 Okay, good morning everyone, good to see you all. Before we begin class, can I ask, Kiran, can you read us in practice? Yes, ma'am sir. Thank you. Father God, we just come before once again you are shown Father God. We want to just say thank you Father God for bringing us Father God into your presence Father God, thank you. Father God, you just give your wisdom, knowledge and understanding that the subject we can understand nicely way Father God and apply to your kingdom worth. Thank you Father God. Upcoming times are meeting to your hand Father. Take care of every side. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Kiran. Okay, so, so far we've been, you know, we looked at the biblical basis and a mandate for children's ministry. Then we looked at the developmental needs of children in different age groups. And the last few classes we were looking at the learning styles of children. Today we will look at the role, the calling and the qualification of a teacher. The calling, the role, the qualification of a teacher. And after that we will look at the lesson plan. So for the person to write the lesson plan for children it has to be the teacher. The teacher is the only person who will write the lesson plan for the children they are teaching. And hence we look at, you know, the developmental needs for each age group which will help us write or prepare a lesson. Will also help us to choose the relevant activities. We also look at the learning styles and that also will aid us and help us in, you know, preparing the curriculum, writing a lesson plan, choosing the activities. And thus we will be able to effectively minister and teach children. So all of this role is done by the teacher. So before we look at how to write a lesson plan, we look basically at the calling, the role and the qualification of a teacher. So that is what we will look at in today's class. So, you know, we will just share the slides with you. So we look at the spiritual need when the people of, you know, why is there a spiritual need? You know, what is the spiritual need and how do we respond? The spiritual need to minister to children. So when people of Judah and Jerusalem were carried into captivity, the poor people with their children were left behind in Judah and Jerusalem. And the prophet Jeremiah was left behind with them. The rest of them were all taken into captivity, but those who had come and taken them as captives left the poor with their children and even prophet Jeremiah was left behind in Israel. And we see that many of these young children, small children, the people were all starving and they were dying because of starvation. There was no food. There was no food to feed them. There was no way of even getting food to feed these children. So we see that the Jeremiah cries out in Lamentation chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. So then one of you read this piece, Lamentation chapter 2 verse 11 and 12. It's up on the screen. In one of you read Lamentation chapter 2 verse 11 and 12, it's on the screen. My eyes are filled from weeping. I am in torment within. My heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. So we see that Jeremiah is just pleading with the Lord. He's even pleading with the people. He's weeping and he's crying out that the children and infants are just fainting on the streets. They're dying on the streets because there's no food and there's no one to feed them. Then we see that Jeremiah also pleads with the Lord's people too deep and too thick. And this he does in Lamentation chapter 2 verse 19. So again, one of you read Lamentation chapter 2 verse 19. It's on the screen. Lamentation chapter 2 verse 19. Let tears run down like a river by day and night. Give die no rest. Arise cry out in the night in the beginning of the watch. Pour out dying hard like water before the face of the Lord. Sorry, I just have to put out the next slide. Go ahead, continue reading. Lift up die hands towards him for the life of die young children that fend for hunger at the top of every street. Thank you. So here we see that Jeremiah is pleading with the Lord's people. He's saying, you know, cry out to God. You know, lift your faces up to the Lord. Cry out to the Lord. Lift up your hands towards him so that, you know, he will give life to our young children. Because they are fending for hunger at every street. Every street, every corner, every industry, children fending, falling down dead. And we see that even Jeremiah is so frustrated and so saddened in his heart. He's telling the people that, you know, they are not even able to do anything to help these children who are fending and dying on the streets. And so he, you know, he kind of accuses them for being cruel. And he says this in Lamentations chapter four, verses three and four. Lamentations chapter four, verses three and four. And some of you can please. Lamentations chapter four, verses three and four. Prince or Condom, do you want to read that? Hello, are you able to hear me, class? Yes, I can hear. Can I read one? Yes, please go ahead, Thomas. Thank you. Even jackals put their breasts to nurse their young. But my people are heartless, like astringent, yes it is. Ostriches, yes, go ahead. Ostriches in the next slide. Desert. Desert. Because first the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth. The children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. Okay, so here we see that, you know, Jeremiah basically accusing the people of being cruel and saying that, you know, the children are begging for food, but there's no one to give them. Okay, so this was the condition of the people who were left back, you