daddy4ms

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I started reading Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower. You can visit his website here  Below, I have included a section from Chapter 3 on growth for kids.  It was so helpful to me and will impact how I teach in the future. Church kids come in one of two types--unsaved and saved. Both types desperately need to see Jesus. . .We make a mistake if we think kids are saved by hearing the good news and trusting Jesus, but then grow as Christians some other way. . .We grow in the same way we became Christians--rooted in Jesus, with our hope in the good news. As kids learn about God's goodness and holiness, they ought to increase in aw of him. That's growth. And as they examine themselves and see the ugliness inside, they ought to increase in conviction of sin. That's growth too. But the combination of these will drive them to despair--unless their understanding of the forgiveness and righteousness they have in Jesus also grows. ...

I am continuing to read The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley.  Here are some quotes from some final chapters: "We're invited to depend on the onetime sacrifice as the means to lifelong forgiveness, without any strings attached" "The Son of God has finished his work. He is risen and is now seated in heavenly places. There's only one appropriate response. All eyes on him!" "As believers, our forgiveness and cleansing aren't dependent on our memory, our confession, or our asking. Our forgiveness and cleansing are solely because of the finished work of Jesus Christ." "If we sin against someone, we may experience difficult circumstances an dour own disappointment with our choice. But we shouldn't mistake these earthly consequences for moving out of fellowship with God. Our fellowship is stable and certain. God's face is always toward us." "Too many Christians succumb to the Accuser while wrongly attributing these attac...