EDUCATION: Bible News Information Sheets

My congregation had the wonderful opportunity to read the Bible in chronological order this past year and many succeeded. In order to make things less confusing for them I created the BIBLE NEWS for all 66 books. 

There is so much information that we don't have when we start reading the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. There are unfamiliar terms or phrases, history, and political and cultural information, not to mention reading ancient Hebrew poetry and figurative language used by the prophets. Included in the News are also themes that span the whole Bible that we should be looking for, common misconceptions, and situations with the prophets that we don't know. It's so much easier to understand the epistles when we know why the apostle responded to the person or congregation the way they did. 

All of this information deepens our comprehension as we read these amazing books. Researching and writing them was a great blessing to me and I hope they are a blessing to all who use them as well. Interested? You can find them here or soon on Sola Publishing. 

Download a Sample or Get them for your congregation!

YOUTH: The Truth About STDs

We all know that God does not recommend treating sex like a recreational activity, but it should be saved for a special relationship with one other person. Some people think it's the 21st century and that "rule" is outdated, but the truth is that not only does multiple sex partners erode your future marriage before you even get there, but every time you're intimate with someone, you're sharing a part of yourself that you cannot get back and your ability to be truly intimate with that one special person gets more difficult. With the 6th commandment, God is actually protecting our marriages and our ability to be intimate with one person and indeed, our souls.

Looking for a more practical reason to give your youth? Here's a good one.

According to the World Health Organization (2022) there are more than 30 different bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be transmitted through sexual contact. Think you can just go to the doctor on campus and get a pill? Well, friends, think again. All are treatable, but only four are currently curable. FOUR!

Women can take the pill to try and prevent pregnancy, but it doesn’t protect them from many sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or infections (STI), though it may help for a few of them. Do you want to take that risk?

For the record, sexual contact means any time skin touches skin, whether it’s a hand, a mouth, or any other part of the body. People were told to wash their hands and be careful what they touch to prevent the spread of Covid-19, a coronavirus. Touching someone’s infected genitals or genital area transmits a virus too. Not only that, but many of them can be transmitted from mother-to-child during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, and worse, some of them can cause cancer and infertility, and even worse, you may not know you have one or are passing it around. The next time you think God’s rule about not having casual sex or sex outside of marriage is ridiculous, think about that.

There are millions of new infections every year and again, you don’t always know you have one. The ONLY way to know for sure that you’re not getting a sexually transmitted disease is to not have casual sex before marriage, and that means vaginal penetration, oral sex (putting mouth, tongue, or lips on another person's genitals -- front or back). Syphilis, HPV, and herpes are known to cause symptoms in the mouth and throat. Others that can be spread orally include gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and HIV. Please remind youth that many of these have NO SYMPTOMS. If you are treating sex like a recreational activity, you will not know you have one of these unless you are tested, and tested often.

No man wants to have to tell the woman he wants to marry that he carries a sexually transmitted disease that cannot be cured because he had no self-control. No woman wants to tell the man she wants to marry that she cannot have a baby because she had no self-control. You might want to show this to your youth and their parents (Pam Stenzel).

 

YOUTH: Another interesting Bible Inquiry idea!

I recently read an article about The Benefits of Incorporating Print Magazines Into English Class and it got me wondering how we can use that idea for teaching the faith to teenagers. After all, with all the misinformation out there, there are some skills we would really like them to have, such as: 

• The ability to read and understand faith related or theology articles.
• The chance to practice thinking about what they believe.  
• We want them to develop curiosity and find reading about faith issues interesting.

Before you say no, and write this idea off as something they'll find boring, give it a chance, and that's more than one week. Here's how it works. 

1. Take some time to collect some good faith magazines. You can have people donate them or check out your local library or see if there are any other sources that might have back issues. They do not have to come from your denomination. Keep in mind that some Lutheran magazines will not be your denomination, which is a good thing and should provide some interesting discussion. 
2. Let kids take 10-15 minutes to flip through the magazines and choose an article they think is interesting. Give them 15 minutes to read the article, then ask them what they read. 
1. Do they think it matches your doctrine? Why or why not?
2. Can they see what may or may not be unbiblical?
3. If one person has an article they find really interesting, see if someone else has one and ask what the similarities or differences are. 
4. You may find some unexpected connections. Of all things, make sure there are Bibles and catechisms in the room. It doesn't matter what other people think, it matters what the Bible says. 

