INTRO.- ILL.- "Say, Dad, did you go to Sunday School when you were a boy?" "Yes, son, I went all the time." "Well, then, I guess it won’t do me any good either."
I beg to differ with that boy. SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL DO A PERSON SOME GOOD, A WORLD OF GOOD!
Some of my best times as a youngster in church and Sunday School were in Sunday School! Sunday School was the highlight of my Christian experience back then! I’d rather go to Sunday School than church any day back then!
Some people avoid Sunday School like it’s a plague. And I know why some people avoid going to Sunday School.
ILL.- I remember being in a boy’s Sunday School class at the First Baptist Church of Webb City, MO. Our teacher was also my high school driver’s education teacher. He was a real nice guy and very funny too. He had a great sense of humor and would often joke with us. Everybody loved him. But one day I didn’t love him!
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? Because he asked me to lead the class in prayer. Out loud! Talk about embarrassing. Talk about being put on the spot. Talk about not knowing what to do. I had never prayed out loud or in public in my life and suddenly, I was asked to pray.
I stumbled around and stammered a little, and offered some kind of very short prayer. I don’t even remember what I said or prayed, but I know I was embarrassed and red-faced. "NEVER AGAIN," I thought. Little did I know what my future would hold.
Never in my wildest dream did I think of becoming a minister of the gospel. But here I am.
Brothers and sisters, I know that some people avoid Sunday School because they think they will be put on the spot and asked to pray or perhaps read out loud or asked a direct question. NOT IN MY CLASS, YOU WON’T. I don’t want to embarrass anybody.
Some people don’t go to Sunday School for other reasons: It’s too early. It’s an hour before church. It’s at 9 a.m. That’s early to some people. But that doesn’t seem to be a problem on Monday morning when they have to go to work.
I think many people like to sleep in.
Prov. 24:33-34 "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit...." Sleep can lead to laziness or in some cases, may be a sign of laziness. And laziness can lead to poverty or else, government welfare. And laziness can lead to spiritual poverty as well.
Spiritual poverty means a person has nothing in the well. There spiritual well is dry. There is nothing to draw from. That’s not good. When your well is dry you’d better not have an emergency!
I figured out a long time ago that most people do what they want to do! If they want to get up early and go fishing or hunting or go on a trip, etc., they just go do it. But when it comes to certain spiritual matters, it’s a different matter.
Everybody has a lazy streak in them, but we should never be lazy when it comes to the Lord and our relationship to Him. BUT WE ARE! And not attending Sunday School may be a part of that laziness.
Some people don’t attend Sunday School because they think it is boring or will be boring. Well, it could be, but it doesn’t have to be! I will guarantee you if you have Paul Tucker in your class it won’t be boring! IT MAY BE DIFFERENT, BUT IT WON’T BE BORING!
Boring doesn’t have to be the adjective that describes Sunday School nor your particular class. You can make it better and more exciting by preparing and participating. By asking questions. By sharing your spiritual adventures in life, both failures and successes.
WE CAN LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER and should learn from one another. And this learning experience can be very exciting and rewarding.
ILL.- A man by the name of Robert Raikes started the Sunday School program in England in 1780. He organized a Sunday School for the poor children of Gloucester, England. Before the passing of child labor laws in England, many children were working six days a week. The average work day was from 12 to 16 hours. Wow! Robert Raikes and his friends wanted to do something to help the children. Their answer was to start a school which would meet on Sundays. They studied more than just the Bible, but the Bible was included.
American ministers regarded the Sunday School as an instrument of the devil for many years. I suppose it was like many “new” things that came along. "It must be evil, because we’ve never heard of it or done it that way before."
Eventually, the idea of Sunday School became very popular in the United States. Most churches adopted that program and have grown tremendously as a result of it.
SUNDAY SCHOOL IS NOT JUST FOR KIDS!
ILL.- Have you ever gone to a football at half-time? Have you ever gone to a movie late and missed the first half? Have you ever attended a wedding when the bride and groom were walking down the aisle on the way out? Have you ever come home late for supper and everybody else had already eaten and you got the cold leftovers?
Brothers and sisters, when you don’t come to Sunday School you have missed out on half of the game, half of the movie, half of the party, half of the fun, half of the drama, and half of the meal!!!
I’ve always heard it said that we are often made poor by the things we miss in life. AND WE DO MISS OUT ON A LOT OF GOOD THINGS IN LIFE! And later on, we wish we’d gone, because we heard about all the good stuff that took place. And this really holds true for Sunday School!
ILL.- Why eat crackers and milk when you can have steak and potatoes? Why read the newspaper when you can read the Book of God? Why walk when you can fly? Why worry when you can pray? Why be lonely when you can have the fellowship of God’s people? Why be sad when you can laugh with the people of God?
Sunday School is the place to be! Sunday School is the place where God can bless your life! You need to be a Sunday School booster!
PROP.- Let me share some more reasons for attending Sunday School and/or being a Sunday School booster.
