Gina

be an inspiration (read all 2 entries…)
Sunday School 23 months ago

I am a teacher for the 6 and 7 year old Sunday school in my church. Well today my lesson was on Jesus coming back and what he said will happen. Well I ended up having 9 kids, which is a lot for my class, and they were crazy. They wouldn’t listen to me, they were talking while I was, and they were coloring in their notebooks instead of listening to me. I was really frustrated needless to say. So I had all of them put their pens down and close their books so that I could finish the lesson. Well that didn’t help they still didn’t listen, they opened their books again and everything, so i took it all away.

Here is where inspiration comes in…

Well I told then that I was frustrated with them not listening because this stuff was important. So I asked them “why are we in Sunday School?” Their responses were to learn about God and to get candy, not even joking. So I talked to then about how Sunday school and church weren’t just about learning about Jesus, but building a foundation, a relationship, with Him. They were a little confused but I got up and walked around and simplified it for them. I told then that they cant mess around with a relationship with God, I told them about Hell and the seriousness of it, they actually all had there eyes on me and listened, they have never done that! I got to talk to them and tell them that the lessons weren’t what was important, and I threw my book across the room so that they would get it. I told them that for all I care we will spend every day talking about this then what ever is in the book.It blew their minds I think, they have never had someone tell then the real truth, sure they have heard the Bible stories and hear God’s word, but they never had anyone talk to then like and adult, someone to not water down things like Hell(never being relieved of the pain that we will go through), and Jesus dying on the cross(because He was perfect). We talked about Heaven and how we can go there and spend eternity with God. We talked about eternity and how once we die we can’t change anything, that if we are sentenced to Hell there is nothing that will changed God’s mind. And then we talked about angels and how we don’t become angels because they are lower ranked than humans, I told them what the bible says angels look like and how angels are warriors. Some of my kids even asked where they could find the description of angels in their Bibles. It was amazing!

This is what I want my every day to be like. I want to inspire people of all ages to see who God really is and to encourage them to give their all to Him.

Jan 27, 2008, 10:06PM PST | 5 cheers


Comments:

shelbygrapes is keepin it rude

I want you to be my kids sunday school teacher :) holy wow. That’s great. Maybe if we start dismantling all the nonsense from the very beginning we’ll end up with healthy adult Christians. No dysfunction. We always start too late. A million cheers to you.

Jan 28, 2008, 06:50AM PST | Respond to this

cassranai

Awesome

Way to go Gina. Way to follow the Holy Spirit. I am so glad you told your students the truth. It could save them so much heart ache in the future. I wish someone would have been that point blank with me in Sunday School when I was 5 or 6. I may gotten it sooner if I had heard what God was really about. Kudos and Cheers and a thousand applause to you.

Jan 28, 2008, 06:56PM PST | Respond to this

little_sis

MEAT not milk

Gina your a pretty amazing chick and I totally share in your joy. But even more amazing that you is God and how his Holy Spirit can change things. He is working on so many different levels. And just as much as those kids needed to hear that truth maybe they will go home and tell the truth to their parents who need to hear it just as much. Your kids have a hunger for God so continue to feed them meat and strengthen them for what is to come.

Jan 28, 2008, 08:29PM PST | Respond to this

thinkrevolution

God is Love

I respect you for your courage, passion and noble effort, but I would like to offer a different perspective. Each kid comes from a different background, where the parents may or may not agree with you.

Sometimes people must discover God at their own pace. I say this because I was told that I would go to Hell if I didn’t believe in God when I was a child, and it caused me to lie to myself and try to make myself believe that I believed in God, but I just needed more of an understanding than that. I just didn’t get it. I am not suggesting your views are wrong at all—just that as a child I remember that I didn’t have the capacity to see that living God’s word is the ultimate goal. Years later I discovered that God is not something you embrace simply out of fear of the consequences, God is many things (well, all things…): the feeling in your chest when you see something beautiful, the compassion that overcomes you to give to and take care of your fellow beings. I would like to tell a Sunday School class about God’s incredible love; if someone punches you on the playground or says God isn’t real, God would want you to love them anyway, praying for their own insight and revelations, because it’s easy for a kid to feel like he’s better than someone else for being so ignorant—a vengeful kid could smile darkly inside because the perpetrator are going to Hell, which to me is missing the whole point.

After rejecting Christianity because I grew up fearing God, I have come to be a very spiritual person. Gandhi said something that pretty much encompasses how I see the world: “If you don’t see God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further.” I believe it is important to remember that there is something to be learned from everyone. Please teach these kids to not be arrogant with their views but to question their own views and those around them, because a solid foundation and understanding may ultimately be their saving grace.

I just don’t want these kids (or their parents) to dismiss you as that “crazy sunday school teacher” when I understand very well the frustration you feel with spreading faith to others. I hope I haven’t offended you—I would really like this to be a dialogue in search of understanding and accepting each other instead of just applauding or berating each other.

May 27, 2008, 02:51AM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

Gina

It is really interesting

That every time I do something by the leading of the Holy Spirit, some one cuts me down for it. The sad things is that I know what I am teaching these kids is right and unfortunately you weren’t taught who God really is. My class knows that God is not someone that we love because we fear Him, but We love God for what He has given us. And I hope that the kids and their parents think of me as the crazy Sunday School teacher, because by being crazy my kids can see that Christianity is not always about being serious, but it is fun too.

May 27, 2008, 02:34PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 2 cheers

Sal_Gal

wow gina.

Kudos.. i give you mad kudos. You are an amazing person, and an amazing teacher. But not only a sunday school teacher… your lessons go out to those that are your age as well and not just 6 or 7 year olds. You’ve taught me more than I could even list here on 43things, or even in person, and some of those things, I really havent used yet, but I know them for future reference. Which is exaclty what you do for your kids. Your teaching them how to establish their relationship with Him now. And then in the future they will look back on their crazy sunday school teacher and remember the lessons you taught them and remember how important their relationship with God really is. They will also see how much of God you had/have in you, and strive to better themselves. It takes someone with a lot of passion and motivation to touch peoples live now, and 20 years from now.

way to go Gina!
=]

Jun 04, 2008, 01:48AM PDT | Respond to this 1 cheer


Gina has gotten 5 cheers on this entry.

 

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