By Doug Creamer
Sunday School
Does your church offer Sunday school? I have attended Sunday school since I was a kid. As an adult I have had a number of very good teachers who challenged me to a deeper walk with the Lord. If you aren’t going to Sunday school you are missing an opportunity to learn more on a deeper level and to hear another perspective on faith. I think it also deepens your connection with your classmates.
About three years ago, I was offered the opportunity to team teach the adult Sunday school class at our church. I was both excited and nervous about the opportunity. I thought about all the great teachers I had through the years and wondered how I would measure up. When it is my turn to teach I spend quite a bit of time working to prepare my lesson. Sometimes the ideas come easily, while other times it requires some extra seeking and work to get the lesson together. I enjoy teaching and am glad when it is my turn, but I have to admit I enjoy having breaks and getting to learn myself. I feel lucky because I get to teach and learn.
Last week was my turn and I taught on a day in the life of Jesus. The day I chose was the one when Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood both sought help from Jesus. The story begins with Jesus teaching a large crowd and Jairus comes before him and asks Jesus from his knees to come and lay his hands on his daughter, who was close to death. Jesus agrees to go.
Can you imagine what it took for Jairus to come and humble himself before Jesus? His colleagues didn’t think highly or believe in Jesus. Jairus could have lost his job and his social standing for what he did. Why risk it? His daughter was close to death and he had probably tried everything. In that day about half the children born never saw their fifteenth birthday. Children often died of diseases, infections, or hunger. Jairus knew the clock was ticking if he had any hope of saving her.
Jesus agrees to go along but is interrupted on the way by the second person in the story, the woman with the issue of blood. If you work in the medical field or the public schools, you are very familiar with bloodborne pathogens. We had to listen to lectures, watch videos, and pass a test annually at school. In Jesus’ day, people were considered unclean in her situation. She would have been isolated without family and friends because of her condition.
She believed if she touched Jesus’ garment she would be healed. Note that she didn’t want to touch him because that would make him unclean. Her faith caused a surge of power from Jesus. He turned around and called her out of the crowd. I don’t think he intended to embarrass her; He wanted to restore her to the community. She was clean! I wonder if we make people feel unclean and unable to attend church. Our churches should be hospitals where the broken and spiritually sick can find healing and restoration.
Meanwhile, the little girl dies. Jesus tells Jairus to believe. I am sure Jairus struggled because he had not seen anyone raised from the dead. The Bible says the parents were astonished when their daughter got up and walked around. I imagine they were. Why didn’t Jesus want them to tell everyone what happened? He would have been mobbed by other families in similar situations. But word of her resurrection would eventually get out.
What did these two people have in common? Faith, trust, desperation, hope, and a willingness to humble themselves before the Lord. They exposed their broken hearts to the Lord and He healed and restored them. Then they both had overwhelming gratitude to Jesus for their miracles. Jesus saw them. Jesus met them at their greatest point of need. They took steps of faith. Jesus honored their faith.
I want to encourage you to stir up your faith and seek God for the things you deeply desire. If you ask for expensive houses and boats, don’t expect an answer. If, however, you are asking for a touch of the Master’s hand, I believe the Lord will hear your prayers and answer your call for help. He is a Good Father, a compassionate Savior, and a faithful friend. He wants to bless you with good things. There is much to learn in Sunday school. Knowing that God is a rewarder of those with faith is only one of them.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