As you do this, you may find they start looking forward to it and recommending articles to others. The greatest thing that can come of it is for kids to become curious and feel confident in reading faith issues critically. If it's high school, they may find the most interesting articles are about social issues. It'll be great to have time to talk about them. Make the time. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

PODCAST: The new Teaching the Faith Podcast

 Hey all, I decided to start a podcast. It's called To Cause to Learn: Effective Teaching in the Church and it follows my book, The Art of Teaching the Faith: Preschool through Adults. I'm disappointed in the editing of the first edition so the second edition will be out in a couple of weeks. The podcast, however, is a lot of fun and full of information. You can find it on Spotify and on Anchor using this link, and on Google Podcasts. 

So far, there are 7 episodes and number 8 will be out this weekend. The episodes are: 

Episode 1: Why be a great teacher of the faith?

A lot of people think they're already good teachers and some think they're good enough. It's a lot of work to be a great teacher. Why be better? Friends, the faith or the Bible is the most important information we learn or teach.

 

Episode 2: The Brain and Learning

We know SO much about how the brain learns and changes as we grow. It's truly amazing and the more we know, the more it can help us be better teachers of the faith. What was it the Maya Angelou said? When we know better we should do better.

 

Episode 3: Boys and Girls and Brain Development

By the high school years this doesn't make much difference, but did you know that male and female brains mature at different rates and the areas mature in a different order? They catch up in or by high school, but it can sure make a difference with the young ones for us to know more about how each gender's brain develops.

 

Episode 4: Narrative Stage: Preschool and Kindergarten

The Narrative Stage in faith education is the years from preschool to second grade. They're the years when kids learn a lot from stories and this podcast talks about kids in preschool and kindergarten and shares information that would help both Sunday school teachers and parents teach the faith well to these adorable tots.

Episode 5: Narrative Stage: Fabulous First Graders!

Oh, the first grade years. They're learning to read! How do we teach the faith to kids who love stories and are learning to read? How can we teach so that it's meaningful at this age? 

Episode 6: Narrative Stage: Let's Get Serious About Second-Graders

There's a reason I separated first and second grade. There's a lot going on with young kids and they change a lot every year. Second-graders are different from first-graders. Yes, their skills are growing and they can read more fluently, but they also have a tendency to be more serious and thoughtful. How can we teach them the faith effectively?

Episode 7: Narrative Stage: Storytelling! 

Yes, it's important to know the kids we're teaching, but it's also important to make Bible stories as interesting and meaningful as they are! How can we make Bible stories come alive for young kids when the Bible isn't written with detail and some of the concepts are challenging? Listen to this and find out. 

Episode 8: Narrative Stage: Children's Messages 

Coming soon!

YOUTH: Geocaching Prayer Adventure

A couple of years ago I wrote a Prayer Hike for the Environmental Learning Program at Camp Omega in Waterville, MN. Campers were given a map and were to hike to designated places. At that place they would find a Bible verse, an activity, and a prayer. ELP students were given a journal and part of the experience included questions which required a response. Ever since then I've tried to figure out how to provide the same experience for the youth and families at my small church in my small town. There aren't enough contemplative areas nearby to do a meaningful hike. Then a college friend told me she started geocaching and BINGO! An idea was born. What about a Geocaching Prayer Adventure in the time of Covid?

Geocaching is simply using your phone and coordinates to find a cache that's been hidden. It can be posted on your church website or the information can be picked up at the church. 

Here's how to do it: 

