paul s conversion, and he appeals to it in defense of his apostleship (1 Cor. 9:1) and of the certainty of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15) Saul is blinded by the light -quite a different picture than before the encounter with Jesus! He was a powerful man bent on destruction of the church, coming into Damascus with authority and determination to arrest all Christians he found; now he is helpless, dependant on others to lead him and totally harmless.

3 SAUL IS TRANSFORMED The Lord sends Ananias, a disciple at Damascus, to heal Saul Ananias responds to God s request by reminding God that Saul of Tarsus has done much evil against God s people and is in Damascus only to persecute more. Ananias obeyed, and went to the house where Saul was staying. Ananias believed that God would change the heart of Saul and do what He said in using him to bring the gospel to many, and so he greeted Saul as brother. The Lord tells him again to Go, this time giving His reason: for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. And then He continues (perhaps assuring Ananias of His justice?), For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My Name. By using Ananias, God also was connecting Saul to the church in Damascus, and giving him at least one advocate to commend him to the believers there. Nothing more is said about Ananias role in Saul s life, but it does say that Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus, and it likely isn t a stretch to assume that Ananias helped to bring Saul into fellowship with them. Saul is given physical (and spiritual) sight, and responds by being baptized Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul s eyes, and he could see. This was a physical sign of conversion of Saul s spiritual eyes also being healed along with his physical eyes. As Ananias laid his hands on Saul, the Holy Spirit filled him, and he arose to be baptized in response to the salvation he had received. Saul broke his fast he now knew and had responded to the revelation the Lord had promised would come in Damascus, and it was time to eat again and be strengthened. The revelation he received: that God had chosen him to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles and to receive special instruction from Christ. The whole account is rather ironic and draws attention to God s sovereignty and His grace. This is one of the most drastic conversion stories in the history of the church, probably the most drastic conversion recorded in the Bible. God took a man who was so violently resisting His purposes with everything he had, and not only turned him around, but made him into one of the most fruitful evangelists and leaders the church has ever had; it highlights the truth that there is no one who can stand against God. There is no heart too hard for God to soften, no opposition to His work too fierce for Him to use for His purposes. This story, as with the whole of Acts, gives us assurance that the work Christ has begun, He will complete and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT GOD? God is sovereign. His plans for His church cannot be foiled He changes hearts - He can turn even the hardest heart to Himself He chooses people to do His work He can afflict and heal people Jesus is the risen Lord Jesus identifies closely with His church (persecuting the church = persecuting Jesus) WHAT RESPONSE DOES THE LORD WANT FROM US? Worship for the wonderful work He did in Saul Faith: that even in the face of adversity, God works to build His church His plans cannot fail that He can bring anyone to faith in Him that Jesus is continuing to work in the world though He is not present physically that Jesus knows about and feels the things that His Church is going through that the gospel is indeed true Courage to continue proclaiming the gospel and living in obedience to it Acceptance of Paul and his apostolic authority

4 WHERE AM I GOING? PRESCHOOL KINDERGARTEN GRADE 1-3 GIRLS GRADE 1-3 BOYS GRADE 4-6 FEB 23 9:30 FEB 23 11:30 MAR 2 9:30 THOU ART STUDIO BIBLE TIMES SQUARE LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO. A GLOWING FISHERMANS. NET THOU ART STUDIO BIBLE TIMES SQUARE NEW THOU ART STUDIO KIDZ SOUL STATION A GLOWING FISHERMANS. NET A GLOWING FISHERMANS. NET LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS MAR 2 11:00 MAR 9 9:30 MAR 9 11:30 MAR 16 9:30 MAR 16 11:30 A GLOWING FISHERMANS. NET COMMUNION SUNDAY ALL AGES JOIN THEIR FAMILY FOR THE CHURCH SERVICE. BIBLE TIMES SQUARE BIBLE TIMES SQUARE PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO A GLOWING FISHERMANS. NET KIDZ SOUL STATION PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS ALL AGES IN THE CHAPEL KIDZ SOUL STATION NEW THOU ART STUDIO PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS CURRENT VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE Thou Art Studio (Preschool/Kindergarten) Ruth Laflech Bible Times Square Tamara de Vry Palestine Productions Deanna Fuellbrandt Loaves & Fishes Cooking Company Olga Hammond Glowing Fishermans.net Miranda Lee Bible Times Square Rena Bruins New Thou Art Stephanie McKinnon KIDZ Soul Station Andrea Anderst Palestine Productions Craig Weston Palestine Productions Amy Thiessen Preschool Buddy 9:30 Christine Glanz Preschool Buddy 11:30 Jennifer Winters Hall Monitor 9:30 Steph Christensen Hall Monitor 11:30 Jaclyn Hotz

