BIBLE-SALVATION
We have
failed to understand that children and young people are not God-lovers until
the Spirit changes them. They are dead to God. Our attempts at getting these young
people to “pray the prayer” when they were small have not necessarily made them
children of God. Their behavior belies the true state of their hearts. God has
said that the only hope for them, therefore, is the regenerating work of the
Spirit in the context of the preaching of the Word (James 1:18). However, our
inadequate view of depravity and the inability of man has
led us to resort instead to a greater confidence in entertainment to reach them
and a minimizing of the use of the Word. If God has ordained that the Word and
the Spirit are the only hope for these kids, then we should not avoid the means
God has promised to bless.
Jim Elliff
Seriousness
in Our Children and Teens, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
If you are
inclined to be angry at someone in leadership of your church because your child
does not have fun in church, then first consider if the source of the problem
is in the heart of your child. Please don’t make the
criteria for judging the success of a church’s efforts at
reaching children and teens the fun-value of the meetings. God did not command
the church to provide entertainment for your kids. And if you must speak out
about it at all, attempt to increase, rather than to decrease the intensity and
effectiveness of prayer and Bible study as a means to reach the hearts of the
children. If you chose to do otherwise, you could be working against the
Spirit.
Jim Elliff
Seriousness
in Our Children and Teens, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
Asked about
his accomplishments as a Reformer, Martin Luther said, “I simply taught,
preached, wrote God’s Word: otherwise I
did nothing… The Word did it all.” The
Word of God brings life.
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway,
2000, p. 36.