(Celine Aiken)
“Let the little children come to Me...anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." (Mark 10:13–16)
Teaching Sunday school for almost 15 years, to kindergarten children at Trinity, is such a blessing and an important tool for me to stay connected to God.
As I prepare my lesson for the class each week, I usually read the entire adult information and Scriptures to be sure that I have the whole context of the teaching. Then comes the best part of all, the preparation process. I see how the author of the book and I can bring the message to the children on their level. As I read through the material and select the parts that will work best with the time frame I have, I am so moved in my Spirit of how simple God's Word really is. It is not complicated or confusing. He wants us to know, love and serve Him and He makes it very basic, complete and full of truth.
One example is the lesson Paul Explains Christians’ Relationship With Christ. The Scripture is from Ephesians 1:15-2:10. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) The simple way to say and teach this lesson is, only God’s power saves us. That God’s grace is a gift, we don’t work for it or be proud of ourselves for being saved.
I praise God for the privilege and honor to be a Sunday school teacher because it keeps me in the Word of God and helps me not only to be connected to Him, but to be reminded that He is “simply” a Father who loves His children.
May you too experience the simplicity of God’s love for you in your daily walk with Him. How do your acts of service keep you connected with God? How is God prompting you to serve today? Write us here at the blog.
3 comments:
Being connected to God through service can be such a blessing.When I prepare communion on the first Sun of every month I have learned to pray for those who partake.Other little things that anyone can do to serve God through the church does draw us closer to God and keeps us connected.It gives us a sence of belonging to the best and greatest family of all, the family of God.
C.Slosson
As you serve those who are least in the kingdom of God whether it is a story for Naomi and her kids in class or just saying hi and supporting Kevin in his surgery and rehab. you are arteries and the branches of Christ. A strong tree well watered. A Psalm 1 family. May all of be like the Aikens as we serve Him on this earth.
I've been thinking on the question at the end of this post: "How do your acts of service keep you connected with God?" The first things that popped into my mind were the "feel-good" things: sensing a greater connection during the worship service after I've prayed at the window, or getting new insights while preparing to do a Bible study talk, for instance.
But then I thought about how much of the time I serve because I know it is what is needed, regardless of my feelings either at the moment or later on. And really, a lot of those times don't lead to wonderful feelings or a deep sense of being used in a powerful way---as nice as those feelings are when they happen.
What those times DO often lead to, though, is me asking myself, "Why don't I feel more joy in this? or "Why am I resisting this service?" or any number of similar questions. And when I do some soul-searching and listening to God about those questions, THAT generally leads to me recognizing once again that I'm operating out of a sense of entitlement, or that I need to do the hard work of clarifying boundaries, or that---despite my words to the contrary on a "feel-good" day---I'm just not that into dying to myself!
And then I see again that I can never do the Christ-life, the serving life, without the moment by moment help of the Lord. And THAT does keep me more connected with God.
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