know, in Jerusalem and Judah, and there was a great need. And Jeremiah was there, he was crying out to God and he was also telling the people to do something to feed the children. Okay, and just as there was this great need, we see that, you know, there is a great need even today. Okay, the condition of the children in our world today is kind of the same when we look at it in a spiritual sense. Okay, the condition of the children in Jerusalem is typical of the spiritual need of the children in certain parts of the world today. The children in Jerusalem were starving because there was no one to feed them. There was, even though their parents were there, there was no way they could get food. They were not trying any other, you know, means to just get food for their children. The children were starving for physical food. But we see today that children in our world are starving of spiritual food. Okay, so, and what do I mean by saying that children in today's world, in certain parts of the world today, are starving of spiritual food. What I mean is that, you know, children, they know God, but they really don't have a personal relationship with God. Okay, so, for example, I know who is the chief minister of my state or the prime minister of my country, the president. I know certain people, but, you know, I don't know them personally. I don't relate to them personally. So, we see that children in today's world, they know about Jesus. They know about the Bible, but they don't believe the Bible. They don't have a personal relationship with God. And so, we can say that, you know, they have a form of Godliness, but they deny its power just like Paul says in his letter. You know, so children know everything about God, but they don't have a personal relationship with God. They don't have a personal experience with Him. And they don't have a personal encounter with Him. Okay, so, we see that this tremendous need, there was a tremendous need in Jira and Jerusalem. And there is a tremendous spiritual need in the world today, you know, amongst the children as well. And this tremendous need can only be met, you know, if we as God's people, you know, pray just like Jeremiah prayed. And we as God's people also meet the need that is there. So, there is a great need, but we just can't say, yeah, there is a great spiritual need. And please sad about it, but we need to do something. We need to, you know, meet that need. And we need to not only just meet the need by praying, but we also need to meet that need by being available, by doing something, by being active, by engaging in ministering to children. Okay, we see that the parents were there with the children, but they did not, you know, go out of their way to procure food for them, to get food for them or make something available by which their children can be saved and not just locked down dead. So, even as we see our children, you know, in the world today caught up with so many things, you know, they have their friends circles, they have the internet, they constantly move the TV, they constantly move to their mobile phones. There's so many things on the internet and in the media world that they can just constantly be engaged in. They're getting a lot of things from the world, but, you know, we need to get them more engaged in the things of God. So, what I'm really saying is, you know, if we are good with media, then maybe we can, you know, do get some videos, we can open up some, you know, websites to cater to children's needs, to do their spiritual needs, but they can engage in meaningful, you know, Godly activity which they can learn from, they can see, or, you know, just be available to teach them, you know, just be available to minister to them or wherever there is a need. So, we see that even when Jesus taught, he just did minister to adults. We also saw that he had a burden, he had a heart for children. He took time to minister and cater to their needs. So, there is a great need. You know, we have the bread of life, okay, but who will take it to the perishing millions? We have a lot of life with us. We know God, we are, you know, we equipped in the ministry, we are equipped in teaching and ministering. You know, we have the bread of life now, but who will take it to the perishing millions, okay? So, it is a responsibility. It's a call of God to minister to these, to the children, to the young ones, okay? Now, children's church teachers or Sunday school teachers are in such an important position, okay? Why are they in such an important position? Because, you know, sorry, because teachers make the greatest impact. The teachers who make the greatest impact are those who teach the very young, okay? I repeat that again, teachers who make the greatest impact are those who teach the very young. So, you know, when we teach children, we actually influence how they think, how they feel and how they act, okay? So, by teaching children, we actually influence them how they think, how they feel and how they act, not for the present moment, not just for certain period of time, but it actually influences them for the rest of their life, okay? So, what we teach will actually continue to influence how children think, feel and act. Now, what could cause a teacher to have such an impact on a young one's life? Okay? What could, you know, cause a teacher to have such a powerful impact on a young one's life? The first thing is that a teacher should be well prepared, somebody who employs effective methods. We saw and we learned the developmental needs of children. So, we need to be aware of what is the development needs of the children in that age group, what