Isaiah 47:6 English Standard Version (ESV) I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

When older people come to Christ they have been subjected to a number of abuses. Not all abuses are physical. Some of those abuses have gone on for so long that they are not even recognized as abuse. If no one was there to speak the truth, the lie is all they have to listen to in life.

Kingdom learning is all about hearing the truth and allowing the truth to defeat the lies.

Psalm 119:100 English Standard Version (ESV) I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

Those of us that came to Christ as older babes never learned His precepts correctly. We trusted the wrong sources when it came to discovering who God is in character and personality. Not everyone that spreads lies is a demon. Some of them present themselves to be spiritual without the abiding presence.

Matthew 7:21-23 English Standard Version

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

One of the translations of verse 23 indicates that lawlessness means unauthorized works.

It is the indwelling presence that gives voice to truth and reveals the will of God. Without that we walk in darkness.

Correction for misrepresentation of scriptures is only the first step in correction.

Older babes need a clean slate to begin learning truth.

Psalm 12:5 English Standard Version (ESV) “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

The only reason to quote this verse of scripture in relationship to Sunday school is to point out that it is to be a safe place. If safety is found they will continue to come back. Attendance will then accomplish the secondary role of Sunday school.

Yesterday the idea of unpacking our baggage first when entering into the Kingdom was presented.

What is in the bag?

Life experience, influences, joys and abuses.

Hopefully the child has no experience with abuses. The younger the child and the more horrific the abuse, the less likely they will be sharing those experiences. Those babes in Christ need special attention to make them feel secure enough to help them overcome what happened to them. I will not offer up advice on things I am not qualified to handle.

Most of my readership fits into the older babes in Christ. That range might be 15 to 50. I don’t know.

I was 15 when I first discovered God loved me. What I discovered over the years is not what I got from Sunday school as much as what I didn’t get.

A Sunday school that focuses only on teaching the Word will not find the time to help these new disciples unpack their baggage. These older babes in Christ need a safe place to speak up and share what they think and why without feeling judged by everyone. The quiet ones need to share more than anyone else.

The quiet ones need someone to come alongside of them and explore why they do not feel safe.

I never got that and it was what I needed most during my early years.

The older babes in Christ have the most baggage to unpack.