[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":86},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-teacher-s-helping-hands":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-teacher-s-helping-hands-surround":75},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":56,"date":57,"description":58,"extension":59,"image":60,"meta":61,"minRead":62,"navigation":63,"path":64,"postType":65,"publication":66,"publicationUrl":60,"seo":67,"stem":68,"topics":69,"__hash__":74},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-teacher-s-helping-hands.md","A Teacher's Helping Hands",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Psalms",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":52},"minimark",[13,22,25,31,37,43,49],[14,15,16,17,21],"p",{},"To millions of Americans the initials \"SS\" stand for Social Security. In Nazi Germany \"SS\" meant the ",[18,19,20],"em",{},"Schutzstaffel",", the secret police who served as Hitler's henchmen and bodyguards. To Baby Boomer children who grew up going to church in the 1950s and 60s, \"SS\" meant Sunday school.",[14,23,24],{},"My boyhood church had adult Bible classes called \"Win a Couple,\" \"Loyal Men,\" and \"Loyal Women,\" while the classes for children bore names like \"Shining Stars\" and \"Helping Hands.\" (I should point out that my classmates and I frequently were neither shining nor helpful.) My Sunday school teachers—Thelma, Wilma, Hazel, and other faithful saints—seemed very old to me then, although in retrospect they were probably younger than I am now. Decades later, I can still identify several ways they touched my life.",[14,26,27,30],{},[18,28,29],{},"They moved God's truth from the printed page to a permanent place in my mind."," In those days Sunday school teachers emphasized Scripture memorization. I may not have enjoyed the experience at the time, but over the years I've benefited greatly from memorizing the Ten Commandments, the Twenty-Third Psalm, the Beatitudes, and the Lord's Prayer. Learning Scripture early in life shaped my worldview and gave me a biblical framework for making wise decisions. The psalmist told the Lord, \"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you\" (Psalm 119:11).",[14,32,33,36],{},[18,34,35],{},"They made church seem fun."," I enjoyed working puzzles and making crafts in Sunday school, pasting cut-out pictures of sheep and goats, apostles and Pharisees onto my Standard Publishing lesson quarterly. As a teenager I joined my church friends to play softball and basketball on Sunday afternoons. Today when I pick up one of my granddaughters from her Sunday school class and see her smiling happily, I remember hearing a wise preacher advise, \"Never bore a kid in church.\"",[14,38,39,42],{},[18,40,41],{},"They reinforced my parents' values."," Important as they are, Sunday school teachers can't replace the influence of a mom and dad who love the Lord and model godly values in the laboratory of day-to-day life. Yet, it's very important for children to hear someone other than their parents speak fondly about God and firmly about morals. Even though I respected my parents, during adolescence I was more likely to listen to another adult's opinion.",[14,44,45,48],{},[18,46,47],{},"They modeled God's love."," I will always be grateful for a construction worker named Ray who opened his family's home to the youth group during my teenage years. He patiently encouraged me when I questioned my faith and pulled me toward the Lord with the powerful persuasion of Christian love.",[14,50,51],{},"So I want to say a hearty word of gratitude to Thelma, Wilma, Hazel, Ray, and all the hardy souls like them who labor in the \"SS\" every week. On behalf of a host of kids who don't always act like shining stars, I say \"thanks\" for your helping hands. If you're a Sunday school teacher or a volunteer youth leader, you labor without pay and probably without much recognition, but you're making a big difference. And you're following in the footsteps of Jesus who said, \"Let the little children come unto me.\"",{"title":53,"searchDepth":54,"depth":54,"links":55},"",2,[],"First Look","2008-04-13","To millions of Americans the initials \"SS\" stand for Social Security. In Nazi Germany \"SS\" meant the *Schutzstaffel*, the secret police who served as Hitler's henchmen and bodyguards. To Baby Boomer children who grew up going to church in the 1950s and 60s, \"SS\" meant Sunday school.","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-teacher-s-helping-hands","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":58},"articles\u002Fa-teacher-s-helping-hands",[70,71,72,73],"Intergenerational Ministry","Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","9IUWoWW42gQMGgdtkpOU5pcIaOIVPkL-bf2zJr_3vR4",[76,81],{"title":77,"path":78,"stem":79,"description":80,"children":-1},"A Strange Sort of Joy","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-strange-sort-of-joy","articles\u002Fa-strange-sort-of-joy","A medical school student preparing to become a doctor refuses to receive training about how to perform abortions. As a result, he gets a lower grade in the class—the only time he earns anything less than an A.",{"title":82,"path":83,"stem":84,"description":85,"children":-1},"A Time for Everything","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-time-for-everything","articles\u002Fa-time-for-everything","Timing matters when comedians tell a joke or a quarterback throws a pass. Timing matters at work (don’t ask for a raise if your boss is having a bad day) . . . when you grill a steak (don’t cook it too long) . . . and when managing your finances (there’s a right time to buy and sell).",1790466134527]