About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:11-14)
 
            I'm going to step out on a limb here and say this about that:  The Hebrew writer does not mean that everyone should reach the point that he should be a teacher in a formal classroom setting.  If he did mean that, then why did James write:  Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (Jas 3:1)?

              What I believe the Hebrews passage means is that sooner or later we ought to have the knowledge to be able to teach.  Whether we should stand up in front of a class is another question entirely. 

              BUT—the New Testament does teach that we should be able to do things that fall somewhere in the "teaching" area.

We should all reach the point that we can handle the problems life throws our way.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.  For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; ​but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Heb 10:36-39) 

By learning to persevere in this way, we become good examples to others.  Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. (Titus 2:7-8)

We should be able to give good advice.  Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Prov 11:14)  Let the older teach the younger, Titus adds in chapter 2.

We should be able to correct the wayward.  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Gal 6:1)

We should be able to answer the unbeliever.  …but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1Pet 3:15)

            Not all of us will have the ability to organize a good lesson, the materials on hand to do the research that formal teaching may require, or the talent to keep an audience interested for long periods.  But all of us are commanded to reach the point that we can teach in some capacity, whether over a backyard fence, across a coffee table, or perhaps just by being what we ought to be every minute of every day.  When our "practice" has not been "constant" enough to enable us to even "discern good from evil," something is dreadfully wrong, and it's no one's fault but our own.
 
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity… (Heb 6:1)
 
Dene Ward

Not so very long ago, someone made a not-so-vague reference to this blog as being "cute stories about dogs" instead of spiritual lessons.  Well, I cannot deny that I occasionally tell cute stories about my dog, but sometimes I tell funny stories about my dog, or sad stories about my dog, or poignant stories about my dog, too.  And sometimes I tell stories about the birds at my feeders or the garden or the camping trips or the doctor appointments or a host of other everyday things.
 
             So yes, I do tell a lot of stories, but if people do not think I teach a spiritual lesson, they obviously quit reading before the end of each post.  If I cannot make a spiritual lesson, or at least a life lesson, I don't put it on this blog.  Anything else goes on my personal page, which might be every other week, counting blog links.

              But let's look for a minute at the teaching style of the greatest teacher who ever lived—Jesus.

              "A sower went forth to sow…"

              "A man planted a fig tree…"

              "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…"

              "There was a man who had two sons…"

              "But that's in the Bible," you say.  Of course it is—now.  It was not a part of the scriptures Jesus and the people had when he spoke it.  I can just imagine someone saying about the parable of the sower, "What does that even mean?  Why doesn't that so-called rabbi use a story from the scriptures?" especially since the only people who ever got the interpretation were his disciples, later, when they were alone.

              And Jesus himself was just copying the prophets of the Old Testament.  He told a vineyard parable in Mark 12:1-12.  It was a little different from but closely akin to Isaiah's vineyard parable in Isa 5:1-7.  Close enough, in fact, that the priests, scribes and elders (Mark 11:27) realized he was comparing them to those faithless people God had sent into captivity.  And they were seeking to arrest him…for they perceived that he had told the parable against them (12:12).  Even those people, who eventually murdered our Lord, knew that parable from Isaiah, and recognized the power of stories in teaching.

              "But you aren't Jesus."  Of course not, but Peter tells us to follow in his footsteps, just as his disciples did.  The writers of the epistles may not have used full-blown stories but their writings are full of analogies from everyday life—about buildings, about boats, about athletes and soldiers, and a host of other things.

              And so, to be a disciple, too—to imitate Jesus--I tell stories about my garden ("A man planted a vineyard…").

              I tell stories about the birds outside my window ("Are not two sparrows sold for a penny").

              I tell stories about my children and grandchildren ("A man had two sons…").

              I tell stories about my doctor ("Those who are well have no need of a physician…").

              I tell stories about my flower beds ("Consider the lilies of the field…").

              I tell stories about cooking ("It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour").

              I do all those things--just like he did.

              And I do my best to never tell a story on this blog that I cannot make a spiritual lesson about.  You may not think it is much of a lesson, and indeed, sometimes it is small.  But you might be surprised how many times the lessons I thought the least valuable caused someone to write and tell me, "That is exactly what I needed today."  I'm so glad I was not too proud to post it when that happens.