5 SPOILER ALERT!! OVERVIEW OF WORKSHOPS AND OBJECTIVES: Throughout an entire rotation children learn through a variety of learning styles, repetition and varying story viewpoints. The entire rotation is designed to increase memory retention, dig deep into scripture and inspire a long term faith journey. To get the best view of the overall teaching objectives, we ve broken them down by workshop for you to see. THOU ART STUDIO - PRE-K & KiNDER By creating a glow-in-the-dark story board, kids will discover how Jesus changed Saul s heart. THOU ART STUDIO - GRADE 1-6 Using a box of random objects, kids will review the story of Saul s conversion and then make a transforming Shrinky- Dink craft that will help them to remember that Jesus helps us to be a new creation. LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO. Saul s story is filled with adventure. Even after he became a follower of Christ he experienced rocky roads. What better way to learn about Saul than to make a little Rocky Road ice cream?! A GLOWING Using black lights and glowing paints, students will explore how Saul s conversion changed him into a glowing witness for Christ. Students will then have the opportunity to create a glowing poster that delivers their own message about Jesus to others. BIBLE TIMES SQUARE Younger kids will enjoy an interactive story time using simple games that help them imagine being a part of the Bible Story. This story time will help young children to easily learn and relate to Saul s conversion. GAMES Preschool through Early Elementary students will play games that teach how Jesus can transform our lives. Games include special focuses on Jesus changing our lives from lost to found, alone to part of a family, blind to seeing, scary to peaceful, tangled to untangled. Upper Elementary students will explore how God made Saul a new person through 3 puzzle type games. Discussion will focus on personal application and how God s transforming power can impact our own lives. PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS There s not better way to experience a story than to be part of the story! Younger children will act out parts of the story as the leader narrates and older children will perform their very own scripted reenactment of Acts 9. KIDZ SOUL STATION Early-Upper Elementary students will create their very own radio show interviewing key characters in the life of Saul. A few sound effects and scripted prompts will help kids to dig deeply into the scripture passage. PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS Kids will watch an animated movie that visits Jerusalem during the time of the New Testament church. They will see first hand a time when Christians were persecuted and will be reminded that God can change circumstances. The movie reviews the story of Moses (which was taught last year) and the story of Saul.

6 UPCOMING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 1 THOU ART STUDIO Preschool/Kindergarten This set of lessons helps our youngest students learn about the entire Holy Week as they discover that Jesus dies on the cross and rose again. The teacher in this workshop will lead the children through a variety of simple crafts and story times. Preschool and Kindergarten children thrive with consistency and feel supported when they feel comfortable with the people around them - this leader will be spending each week with the same group of children. 4 Teaching Times (Mar 9:30, Mar 9:30, April 9:30, April 9:30) 2 BIBLE TIMES SQUARE Preschool/Kindergarten This set of lessons helps our youngest students learn about the entire Holy Week as they discover that Jesus dies on the cross and rose again. The teacher in this workshop will lead story time, themed games/playtime and snack. Preschool and Kindergarten children thrive with consistency and feel supported when they feel comfortable with the people around them - this leader will be spending each week with the same group of children. 3 Teaching Times (Mar 11:30, Mar 11:30, April 11:30) The following workshops are part of a themed rotation studying Jesus trial. Children have been recruited as investigators and will be collecting evidence that Jesus is innocent of his charge of Blaspheme. Each workshop will help students gather their evidence and learn more about the story of Jesus trial. Help the students stay in theme by calling them investigators, asking to see their briefcases and notes and using legal terms. 3 EYE WITNESS LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO As a volunteer, you will dress up and act out the role of Mary Magdalene. Through the use of a scripted monologue you will tell children about the most significant proof you have seen that Jesus is the Son of God His Resurrection! As you tell the story you will be creating Orange Pomanders as a reminder of the spices used for the burial of Christ. 