He said WHAT?

Midweek programs are always interesting in one way or another. Last night we were missing our children's choir director and the teacher of the 4 year-old -Kindergarten class due to illness. Since I am just a helper in another room I volunteered to take on this roomful of energetic and enthusiastic children... 6 BUSY boys and 1 sweet but very quiet young lady. Actually I taught this same class last summer. They keep you on your toes for sure, but you are so abundantly blessed in the process that it's really not a hardship to work with them.

Well, as I mentioned previously, I was a last minute sub, no lesson plans and not even a clue as to what they usually did on a Wednesday evening. Approaching the head of the program with great hope I inquired if there was a lesson plan I might follow. The answer? "Just do whatever you want." Hmmmm

I looked around and saw the handful of mission letters from my son and an idea was born. So, this was the evening in a nutshell:

• Prayer
• talk about the Bible being truth and how we know that
• Read Matthew 28... Jesus wants all of us to talk to others about Jesus... even to the ends of the earth (discussed the ends of the earth answers including: aliens, martians, all the universe and our whole town... I clarified and and we moved on)
• I then shared about Young Man and how he got to be where he was on this mission trip... and then explained that EVERY person has something to do for God.
• We read Psalm 139: 13-16 and talked about "all our days" and "before there was one"

Then came the funny moment of the evening. I explained that God already knew what they would do to serve Him. he had it planned and written out in the book of life. I explained (to the boys) that there were certain things that most men were expected to do. So, to help them figure this out I asked what their daddies did... here are the answers: "My daddy works. He's supposed to work and he does." "My dad is a good really good doctor." "My daddy takes care of us." and then...

"My daddy's a liar." HUH?????? I questioned, "Do you mean a LEADER?" I enunciated slowly and precisely so the difference in the words could be heard. "No, I know what a leader is. Daddy's a liar. "

It's moments like then when you either sit and wonder or you burst out laughing. I squelched the burst to a little giggle and asked why he thought this.

"Well, we're all liars, pastor says so, so Daddy must be a liar too."

Aha... the crux of the matter. And, to be honest, he's right, although I would like to add that the man whose character is in question is indeed a godly man, but his son listens to the sermons and he believes them. Pastor does, in his prayer time and sermon time talk about us all being sinful, all being liars, etc. It's not that he means we walk around as pathological liars, but more that total depravity affects each of us. We are not totally evil in every possible way, but we are all, in each part of us, affected by evil and sin. Since the fall of man in the garden we all are liars, sinners, murderers, etc. And all this was brought home to me as I listened to this sweet little five-year-old in our midweek program.

Thank God for godly parents who encourage their children to really listen to sermons, prayers, and the like, for parents who teach their children that scripture is inerrant and valuable to their everyday life, and for children who are too young to worry yet about "putting on a good face" and tell it as it is. I love teaching this group of kids, they truly bless my socks off!

So, if I ever come to you and say "Guess what your child said in class." Don't worry... just find what he did say and give thanks to God that your child is a tool for His kingdom!

Shalom, Kim