Recently my 8 year old grand-daughter got bit by a large dog and had to go to the emergency room to get stitches. It was a scary experience for her as the bite was on her nose, very close to her eye. What’s an 8 year old to do to stay calm in this situation? What will drive away her fears? What will she put her hope in no matter the outcome?... As my granddaughter waited in the ER with her mom, they used that time to recall and review the glorious attributes of God and His precious promises to His children – truths that she had been taught systematically, week after week, the past two years in Sunday school. Amazing truths and verses such as:
I am so thankful that she had been given a deep and rich ocean of biblical truth to draw upon in that situation - deep and rich truths about the incomparable character of God and the priceless treasure that comes through trusting in His promises, especially the promise of salvation to all who call upon Jesus in faith. Every promise is “Amen” in Christ!
But this example also highlights something important: While there is a very necessary time and place for our children to be taught the chronological and redemptive narrative of Scripture they also need to be taught in systematic categories – giving them an organized, age-appropriate, easy to recall understanding of the important doctrines of Scripture and how these are meant to shape our minds, hearts, and wills.
At Truth78 we have intentionally developed our curricula scope and sequence to carefully provide children studies that teach the chronological narratives of Scripture but also core systematic studies. You can learn more about this approach and why we believe it’s crucial for our children’s biblical instruction here.