3 Teaching Times (Mar 9:30 Grade 1-3 Girls, Mar 11:30 Grade 4-6, Apr 9:30 Grade 1-3 Boys) 4 CROSS FISHERMANS.NET Dress up as Peter, an eye witness of the life of Christ and help students fill out an interview worksheet as they crossexamine you for evidence of Jesus innocence. You will tell about Jesus life through stories and video clips. 3 Teaching Times (Mar 11:30 Grade 4-6, Mar 9:30 Grade 1-3 Boys, Apr 9:30 Grade 1-3 Girls) 5 PHOTO CHAPEL Using a white screen and a bright light, students will create shadow stills displaying bible stories that prove Jesus is the Son of God. Each shadow still will be photographed with a Polaroid camera so that the proof can be added to their briefcases and presented to the judge at the final trial. 2 Teaching Times (Mar 9:30 Grade 4-6, Mar 11:30 Grade 1-3 Boys and Girls) FOOD ALERT Listed below are the foods that will appear during this rotation. If your child has allergies, sensitivities or restrictions, it is the parent s responsibility to provide an alternative food option. If you have any further concerns please talk with Andrea or Marla at least one week prior to the session of concern. LOAVES & FISHES COOKING CO: Children will be making a Rocky Road ice cream dessert that helps them to tell the story of Saul. Chocolate Ice Cream Pretzels Hardening Chocolate Sauce Mini Marshmallows PALESTINE PRODUCTIONS: Pretzels Juice Boxes BIBLE TIMES SQUARE: Kinder Surprise Eggs 6 SCHOOL OF SOUL STATION Volunteer will dress up and act as the head professor/trainer at the School of Investigation. Kids will pretend to train as an investigator by playing several games that teach about the trial of Jesus. One game focuses on listening closely to the story, another at creating the scene of Jesus trial and remembering all the details and another game that helps to teach the difference between guilty and innocent. 2 Teaching Times (Mar 11:30 Grade 1-3, Apr 9:30 Grade 4-6) 7 JUDGE Get ready for some acting! Dress up as a judge and use the script provided to set the stage for Jesus trial. Help us wrap up this rotation by returning to the stage to host the final trial where students will for once and for all prove that Jesus was in fact the Son of God and He still lives today! 2 Teaching Times (Mar 9:30 April 9:30 & 11:00) 9 Pre-K/Kindergarten Buddy 9:30 4 Buddy Times (Mar 9:30, Mar 9:30 April 9:30, April 9:30) 10 Pre-K/Kindergarten Buddy 11:30 3 Buddy Times (Mar 11:30, Mar 11:30 April 11:30) 11 Hall Monitor 9:30 4 Times (Mar 9:30, Mar 9:30, April 9:30, April 9:30) 12 Hall Monitor 11:30 3 Times (Mar 11:30, Mar 11:30 April 11:30)

7 LET THE CHILDREN COME On the wonderful privilege and serious responsibility of helping children become followers of Jesus. Written by Lee Bertsch. Feb 2014 Introduction I write on this topic with eagerness but also with caution. There are few things that matter more to us than helping our children to become vibrant, trusting followers of Jesus. But though we are inclined to reduce our ways of helping to a set of simple fool proof steps, children are unique and salvation is such a profound experience that such a formula is hard to find. The scripture remains our sufficient guide in all matters of faith and practice, but it does not offer a precise set of instructions that pertain specifically to helping children respond to the gospel. There are, however, a number of biblical texts that bear upon this topic and which I trust are the primary guide in the thoughts I present. These ideas are not infallible like the scriptures I draw upon and so you are welcome to dissect, add to, and subtract from what I have written as you also prayerfully consider this matter in your own context and in your discussion with others. A Word of Encouragement It is easy for us to be overcome with anxious thoughts in this matter, perhaps doubting our own ability to communicate well and fearing what will happen if we do not do everything just right. Let s pause and remember that God s desire to bring our children into his kingdom is infinitely greater than that of any of us, parents included. He sent Jesus to make a way for us, not to set up a difficult obstacle course in order to weed out those who don t get it all exactly right from beginning to end. We should also reflect upon the fact that the sovereign work of God in the lives of our children is done wisely, lovingly, tenderly, firmly, and persistently. Our role is to be partners with and instruments of the Holy Spirit who does the real work of transforming the human heart and making us alive to God. From the moment a child is conceived it is good to be praying for sensitivity to that work of the Spirit, to pray for our own strength to model that of which we speak, and to pray for the Spirit s prompting for what to say and when. As we observe Jesus working with people we can discern his sensitivity to the uniqueness of each individual and their situation. We can anticipate the same to be true of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our children. So as partners with him, we will want to be attuned to the unique ways that each child learns, interacts with others, and processes their experience of God.

