A Sunday School For Adults Only!
Preaching
Lions And Cows Dining Together
And 111 Other Sermon Ideas
Object:
Purpose Statement: Sunday school is not only for children, but also perhaps even more important for adults!
The emphasis of this sermon would be on the importance of adult church school education in contrast to the idea that Sunday school is mainly for children, an unfortunate misconception many have. (This sermon differs from the sermon Y-5, "Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Sunday School," which emphasizes the importance of church school education over secular education: it is more important to be moral than smart.) Fortunately, Sunday school or church school education is not an either/or situation. It is not mutually exclusive. We can, and must, have both. But, if we could only have one, I would argue for the value of adult education first.
a. It is serious business. The last church I served full time had six adult classes: college age, young adults, middle age adults, older adults, elderly adults, and business and professional women. They valued adult education and had sessions on other nights in addition to Sundays. With the problems we face -- broken homes, youth delinquency, drugs, crime, reckless lifestyles, and such -- there is ample need for guidance, renewal, and encouragement in our lives. Why do we neglect a wonderful resource such as church school education? Two reasons seem to jump out at us.
1. Some church members don't really believe Sunday school can offer help for life's critical problems.
2. That misconception grows out of the fact that the church passes up the opportunity to offer the valuable faith educational experiences that are possible.
Some adult classes have material that is innocuous and discussion that is inane. Some of the material used in our Sunday schools leaves much to be desired; this is especially true of the adult classes. Some of our children's and youth material is excellent. Great opportunities are being squandered to have dynamic, helpful sessions about subjects that really matter. Remember how Jesus stayed back at the temple after his parents left Jerusalem when he was twelve years old (Luke 2:41-49) indicating the importance of religious education. Luke 4:16-22 indicates the value of Sabbath school as Jesus, as "usual," was in the synagogue discussing and teaching. It is a shame we so often miss excellent opportunities for church school education.
b. It is a family affair. The reason why we might choose adult education over Sunday school for children and youth is that in theory if we did a good job of adult education in our churches the children and youth would receive the benefit at home. (That is if, hypothetically, we could have only one and not both.) I state this in a hypothetical fashion to emphasize the importance of reaching adults. Of course, we are currently reaching some children and youth in our Sunday schools from homes where we will never have contact with the parents, and unfortunately much of what we accomplish on Sunday morning, in those cases, will be undone at home during the week by a dysfunctional family. For those homes where the parents are willing and concerned, it is of significant value to have the adults visit with the children and youth when they come home concerning what went on in Sunday school that morning. This reinforces the educational experience in a marvelous way.
c. It is an important example. It would be easy for children to grow up believing that church school was only for children and youth. How often do we tell children and youth to do or not to do something when we set a poor example ourselves? Use of alcohol and tobacco, no seat belts, careless driving, racist comments, cheating on taxes, and the like, are areas where we say one thing and do another. We love our children and want the best for them and yet we give them permission for destructive or inappropriate behavior by our habits. Adults taking church school seriously is a priceless influence helping our children to see religious education as a vital life-long adventure.
The emphasis of this sermon would be on the importance of adult church school education in contrast to the idea that Sunday school is mainly for children, an unfortunate misconception many have. (This sermon differs from the sermon Y-5, "Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Sunday School," which emphasizes the importance of church school education over secular education: it is more important to be moral than smart.) Fortunately, Sunday school or church school education is not an either/or situation. It is not mutually exclusive. We can, and must, have both. But, if we could only have one, I would argue for the value of adult education first.
a. It is serious business. The last church I served full time had six adult classes: college age, young adults, middle age adults, older adults, elderly adults, and business and professional women. They valued adult education and had sessions on other nights in addition to Sundays. With the problems we face -- broken homes, youth delinquency, drugs, crime, reckless lifestyles, and such -- there is ample need for guidance, renewal, and encouragement in our lives. Why do we neglect a wonderful resource such as church school education? Two reasons seem to jump out at us.
1. Some church members don't really believe Sunday school can offer help for life's critical problems.
2. That misconception grows out of the fact that the church passes up the opportunity to offer the valuable faith educational experiences that are possible.
Some adult classes have material that is innocuous and discussion that is inane. Some of the material used in our Sunday schools leaves much to be desired; this is especially true of the adult classes. Some of our children's and youth material is excellent. Great opportunities are being squandered to have dynamic, helpful sessions about subjects that really matter. Remember how Jesus stayed back at the temple after his parents left Jerusalem when he was twelve years old (Luke 2:41-49) indicating the importance of religious education. Luke 4:16-22 indicates the value of Sabbath school as Jesus, as "usual," was in the synagogue discussing and teaching. It is a shame we so often miss excellent opportunities for church school education.
b. It is a family affair. The reason why we might choose adult education over Sunday school for children and youth is that in theory if we did a good job of adult education in our churches the children and youth would receive the benefit at home. (That is if, hypothetically, we could have only one and not both.) I state this in a hypothetical fashion to emphasize the importance of reaching adults. Of course, we are currently reaching some children and youth in our Sunday schools from homes where we will never have contact with the parents, and unfortunately much of what we accomplish on Sunday morning, in those cases, will be undone at home during the week by a dysfunctional family. For those homes where the parents are willing and concerned, it is of significant value to have the adults visit with the children and youth when they come home concerning what went on in Sunday school that morning. This reinforces the educational experience in a marvelous way.
c. It is an important example. It would be easy for children to grow up believing that church school was only for children and youth. How often do we tell children and youth to do or not to do something when we set a poor example ourselves? Use of alcohol and tobacco, no seat belts, careless driving, racist comments, cheating on taxes, and the like, are areas where we say one thing and do another. We love our children and want the best for them and yet we give them permission for destructive or inappropriate behavior by our habits. Adults taking church school seriously is a priceless influence helping our children to see religious education as a vital life-long adventure.
