Discipleland, the publisher of our Sunday School curriculum, wrote this document to help you understand their values and beliefs which provide the basis for the lessons your children learn in Sunday Morning. Read on if you are interested in their perspective on "What Children Need."

Other articles from Discipleland:

 How To Disciple Your Child
 Parents Version: What Kids Need  

Edify, Encourage, Equip. Those three words are the mission statement of Colonial’s library; Sharon Fitzpatrick and a friend painted them over the circulation desk so that no one would ever forget. For almost a decade, Sharon invested countless hours into the library, making it an inviting place where anyone would feel welcome to come and choose from a premier selection of Christian resources—leaving a legacy that will be long-remembered.

Last week, Sharon and her husband, Pat, moved their family back to Sharon’s home state, Pennsylvania. Pat has accepted a position there as Head of School at a private Christian school located in Bucks County, PA, north of Philadelphia. “I don’t know what God has for me next,” said Sharon. “But, I know He will use what He’s grown in me [during my years working in Colonial’s library].” Pastor Scott Wylie who is responsible for the library is sure she will be missed. “Her desire to share Christ by providing an atmosphere where people can enjoy Truth through literature and media was most easily seen in her oversight of the new, expanded library and her efforts to computerize the checkout procedures. Sharon was always looking for ways to create an enjoyable library experience for volunteers and patrons.”

This is a guest article from Cathy Cole

You’ve watched Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown with your kids and cringed at the obvious evolutionary overtones.  You want to counter this message with Biblical truth, but don’t know how to use Scripture to explain the Ice Age.  Would it surprise you to know that the Bible does provide the recipe for the Ice Age?

The key to understanding the Ice Age is found by studying Noah’s Flood.  Genesis 7:11 says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.”  (NAS) Other translations render this phrase:

·       the fountains of the great deep were broken up and burst forth (Amplified)

·       the water under the earth started gushing out everywhere (CEV)

·       all the sources of the watery depths burst open (Holman)

At the beginning of the Flood hot water “burst” from the earth’s crust and flowed into the oceans.  More “breaking” and “bursting” came in the form of extensive volcanic activity.  Hot lava from volcanoes erupting under the sea also heated the ocean water. Warmer oceans led to increased levels of evaporation which put more water vapor into the atmosphere resulting in increased precipitation.  If we were writing a recipe for an ice age, warm ocean waters would be an essential ingredient.

During and after the Flood, volcanic eruptions blasted huge amounts of ash and dust into the atmosphere.  This ash and dust reflected both sunlight and warmth back into space resulting in cooler temperatures, especially at the poles and higher latitudes. These cooler temperatures are another essential ingredient for creating an ice age.  A cycle of heavy snowfall in the winter with limited or no melting during the cooler-than-average summer resulted in an accumulation of ice that continued to grow and expand until 30% of the earth’s land surfaces were covered in ice.

After the Flood, it took time for the oceans to cool down and reduce the levels of evaporation and precipitation.  Likewise, it took time for the volcanic dust to dissipate.  As the atmosphere cleared, temperatures rose and ice sheets began to melt and retreat.  Creation scientists have estimated that the total time for this post-Flood Ice Age was 700 years; 500 years of building up the ice and 200 years of melting.

The people documented in the Bible lived in the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea; an area not directly impacted by the Ice Age.  Understandably the Ice Age is not mentioned specifically in Scripture.  Noah’s Flood provides a mechanism for generating both warmer ocean water and cooler temperatures.  As a result, it is a logical consequence of the Flood.  So next time Ice Age comes on, don’t shudder.  Pull up a chair, watch with your kids, and teach them how it really happened.