Presenting the Gospel to Children

How can muddy mirrors, charcoaled cookies, and fake fruit help you explain the gospel to children?

What do thunder, pizza, and pets tell your kids about God?

Can taking a field trip to an aquarium help you explain the concept of true worship to middle schoolers?

I can’t take the time to give all my secrets away here, but I do recommend all parents listening to a fabulous seminar by Jill Nelson of Children Desiring God called Presenting the Gospel to Children .  She intended parents to listen to this and use her ideas to instruct their children in the middle of daily routine.  I encourage you to listen- you’ll be amazed by the simple but profound ideas you can use with any aged kids.

When I got the opportunity to teach the middle school class during the Wednesday night Dinner Series, I thought I’d try to turn this seminar into lessons.  The content has worked brilliantly with middle schoolers (though intended originally for much younger children.)  To give you an idea of the basic points we’ve been covering on Wednesday nights, here are the ten implications of the gospel that the children are memorizing as we go through the lessons:

1. God created me.  I belong to God.  He is my boss.
2. God created me to show how great He is.
3. God’s commands are holy and righteous.  I must obey them all the time.
4. I have disobeyed God’s commands.  I am a sinner.
5. God is just and right to judge.  I am helpless to save myself.
6. I must depend on God’s mercy in order to be saved.
7. Jesus came into the world to save me.
8. Jesus died on the cross to be punished in my place.
9. God tells me to believe in Jesus and repent of my sins and I will be saved.
10. If I am trusting in Jesus for my salvation, I must follow Him.  Jesus has promised that when I die He will bring me to heaven to live with God and enjoy Him forever.

Happy listening.  And tell me if the light goes on for your kids when their crayons start talking back to them.

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