are their needs, what are their spiritual needs, their mental, emotional, physical needs and how we can effectively cater to those needs. What is the effective methods that we can use? We learned it through the different learning styles and we also, you know, it's important that a teacher can make a powerful impact on a young one's life when they, you know, they motivate the young ones. Okay? How do they motivate them? It is through challenging them and also giving them the freedom, challenging them to do things, challenging them to act on what they have learned and also doing it in the freedom that, you know, they best like or enjoy. That means according to their learning style or what is their kind of, you know, the kind they receive best, how they receive best and also give them the freedom to, you know, choose how they are going to act, you know, how they are going to apply or he's spoken about this so just basically we have to do it. The second thing what to cause a teacher to have such an impact on young ones life is, you know, the teacher treats the children as competent and intelligent individuals. Okay? That means competent means children are not just to be fed milk all the time, see them as someone who's able and fit to not just listen to a story but also to give them truths from God's word, revelations from God's word, you know, give them solid meat from God's word. So what we basically do as you think children's ministry is very easy to just go and, you know, teach a child and I've been saying this repeatedly from class one, you know, it's very easy because we think, okay, I know exactly story or I know David and Goliath story or I know the parable of the lost son or the parable of the, you know, sober. So I can just go and narrate the story to them. So we just narrate the story and then give them something to color but, you know, we need to see that children are, you know, able and fit like adults to receive a little more solid food and just giving them watered down liquid or milk that we can just do by narrating a story. But imagine if somebody calls you to teach and, you know, teach in adult church or to do a Bible study among youth or a Bible study for the adults, you know, we would spend quality time on just teaching and, you know, on preparing, on knowing a subject when preparing, when having our notes in place and then going and preaching or doing the Bible study. But sad when I see, you know, when people come teaching children church, they think it's just, you know, a story. So they'll just maybe look it up on Saturday night, just rush through it and they think they can say something to the children but no, children are competent. They're able and fit. They know when you are well prepared. They're taking the efforts to do what you're doing. They will respect you for that. They will honor you. They will remember you for that. They will thank you. And also we see when we are preparing well our lesson, you know, we are being a good teacher. We are honoring God in a way. We are ministry to children and, you know, we will also be very effective in communicating the truth and the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of the children. And also we have to know that children are intelligent individuals, you know, not just give them something that, you know, we think they will just receive and go and we think the job is done but they are intelligent individuals. They understand, they can learn, they can pick up any past. So it's important that we prepare for them. And so I'm saying all this so that, you know, we understand the importance of preparing a lesson plan and spending time in preparing a lesson plan. Okay. The next thing, what would cause a teacher to have a powerful impact on a young one's life is, you know, that when a teacher is loving, godly, concerned for the young ones and willing to share their life with the young ones, they will make a powerful impact. Okay. So we basically need to teach them to use them in love, correct them in love, speak the truth in love. And when the teacher themselves is godly, that means spending time in prayer, reading God's word to feed their own soul and spirit to learn for themselves in God's word. And when they are also willing to prepare and to share what God is speaking to them, even as they prepare the lesson, it shows that they're concerned for the young ones, you know, we see God moving in a mighty way who has been working through their classes and also it's important for a teacher, you know, to share their lives with the young ones, to share what happened when they were children, what they did, you know, some of the naughty things you did and how God helped you overcome that or some of your weaknesses and how God helped you, how they should, you know, testify of how you receive Christ Jesus and how Jesus helped you in various situations, how the Holy Spirit made you, right? So when we share our lives with young ones, you know, not just the major important things, the good ones, but also share our weaknesses, the areas where we have fallen, the areas where we have faltered, then the children come to identify with us. They say, okay, this teacher actually knows what I'm going through, so I will share with her or share with him. They'll be able to help me. They will not judge me, you know, they will pray for me. So, you know, we're willing to share their lives with the young ones. We see that, you know, a teacher will make a powerful impact, okay? Also when he or she are interested in the young ones, interested means not just interested in teaching them biblical truths, but also interested in their whole life