1- Because we need to be better than we are
2- Because we need Christian fellowship
3- Because we need to learn God’s Word
I. WE NEED TO BE SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOSTERS IN ORDER TO BECOME BETTER PEOPLE
ILL.- One time a little boy was asked by a preacher if he ever went to Sunday School. He replied, "What for? I already know how to be a better boy than I am."
Most people know how to be better than they are, but they either don’t know how to get better or else they don’t want to be better than they are right now! Which are you? Don’t know or don’t care? Or perhaps both. Many people live in that "don’t know and don’t care" syndrome.
ILL.- It is said that in Lloyd Douglas’ book Magnificent Obsession a medical student was criticized by the dean for poor scholarship. "Well, I’m doing average work, aren’t I?" the boy protested. "Yes," said the dean, "BUT DO YOU WANT TO BE AN AVERAGE DOCTOR?"
My question is: Do you want to be an average Christian? This is exactly how many Christians feel.
I realize that not everyone has the same talent or the same amount of energy, but we all can put more energy into the things we do! Anyone can improve if they really want to improve.
ILL.- I started running when I was 42 years old and I was slower than Grandma Moses. I didn’t run. I didn’t jog. I was what some called "a slogger." That meant I was a slow jogger. I went about 11 minutes a mile. To some people that might be speedy, but not to real runners.
When I was running very well in my mid to upper 40’s, I could run up to 26 miles at 6 minutes and 40 seconds a mile or faster. That’s a vast improvement over 11 minutes a mile.
We can do more than we think we can, but only if the desire is present. If you don’t want to improve at anything, you won’t. It’s as simple as that, but if you want to improve, you can. DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST?
Do you want to become a better Christian and find greater joy and fulfillment in life? Don’t you want to fly higher? It can be done. But if your “want to” isn’t working or turned on, it won’t happen.
Phil. 3:14 "I press on toward the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
I press on toward the prize. That doesn’t sound like laziness to me. Sounds like progress to me. And progress takes effort, sweat, strain, striving, work, etc.
Col. 3:1-2 "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Set your hearts on things above. Set your minds on things above. That sounds like spiritual progress to me. That’s the way to spiritual progress. Elevate your mind. Set your mind on things above...the Word of God.
II Pet. 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
Peter is charging us to grow in our faith which is in Christ. We need to grow stronger in His grace or graciousness. We need to grow in our knowledge of Christ. To know Him is to love Him. We are not to stand still in our faith. We must always be improving, growing, stretching, changing, learning!
ILL.- Preacher Henry Ward Beecher once said, "The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of great Christians, BUT A SCHOOL FOR THE EDUCATION OF IMPERFECT ONES."
ILL.- When the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was getting old and his hair was white as snow, an admirer asked him how he was able to keep so vigorous and write so beautifully. Pointing to an apple tree nearby, he replied, "That apple tree is very old, but I never saw prettier blossoms on it than those it now bears. The tree grows a little new wood every year, and I suppose it is out of that new wood that those blossoms come. LIKE THAT APPLE TREE, I TRY TO GROW A LITTLE NEW WOOD EVERY YEAR."
Brothers and sisters, we need to grow a little new wood every year in order to grow a new and better spiritual nature! And one place where you can get some new wood (or new nature) is in Sunday School!
I will guarantee you that if you get into a Sunday School class and get involved, study, prepare and participate, you will grow some new wood! YOUR SPIRITUAL NATURE WILL IMPROVE!
ILL.- Someone said, "The church is not made up of people who are better than the rest, but of people who want to become better than they are."
We all need to be involved in a Sunday School in order to help us become better Christians.
II. WE NEED TO BE SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOSTERS IN ORDER TO HAVE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Gal. 6:2 "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Gal. 6:10 "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
Rom. 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
These Scriptures speak very clearly of the need that we have for one another. We are to be helpful to one another. We need to share burdens and care for one another. We need to do good to one another as family members. WE ARE FAMILY EVEN WHEN WE DON’T HAVE FAMILY! This is one important thing about the church. WE ARE FAMILY!
Simply put and strongly meant: WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! We need fellowship with one another and Sunday School is a great place to get it!
ILL.- In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone and in a rundown Honda Civic. She was going where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wake up call so she could get an early start. She couldn’t understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she woke to the early-morning fog, she understood. Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast.
Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. "Where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. ’Whitehorse’ "In that little Civic? No way! That pass is dangerous in weather like this." "Well, I’m determined to try," was Linda’s gutsy response. "Then I guess we’re just going to have to hug you," the trucker suggested. Linda drew back. "There’s no way I’m going to let you touch me!" she said.
"Not like THAT!" the truckers chuckled. "We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll hug you and get you through the mountains."
And all that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.
Brothers and sisters, we are often caught in the fog of our dangerous passage through life and we all need to be "hugged." With fellow Christians leading the way ahead of us, and with others behind, gently encouraging us, we, too, can pass safely. WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! WE NEED ONE ANOTHER!