1. Choose your locations carefully. If you're going to use private property make sure you get permission to do so. Do not use transportation hubs as unmarked packages may be considered dangerous and destroyed.
2. Choose your container carefully. Make sure the lid won't pop off easily if an animal plays with it. Also, make sure it's big enough for everything you need to put in it. Choose a color that helps the container blend in with its surroundings. Don't make them so small that nobody can find them.
3. Create your cache. Most cache's contain a log book (small notebook), geocaching congratulatory note with directions (sample note), pen/pencil, and perhaps a small trinket to swap. Place items that can be ruined by moisture in a ziplock bag inside the container. Label the outside of the container so that those not participating know not to pick it up and take it with them or throw it away. 
4. Sample cache. First stop on list (does not have to be done first): 
1. Bible verse card. (read aloud) What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.  1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV 
2. Activity. SHARE with your group one thing you do or will do to praise and thank God each morning. Together shout, THANK YOU GOD! 
   JOURNAL (write/answer): How do you think starting your day with a simple prayer thanking and praising God for what He does for you each day will change your day?  
3. Prayer card. Dear God, we love you and praise you for everything you have done and continue to do for us even though we do not deserve it. We ask that you guide us this night and bring us closer to you for the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, Amen. 
4. Sticker. Add the sticker to your passport/journal. 
5. Log your name(s) in the log book for the leader to retrieve later. 
5. Camouflage your cache by using camouflage containers or finding a way to color it so that it blends in with the area in which it will hide. Don't make them too easy for people to find. It ruins the fun and challenge. 
6. Write down the coordinates! If this is a short-term bit of fun (give your group a couple of weeks to find all your caches) keep a chart or table with written directions of where it is hidden so you can easily retrieve it. 
7. Participants will need to carry a few things with them in a tote bag or backpack: cell phone with a map app or gps locator, water bottle, writing utensil, prayer journal (pick up at church). 

ENJOY!!

RALLY SUNDAY: Church Family Feud docs

 We're planning on playing Church Family Feud on Sunday School rally day and people were asking about it on Facebook. It wouldn't let me upload the files so I'm going to put them here. The game template was created by rusnakcreative.com and it's fabulous! I just changed the titles by adding the word CHURCH. Make sure that when you download it that you also download the Fast Money template. 

I created a google form to do a survey of church questions and put it on Facebook and that worked great, though I have a feeling a lot of people who responded haven't seen the game. 

If you want to see how mine ended up I uploaded it to my Google drive and you can check it out here. It's super easy to use and I can't wait to try. It's going to be so much fun!

H.S. YOUTH: Poinsettia Sale Fundraiser

For years when I was living in MN we sold bedding plants each spring as a youth fundraiser. It was our best fundraiser great because so many people buy annuals, it's not focused on getting more money from the congregation (a detriment to many small congregations regular giving), and the youth can make as little or as much as the effort they put in. One year I had a girl make over $600 because she not only asked her family, but tons of people in her community.  We used Gertens because they always provided good, healthy plants and a lot of choices. Guess what? Gertens has a poinsettia funraiser too! Some people sell Christmas wreaths or other greenery and that is nice, but so many people buy holiday flowers that this is a no-brainer for youth fundraising.

What if you don't live near Gertens? Looking online I can find a nursery that sells poinsettias for a fundraiser in almost every state. Search for poinsettia fundraiser near me or try searching poinsettia fundraiser (your state).

The only thing I want to caution you on is making sure you get healthy, good quality plants that will be blooming when needed. Nobody wants a sanctuary of non-blooming lilies or green poinsettias. Look for reviews of the nursery you use!!

It may be too late this year, but put this in your file for next year!
(I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier...)

EDUCATION: Skeptic's Annotated Bible

You may not have seen this, but I stumbled upon the Skeptic's Annotated Bible today. This is such a cool resource! Why? Because it's annotated with questions and remarks from a skeptic. It's clear that the skeptic did not read much, try to make any connections, or try to understand, and this is great because we can use it to give middle or high school students practice at responding to the comments and questions. You can project the info, cut and paste sections, or create a handout with the NOTES and let kids use their own Bibles. Give it a try!

H.S. YOUTH: Transgender

A number of years ago I was leading a Bible study and the topic of homosexuality came up. There was a girl who had decided that God was wrong about it. Obviously, she thought God could be wrong. I didn't have time to delve into it at the time, but I did make sure I told the pastor what happened so that he might have a conversation with her about it and perhaps answer some of her questions. That's when I decided that it was important to bring up some of the social topics that were or seemed so obvious to adults. Today transgender is one of those topics. There are two issues at stake, one is biblical and the other is social.

• Everybody wants everybody to be okay. 
• Nobody wants to be the one who is accused of being a Christian who doesn't love everybody and everything because God is love. 

The problem is that while God is love and He loves everybody, He doesn't love everything we do. He doesn't love every choice we make, though He knows that our world is full of sin and that's why HE found a way to cleanse us through His SON.