as well. You know, what's happening in school? What's happening at home? Why are they looking sad? Why are they being depressed? Why are they not engaging in any activities? You know, what are they shy about? What are they afraid about? So I spoke about this mentoring, just one on one talking with children sharing their lives, sharing our lives with them. Then we, you know, children will know that teacher is not just here to teach me biblical truths and to go away, you know, but is interested in my personal life, is praying for me, is hearing from God and sharing with me what God is saying. You know, sometimes what I do is, you know, I think about a few children in children's church and, you know, during the week I pray for them and I especially ask God to lay upon my heart something that, you know, the child is experiencing or going through and, you know, God gives me a word and on Sunday when I just meet them, I share with them what God has said. You know, that really has built up a relationship, has built up a connect with the children. So they know that I'm not just there, doing things, telling them what to do, what not to do, where to go and handling the whole show, but also interested in their personal lives. So I share with them and I pray with them and they are just so excited. And after I see, you know, there's a relationship that is built up with them, which they actually, even after they leave children's church, they call and ask me to pray and share their life with me. So a good teacher will have, a good impact on a young one's life, you know, when they're not just interested in teaching them what is there in the lesson, but also they're interested in the young one's life and their ministry to their holistic needs, all of their needs, not just the spiritual needs, okay? So these are the four things that, probably the four things we can add on to this list, what could cause a teacher to have an impact, a powerful impact on young ones' lives. So we see that when we combine excellent teaching methods with a genuine concern for our children, they will find it extremely difficult not to learn. So when children see that you're genuinely not just concerned to come and teach them on Sunday because you have to and, you know, just kind of for so-called woman, the lesson plan because you have to teach them everything that you have prepared or there is and it's in the curriculum, but, you know, they're also taking efforts to make the teaching library by being, you know, activities, by being object presence, by having a small game, attention-getter or whatever, and also you're, you know, praying for them, you say, you can pray for your test, how did you do your exams, you know, and if they have any weaknesses, you just pray for them and you say, after class, you might pray for you. So when you see that you have this genuine concern, you know, they will, you know, listen to your teacher in class, they will learn from you and you see that they will be, they will also grow spiritually because you're taking a keen interest in their lives. Okay. I think this is not just something that, you know, impact children, but even whereas when we have a Bible study, we have a Bible study group, or we have pastry or church, you know, when we do these things, which I just listed the four things, you know, people will come back to church, they want to hear from you, they want to learn from you because they know that you are actually concerned about different aspects of their life, personally connecting with them and they feel love, accepting care for and they will come. Okay. So it's not just, you know, excellent preaching skills, styles of preaching that is important, but it's the heart of love, it's the heart that cares, shows care and compassion when people listen to what you're saying. And we see that, you know, crowds follow Jesus, not just because, you know, they wanted to hear Jesus speaking, but we see that the crowds came to Jesus because he was healing people. Okay. He took care of their personal physical needs as well. You know, he fed the 5,000, there was no way they could go and get food, it was getting rates. He took care of their physical needs, he took care of their emotional needs, he took care of their, you know, their requirements of being sick or being cared for, he raised the dead when he saw the video crying, you know, when his son was dead, we see that Jesus shows compassion. So people came running to Jesus because he's not just an excellent teacher, but he showed care, he showed compassion, he showed love, he did not condemn them. He also took care of their physical needs. So, you know, you know, as a teacher it's very important that we are loving, we are godly, we are concerned for our young ones, we are willing to share our lives with them and also important for us to use excellent teaching methods, but that needs to be combined with a genuine deep gratitude or concern for the young ones and when we do all of this, you know, they will spiritually be motivated to receive from you and to grow and they will grow the things of God, they will grow in their relationship with God. Okay, so we see that the calling of a teacher is a divine call. Okay, what do I mean by a divine call? Okay, you know when teaching in children's church you know, basically people overlook children's ministry, you know, teaching in children's church, they think that you know it's a small thing that you are actually doing but you know teaching in children's church or teaching in Sunday school is a very important role and why do I say it's a very important role because of what is mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. It's on the screen please. