Youth Sunday School (the Trinity)

Hey parents!

This month for the Youth Sunday school class we have been learning about the Trinity. This is perhaps the toughest topic we will be covering this year because of our limited understanding of the concept of a Trinitarian God. Please spend some time talking to your teen about what they have been learning and the questions they will inevitably had.

Students have been encouraged not to feel defeated if they have trouble understanding the Trinity. As humans, our comprehension of God's character is limited for a good reason - we aren't even CLOSE to being as knowledgeable or wonderful as our Creator!

In these lessons, we have been going over the following concepts:

• The three major heretical teachings of the concept: Modalism (God takes turns being each member of the Trinity), Arianism (God created Jesus and the Holy Spirit as 'high beings' that are not part of the Trinity), and Tritheism (each member of the Trinity is completely separate, meaning that God is not one). Most of the analogies we come up with to explain the Trinity actually describe Tritheism.
• The 3 Biblical truths about the Trinity: 1) God is one, 2) God is three persons (Father, Spirit, Son) 3) each of these three persons is distinct. This is where many students had questions and were confused - rightly so, but it's worth discussing even further!
• Evidence of the Trinity in the Old Testament (e.g. in creation, the Angel of the Lord, passage references, prophecies pointing to Jesus)
• Evidence of the Trinity in the New Testament (e.g. Jesus' conception, baptism, claims about God, 'insight' into heaven, the Great Commission, etc.)
• The character of God (the ideal and perfect community, the example we must follow, all three members have the same character, etc.)
• Practical implications for our lives (to follow the model set for us - we brainstormed what a perfect world would be like and discussed how all of the characteristics were God's characteristics. We can follow him by being humble, loving, worshipful, have healthy relationships, be submissive to God's will, value the diversity and unity in the church body, and live joyfully).

This coming Sunday is a combined class with iConnect and the lesson will be topical. The following week, we will wrap up this mini-unit with a lesson about the Holy Spirit.

If you would like to do some further reading, I suggest Doctrine by Mark Driscoll. Our lessons were heavily influenced by his chapter on the Trinity - the book reads like a novel, but it's theology! It also has tons of Biblical references (no claims are made without evidence from Scripture) and discussion questions.

A few questions to bring up with your child are:

• How can we distinguish God from the countless false gods in our world and the Bible?
• What does the Trinitarian nature of God reveal about Him?
• Why is a right understanding of the Trinity essential to our faith?
• Which of the three doctrinal errors are you most familiar with or wrestle with personally?
• Which of the practical implications for our lives is most significant for you and why?