There are some amazing resources out there discussing this and below are two of them: the video and a link to the blog of an LCMS man who struggled with being transgender and Christian. It is amazing! It's a lot to read, but he wrote letter to the LCMS, to the CTCR, and it clearly shows his struggle through scripture. Be sure not to miss his post for Good Friday 2019!

Eilers Pizza transgender blog

This video was removed from YouTube at one time. Hopefully, it will not be removed again.

H.S. YOUTH: Raising Your Sons With Respect

We all know that men and women are different. They just are. We are motivated by different things and were created that way: (Ephesians 5) Wives respect your husbands, husbands love your wives. When they know they are respected, men feel better about themselves and step up their game. When they know they are loved, women feel better about themselves and step up their game.

This applies to how you raise your children as well. Often these days we see women not understanding how to respect their husbands, but also their sons as they grow to be men. Your sons know you love them, but do they know you respect them? How can you make sure they do? 

Part 1

Part 2

PARENTS: Praying For Your Adult Children

I married a man with 8 teenage to adult children who are all very independent. While they don't think so, I know they still need guidance. We When we got married the youngest was 13 and the oldest was 28 and had 3 kids of her own. It's a challenge to be a stepmom at that stage. They were/are very independent and It was just time for them to start making their own decisions and living with the choices, which is really hard for a parent, even a new stepparent. We only have one in the house now and I still worry and pray. I've written prayers, created bookmarks, and even wrote a booklet for praying for your children for safety, wisdom, courage, integrity, faith, forgiveness, and guidance.

Then, I was recently reading a book called Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children by Jodie Berndt and got a really great idea. She recommends choosing a Bible verse to pray for each of your children for a year and see how God works in their lives. You can do this by either buying a bunch of bookmarks (100 for about $11 on Amazon) or put them on post-its (I would get the 2x sticky ones) on your bathroom or bedroom mirror. You can even get colored tassels if you want! 

At some point our kids grow up and leave our direct influence, but the Holy Spirit never leaves them! As I say in the booklet,

"Life can be difficult, happiness fleeting, relationships challenging, tragedy unexpected, and worldly success out of reach. Sometimes it's hard to know what to pray. Our kids will be happy if they follow their Lord. They will find purpose in his will. In him alone will they find true peace and joy. If they seek him, they will define success as he defines it; humility, obedience, compassion, and love."

SERVICE: Operation Christmas Child

This is a great idea for service, especially for kids for Christmas. Get on it though because collection week is 

NOVEMBER 12 - 19, 2018!!!

It's really easy to do and means the world to kids all over the world! All you need is a shoe box and people who want to give. You can find out more information on the Samaritan's Purse website. Click the link below.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Find out more here!

CHRISTMAS: The Many Names of Jesus Ornaments Part 2

I've posted before on Christmas ornaments called The Many Names of Jesus. Writing on the bulbs in that one can be hard for kids so I recently created these. Kids can easily create these! Check them out and if you want more detailed directions, contact me or you can find them and others in my Advent devotions for kids book that will be out very soon.

H.S. YOUTH: Think Tank

I saw a video the other day on a site called Table Talk from the Hope Channel. It's four guys at a table who are told to bring a Bible and their brain. When they arrive they're provided a list of topics and told to discuss. There are no scripts and no rules. All I could think about is HOW COOL that would be to get the youth talking and having to defend their beliefs. Here's how it would work.

Think Tank

(download pdf version here)

A card table and 4 chairs sit in the middle of the room (the Think Tank). The remaining students sit around the table. If you have a large number of students you'll want to break them up into groups so that you have more than one set of table and chairs. 

VARIATION: Put students in teams of 4. One sits in the chair and the other 3 sit behind him/her for support. They will work as a team.

The goal of this exercise is to have students discuss statements surrounding a provided topic. The students surrounding the table, or on the same team, will provide questions or information to the one in the seat to defend their belief, refute or challenge the other 3 sitting at the table. After a chosen amount of time, the person sitting at the table rotates and a new topic is chosen until everyone has had a chance to sit at the table.

Students are asked to bring their Bibles, Small Catechisms, and their brains. Instead of only giving them general topics, they are also given challenge statements. Reasons and or examples must be given for what they say. For example, if a student says, “God created evil,” he/she must also say why they believe that. 

Materials:  Students will need pencils/pens and paper. I would cut letter paper into fourths. 

