Who is Jesus, and what did He mount ... and, what's a sermon?
As I was preparing to share something from the Sermon on the Mount with kids last weekend, I had an "ah-ha" moment. And it has something to do with my daughters.
My daughters do some amazing things. And, like most kids, they want to share their amazingness with me.
My oldest daughter, a junior in high school, is taking college calculus (proud dad moment!). She likes to start conversations like this:
Did that help me understand? Uhhhhh ... no.
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My next daughter is a freshman, and she is a spectacular artist. Last year, she worked on digital smudge painting (didn't even know that was a real thing!). Her explanation of what she was doing sounded something like this:
"Now we’re going to get rid of some of the over-sharpened parts by making the more homogene areas blurry while letting the contoures remain in the photo. We’re going to use Anisotropic Smoothing."
Helpful? Uhhhhh ... not even close.
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My next daughter is a ballerina. When I ask her what she's up to in ballet, she'll probably use some sort of french word, which leaves me scrambling to Google to find a definition like this:
Jeté (jeté ordinaire/pas jeté) refers to a jump initiated en plié, with the pointed working foot brushing out in dégagé from cou-de-pied (derrière) to seconde (action similar to a non-Russian-style flat frappé), weight being transferred via a jump propelled by pushing off the standing leg from plié, the leading leg landing tombé and the foot of the other/former standing leg ending cou-de-pied (derrière).
So ... it's like a jump kind-of thing?
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Now, back to last weekend's experience.
We're in the middle of a series in which we're walking through the Beatitudes, and talking about how to follow Jesus with the way that we live. The curriculum provided this introduction to the Bible lesson:
Now, it’s great when we’re shown mercy, but it’s really great when we show mercy to others. In fact, that’s how God wants us to treat other people. And Jesus said so in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 7.
And that made me stop for a second. Why? Any guesses?
It's theologically solid. Grammatically correct. Short & to the point.
But, it reminded me of my daughters trying to explain calculus, digital art and ballet to me.
You see, I like to imagine a continuum. On the far left side, there are kids who are in church every Sunday. Sometimes for multiple services. And their parents are reading the Bible and praying with them in their homes. They pray and live out what they know to be true. They're on a definite journey towards God.
And, on the far right side, there are kids who have never, ever been inside a church. Who don't know what a Bible is. Who only know the words "Jesus Christ" as a curse.
Every weekend, the possibility exists that there are kids who live on both ends of that continuum, and every point in between, who are attending our Sunday experiences.
And our teams, every Sunday, have the privilege - and challenge - of meeting each of those kids right where they are, and helping them to move a step closer to Jesus.
With that in mind, let's think about that intro sentence: And Jesus said so in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 7.
For the kids on the left side of that continuum? No problem! They might pull a Bible out of a holster and have it open to Matthew before you know it.
For the kids on the right side? Uhhhhh ... no. They're left with a lot of questions. Who is Jesus. What's a sermon? Is this Jesus guy mounting a horse, or a donkey? Who is Matthew? Must be the name of a book, because books have chapters ... but what's a verse?
Most of us have been around Jesus & churches & Bibles long enough that we forget that many people in our culture don't know the first thing about any of the stuff that we take for granted. What's common knowledge to us inside the walls of the church isn't hardly known at all outside the walls.
Think about the examples above, of my daughters tossing around "common knowledge" terminology that I don't know anything about. What happens to my comfort level in those conversations? To my interest level? It plummets, right?
It's why, as we prepare to present Bible lessons to kids (and/or when we train our teams to present lessons), it's so important that we do our best to view the content we're preparing through the lens of a kid down on the right side of that continuum.
Because if I get lost in my daughter explaining calculus to me, we can chuckle about it together. But if I cause a kid to become disinterested in a Bible lesson? Bigger deal, right?
So, how did I introduce that Bible lesson?
Now, it’s great when we’re shown mercy, but it’s really great when we show mercy to others. In fact, that’s how God wants us to treat other people. I know that because of what’s written in this book - it’s called a Bible. God inspired lots of people to write down every thing we need to know about God - who He is, what our relationship is like, and how we can live according to His awesome, perfect plan. The New Testament of our Bibles tell us about someone named Jesus, who is God’s Son. Jesus came to earth, became a human being, and lived an amazing life. He ultimately died for every person on earth, to pay the cost of all the wrong things that we do, and then rose from the dead 3 days later. Today, we’re going to keep looking at time when Jesus sat down with followers on a mountainside and shared some amazing things about what God’s Kingdom is like - including something about mercy.
How do you feel about this? It's a lot more wordy? Is it really necessary?
Sounds like a good conversation starter!
And that made me stop for a second. Why? Any guesses?
It's theologically solid. Grammatically correct. Short & to the point.
But, it reminded me of my daughters trying to explain calculus, digital art and ballet to me.
You see, I like to imagine a continuum. On the far left side, there are kids who are in church every Sunday. Sometimes for multiple services. And their parents are reading the Bible and praying with them in their homes. They pray and live out what they know to be true. They're on a definite journey towards God.
And, on the far right side, there are kids who have never, ever been inside a church. Who don't know what a Bible is. Who only know the words "Jesus Christ" as a curse.
Every weekend, the possibility exists that there are kids who live on both ends of that continuum, and every point in between, who are attending our Sunday experiences.
And our teams, every Sunday, have the privilege - and challenge - of meeting each of those kids right where they are, and helping them to move a step closer to Jesus.
With that in mind, let's think about that intro sentence: And Jesus said so in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 7.
For the kids on the left side of that continuum? No problem! They might pull a Bible out of a holster and have it open to Matthew before you know it.
For the kids on the right side? Uhhhhh ... no. They're left with a lot of questions. Who is Jesus. What's a sermon? Is this Jesus guy mounting a horse, or a donkey? Who is Matthew? Must be the name of a book, because books have chapters ... but what's a verse?
Most of us have been around Jesus & churches & Bibles long enough that we forget that many people in our culture don't know the first thing about any of the stuff that we take for granted. What's common knowledge to us inside the walls of the church isn't hardly known at all outside the walls.
Think about the examples above, of my daughters tossing around "common knowledge" terminology that I don't know anything about. What happens to my comfort level in those conversations? To my interest level? It plummets, right?
It's why, as we prepare to present Bible lessons to kids (and/or when we train our teams to present lessons), it's so important that we do our best to view the content we're preparing through the lens of a kid down on the right side of that continuum.
Because if I get lost in my daughter explaining calculus to me, we can chuckle about it together. But if I cause a kid to become disinterested in a Bible lesson? Bigger deal, right?
So, how did I introduce that Bible lesson?
Now, it’s great when we’re shown mercy, but it’s really great when we show mercy to others. In fact, that’s how God wants us to treat other people. I know that because of what’s written in this book - it’s called a Bible. God inspired lots of people to write down every thing we need to know about God - who He is, what our relationship is like, and how we can live according to His awesome, perfect plan. The New Testament of our Bibles tell us about someone named Jesus, who is God’s Son. Jesus came to earth, became a human being, and lived an amazing life. He ultimately died for every person on earth, to pay the cost of all the wrong things that we do, and then rose from the dead 3 days later. Today, we’re going to keep looking at time when Jesus sat down with followers on a mountainside and shared some amazing things about what God’s Kingdom is like - including something about mercy.
How do you feel about this? It's a lot more wordy? Is it really necessary?
Sounds like a good conversation starter!
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