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 and 12 and then you want to read that Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. Yes ma'am, I will read. Thank you. Can you hear me right? Yes, I can. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God's people for works of service that the body of Christ may be built up. Thank you. So here we see this is the ministry appointments or ministry offices that people can hold. So God gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers. So when we know people when they say they are apostles, we look up to them when they say they are prophets, we have double honour, we give them double honour, we hold them in high esteem and regard. If they are pastors also we hold them in high regard, we honour them. But when we talk about teachers especially when they are children search teachers, we think they are just simple housewives who just find coming and serving just narrating a story to children but no if we look at the different offices in Agar as called people to in the body of Christ teachers are also there and they play an important role and we see that all of these are works of service so that the body of Christ will be built up. So all of them put together build up the body of Christ. So those of you who are teaching children's ministry, we have many of them in the e-learning platform who are ministry to children for the number of years now they are so excited and passionate about ministry to children I just want to tell all of you that your role is a very important one people might not look upon you as something very important but consider your role as important because it is important in the eyes of God and we saw the importance of ministry to children when we studied the first topic the political mandate and basis for children's ministry. So we see that all of these offices are as important for the benefit of the body of Christ. We know that Jesus was a preacher but he was also a teacher and he magnified the work of a teacher but he was called more a teacher than a preacher so they always went to him and called him Rabbi Rabbi his teacher so he was more a teacher than a preacher. What is the difference between a preacher and a teacher? What is the difference between a preacher and a teacher? Is there any difference? Yes, no at least you can type in the chat please at least a yes, no, can I hear is there a difference between a teacher and a teacher? Yes Thank you Aran Only Aran says yes Thank you Kiran, yes Yes, there is a difference between a preacher and a teacher so Kanan says a man who preaches is a preacher man Kanan says a man who preaches is a preacher and a man who teaches is a teacher So what is the difference between preach and teach? Yes, there is a difference. Thank you all for mentioning that in the chat. There is a difference so a preacher is basically somebody who exhausts means he urges, he encourages the audience of the people he is speaking to he approves that means it is his job to take people to task to get them to go doing things to walking in Godly ways Godly lifestyles he also rebukes them corrects them and then he elaborates or presses on the point that means it just elaborates teaches or preaches what he wants to communicate what he wants to say just goes into their hearts and minds and they can act upon it that we need in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2 where it says he says preach the word be ready in season and out of season as convince, review, exhaust with all your own suffering and teaching so the work of the preacher is basically to exhaust that means urge them encourage them, reprove need state people to task get them to do what is required their spiritual life, their spiritual walk of God their relationship with regard to sin, review them correct them in the areas where correction just press on the point so that they act upon it okay but a teacher's primary task is is basically to instruct okay so teacher instructs that means a teacher teaches trains coaches, tutor they're not just saying something and leaving it at that but the teacher goes beyond that to coach them, to tutor them to help them to understand it to their level till they are able to comprehend or understand what you are saying the teacher also teaches facts but simplifies the truth or illustrates the truth okay so a preacher will just state facts and sometimes illustrated but the teacher will take the truth and will try to or take the facts take the biblical revelations and try to simplify it till the child has understood or illustrated in different ways so that the child can understand okay the next thing is that a teacher gives opportunity for questions and discussion so that they are sure that the truth what they have communicated has been understood but that does not happen when a teacher is teaching to the adult church you know people have opportunities later on to email and ask but you know very few of them do it but when they're basically teaching a teacher gives opportunity for them to understand it is this option to children to whether they have learned what they have communicated if they understood right so a teacher ask them a couple of questions it has some discussions with them discussion questions to make sure that the truth has been understood okay and a teacher also helps you know the person or the class that they are teaching how to apply the truth okay how to apply the truth and looks for responses to be that means gives them the freedom to choose or to write down or to tell them how they are going to apply the truth