Process:  Four students are sitting around a table with their Bibles and catechisms. The rest of the students are sitting around or behind them with their books and paper/pencils. They are not allowed to speak, but can pass notes. The leader/teacher introduces the topic. S/he then has a statement written on a piece of paper and reads it aloud. Each student takes a turn responding to the statement. Many of the statements are right or wrong depending on the situation or perspective. Remember that students need to respond with support of their statement. After each person has a turn responding, the students behind or circling the table can write down questions or statements furthering the discussion and pass them to their teammate or, if no teams, anyone at the table. They may also help with support, if needed. If necessary, the teacher/leader can push by asking related questions and if students are headed off in the wrong direction can step in to steer them toward the truth, especially if they veer off into social or political talk without biblical support. Some topics can become great discussions. At the end of the class or after each question, take a minute to do a wrap up so students don't leave questioning a biblical truth or where the Bible stands on an issue.

Also, you can have students send you topics they want to discuss as long as they remain in a biblical context. 

Topics to Get You Started

Good God – Bad World

            God created evil.

            Evil’s existence helps the world find God.

  The world is full of evil because God is testing us.

            God should stop evil in the world.

God is Love

            Love is accepting everything no matter what.

            Love is accepting everyone no matter what.

            If God loves everyone then everyone will be in heaven.

            Love includes discipline.

            God loves you no matter what you believe.

God’s Law

            The law is just mean and nobody needs it.

            If we’re forgiven the law doesn’t matter.

            The law leads people to the gospel.

            I can’t follow the law, so why try?

            I don’t have to follow the law to be a good Christian.

Baptism

            Baptism saves you. That’s all you need.

            If you’re baptized you cannot lose your faith.

            Baptizing babies is wrong.

            We are baptized to show God our faith.

Repentance

            If I don’t repent I won’t go to heaven.

            My sins are forgiven, I don’t need to repent.

Creation

            Evolution and creation can fit together.

            God’s days are longer than our days.

            Evolution makes more sense than creation.

            Believing God created the world takes more faith than evolution.

            Evolution has been proven.

Holy Communion
           The Lord's Supper is something everyone should be allowed to take.
           Telling people they can't take communion at your church is mean.
           I can take communion at my friend's church.
           The Lord's Supper is something we can do without thinking. Just do it!

The 10 Commandments
          The hardest commandment to keep is...
          The easiest commandment to keep is...
          Breaking the commandments really has no effect on my life.
          There are no consequences for not following God’s law.

EDUCATION: DIscussion Strategy #2

One of the most effective learning strategies is discussion. It gets people interacting with the material, asking questions about the material, and hearing multiple opinions. We often forget that academic discussion needs to be structured and facilitated. Most adults have experienced discussion as a teacher/facilitator talking and asking questions while a few outspoken students respond. This is not effective discussion. What you want is to have students discuss while you listen, observe, and consider next steps. Here is another way to get more out of your discussion. Again, the success of these strategies is dependent on the size and age of your class. Some of these are great for adults too, but they're not used to them. They're not used to discussion. I LOVE doing this activity in Youth Bible class and it can go on for weeks!!

Bring Your Catechism

Have students sit in groups of 3 or 4 and have each group choose a name (or just give them a number, but kids, you know, they like to name their groups). They are going to respond to some questions that a non-believer might ask. Have the questions prepared in advance and have them in a can or jar or hat that you can pull them out of randomly. Give each group one question that they will ask another group. In their final response, each group is required to have at least 2 Bible verses to support their response. They may discover that the questions and answers in the back of the catechism are very helpful.

Round 1:  Each group receives a question and spends time coming up with a good answer. It MUST be in their own words and have 2 supporting Bible verses.

Some questions might be:

• Why doesn't the church down the street baptize babies? 
• Why are babies baptized if they haven't sinned yet?
• If God is love, what's wrong with being gay? 
• Why doesn't God like gay people? 
• Why doesn't your church have women pastors? 
• Why can't my friends go to communion with me? 
• If we're all saved then why do we need to follow the commandments?
• Why do Catholics confess to a priest and we don't?
• If God knows everything, why do we have to confess our sins at all? 
• Why should I pray?

(If you really want to challenge them, do the same thing with questions atheists ask.)

Give 5-10 minutes for students to come up with an answer for their question.

Round 2:  After each group gives their answer, let the other groups add points or ideas to their answer.

Round 3:  Let each group pick a different question and answer it based on what they learned.

