Two weeks ago, I never would have imagined that my teaching role at church was going to abruptly end. I had the privilege of teaching The ABCs of God to a group of more than 50 children in first through sixth grade. It was both a challenge and a delight to teach such a large group and wide age span. But that last week of class was especially memorable as we studied "wrathful” as an attribute of God—God is very angry at sin and is right to punish sinners. The children listened and watched as I read of Jesus clearing the temple, and then I scattered a basket of coins, yielded a whip made of cords, and overturned a table. We recounted why a perfectly righteous God is right to be angry when He is not treasured above all. We recalled evidences of God’s wrath in the Bible—the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, and more. We read that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and are deserving of experiencing God’s wrath forever in hell. It was a somber lesson, a hard lesson.
…And then came COVID-19. No more gathering together to finish the curriculum. My heart aches because I so much wanted my students to see what was coming in the next lessons:
God is Patient—He is slow to anger and slow to punish.
God is Merciful—He is kind to undeserving sinners.
God is our Deliverer—God saves His sinful people from the punishment they deserve. (Jesus’ death on the cross)
God is Victorious—God always wins, even over Satan, sin, and death. (Jesus’ resurrection)
God is King—God rules over everyone. (Jesus is reigning now as King of kings!)
I can’t be there to teach these glorious truths, but parents can be equipped and encouraged to finish the study with their children. How? Every Truth78 curricula include accompanying take-home pages. In the revised Sunday school curriculum, they’re called Growing in Faith Together (GIFT) Pages. Each GIFT Page provides the parents with an overview of the lesson, Scriptures to read, interactive discussion questions, and action steps/activities. They are simple to use, which is especially helpful since many families are already feeling overwhelmed by the disruptions of daily routines.
Church ministry leaders and churches, if you are using Truth78 curricula, we encourage you to do the following:
- In keeping with your lesson schedule, provide parents with a weekly GIFT Page and any other accompanying review sheets or optional activity pages (provided as PDFs with the Classroom Kit). Also, make sure to include the Parent Overview PDF, which explains how to best use the GIFT Pages.
- If your church has purchased a Student Workbook for each child, send home the accompanying lesson workbook pages as a PDF each week.If you need instructions on how to do this, please call our Customer Care Team.
Yes, I am sad that, for the foreseeable future, I will not be teaching in the classroom. But I know that God is sovereign and He is good. I know that He is able to use this time to bring about extraordinary fruit in the lives of His people—both parents and children. My prayer is that, during this time, God will draw the hearts of parents to more fully embrace the sacred responsibility and privilege of nurturing the faith of their children.
One final note: As always, our customer service team is eager to help you with any further questions you may have regarding our curriculum resources and how they can be made available to your church. Don’t hesitate to give them a call!