that they have learned and when they come back next class to ask them how they applied the truth how was their experience what did they learn what did they not do how they can better so this is all what teaching involves basically teaching the primary task is to instruct to teach, train, coach and tutor the teacher simplifies the facts, the truths and illustrates and then applies the truth help them apply the truth and look for response by giving them opportunity to answer few questions and then into time of discussion to make sure that they have understood the truth and then of course the teacher looks for helps them how to apply the truth and looks for response to it okay so a teacher is more than a lecturer we know that in college when lecturers they lecture they just give all of the information and they expect the students grown up or big enough to you know do assignments to do their project work and they just read it and you know they will just mark them but the teacher goes down through very poor heart of a child to see if they understood it and also helps them apply the truth and looks for response okay so this is the divine call of a teacher we look at their duties okay what is the duties of a teacher and by looking at the duties we will also look at how it is a divine call okay we look at in the Old Testament the ministry of the Old Testament priest we find the qualifications of a teacher of God's work so in the ministry of the Old Testament priest we find qualifications for a teacher of God's work now for which family were the priests who served the temple come from in the Old Testament for which family they had to come from for which tribe they had to come from any responses yes the tribe of Levi and which family it was the family of Aaron so the Aaronic priest so only the family of Aaron was permitted to be priest but it's not the same when you look at it today as new covenant believers our first Peter chapter 2 verse 9 says that all of us are priests okay not Jewish priests but we are true believers priests as believers in Christ Jesus who are born again have accepted Jesus and out of his family each one of us are priests that is what first Peter chapter 2 verse 9 says that we are the royal priesthood so you know each one of us are priests because we have we are part of God's family and that is our calling that is our mission as new covenant believers and at ABC we believe that every believer is a minister of God so at ABC we believe that every believer is a minister of God now what were the duties of the Jewish priests when we try to answer this question you know when we answer this question we can apply it to the new testament truth and we will better learn able to better understand and also learn the duties of a true teacher okay so we look at what were the duties of a Jewish priest or the priest who served in the temple in Israel the priests were to lead people of Israel to God in a way that you know they would make atoning sacrifices blood sacrifice for the sins of the people when people came to them with their offerings of that to make atonement for their sin or for their cleansing the priest would be there to stand as a mediator to make the sacrifice for them the priest would also instruct them in the word of God what God wants them to do how they want them to live what God is telling them to do and also the priest duty is to continually build the fellowship of the people with God okay so similarly the teacher today those who are teaching not only children but youth or adults as well you know we have our responsibility our duty is like the Old Testament priest you know we have the gospel of salvation we have to teach them the word of God we need to hear from God the truths and regulations and we need to feed them with the truth with new fresh revelations from God's word we also stand in the gap and mediate and all the people hear from God for them communicate to them help them also in their relationship with God and their friendship with God and all this we drew through the Holy Spirit who abides with us involves in us in resurrected in dwelling Christ who is with us who lives in us so you know though it's a big privilege for us to be a priest and all of us are priests as new covenant believers and also it has it's a privilege to be prophets or apostles or preachers or preachers it's also a big responsibility right in Old Testament that God would hold the priest accountable for the people he is entrusted into their care because they were the shepherds of the sheep and we see that you know we read in God's word I think it's an Ezekiel where God says you know the shepherds you have not done your responsibility you have not fed the sheep with the best when they were booted you do not apply your ointments you do not lead them and guide them in the right path and he says now I am the shepherds of my people so again God talks about the priest not doing the priestly responsibility and we read about this in Malachi so even though it was a huge responsibility I saw it's a huge privilege it's a responsibility for us because God is going to hold us accountable for the sheep that he is entrusted to our care I'll stop here with the duties of a teacher we continue and we will see how the duties in relationship with the Old Testament priest and hence we will see that the calling of a teacher is a divine comment it's time up I'll stop class here anyone has any questions any doubts any comments no if not I'll stop class here ok everyone thank you for joining class today and I'll see you next week next no big politics class have a good day and a good week ahead see you next week