8 Do We Press for a Moment of Decision or Lead Them in a Longer Process of Conversion? The experience of conversion can be notably different for children who grow up in a household of faith. Many testify that they can never remember a time when they did not love Jesus or feel their hearts inclined to him. That is not to suggest that they somehow managed to skip over the all have sinned part, but that their experience of conversion is markedly different from someone like Paul who was for many years a Christ-hater. There is a second way that conversion for children in a household of faith can be different from others. Most would agree that three things need to happen for a person to become a child of God: 1. There are some truths that need to be heard and understood from the Word of God. Faith comes from hearing the message (Romans 10:17) 2. There must be a conscious, personal, credible, sincere response to what was heard about Christ, described in the New Testament with words like repenting, believing, receiving, confessing, following or some combination of those words. 3. A sovereign work of transformation by the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament as a resurrection (Ephesians 2:5), a new birth (I Peter 1:3), a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17), a transfer to a new kingdom (Colossians 1:14) plus various other analogies. We would all agree that points 1 and 2 cannot happen in the life of a newborn child. We can also be quite certain that an 18 year old will be fully capable of understanding and responding as outlined in points 1 and 2. As children grow from newborn to adult, is there some precise moment when they go from not able to fully able to understand and respond? With all we know about child development and our own personal experience we would conclude that to be most unlikely. It is most often the case that children go from not able to somewhat able, to a little more able and finally to fully able. But all through those developmental stages, children may desire to express the stirrings in their heart toward Jesus in some way. What language and concepts can we use to help them understand and respond to those stirrings as much as possible? Is it essential to be able to identify a specific moment when, because of what they said and did, that is their day of salvation? When we look at the analogies of salvation as listed above (resurrection, new birth, entry into a new kingdom), they all support the notion of a singular moment of conversion. A person can be dead or alive, born or not born, in a kingdom or outside but not somewhere in between. But perhaps those analogies are meant to emphasize the contrast between the before and after, and not necessarily the time lapse of that transition. This may being stretching the analogy too far, but consider the fact that there is a 9 month period in the womb before birth when all of us consider the person to be real and alive. Perhaps there are situations in which conversion is more of a process than a point in time, especially when we take into account the mental development of children and the environment of faith in which some of them grow up. We also need to give serious consideration to two other statements in the scripture. One of Jesus final commands was to go and make disciples. We must not miss the point that Jesus command was not to go and make converts, but disciples. Of course, the making of a disciple starts somewhere! But we need to keep that beginning moment in perspective and make sure we get on with the process of helping others become fully devoted disciples of Jesus. Also, the clearest instruction we have in scripture concerning our responsibility to children is not to press them to ask Jesus into their heart, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4) The long term process is emphasized over a singular get saved moment. Of course, repenting of sins and believing in Jesus will be essential to such training. There is something unique about the moment when anyone does that for the first time. But as we learn more about the scope of our sinfulness and more about the person of Jesus, we will want to go further in repentance and deeper in our trust. This will be particularly true for children who are growing in their capacity to understand these things. So there is value in periodic review and renewal of our commitment to Christ, making it clear that this is not a matter of being saved all over again. It is interesting to note that when Paul referred to the