We all need direction, guidance, protection, and encouragement in life. And we should get these various forms of hugs from one another. A good place to get them is in Sunday School! But we are often so slow to give encouragement.
ILL.- The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments. Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment, then replied. "I’d give more praise," he said.
We all need to give more praise. When we see the good in one another, we need to praise or compliment that good. It’s a great way to hug one another and encourage one another along life’s difficult path.
ILL.- After the death of his wife, Thomas Carlyle wrote these words in his diary. "Oh, if I could see her once more to let her know that I always loved her. She never did know it."
Brothers and sisters, people often die from lack of love and from lack of encouragement. WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! We need encouragement from one another! And one good place to give it is in Sunday School! Sunday School is the place for great fellowship, great praise, great encouragement!
Through our fellowship in Sunday School we become cemented to one another in Christian love. Sunday School is the place to be!
III. WE NEED TO BE SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOSTERS IN ORDER TO LEARN GOD’S WORD
ILL.- A mother asked her little boy Johnny, "What Bible story did you hear in Sunday School today?" Johnny replied, "Oh, we heard about the loafing story." His mother said, "Well, that’s one I’ve never heard before." Johnny said, "It’s about somebody who loafs and fishes."
ILL.- The Sunday School teacher asked her class of small boys how Solomon happened to be so wise. One little boy said, "That’s because he had so many wives to advise him."
ILL.- A certain Sunday School teacher who was known to have a good Bible knowledge made a slip of the tongue and said, "I am well-reversed in the Scriptures."
I think most of us would agree that if we are not well-versed in the Scriptures we can become REVERSED in life! That is, we can take the wrong roads, etc.
ILL.- Two lawyers were talking about the Bible and Christianity. The first challenged the other, "If you are so religious, let’s hear you quote the Lord’s Prayer. I bet you $10.00 you can’t." The second responded, "Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." The first pulled out his wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill, muttering, "I didn’t think you knew it!"
Brothers and sisters, the sad truth is most of us are pretty ignorant when it comes to the Word of God. We know many things about many things, but not God’s Word.
ILL.- Ed Bousman is a preacher from Lynchburg, OH. For many years he had a radio program called "God is just a Prayer Away." I heard Ed preach at the Kiamichi Men’s clinic in Oklahoma many years ago and was impressed with his Bible knowledge and ability to quote Scripture from memory. In fact, I had Ed for a revival in Iberia, MO, many years ago. Ed wasn’t much a conversationalist, but he sure read Scripture. Night and day, in our home, he would read the New Testament, over and over.
Ed said, "When I first attended Bible college the other students in the same class were somewhat surprised at my familiarity with the New Testament. This was no great mystery as far as I was concerned because in the 10-month period prior to going to Bible college I prepared myself by reading the New Testament through fifteen times."
Ed said, "If you will read the New Testament fifteen times in less than a year, you will have a familiarity with the Word that you never had before and a familiarity that will amaze you."
Ed went on to say, "Today it is my practice to read the New Testament through each year somewhere around 40 times. My goal is 52 times or once each week, but being lazy by nature I seldom get around to it."
BEING LAZY BY NATURE. Ha! When have any of us ever read the New Testament as much as 40 times in a year, let alone 52 times in a year?!
Ed said, "There is nothing so embarrassing as to have a person ask me where a certain passage is found and for me not to be able to tell them immediately. Until I can identify a phrase instantly anywhere in the New Testament I have not read enough. We need to read the New Testament in great gobs, in large slabs, in huge hunks. No matter how great a servant you become, you will never be as effective as you ought to be until you completely master the Word as far as familiarity is concerned."
Brothers and sisters, obviously, Ed Bousman is a rare bird when it comes to knowing the New Testament and memorizing it. I commend him. I praise him. I think his motives are pure.
However, we must remember is this: The important thing is not how much of the New Testament you have been through or read, it’s how much of it has been through you! How much of it has penetrated your mind and spirit.
Not everyone can be an Ed Bousman, but everyone can study the Word and Sunday School is one great place to do it!
II Tim. 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."
In order to be approved workers in God’s kingdom we must know the Word of God and handle it as correctly as possible. And Sunday School is the place to help us become more acquainted with God’s Word!
II Tim. 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Do you want to be equipped for life? Do you want to be prepared for the troubles of this life? Do you want to be able to do good to others? To bless others? To help others? To minister to others? Then study God’s Word and one great place to do this is in the Sunday School!
CONCLUSION-----------------------------
ILL.- Someone said, "I am your church. Without you I am nothing. If you fail to make an investment in me, I cannot materialize. INVEST IN ME OR I DIE."
Someone else put it this way: If you want the church to go on, THEN GO TO CHURCH." And I might add, Sunday school as well.
The church is people! You are the church! The church as a whole cannot function, grow, minister, evangelize, or educationalize without you! YOU NEED TO BE A CHURCH AND SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDER AND BOOSTER!