              So let's be careful about our complaints, and a bit more tolerant when the preacher tells a story.  Or when the Bible class teacher begins class with an incident from his own life.  And let's be aware of the spiritual analogies we ourselves can make from our own lives, using them to learn and grow, thinking in an eternal way rather than a temporal, carnal manner.  I don't know about you, but I need all the lessons I can get to live as I should in a world full of sin.
The scriptures show us time and again teachers using everyday events to teach profound concepts.  Let's follow those "approved examples," as we tend to call them.  Above all, let us follow our Lord.
 
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”  And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.​For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.  ’But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.​For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matt 13:10-17)
 
Dene Ward

"It is an unfortunate fact that many today, some of whom are completely sincere, are seriously hindered in their study of the Scriptures through their failure to suppress preconceptions.  At best, such can be done only imperfectly; and it is true for all of us that, subjectively, the meaning of what we read and hear is conditioned to some extent by our preconceptions, from which it is impossible to be wholly free.  It is therefore helpful in our study of any passage of Scripture to consult the original text and as many good translations as possible.  Too many preconceptions can lodge undisturbed among the old familiar words of our favorite translation…"  Life in the Son by Robert Shank. 

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold Wondrous things out of thy law. (Ps 119:18)

For the past few years wild blackberries have been rare.  The vines are there, full of their painful and aggravatingly sticky thorns, but the fruit dries up before it can fully ripen.  First the drought of the late 90’s, and then the following dry years of this regular weather cycle of wet and dry have meant that when the time is right, usually early to mid-June, there is nothing to pick. The few that might have survived are devoured quickly by the birds.
 
           This year Lucas found some on a nearby service road, and Keith picked enough for one cobbler for the first time in years.  Probably because it has been awhile, I think that was the best blackberry cobbler we ever had.  Maybe next year I can make jelly too.

            Blackberries are a lot of trouble.  The thorns seem like they reach out and grab you.  I have often come home with bloody hands and torn clothing—you never wear anything you might wear elsewhere when you pick blackberries.  But that is not the half of it.

            You must also spray yourself and your long-sleeved shirt prodigiously with an insect repellent, and tuck the cuffs of your long pants into your socks.  No matter how hot the weather, you must be covered.  Without these measures chiggers will find their way in and you will be revisiting your time in the woods far longer and in more unpleasant ways than you wish.  Ticks are also a problem.  Make sure you pick with someone you don’t mind checking you over after you get back home, especially your hair.  More than once I have had a tick crawl out of my mop of curls several hours later. 

            Finally, you must always carry a big stick or a pistol.  I prefer pistols because you don’t have to get quite as close to the snake to kill it.  Birds love blackberries, and snakes like birds, so they often sit coiled under the canes waiting for their meals to fly in.  Keith has killed more than one rattlesnake while picking wild blackberries.

            Because of all this, since I have Keith, I seldom pick blackberries any more—I let him do it for both of us.  Especially since I stand for hours in a hot kitchen afterward, it seems a fair division of labor.  When I am making jelly, straining that hot juice through cheesecloth to catch the plenteous seeds and ladling that hot syrupy liquid into hot jars isn’t much easier than picking them.  But wild blackberries are worth all the trouble.  Their scent is sweet and heady and their taste, especially in homemade jellies, almost exotic. The purple hands, teeth, and tongue blackberry lovers wind up with are worth it too.   If all you have ever had is commercially grown blackberries and store bought blackberry jelly, you really don’t know what they taste like.     

            Why is it that I can make myself go to all this trouble for something good to eat, and then throw away something far more valuable because “it’s not worth it?”  Why does teasing my taste buds matter more to me than saving my soul?  How many spiritual delicacies have I missed out on because it wasn’t worth the trouble? 

            Serious Bible study can be tedious, but isn’t having the Word of God coming instantly to mind when I really need it worth it?  When I have taken the time to explore deeply instead of the superficial knowledge most have, isn’t it great in the middle of a sermon or Bible class, to suddenly have another passage spring to life right before my mental eyes?  “So that’s what that means!” is a eureka moment that is nearly incomparable.  And while increased knowledge does not necessarily mean increased faith, faith without knowledge is a sham.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Rom 10:17.  The more scripture you know, the stronger your faith because the more you know about what God has done for us, the more you appreciate it and want to show that appreciation by the service you willingly give.