9 genuineness of Timothy s status (II Timothy 1:5), he described a process in which faith was transferred to him from his grandmother and mother, without reference to a particular conversion experience. but a stirring brought about by the Word and Spirit, you have a book launching. The first entry is made. As much as possible enter the actual words used by your child. Right away this does three things: a) It takes seriously the beginning of something that has eternal implications. b) It makes clear that there is a story to be completed. We celebrate the beginning but we do not make more of it than we ought. c) It provides a natural context for conversation about spiritual things to continue and a safe environment for asking questions. An Idea to be Considered and Scrutinized I am not trained and experienced in working with children so this idea may be of limited value but I offer it up none the less. One time at a baptismal service in our church I used a two volume book on history to illustrate the before and after being declared in the act of baptism. Volume 1 was my story before I became a follower of Jesus. Now that I am a new creation in Christ, nothing more is being written in that book. Thanks to the gracious work of Jesus, Volume 2 is now being written a much better story with a much happier ending! Would something of that order be helpful as you guide your children in developing a vibrant relationship to Jesus? You could begin a journal-like process for each of your children, using an actual book with a heading: The Story of Jesus and Me or The Story of Jesus and (Child s Name). In that book would be recorded every new development or response that the child makes to the truths of scripture and particularly the person of Jesus. Regardless of the age of your child, the first time they express voluntarily their desire to trust Jesus or to become a Christian, and you sense it is more than pressure from an older sibling or a desire to please mom and dad, Such a way of recording the process of becoming a disciple might be valuable in overcoming a problem that many young converters to Christ often experience. For example, a child asks Jesus into his heart as a 7 year old. That is celebrated as the day of salvation. As that child grows older the memory of that fades and might become a little suspect. What really did I understand? Was I serious? What relevance does that have today when life is so different for me? It has fostered doubt and cynicism among many. But for a 16 or 18 year old to be able to look over a story covering all the years rather than a single fuzzy memory when they were 7 might be a helpful thing. Consider Peter as a case study. We can pull out several incidents from the gospels and put together an outline of his journey with Christ: a) His initial come to Jesus moment. John 1:40-42 b) After a miracle of Jesus, he confesses his sin and leaves his boat to start following Jesus. (Luke 5:1-11) c) In a moment of fresh insight, he confesses his belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:13-17) d) When people by the thousands turned away from following Jesus, Peter declared that he was committed to go with Jesus. (John 6:60-69) e) Peter has an encounter with the Holy Spirit on two occasions. (John 20:22 & Acts 2:1-4) We may choose to identify a particular moment in that story as Peter s real conversion. Or we may simply rejoice in the reality that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion. (Phil, 1:6)

10 Ways to Speak with Children about Faith and Conversion Consider now a number of different ways that the scripture gives us to express or conceptualize our relationship to God. It is good to be familiar with several of them because one child may grasp the truth more readily with one expression and another child in a different way. Or by using several ways to describe it, children will have a fuller understanding of their relationship to God. I. I will ask Jesus to come to me and live inside of me. You will likely recognize this as the most common way that we, in our tradition, present the initial step of becoming a child of God. We invite people to ask Jesus into your heart or invite Christ to come into your life. We speak that way because the scripture does: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12) the glorious riches of this mystery which is Christ in you the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) There is emphasis here on our need of a Savior and what Jesus brings to us when he comes to live in us, e.g. forgiveness, cleansing, eternal life. However, if this is the only way we speak of salvation with children, some misconceptions may occasionally develop. E.g. it may encourage the idea that Jesus comes as a helpful addition to my life rather than as Lord of my life; it may encourage a perspective of something finished (I now have received assurance of safe passage to heaven) rather than something begun; it may lead to confusion among really young children who wonder how Jesus can be shrunk to fit inside of them. II. I will follow Jesus because he asked me to and I trust him. This is the most common way that Jesus got things started with people during his time on earth. He made it a general way to understand our relationship to him with such statements as: Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12) There are several advantages, I think, to this terminology in speaking with children: they understand the idea of following someone and they instinctively know that you follow those you love and trust; it puts more emphasis on Jesus as the master of our lives; it leaves no doubt that when we start with Jesus, we start a life of obedience that continues on. The one thing to guard against in this presentation of the truth is that it is possible to minimize the grace of God and the saving work of God in our lives and give the impression that