EDUCATION: Discussion Strategy #1

One of the most effective learning strategies is discussion. It gets people interacting with the material, asking questions about the material, and hearing multiple opinions. We often forget that academic discussion needs to be structured and facilitated. Most adults have experienced discussion as a teacher/facilitator talking and asking questions while a few outspoken students respond. This is not effective discussion. What you want is to have students discuss while you listen, observe, and consider next steps. Here are a few ways to get more out of your discussion. The success of these strategies is dependent on the size and age of your class. Some of these are great for adults too, but they're not used to them. They're not used to discussion.

Gallery Walk variation 

Write significant questions (read my book, The Art of Teaching Confirmation for more information on significant questions) or thoughtful statements on large post-it notes and place them around the room. The post-its help start discussion, so make sure you ask good questions or make good statements that help guide students to your goals. Remember that the goal is to have discussion, not to write post-it notes.

Round 1
Give each student a few small post-it notes. Have small groups travel around the room reading and responding to the questions on their post-its and post them on the wall next to the questions/statement. Students can ask questions or make comments about what they read.

Round 2
Have students walk around the room again and put a hash mark on questions or comments they want to have answered or talk more about. If they have follow-up questions they can add them too.

The facilitator then can walk around the room and use the students' comments and questions to have table discussion.

Stay tuned for more discussion strategies!

EDUCATION: The Atheist Delusion Video

All Americans have not heard the truth. You don't have to go to the mall and reach out to perfect strangers because everybody has a friend or family member they need to talk to about what God has done for them through Jesus Christ.

This video, The Atheist Delusion: Why Millions Deny the Obvious is both interesting and enlightening, beginning with the logic behind intelligent design and the illogic of evolution, the interviewer logically takes self-proclaimed atheists down a path of discovery. Show it to your youth and adults! There are a few discussion questions below that will help them pull it all together. It will not only help people when discussing their faith, but will encourage and affirm what they already believe.

The Basic Flow of Questions in the Video
Do you believe God exists?
Can something come from nothing?
Where does the complex and unique information in DNA come from?
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (What evolved first?)
Why do we have knowledge of right and wrong?
Why do we want to live in darkness?
If God exists, does hell exist?
Is it just to punish evil?
Are you a good person?
If judged, would you be guilty and go to hell?
Do you know what God did for guilty sinners so they wouldn't have to go to hell?

If you want to purchase the dvd, you'll find it at Living Waters. It's $4.99 and I believe it would be good for Christians to support their efforts.




Possible Pre-movie Questions
Everybody has a friend (or family member) who is an atheist and believes in evolution because they have not heard the truth. In a discussion with that person, what would you say to support your belief in creation, their creator, and what he did to assure their salvation?

Possible Movie Questions
Either pause periodically to give time to respond to these questions (or any that you add), or give time after the video. At the very least, make sure people have paper and pencil to respond to question 8 on this list.

1. What is the argument against nothing producing or becoming something? 
2. What are 3 or 4 points that prove the earth/universe was created by intelligent design? 
3. When asked about evolution, what is a problem with the idea of evolution from a single cell?  
4. Once they agree that there must be intelligence behind creation, why is it so difficult for people to admit there is a God?
5. What is idolatry?
6. If God exists, and the Bible is true, why do some people still want to sit in darkness?
7. Do you think it would help to give these people something after a discussion like this that would help them answer their questions? What might that be?
8. Write down anything that impresses you about the questions that were asked and answered or how they were asked and answered.

Possible Post-movie Questions

Write down a brief outline of what your heard in the video. 

What would you tell your atheist friend or family member now? 

If you want a study or video guide created by the video creators, you can find it here.

EDUCATION: The Bible Project

Yesterday we started a new season of Bible study at church and before we just jumped in and started reading, the pastor is taking some time to teach us about the Bible itself. Sometimes background information about the history of the Bible itself, its writers, the Israelites and their culture, and the language it's written in can make all the difference. We looked at a video resource that is great for people of all ages. Ok, well, maybe not preschoolers or young elementary age children as the vocabulary might be a challenge, but everybody else. It's called The Bible Project and the videos can be found on YouTube or on their own website. I don't know who is writing all the episodes but it's nondenominational so, as with every unknown resource, preview the videos before showing them to make sure they're compatible with your church's beliefs.

