Congradulations!!!

To Harold and Melanie Casey who were recently joined together in marriage.

To Gary and Melissa Hogston on the purchase of their dream farm.

To Dennis and Shirley Hagemeyer on Dennis's healing of cancer!

On Sunday morning around 10 A.M. a small group gathers at our church for Sunday School. I teach the men's class and on the days that I have four students to show up, it is considered a full class since those four make up the regular attendees. The women's class usually has a few more than the men's and the other classes are small as well. Then just before 11:00 A.M. people begin coming in for the worship service.

I realize that some people have legitimate reasons for not attending Sunday School, but I believe most simply choose not to attend. I believe that if a person is able to attend the 11"00 worship service, they are most likely able to attend Sunday School which begins only one hour earlier. So what's the big deal about attending Sunday School? Isn't it enough to simply attend church? Let me give you my thoughts on why Sunday School is so important..

Teaching and preaching are two different forms of communicating the gospel. Each serves a particular purpose. Teaching is for our edification.

Edify
1. To instruct in such a way as to improve, enlighten, or uplift morally, spiritually, or intellectually. 2. To build or establish.

Preaching is for our exhortation, encouragement, and discipline.

Exhort
1. To urge earnestly by advise or warning to do that which is proper or required. 2. To admonish strongly.

Of course this description is a generalization. The functions of preaching and teaching often over-lap. The point is that both are required for a Christian’s spiritual growth and maturity. The biblical evidence that we need both preaching and teaching is in the fact that God calls both preachers and teachers into the ministry. Therefore since God has called both preachers and teachers into the ministry, it is conclusive that God’s people are to receive indoctrination by both sources. If a person therefore only attends the worship portion (singing, praise, and preaching) of a church service, but skips the Sunday School portion (teaching), they are not receiving the full training that God has intended for them and is necessary for advanced spiritual growth.

11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:11-12

It is important to have spiritual growth because that is the only way that we can adequately serve the Lord. It seems that many Christians have forgotten or have never realized that as children of God that we are to serve Him. We were not saved simply to occupy a pew on Sunday mornings. The bible says we have been bought with a price and we are not our own.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We use the phrase, "Our Lord and Savior" very loosely. Most seem to understand the "savior" part of that phrase but give too little thought to the meaning of the "Lord" portion. Lord is a title representing sovereign authority. Therefore if we say Christ is our Lord and Savior, we are not only saying that He has redeemed us, but that He is also our ruler, our master and we are His servants committed to do His will.

Not only are we to be His servant, but we are to also be his representatives.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

An ambassador is someone who is stationed in one country while representing another country. Jesus said that we (Christians) are the light of the world. This means that we are to let others see Christ and his teachings in us. How can we let others see Christ’s teachings in us if we do not study his word to know what those teachings are? Sunday School is a place where people gather together to study the bible as a group and benefit by having the scriptures broken down and explained by a teacher or even another student.

Sometimes simply reading the bible is not enough to gain a substantial understanding of the scriptures. Sometimes we need the guidance of someone with a deeper understanding than our own.

30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Acts 8:30-31

Not only can a person acquire a deeper understanding of God’s Word by attending Sunday School, but another objective is to teach biblical applications as they pertain to our daily lives. Understanding how to apply God’s word in our daily lives helps us to live our lives in such a way that we are able to full fill our obligation as Christians to be a light and a witness to others. It also helps us to live our lives in such a way as to have close fellowship with God and thereby reap the fullness of His blessings. When we are not living as we ought in accordance with God’s word, the blessings God has for us are hindered even to the point of our prayers not being heard.

1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Isaiah 59:1-2

There are many ways that we can serve and represent Christ in our lives. Some are called to preach, others are called to teach, to sing, or some other service. Regardless of how a person serves, it all works together for the common task of winning lost souls to Christ. One calling that we all have in common is to be a witness for Christ. We witness not only through our testimony and our counsel, but also by our praise and life of obedience to Him.

