Show Them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids

by Jack Klumpenhower

most of us who teach kids haven’t been able to go to seminary. We can still teach the Old Testament.

The main character in the Balaam story isn’t Balaam. It’s God. To focus on Balaam trivializes God’s work in the story.

So here’s the first rule of teaching from the Old Testament: Don’t: Look for a moral lesson about a human character. Instead: Look for the worth and work of the main character, God.

always ending with how we live might give kids the wrong idea that Christianity is chiefly about how well they perform, no matter how strongly you stress the good news first. Notice, though, that starting with God doesn’t mean the lesson has no behavior application—nor does bringing in Jesus mean the Old Testament point gets left behind.

The biggest tension in the Old Testament may be the one between God’s love and his justice.

Tell the whole story (always a good idea) and acknowledge the tension.

The only way to avoid either the softie God or the monster God is with the God of the cross.

Never skip this good news. Teach it every time you teach God’s commands.

We do work at it, but in a trusting way that’s part of life with God.

a Christian kid who’s rooted in the good news will like God’s law.

a Bible teacher must know the Bible.

Finally, one thing not to do: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the Bible’s view of God changes in the New Testament.

As Christians who know Jesus, we teach with him in view—not to soften anything but to sharpen everything.

I had a group of church kids who could think of only one reason why Jesus is better than anything else. They were only using him to get to heaven. How could they ever love him that way? And why was their view of him so puny?

a classroom culture built on rewards for performance wouldn’t fit the good news I planned to teach.

It wouldn’t do to teach that God’s rewards in salvation come freely, by grace, but that rewards in the church come by being good and memorizing verses. Nor would it work to teach that God values faith over superior churchy behavior, and then give prizes to kids who excel in churchy behavior.

It’d be the same amount for all.

Doesn't this miscommunicate too? Sounds like socialism.

“We’ll all get the same gift—even you.” “It’s because God is generous.”

The Bible Bucks system violated every one of these principles. It overlooked the sin the bucks fed. It failed to model grace. It rewarded outward behavior rather than working on the heart. Worst of all, it assumed that the delightfulness of Jesus wasn’t enough of a draw without some further incentive.

The world’s way is to give kids the credit. It builds self-esteem by congratulating them when they do well. That sounds encouraging, but praising kids when they’re right is little different from scolding them when they’re wrong. The focus is on their behavior, ignoring their faith in Jesus.

We should build Christ-esteem.

When I see growth in a kid, I try to remember to tell him how much I see God at work in his life.

If I can’t get little ones excited about Sunday school without pretending we’re jungle explorers or astronauts, or if I need carnival games to keep the youth group together, I’ve already lost. The subtle message of those gimmicks is that jungles and space stations and carnivals are more exciting than Jesus. If Jesus were more exciting, wouldn’t he be the selling point?

Before we look at how I responded to Alex, let me point out that none of us is a teacher for just an hour a week or only during organized family devotions. Those may be our planned sessions, but we teach full time. All we do, and every interaction with kids, teaches something.

Remember, the good news includes our transformation. We join the Holy Spirit’s fight against sin in our lives—and we fight hard!

Never think that how God feels about you depends on how much dancing you did at a party or what the songs were—or any other behavior. How God feels about you depends on Jesus. Joined to Jesus, you’re God’s dearly loved child.

If we want believing kids to change how they act, we must teach them—perhaps counterintuitively—to focus less on how they act. We must first remind them who they are.

He saw himself as a sinner trying to be holier. “Sinner” was his identity; “holy” was what he hoped to be someday.

“Holy” is who we are today in Jesus; “sinner” is a part of us that’s a deviation from our true selves. Sin is something to repent of, but not what defines us.

We must never be content merely to help kids make their surface sins less obvious or frequent.

Failure to believe in Jesus is the deepest level of sin. It goes at the bottom.

Does she lie to her parents?

To connect kids with the Word of God, we must urge them to read their Bibles.

The second tool—prayer—is the foundational behavior of a dependent believer. We must pray, pray, pray with kids.

More trusting leads to more doing. There’s no balance, as if too much trusting will hamper doing. The Christian life is both—all out and all the time.

The goal of the exercise is to bring repentance that goes beneath surface sins to include idols, fears, and unbelief.

Is there ample room for your family to frequently pray, read the Bible, and worship together?

We’re saved by trusting God instead of ourselves, and we must also live the Christian life by trusting God instead of ourselves. That’s faith—and prayer shows you have it.

You and I have every reason, then, to be prayerful teachers. It must start with private prayer. We must learn to spend time alone with our Father. We must come to enjoy it.

You need to follow your heart,

???

The point is to get in the habit of praying often throughout the day.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Students sense the difference between a teacher with integrity and a fake. There’s nothing they demand more than integrity. Not hipness. Not entertainment. Not even solid Bible teaching. They want—and need—for us to be practicing believers in everyday life.

I remembered again who I am in Christ. I am a son of God.

Did I believe my sonship?

So then, here’s your good news: when you feel your ministry or parenting twisting inward to be all about you, look outward to Jesus. Repent. Savor the approval he gives you.

Believe that you’re a son or daughter of the Father.

It doesn’t matter how poorly you obeyed God today, how sloppily you prepared this week’s lesson, or how unloving you felt toward your kids yesterday. Your status cannot change. You’re a child of God.

He will make you humble until you rest in his strength.

I’m not adding any list of practical steps you can take to improve your teaching or parenting to the end of this chapter. That’s because I want you to focus on the one most practical step of all—deeper faith. You must see Jesus. You will do more for him as you know, with growing certainty each day, that he has done more for you.

Most teachers and parents I know struggle to have a living, resting, joyful partnership with God in their work with kids.