            So many other things we miss out on because we don’t want to go to the trouble—cultivating an active prayer life, socializing with brothers and sisters in the faith, helping a new Christian grow, serving the community we live in simply because we care--while at the same time we go to all sorts of trouble for earthly pleasures—sitting in the hot sun on a hard bench amid crude, rowdy people to watch a ball game; searching for a parking space for hours then walking ten blocks in high heels for a favorite meal at a downtown restaurant; standing in long lines at an amusement park, while someone else’s ice cream melts on your shirt, and at the same time juggling your own handfuls of fast food, cameras, and tickets, and trying to keep up with rambunctious children.  All these things are “worth it.” Did you ever ask yourself, “Worth what?”  And how long did that pleasure, or whatever your answer is, last?

            I would never go to the same amount of trouble for rhubarb that I do for blackberries.  That doesn’t mean I don’t like rhubarb—I make a pretty good strawberry rhubarb cobbler.  But rhubarb cannot match blackberries. Spiritually, we too often settle for rhubarb instead of blackberries. You can always tell the ones who don’t “settle”—the “purple” fingers from handling the Word of God, and the “purple” teeth and tongues from taking it in on a daily basis and living a life as His servant, give them away.
 
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life, 1 Tim 6:17-19..
 
Dene ward
 

Over the past several months I have shared some things with you that I did when I was still able to teach children's Bible classes.  The Museum of the Old Testament, the David Game, the Return of the Stick Man parts 1 and 2 (a method for teaching memory verses to very young nonreaders), and the Memory Verse Relay Races can be found with just a little scrolling and clicking on the right sidebar under Children and/or Bible Study.  Today I want to share yet another game I came up with.
 
            The People, Places, and Things Game helps the students remember important people and events and where they took place as you go through a quarter of lessons—or any other type of series for that matter.  However, you must have been through at least 5 or 6 lessons before you can begin.

              On card stock cut into 3 x 4 rectangles—or just on plain index cards—write the people, places, and things from each lesson that you want the children to remember.  Create 2 sets of cards written in two different colors, for example, a red set and a blue set.  When you have at least 20 cards each, divide the class into two teams and line them up on opposite sides of the room.  At the front of the class place 3 chairs, one labelled "People", one "Places", and one "Things".       

             For this game you will need two teachers, one standing by each team.  (It helps if someone has a stopwatch.)  When one adult calls "Go," the teachers hand the first one in each line a card, and the students must place it in the correct chair.  The teacher cannot hand the next card out until the first student has returned.  This continues, but at 15 second intervals, a teacher calls, "Stop!"  Whatever card the student from each team is holding must be identified in detail in the context of the lessons being studied.  David might be identified as the one who killed Goliath or the King of Israel, depending upon which section of scripture you are studying. The Jordan River might be what the people of Israel crossed or where Jesus was baptized, but it must match what is being taught.
 
          If the card is identified correctly it goes in the correct chair and the student goes to the end of the line.  If it is not identified correctly it goes back in the pile the teacher is holding and the student returns to the end of the line.  One teacher calls out "Go" again and play resumes until the next "Stop" is called.  When one team runs out of cards, the game is over.  Then the teachers check the cards in the chairs and count how many are in the correct chair for each team (hence the different color print for each team).  While the team that ran out of cards first has the edge, they could still lose if they have placed cards in the wrong chair.  Now it is time to sit the students down and go over the misses so they will do better the next week, especially since you will be adding more cards each week.

             I hope that is not too confusing.  If you don't quite get it, just use the idea and make up your own game.  For some reason these things come easily to me, and I imagine you can develop the same skill because I am far from brilliant. 

            And, yes, in case you are wondering, sometimes I get dinged for too much "playing" in my classes, but I would have put my students against any other class out there (especially the three year olds who can quote a dozen memory verses from a simple line drawing).  They learn these things quickly and easily when it's a little more exciting and a lot less boring.
 
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ (Deut 4:9-10)
 
Dene Ward

What do you do in your spare time?  Yes, I hear you laughing, but I have come to the conclusion that as Christians we need to make sure we have some of that precious commodity.  Not because “I just have to have some time for me,” but because I just have to have some time with God. 

            So what would we do if we had a few spare minutes alone?  Prayer comes to mind, of course, but another important activity is meditating, or musing on God’s word.  In Gen 24:63 Isaac went out in the evening to the fields where he could be alone to meditate.  David made time too, even in the midst of tending sheep, leading an army, and running a kingdom.  When he was in the wilderness he meditated in the night watches, Psa 63:6.  He anxiously looked forward to those times, Psa 119:148. 