Of course, when it comes to the Bible, it's best for people to read it themselves and not just listen to somebody summarize it, so do not use this as a substitute for reading. This is especially true for kids, however, sometimes it helps them to have an overview of what's going on if the reading is challenging. This can be true even at the middle school level. So, if you're using a Bible reading plan for confirmation, some of these may be helpful. The videos are broken up into categories: Series, Themes, Old Testament, and New Testament.

Series
How to Read the Bible - Information to help you read the Bible with greater understanding.
Torah - First five books of the Old Testament about God's covenant with the Israelites.
Gospel - Retells the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
Wisdom - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job
Shema (Word Studies) - The shema is a prayer the Jews have prayed for thousands of years. This is a look at the meanings of the words from that prayer.

Themes:  The Covenants, Day of the Lord, Gospel of the Kingdom, Heaven and Earth, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Image of God, The Law, The Messiah, Sacrifice and Atonement, Public Reading of Scripture

Here is the first video in the How to Read the Bible Series.

EDUCATION: Need Something to Challenge Them?

If you need a problem for your youth or adults to struggle with on some random Sunday morning, try this one. I got it from a comment on a blog post (not mine). The blog was about forcing your children to go to church or letting them decide on their own. Here's the challenge:  What do you know about faith and the Bible that can help you respond to this? It might work best if people are broken into groups and share their responses at the end. You might find a lot of good, yet different, responses. Ready? Go!

If I saw a growing minority of people who never ate [went to church], at all, and never suffered any ill effects from it–they never got hungry, never got weak, never missed food in the way we’d expect–I might give up daily eating. It would save a lot of money, after all, if food wasn’t really a need, but only something we’d been taught to THINK we needed. 

If I saw children routinely being hit by cars and not being hurt–and I’m not talking about miraculous near-death brushes, I’m talking about if a child could be hit full-on by a speeding vehicle with no harm, like the child was Superman–then I probably would let my daughter play in the road. 

If science and statistics proved that children learned just as much by NOT going to school as they do by going to school, I wouldn’t make my kids go to school. 

And what of church? Well, the more I learn about the world, the less I see Jesus actually doing anything real. I see there are good people and bad people in Christianity just like there are good people and bad people in other religions, so Christianity isn’t needed to be a good person. I see unhappy Christians and happy non-Christians, so I know Christianity isn’t required for happiness. I see dozens and dozens of examples where the Bible got things wrong, where it looks like God doesn’t even exist–so I have less confidence about the Bible’s predictions of heaven and hell. So no, forcing your kids to go to church isn’t the same as educating them, protecting them from harm, or caring for their most basic bodily needs. It’s just brainwashing, to force them to behave how you want them to behave.

EDUCATION: The Shack

I'm seeing reviews for the movie, The Shack, and most of them talk about how it's not a great movie because it has many Biblical inaccuracies, as well as areas where it speaks to what the Bible doesn't say directly, and fills in with conclusions that have been drawn without consistency with Biblical teachings. Christian reviewers would say, "Don't bother seeing it." I have a different view.

I read the book when it came out because so many people told me how amazing it is/was. True, there are inaccuracies, but there are also little gems where concepts that we all wonder about are explained in a way that makes them easier to understand.

As a Christian educator, I suggest that pastors make this book (or the movie, when it becomes available to the general public) an adult or teen Bible study. I strongly recommend it be a teen Bible study. Why? Because, we need to challenge them. We need to allow them to ask questions. We should not say, "Don't read it." We say instead, "Read it with a critical eye." Read it with them and challenge them to find the inaccuracies. We NEED to teach them to do that on their own so that when they come across these things throughout their lives, their red flags pop up where they should. Ask them: 

• Where are the Biblical inaccuracies? 
• Where are the doctrinal untruths? 
• What strikes you as being wrong here? 
• What about this particular part of the book is biblically right or wrong?
• Is there anything here that seems wrong, but you're not sure why?
• How can we take what's good from this and throw the chaff to the wind?

As Lutherans we have a tendency to tell people not to see it or not to read it instead of teaching them to do so with a filter. We don't give them or strengthen their filter. That's one of our biggest problems, telling people "It's wrong. Don't bother reading/watching it." I say, do it. Read it. Watch it. Do it together. Teach them to take what's good and throw away the chaff. It's important that they learn to think and see false teachings on their own.