We can not serve in any capacity however, without understanding of His word. We can not teach what we do not know and we can not share what we do not have. We can not walk in obedience if we do not know what is expected of us. Without understanding of God's word we are spiritually blind and not in a position to serve Him or be a light for others.

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Matthew 15:14

It is by acquired knowledge that we have spiritual sight and are thereby able to lead the spiritualy blind to Christ. For a biblical perspective on the connection between ignorance and darkness or blindness and the connection between knowledge and light or spiritual site, consider the following scriptures:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Ephesians 4:17-18

Taken from the lyrics of a song by Tanya Tucker...

You can't be a guiding light if you walk around blind,
and you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine.

A final biblical reference to the importance for a Christian having spiritual knowledge...

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hosea 4:6

We acquire this spiritual knowledge through the study of God's word. Reading God's word is good, but studying it is better. Studying means we take the time to puposely be attentive to each verse and if we do not understand it, we make special efforts to obtain that understanding by looking up the definitions of words that we do not understand, we look at the study notes in our bible pertaining to that verse, we look at the reference scriptures that may be provided, and we search for comentaries which elaborate on that particular scripture.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

Sunday School is a good resource for gaining understanding of God's word. Many times the Sunday School teacher has already done some of the work listed above in his/her preparation for the class.
Another reason to learn all that we can about God's word and His teachings is that we are held responsible for keeping his commandments. We will give an account of our Christian life at the Judgement Seat of Christ. We will be judged according to how we lived in accordance with God's word. If we will be judged in accordance to God’s word, does it not make perfect since that it would be to our great benefit to know what is in God's word and have an understanding of it so that we may fare better in the day of judgement?

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10

Some people attend Sunday School and some people don't,
Some people will fare well on Judgement Day and some people won't.
If there's any doubt of the connection between these two,
We'll be judged from the same book that we study in Sunday School.

Whether a person chooses to attend Sunday School or not, surely they would at least have to admit that attending Sunday School is a good thing. The bible teaches us that if we know to do that which is good, yet fail to do so, then it is considered sin.

17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
James 4:17

According to this scripture, if a person believes that attending Sunday School is good, but chooses not to attend, then that person has committed a sin by not attending. Since Sunday School is normally held at the beginning of the morning church service, this means that such a person has started out the Lords day with sin. How then can that person come into the worship service and engage in true worship? How can he/she testify that the Lord the most important thing and the center of his/her life as he should be? How can he/she sing songs of praise unto the Lord with sincerity? Actually if a person is aware that there is unrepented sin their life they need to repent before they will be able to worship in spirit and in truth as we are instructed in God’s word.

We see from God's word that it is very important for a Christian to grow in understanding of God's word. We also see that knowledge can be gained through the study of God's word and even more so when study is accompanied by the counsel of teaching.

There is one more issue regarding Sunday School attendance that I would like to address here and it pertains to the condition of the heart. At the beginning of this piece the questions, "So what's the big deal about attending Sunday School? Isn't it enough to simply attend church?" were addressed directly in terms of the necessity for spiritual growth for adequately serving our Lord. However, it’s not all about full filling our Christian obligations nor to do these things solely out of obedience. We ought to do them willingly even if they were not commanded of us, simply out of the love we have for God. Does it not make good sense that if you love someone, you want to know more about them? Does it not make sense that if you love someone you will want to please them? God is pleased with our obedience, but He wants us to obey Him not only out of fear and obligation, but also out of love.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:21

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
John 15:10

If we truly love the Lord, we will desire to know Him and to know about Him. If we then desire to know Him, we will desire to read and study His word. If we desire to study His word, we will attend Sunday school when we have the opportunity. It is an unbroken chain. If the first link is there, the rest will be present. If we are in fellowship with God and we love Him, attending Sunday School will not be a burden, nor will it be seen as an obligation, but rather it will be seen as a blessing and it will be something that we look forward to.

Carl Lighrt
copywrite© 2008 Carl Light