            Perhaps it is most difficult for mothers to find time to meditate.  Our entire day, from the moment we rise to the moment our heads hit the pillow again at night, is filled with “Mom, can you…,”  “Honey, will you…,” and, “Ma’am you need to…” until our minds are run ragged.  But even when we are alone we sabotage ourselves.  When the family leaves for work and school and the baby is napping, we turn on the TV “for company.”  When we drive, we turn on the radio.  When we exercise, we slip on the headphones.  I have decided that one of the nicest things God did for me was to not furnish me with a dishwasher.  Do you know how much meditation can be accomplished over a sink full of soapy water?

            Mary, as young and inexperienced as she was, gives us the perfect example--even as a new mother making the time to meditate, pondering things in her heart, Luke 2:19,51.  The word “ponder” means to put one thing with another.  But look at these other places where the same word is used (but translated by another English word), all in the book of Acts:  4:15—they conferred among themselves; 17:18—certain philosophers encountered him; 18:27—he helped them; 20:14—when he met us.  In all these cases words or people were put together (pondered) with a purpose—to learn, to assist, to come to an understanding.  So pondering God’s word is an attempt “to put it all together” in our minds.  Anyone who thinks they can read it through once and get the whole picture will be sadly disappointed!
 
            Meditation is not for the shallow-minded, but you do not need to be an intellectual either.  The greatest benefit of meditation is the sheer depth of understanding one can eventually come to about God, the nature of his kingdom, and the beauty of his plan, Psa 143:5.  One can find himself in a place he never dreamed existed years before when he so confidently knew all the Bible stories, the “plan of salvation,” and “the five acts of worship,” Psa 49:3; 119:99; and he can still see below him an awe-inspiring depth that makes Bible study once again vital and exciting, Psa 119:15.  Meditation can spawn a prayer, Psa 5:1-3, making that part of our lives richer and deeper as well.  In the end it can bring us acceptance by our God, Psa 19:14.

            So make some spare time today.  Get up earlier, stay up later, take off those earphones or turn off the radio.  Spend some time meditating.  You don’t have to twist yourself into a pretzel to gain a deeper understanding of the True God and his Word.
 
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers.  But his delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law does he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.  Psalm 1:1-3
 
Dene Ward
 

If you have followed this blog for any time at all, you know that I have come up with a memory verse method for preschoolers using cards with rebuses and smaller cards with only a picture or two from the rebus after the verse has been memorized.  Parents are constantly amazed by the amount their children can memorize.  (See the gallery for pictures of these and the two posts, The Return of the Stick Man, parts 1 and 2 in the archives on the right sidebar on July 10 and 11, 2017.)

You also know that I use games in my Bible classes, games I make from scratch.  (See the David Game in the same archives on July 12, 2017.)  In the grade school classes where all the children can now read, I put those two ideas together and make a Memory Verse Relay Race.  Tell your students about it during the first class.  You cannot start the game if they have not had at least four or five lessons with accompanying memory verses and this gives them motivation for keeping up with their lessons and memorizing those verses.

This is a simple concept and involves no artistic talent at all.  Write out the memory verses on two one-inch-wide strips of construction paper with a heavy marker.  Cut the verse into four or five phrases.  Mix up the strips of paper and paper clip each verse together to keep it separate from others.  Use a different color of pastel construction paper for each verse.  Make two copies of each verse and keep each pile separate as well.

You must have two adults in the room who also know the verses, and it is easier if the students are sitting at a long table, one team on each side, but I am sure you can come up with other configurations with just a little thought.

To start the race, the student on the near end chooses a clipped together verse from the pile next to him.  He puts the verse strips in the correct order, then raises his hand so the adult on his side of the table can check it.  When she gives the OK, he must mix it up, clip it back together and pass it on to the next student before grabbing another.  Now you have two students putting verses together.  When a hand is raised, check the verse. If it is correct, that student will also mix it up, clip it and pass it on.  Once you have three or four verses going you have to be on the ball about checking.  If a student's verse is not in the correct order, tell him so and let him try again.  After three tries, pass it on.  (You can come up with a penalty if you want, but actually I never had it come to this point.  Sooner or later, the student got it right.)

