Category: Quotes

Nuggets of wisdom related to Children’s Ministry based on famous quotations.

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SOUR RELIGION

The church has had 2000 years to win the world by religion, and many times the religion is “sour”.  Religion by rules never worked in the Old Testament under the law.  People do well under love and grace.  Jesus was the friend of children and sinners.

 

For many who grew up in church as children, all they remember was a bunch of rules.  The church ought to be a joyful, accepting warm place especially for children.  In most cases they equate Jesus with how we represent him.  Tis a great responsibility.  We want children to see Jesus as “sweet” not “sour”.

 

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LEAVING A LEGACY

I was born and raised in Northern Ontario, Canada, in an unorganized township about 30 miles from the nearest 5,000 person town.  Even in that remote place, God was reaching out to people.  An elderly woman held a Christian meeting in an old falling down church each Sunday morning.  She  left a powerful legacy in our community.

 

When I was seven years old, I heard her tell the adults that if they asked Jesus to come into their hearts, then one day they would go to Heaven when they died.  Sitting at the back of the room, while colouring a paper, I asked Jesus to come into my heart.  I didn’t know that decision would mean anything to anyone, so I didn’t tell anyone.

 

Years later I learned that this elderly lady had spent her life in the north reaching out to people for the Lord.  She even drove from community to community by dog sled.  (In the days I knew her, she had a car.)

 

As a child, I had no idea what she had imparted to me but now as an adult I admire her courage and thank God often for her.  I hope I live my life worthy of her commitment and sacrifices.

 

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LOVING YOUR ENEMIES

I remember when I started a new job working as a legal secretary, there was a secretary in the law firm who disliked me.  I didn’t understand then and I don’t now understand why she was so cold toward me, but I decided to treat her kindly and engage her as I did the other secretaries.  Suddenly, one day the lady starting talking to me and it was like there had never been any period of coldness.

 

We should remind children that we can’t control other people and make them like us.  We can only control ourselves and our responses.

 

Love your enemies.   Let God work on the other person’s heart.

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Never Quit Learning

#51 Why is it we never experience growing pains in the head?

(E. C. McKenzie from the book 1800 Quotable Quotes)

The book that this quote was taken from was printed in 1968.   I think it is fair to say that this would NOT be true today.  Even though it can be overwhelming, I believe we should NEVER QUIT LEARNING. 

 My grandmother was born in 1902 and lived through the transportation explosion.  During her lifetime she saw mankind go from horseback to landing a man on the moon and everything in between.

 My generation is living through the communication explosion.  We are going from manual typewriters to social media platforms that are in a CONSTANT stage of change.  It can be overwhelming to the mind, but I encourage you to not give up.  Never in the history of mankind has the common person had the opportunity to reach the world as we do now.

 Constant learning is actually good for your mind, so stay in there.  Be ready to share what you have to give to the world.

 

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The Lasting Impact of Love

THE LASTING IMPACT OF LOVE

In the group of neighbourhood children we minister to in our mid week outreach kids club, there is a young girl from a foster home.  When we first met her she was so shy and withdrawn, she could have easily “fallen through the cracks.”

Week after week, the ladies who run the craft time and the men who run the sports time, engaged her and showed her genuine love and concern, until the time came that she took one of the lead roles in our Christmas concert.  She shone in her role and was all smiles.

Now a couple of years later, she still talks about her role in the Christmas concert.  Where ever life takes her, I am confident that she will remember that during this season of her life she experienced LOVE.

 

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The Crucifixion of Christ

The Crucifixion of Christ

“What this country needs is not more liberty but fewer people who take liberty with liberty.”
(By E. C. McKenzie from 1800 Quotable Quotes)

As children’s ministers and as parents, there are many parts of the bible that are hard to teach children because they are so brutal, with many references to killing.   Most often we avoid those stories or pass over them until the kids are older.  Sometimes we make slight changes to make them less brutal and I am not saying that is wrong.  When you ask kids about Noah’s ark, they remember all the fluffy animals in the boat, not all the ones who died.  Even at Christmas, people rarely think of all of the sadness in Bethlehem the morning after Christ’s birth caused by the killing of all of the boys two years old and under.

There is one account that I believe should never be softened up.  Every detail needs to be engraved into our hearts so that we never take lightly the cross that gave us liberty.  When we teach the crucifixion of Christ, I think we need to share the difficult details, like how he didn’t even look like a man any more after the whipping.

During the age when my son was 3 to 6 years old, he only ever wanted to read one story in the bible.  “Jesus on the Cross” he called it.  It made a great impression upon him.  May we never loose the awe of that sacrifice.

When you are teaching the crucifixion, keep it serious.

Click here for Children’s Ministry Resources.