CHURCH-GOING 101 - SUNDAY SCHOOL

After much contemplation on what to write about in the new year (new decade), I decided that we could all use a refresher course on church-going. So whether you’re fairly new to church, or if you wrote the book on pew-sittin’, this one’s for you! So…for our first class…

SUNDAY SCHOOL

I like to think of Sunday School as the most casual part of the formal Sunday services. It’s like the meet-and-greet with hors d’oeuvres before the feast begins. Originally, Sunday School was designed to teach lay people how to read and write. Though I’m sure the Bible was used, the main point wasn’t to teach spiritual truth, but to bribe people into coming to church. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Sunday School is now the premier place where we are obedient to the Scriptural command to teach the Word.

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also…”

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”

- II Timothy 2:2 & 3:16

While the Bible places the responsibility of training up and teaching the next generation solely on the parents, Sunday School is a great place for people of all ages to sit down with others and be taught the Bible. Sunday School is also a great place for lost people to be introduced to the church, and to the Bible, and to Jesus!

In order to be good Sunday School pupils/classmates, follow these simple rules:

1. If you don’t have anything nice to say, then…find something nice to say!

A good Sunday School class requires good discussion. Awkward silences are okay sometimes…but seriously…speak up! And men…step up and read (I know it’s scary the first time) when the teacher asks for someone to read a passage of Scripture…don’t let the women have all the fun!

2. Listen to your teacher!

Sunday School is a class setting with teachers and pupil after all. As good students of anyone who is teaching the Bible, we should always strive to be good listeners. And, on top of that, we are to be studious as well. When you hear biblical truth…you should always make sure that it is biblical…and truth!

“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

- Acts 17:11

3. Respect one another; Play nice; Don’t eat the glue.

But seriously…Sunday School is one of the best places to get plugged into your church body and minister to one another. Don’t waste time with your fellow church members…make full use of your time and your gifts. Let’s have a heart to serve one another.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

- Ephesians 4:32 & I Corinthians 12:4-6

Put me in coach!

PRAGMATIC THEOLOGY: MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE

Athanasius was a Patristic (early church father) of the fourth century who was a theological giant. We learn much about Christian history from his writings and teachings. But before he began his ministry in his local church by becoming a deacon, there were some stringent requirements. These are the books of the Bible that he was required to have committed to memory before becoming a deacon: the entire Psalter (all 150 Psalms), one major prophet (Daniel did not count because it was too short), one Gospel, and all the New Testament epistles.

Our culture is so separated from this oral memory culture that this seems unthinkable to us.

Today, our schools do not teach how to do math in your head…they teach how to use a calculator. Our universities do not teach doctors how to diagnose and treat diseases…they teach how to look up symptoms in a book or computer to find the right treatment. Our churches do not teach us how to “hide God’s word in our heart,” but they teach us how to use biblegateway.com.

Using your resources is one of the greatest skills I acquired growing up in scouting, but I do not believe that a greater availability of resources (internet, books, etc…) gives us the excuse to ignore the command in Scripture to memorize. Here are three reasons we MUST discipline ourselves to memorize the Word of God:

1. Jesus did it! Re-reading the Temptations of Christ (Matthew 4:1-11) will give us a practical example of how Jesus Himself used His Scripture memory verses to combat the tempter’s wiles.

2. The Sword of the Spirit is our main weapon! Putting on the whole Armor of God is so “that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-20). This military metaphor is primary talking about arming yourself with the Word of God: The Belt of Truth, the shoes are the “readiness given by the gospel of peace,” the Shield of Faith that extinguishes all the flaming darts of the evil one, and of course the Sword of the Spirit, “which is the Word of God.”

3. No excuses! Besides the fact that this spiritual discipline is not a suggestion, it is a command, we are all more than capable of memorization. Depending on your age, you can more than likely finish at least one of these phrases exactly:

• “Praise God from whom all blessing flow…”

• “Green acres is the place to be…”

• “West Philadelphia borned and raised…”

• “If you like to talk to tomatoes…”

Repetition…repetition…repetition! Members of the early church would recite psalms congregationally on a weekly basis. What can you do on a regular basis to obey this verse:

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

- Psalm 119:11

Or this one:

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

- Psalm 119:9

PRAGMATIC THEOLOGY – IS PRAYER A CONVERSATION?

There is a popular teaching going around that prayer is a conversation between you and God. Is this correct? Is prayer a conversation between God and man? Is it two-directional? What does the Bible say? Anyone who goes against this teaching sounds unspiritual. It sounds really good to say that we should both speak AND listen. But is this what Jesus did? Is this what he taught his disciples to do?

I think that, while it may sound spiritual to both speak to and listen to God in prayer, this is not biblical and is actually damaging to our understanding of how we relate to God. Let me make myself clear before you call for my excommunication! I do believe that prayer is communication with God. However, I believe that it is only one-way communication. The Bible teaches us that God has spoken to us in many ways:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…

- Hebrews 1:1

Despite the diversity of ways God has spoken, you will not find prayer among them. God has always been very specific about how He is to be approached and about how He speaks to people. It is not wise for us to get this wrong.

What does God say about prayer? On this side of the Cross, Jesus preached on this very topic and even gives us an example prayer in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:5-14. If prayer, then, is one-way, how do we hear from God? How do we find God’s will? As Hebrews 1:1 says above, God has spoken to us already, through the prophets of old and more recently through His Son.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- John 1:1

This Word is Jesus Christ and He has spoken very clearly. Jesus is God’s revelation! Romans 5:8 says that God has demonstrated His love for us in that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If we want to hear from God, then we need to listen to what He has already said. We need to trust that the Word of God is sufficient to speak to us even today.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

- Hebrews 4:12

All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

- II Timothy 3:16

Do we really believe that the Bible is sufficient to speak into our lives? Let us not only be hearers, do doers of the Word!