Meanwhile, the same thing is happening on the other side of the table.  It should be obvious why you need two adults for this to work.  The team that finishes all the verses first, passing verses instead of batons all the way to the other end of the table, wins.  As the quarter continues, you will add more verses until by the end, you have thirteen.  All my students loved this game, and I bet a lot of them still remember those verses.

This is exactly how simple making up games can be.  As long as they reinforce learning the scripture, there is nothing wrong with a little fun in Bible classes.
 
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.” (Isa 59:21)
 
Dene Ward

Go back about 12 years and read about the bird feeder Keith built for me next to the window.  When I remember those first few years I want to laugh at my ignorant self. 

             The first birds that showed up were cardinals.  Those I knew, and I was thrilled to be able to see them so closely for the first time in my life.  What was less than thrilling was seeing those ugly females.  They did not look like the pictures in the books, smooth olive green with red tinges on the edges of wings and crest.  Some of these were a muddy brown all over.  Some were mottled gray.  And the crests looked like a bad hair day times ten.  When the juveniles first appeared, they looked even worse—a little bit like human adolescents, lanky, lean, and awkward with spiky crests that never laid back straight, and splotchy, molting feathers as the young males began to grow their signature red coats.  But at least I knew what they were.

             When the first tufted titmouse arrived, it took me over a week to figure out what it was.  Ignorance in the bird watching world means you have to look at page after page after page and when the bird tires of eating and flies away, you no longer have anything to compare it with.  For several days I was sure it was a gray gnatcatcher, and proudly told everyone else who sat at my window and showed some interest.  I really do not remember when I finally learned the truth.  It probably was a matter of getting more and more information and seeing more and more pictures until finally the real identity of this bird became apparent.
 
            After a while I learned what to really focus on, not just colors, but also things like crests, eye rings, and wing bars.  The details make the difference when it comes to some species. Otherwise they look exactly alike.  It also helps to have photos instead of drawings.  As careful as I know the wildlife artists are, they still have a tendency to draw the ideal version of that particular bird.  It's like the difference between a glamor shot and a right out of bed before makeup shot.

            Then I got a book containing only Florida birds.  It cost a pretty penny, especially for something the size of a large wallet, but it has made all the difference in how quickly I can locate and identify a bird.  No more being "absolutely certain" only to discover that the bird in question never flies east of the Mississippi.  This particular book has only photographs, and it also explains things such as their flying patterns and activities that can help you identify the bird, plus which other birds bear a close resemblance and how to tell them apart, and whether they are only here for a season or all year.  If the book says this particular bird is only around in winter and here it is July, you know you are looking at the wrong picture.  The book also divides the birds by their color, a real boon in saving time.  Identifying birds has become much less work and much more fun simply because I am not so stone cold ignorant as I was in the beginning.

            Unless you plan to be an ornithologist, you can learn most of what you need to know about birds like I have—reading, looking at pictures, and especially, watching the birds themselves.  Now when I sit and watch, I know what to look for, I have a general knowledge of when to look for certain ones.  We only have goldfinches for a couple days in the fall when they migrate south and in the spring when they head back home.  Although we have sparrows and catbirds around all year, they will only come to the feeder between November and April.  Otherwise they like to fend for themselves, thank you.  That bird that always sits on leafless limbs, then flies down to the ground and back up to the same limb over and over is a phoebe.  And that behavior is called hawking.  See what I have learned because I really wanted to?

            Guess what?  Bible study is similar to this.  When you don't know what you are doing, you make some ridiculous mistakes.  When you aren't familiar with the scriptures at all, you hardly know where to begin and how to make all the facts you uncover fit together into a coherent picture.  The only way to fix this is to keep at it.  I have been watching my birds for over a decade now, and only now can I recognize a couple dozen different birds, their sounds, and some of their activities.  Now I know that bird in the tree that won't sit still more than a few seconds is probably a bug-eater rather than a seed eater.  Bugs move and seeds don't!

            Bible study will only become easier for you when you have spent some time at it—and I don't mean a few minutes a day for ten years.  I mean many minutes a day for years and years and years.  It may be easy to understand the basics of how to please God, most of us were raised with that.  But when it comes to the details, it takes a lot more time than reading your chapter a day like a good girl.  When you have put the time into it, you will know what to look for and how to find it.  You will recognize allusions to other passages.  Maybe you will see the worth in spending a little bit of money on Bible resources.  Maybe you will overcome your timidity and ask someone to help you.  I know good solid Christians who would love to help you.  I would love to.  I go all over the place speaking to groups of women, and my husband would be happy to speak to their men. 

