Modern Family is one of my favorite shows on television. It’s the perfect blend of hilarity, mixed with a touch of realism, and wrapped in a delicious tortilla of awesomeness.
Usually they try to end an episode with some kind of nugget of wisdom. An episode two weeks ago had just such a morsel that I thought tied in really well with teaching:
All week-long I’ve been telling my girls how to act instead of showing them. But not Phil. He could have said “Alex, relax. Don’t take everything so seriously.” Or, “Hayley, Don’t give up so easily.” But instead of talking the talk, Phil walked the walk. And isn’t that what we’re supposed to do for them, the people we love? It’s definitely a challenge.
That’s why most kids don’t live the Bible: Nobody has shown them how.
Oh sure, we tell them what to do. We give them lists like:
“Read your Bible”
“Pray every day”
“Memorize this verse”
“Invite a friend to church”
“Love your parents”
“Tithe”
All of these things are great for kids to do, and we should keep telling them to do them. But we’re doing them and their parents a disservice if we don’t also SHOW them HOW to do these things. That’s the secret to making your teaching more accessible to kids: Don’t just tell kids how to act, show them:
“Here’s a list of Scripture to read each day this week”
“When you pray it should sound something like this…”
“One way that’s really helped me memorize Scripture is by…”
“You can memorize this verse by having your parents quiz you, writing it out a couple of times a day, singing this song…etc.”
“Give your friend this rave card and ask if they’d like to check out this COOL event at your church.”
“One way to show your parents you love them is by doing something for them without being asked like taking out the trash, etc.”
“Take $0.10 of every $1 you make and bring it to church with you every Sunday.”
We need to demonstrate to kids how they can live out God’s Word. We need to display the habits we hope they will one day have. We need to give examples of other kids who are living the way we hope they will live. Explain the why so kids can apply.
How can we impart God’s Word so more kids will want to take part?
Jeff McClung 