{"id":542,"date":"2012-03-21T15:30:21","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T19:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/?p=542"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:08:10","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:08:10","slug":"teaching-the-torah-to-tots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/teaching-the-torah-to-tots\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching the Torah to Tots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our church uses a Sunday-school curriculum that works its way chronologically through the Bible in three years.\u00a0 There are tremendous positives to this approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also some challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like this one:\u00a0 you\u2019re flipping through your teacher book, and you discover that you\u2019re coming up on the book of Leviticus.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Agh! \u00a0Choke!\u00a0 Gag!\u00a0 REALLY? <\/span><\/p>\n

How are you supposed to teach pre-schoolers about Levitical law?\u00a0 It puts YOU to sleep, after all.\u00a0 How are you supposed to make it come to life for the little ones in your class? \u00a0<\/span>If you teach 5th-graders, your job is a little easier, although it\u2019s still a stretch, but what if you\u2019re teaching 3-yr.-olds?\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

As the teacher, you\u2019ll always have to work to help the Scriptures connect with your specific class, but here are some general recommendations to keep in mind when trying to teach some of the more\u2026 challenging books of the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n

God Gave the Law with Spiritual Children in Mind<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

In Galatians 4:3, Paul says, \u201cIn the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.\u201d\u00a0 In context, he\u2019s saying that God gave the Law to His people to prepare them for a fuller revelation of His grace.\u00a0 People couldn\u2019t fully understand how incredible it would be for God to actually live with His people until they saw the massiveness of their sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one was ever saved by keeping the Law.\u00a0 The Israelites were saved by grace through faith just like we are.\u00a0 But something had to regulate their relationship with God, if God was going to actually live with them.\u00a0 For Christians, that \u201cregulator\u201d is the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:4-6).\u00a0 The Law was a constant reminder, before the cross came, that man was sinful and God was holy.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, use the Law to talk to kids about their sin.\u00a0 Talk about God\u2019s holiness.\u00a0 Before they can understand the wonder of God\u2019s grace to them, they need to know how badly they have fallen short.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have the kids in your class ever lied?\u00a0 Stolen?\u00a0 Hated someone?\u00a0 Coveted someone else\u2019s toy?\u00a0 Then, the Law has something to say to them:\u00a0 you are a law-breaker and sinner!<\/span><\/p>\n

God Gave the Law\u00a0with Literal Children in Mind<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cYou shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise\u201d (Deut. 6:7).<\/span><\/p>\n

This command is referring to, of all things, the boring old laws in Exodus-Deuteronomy.\u00a0 How on earth did God expect sane parents to try to teach their children these laws?<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that the ceremonies and sacrifices of the Old Testament are actually action-oriented.\u00a0 We often forget.\u00a0 Reading about these ceremonies can be like reading a recipe.\u00a0 The recipe itself isn’t very interesting, but it’s an important guide\u00a0to the the much-more-interesting process of cooking.\u00a0\u00a0While you wouldn\u2019t sit and read a cookbook to your child, many of you might try actually cooking with your child.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine taking a small child to the Tabernacle.\u00a0 You\u2019re bringing a spotless lamb to sacrifice.\u00a0 Imagine the impact that watching a lamb be slaughtered on an altar would have on a child.\u00a0 Most of us would cover our children’s eyes!\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

But God set no age limit on those witnessing the grotesqueness of animal sacrifices.\u00a0 (Is it less grotesque to think of a human sacrificed on a cross?)\u00a0 Your child would see the priests wearing robes splattered in blood, probably looking more like a butcher than anything else.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, when it comes to teaching about the Tabernacle and sacrifices and the table of showbread, act it out!\u00a0 Use visual elements and props like crazy!<\/span><\/p>\n

DO NOT simply read the cookbook.\u00a0 Use the smells, sights, and sounds that God intended to accompany the \u201crecipe book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts on this subject as well, especially if you have any other suggestions that could help others teach this tricky area of the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our church uses a Sunday-school curriculum that works its way chronologically through the Bible in three years.\u00a0 There are tremendous positives to this approach. There are also some challenges. Like this one:\u00a0 you\u2019re flipping through your teacher book, and you discover that you\u2019re coming up on the book of Leviticus.\u00a0 Agh! \u00a0Choke!\u00a0 Gag!\u00a0 REALLY? How… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[24,33],"tags":[48,38,37,40],"yoast_head":"\nTeaching the Torah to Tots - Faith Kids Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/teaching-the-torah-to-tots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching the Torah to Tots - Faith Kids Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our church uses a Sunday-school curriculum that works its way chronologically through the Bible in three years.\u00a0 There are tremendous positives to this approach. 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