            And the more you know, they more things will begin to click, the more light bulb moments you will have, and gradually, the stronger your faith will become.  After all, faith does come by hearing the Word of God.  If you cannot find time to spend with God's message to you, how can you ever expect to have enough of that faith to overcome, to endure, and to please God?

            You may be just a beginning Word Watcher.  But you can become so much more.
 
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.​  With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!  I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Ps 119:9-11)
 
Dene Ward

It happened at a small country church nearly forty years ago, but it made enough of an impression that I was asked to talk about it here, and perhaps inspire a few Bible class teachers of this era.

              Acres of farmland surrounded the white concrete block meetinghouse which sat behind the church cemetery.  Woods to the east and a few live oaks dripping Spanish moss around the building were the only trees on this rolling green landscape.  The farmer who owned the surrounding land alternated each year between corn and pasture, so it wasn't uncommon on the alternate years for cows to add their lowing to the congregation's hymns drifting out the windows.

              Although you would think no one lived within twenty miles in the unpopulated countryside, every Sunday 80 or 90 souls swarmed out of the woods and down the dirt lanes between sections.  Yet even with that many, children were scarce.  When we first arrived, there were only two Bible classes—one labeled "children" and the other "teens."  After a few months we had grown to over 120 on Sunday mornings and had added a third Bible class.  We now had "toddlers," "grade school," and "high school," but attendance in each was six or less and the grade school class age span ran from 7 to 13.

              Most of these children were woefully ignorant of even the basics—Adam and Eve, Noah, Daniel, and Jonah.  Together, Keith and I put together a teaching program designed to cover the Old Testament in 6 months before moving on to the New.  As you can imagine, we were whizzing through.  I needed some way to keep these narratives fresh in their minds week after week until they finally became entrenched.  That is how our "Museum of the Old Testament" came about.

              I explained to the children that as we learned about Old Testament events we would be designing and creating exhibits for a museum.  After six months, we would open our museum to the congregation and they would be the tour guides for our visitors.

              With a lack of money and a talent-challenged non-artist for a teacher (me), our exhibits were simple and crude.  What did we have?  I cannot even remember them all, but here are a few:

              A wall map.  Somehow, somewhere, I managed to find a map geared to children—bright primary colors, simple line boundaries, large bold print for places that covered the gamut from the Garden of Eden to Egypt to Canaan to Babylon.  This became our "tour map," giving people a quick overview of where they were going.  We also graced our walls with large arrows to direct traffic around the room in a one-way traffic pattern that made for smooth entry and exit without running into one another. 

              Stone tablets.  I managed to find two appropriately and similarly sized flat chunks of concrete on which we printed the Ten Commandments.  Somehow during the handling, a small corner broke off of one.  We just propped it where it went, but as we ran our tours six months later, I overheard one of our more creative students telling his tour group, "And this is where it broke when Moses got mad about the golden calf and threw them down on the ground."

              An Ark of the Covenant.  A kids' size shoebox with dowels through rings glued on the sides, cardboard "crown molding" and cherubim on the top, all spray-painted gold.  Inside we placed small replicas of the tablets, the pot of manna and Aaron's budding rod.

              A Judges' mobile.  The point in the book of Judges is not really the exciting stories—it's the continuing cycle as the people refused to learn from their history.  Se we created a mobile out of coat hangers, yarn, and construction paper.  Around the top ran the cycle in a circle:  SIN>>OPPRESSION>>REPENTANCE>>PEACE>>, and it hung so it turned constantly at any passage of air through the room.  Hanging from the circle on separate strings were paper man cut-outs with the names of the judges, Othniel through Samuel.

              The handwriting on the wall.  This was the easiest one of the bunch.  Put some art paper on the wall and have one of the students finger-paint MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN on it.  Then draw a large hand with a pointing finger and hang it by a stiff wire from the ceiling so that it touches the wall at one of the words.

              The Minor Prophets sheet game.  This one served as both a lesson activity and an exhibit.  Very few adults really know the Minor Prophets, so this was impressive to the parents.  I cut out about half of a full size sheet.  Then I wrote on it with a permanent marker the names of the Minor Prophets in a column on the left.  Across from that I wrote 18 things I had taught the children about those 12 prophets.  By the names of the prophets I sewed on a length (or 2 in some cases) of yarn.  By the identifying phrases I sewed a button.  The point of the game was to match the prophet to his identifier by wrapping his piece of yarn around the appropriate button.  As the tour group reached our game, the students had learned it so well that they could go through it in just minutes, showing the adults which prophet went with which description or activity.  Then it had to be "undone" before the next group arrived and everyone helped with that.