it is our efforts in following Christ that saves us. III. I will go to Jesus and be included in something great he is doing. A prominent biblical reference here would be II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Other biblical references that offer a similar emphasis are those that refer to us becoming God s children (I John 3:1-2) or being adopted into his family (Ephesians 1:5). We are being included in a great family or household. We live in a highly individualistic culture and that often spills over into the way we think of being a Christian. For children to get a start with this sense of joining with Jesus in something great he is doing with a whole company of people has its advantages. In addition children readily relate to the experience of joining up with and belonging to a group. IV. I am lost in the dark but I will trust Jesus to bring me to a safe place. The most striking reference in this way of understanding conversion comes from Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. The strength of this approach in explaining things to children is that it puts a lot of emphasis on what God does for us to make a difference. Being lost in the dark because of disobedience might be a concept that children readily grasp. And it also emphasizes that if Jesus had not come looking for me (Luke 19:10) I would remain lost. Finally this approach includes the idea of being brought into something great God is doing that includes a lot of other people. V. I am wasting away in a place far from God, but I want to go home again. The biblical references here is, of course, the story of the prodigal son, or as others urge us to call it, the story of the waiting father. It may not be the most effective way to introduce young children to the concepts of salvation as they will not have had much if any experience of willfully distancing themselves from God and wasting much of the blessing God has already given. I include it here because it may be the most effective way to present the gospel to older children who have gone through some overtly rebellious stages. I add it also simply to point out that there are many ways to introduce the meaning of the gospel that encourage a response.

11 Caution about Viewing Faith Primarily as Mental Assent to Truths about God There is always a certain amount of understanding that precedes our initial experience of God s salvation. Can we identify a list of essential truths that must be understood and believed in order to be saved? Would such a list include all or most of the following? Would there be others you would insist on adding? 1) God is love and he loves us. 2) God s word is true. 3) Knowledge of our sinfulness and its offensiveness to God. 4) Understand genuine repentance. 5) Understand the death of Jesus as a perfect atoning sacrifice and a victory over death. 6) Understand salvation by grace through faith and not our own good works. 7) Know that Jesus is the Son of God come as a man and that he is the way, the truth and life. 8) Know what idols are and renounce them. 9) Know what the world represents and what it means to turn away from it. 10) Grasp the extent of God s offer of forgiveness and know how to be assured of that. 11) Knowledge of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. 12) Understand Jesus as Lord and the meaning of submission to him. Perhaps this is timely moment to read something Paul wrote to Timothy: Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (II Timothy 1:12) It is worth pointing out that Paul spoke of knowing whom he believed, not what. The two are not completely separable because we do not believe in someone like Jesus without knowing certain things about him. But it certainly shifts our focus to a person we trust rather than our mental assent to a set of propositions about God as the means by which salvation is made effective. In all the stories of conversion in the New Testament, the single most common element is belief in the person of Jesus. Often it is not really stated how much the individual understood about the salvation process but they did have a strong inclination in their hearts to love and trust the person of Jesus. That is what matters most, for as Paul said in Romans 10:9, If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is suggestive in terms of how we approach children. We can never go wrong in giving them ample opportunity to learn about Jesus such that they will be drawn to him and inclined to trust him. Children will often express a delight in Jesus and even a love for him before they demonstrate any great sorrow over their sinfulness. We should not do anything to contrive repentance, but rather simply encourage children in whatever beginnings with Jesus they are ready to make. As one man said, Jesus first catches the fish and then cleans them. We would naturally say that the more a person understands at the point of entry in God s kingdom, the stronger the beginning. But then we reflect on biblical examples like the thief on the cross who was promised paradise by Jesus after saying only: Remember me when you come into your kingdom. We are not told how much he knew and understood but the impression we get is that it was minimal.