Purpose and Core Values
Our classes seek to equip our congregation with the Gospel-centered worldview and skills necessary to grow in fellowship with God, in community with one another and in service to our county.
We believe that transformation occurs through a deepening awareness and application of the gospel that transforms the entire person, producing intellectual, affective and practical fruit. Our goal is not simply more information, but deeper transformation in Christ.
Our lives are to be lived in mission, whether in renewing the world around us, serving others, or bolder witness. We hope to equip people at Second Street that they might engage the world with greater effectiveness, courage and hope. (Tim Keller)
Current Classes Offered: (click on the book images for more info)
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Description
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Study
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Teacher
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Description
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| Adults 1 |
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J. Hager &
G. Levine
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A study on the life of Christ. |
| Adults 2 |
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J. Black
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Knowing Scripture - Hermeneutics (Herman Who?) - A class in how to study the Bible using Second Timothy as an example.
Click here for the ESV Bible link.
Click here for week one and two materials.
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| Senior High |
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A. Black |
Great Commission Publications
Theme: KNOWING THE GOD WHO IS.
God's relationship to us.
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| Junior High |
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M. Medlin |
Great Commission Publications
Theme: PROMISES, PROMISES.
All about the covenant.
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| Elementary |
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N. Napier |
Theme: GOD'S GRACE IN THE LAW.
Applying the Ten Commandments—a study in Exodus.
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| Pre-School |
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E. Wilson |
GOD LEADS HIS PEOPLE.
God's thrilling rescue of Israel from Egypt and how the Old Testament points to the Savior.
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ARTICLES
• Disciple-Making with a Difference by Thomas R. Patete. What makes a Sunday school curriculum Reformed? Is it the biblical content or the teaching methods employed or the way lessons are illustrated? Certainly these elements are driven by and reflect the publisher's theological standards. But it goes much deeper for us here at Great Commission Publications . . . Read more . . .
• Distinctives that Make a Difference: A God-ward Focus by Rev. G. I. Williamson. When Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 3:3 NKJV), he described each one of them as "an epistle of Christ ... written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God." This means that every Christian life has a story to tell and the story is written by God . . . Read more . . .
• Distinctives that Make a Difference: Show Me Jesus by Dr. Edmund P. Clowney. Sunday school teaching at large has remained trapped in moralism. Instead of teaching Bible stories in the context of the whole Bible story, many curricula aim at enforcing good behavior. Bible characters are studied as models for telling children to be good or as warnings not to be bad. Sunday school has neglected to teach the way of salvation from the Bible . . . Read more . . .
• Distinctives that Make a Difference: The Whole Counsel of God by Dr. Edmund P. Clowney. Children love stories. Jesus loved stories too, and told them often. Yet he was never just a storyteller. Jesus, the Son of God, knew the whole story, the story of God’s plan to deliver sinners . . . Read more . . .
• Distinctives that Make a Difference: The Home Link by Dr. Curry. Kids belong in Sunday school and in homes. So it may not be a stretch for us to think home and Sunday school go together. There are better reasons for this connection. The Bible clearly makes parents responsible to teach their children but also calls for the church to play a role . . . Read more . . .
Distinctives that Make a Difference: God's Covenant of Grace
by Dr. Charles Dunahoo
In First Catechism, question 21 asks children,“What is a sacred covenant?” The answer is, “A relationship that God sets up with us and guarantees by his word.” This encompasses the requirements, promises and threats contained in the covenant. Covenant is a core biblical truth for us: it shapes our understanding of God, salvation, the church, family and children.
The idea of the covenant is important because it explains how we relate to God and God to us, therefore it is to be a part of our daily lives. When children receive the sacrament of covenant baptism, we promise to teach them what that sign and seal are all about as they grow.
Catechism question 27 asks, “Did Adam keep the covenant of life?” Response: “No—he sinned against God.” If that were the whole story, we would be helplessly and hopelessly lost. However, the rest of this story is that Christ kept the covenant for us, enabling those who trust him to obey and follow him. When we do, we have eternal life, not just the promise but the reality beginning here and now.
We want our children to know that God has made a way for sinners to relate to him as a holy God. Before the fall, man’s perfect obedience was required. But man failed and his relationship with God was broken. After the fall, God’s covenantal system continued under a new order—by his grace, not by our works.
We want children of every age to understand that Christ loved us and kept the covenant on behalf of his children, and as a result God’s people are saved forever. Genesis 3:15 begins to unfold the story of the covenant of grace—a beautiful tapestry that runs throughout Scriptures. It reminds us that we relate to God by his terms and design.
The unifying theme of the Bible is the unfolding of covenant history. In the GCP curriculum, we build on that theme so young lives will be rooted in the covenant of grace. It is essential in discipling children—showing them who God is and how to be his children.
Dr. Charles Dunahoo pastored churches in Alabama and Georgia before being called to his present position as Coordinator for the PCA Committee for Christian Education and Publications. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary.
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