              I am sure we did more "exhibits" than these, but they have slipped my mind.  The last two classes before our "Grand Opening," the students took turns giving the tour to one another—once again cementing those facts in their minds.

              Finally the day arrived.  With the closing announcements, the congregation was invited to tour the "Museum of the Old Testament."  After the amen, the children rushed to our classroom and stood ready to be matched with a tour group of 3 or 4 adults.  You might think that only parents came, but you would be wrong.  Nearly every adult member showed up that morning.  It took nearly an hour to get everyone through and each child led a tour three or four times, but no one complained.  In fact, several adults thanked me in the next few weeks. 

              These children had never learned so much in such a short time, and not because of me.  These were starving little minds, like baby birds with their mouths open perpetually, waiting for food.  I hope this gives you a few ideas to use in the future.  There are hungry nestlings everywhere.
 
And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say… (Exod 12:26-27)

And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say… (Exod 13:14)

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say…(Deut 6:20-21)

And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know… (Josh 4:21-22)

Dene Ward

The final part in the series.

The psalms are poetry.  By definition poetry is full of figurative language.  The psalms, therefore, must be full of figurative language.
 
             Simile:  As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God, 42:1.

              Metaphor:  The Lord is my rock, 18:2.  The Lord is my shepherd, 23:1.

              Personification:  When the waters saw you they were afraid, 77:16.

              Hyperbole:  God looks down on the children of men to see if there are any…who seek after God. They have all fallen away…there is none who does good, not even one, 53:2,3.

              We all use figurative language every day of our lives:  “He’ll give you the shirt off his back.”  “I need a new set of wheels.”  “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.”  But for some reason we don’t get it when we find it in the scriptures.  We make up some weird gate in Jerusalem that archaeologists have never found, nor that the disciples had ever heard of, instead of understanding that Jesus was using hyperbole when he said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.”  We are not any better than our religious friends who want every item in the book of Revelation to be literal.  Maybe we should take the log out of our own eyes before we talk about them.

              We do the same thing with our hymns.  Granted there are lines in some hymns that we probably should not sing.  They teach religious dogma that is not found in the New Testament.  But far more often I have picky brethren who ignore the authority the book of Psalms gives us to use poetry, the hallmark of which is figurative language.  We follow the examples of our neighbors and make it all literal, then ban it from our assemblies. Hymns are poetry set to music just as the psalms were.  We should treat them as such.

              It would be helpful if we recognize that a figure of speech is meant to address only one specific point and stop trying to carry it beyond reason.  “A sower went forth to sow,” Jesus taught.  The point of the parable was how the seed grew based on the ground it fell on.  Who would be so silly as to ask what the bag in which the sower carried seed represented?  The same ones who wonder about camels and needles.  The same ones who want a literal thousand year kingdom on the earth instead of an eternal kingdom in Heaven.  The reason one group didn’t fall for the other fallacy was not their understanding of how to use figurative language, i.e., the same way we use it every day of lives.  The reason they stayed “sound” on one and not the other is they were indoctrinated otherwise.  It’s time we fixed that problem.

              Even denominational preachers understand the uses and abuses of figurative language when it comes down to brass tacks.  Just read Dungan’s Hermeneutics.  He has a great list of exactly how to interpret figurative language (Chapter 8).  If you follow it, you won’t fall for the strange gate OR the millennium.

              So let’s stop being ridiculous with our hymns, too.  We would not stand for anyone interpreting the things we say the way we interpret those poets. “Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, do you also unto them.”

              And, more to the point, if we banned poetic language, we would miss a whole lot of wonderful teaching that reaches the heart in ways that straight prose never could.  Funny how God knew that so many thousands of years ago.
 
Jehovah, I have called upon you; make haste unto me: Give ear unto my voice, when I call unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before you; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head; Let not my head refuse it: For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; For they are sweet. As when one plows and cleaves the earth, Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol. For my eyes are unto you, O Jehovah the Lord: In you do I take refuge; leave not my soul destitute. Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, And from the gins of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape. Psalms 141:1-10
 
Dene Ward