“Great is our Lord and mighty in power…” is from Psalm 147:5. This is a verse my five year old is learning through the Awana program. My older children have all gone through this program, and have had to learn each verse for the Sparks code. P is for power, and this verse fits. However, is it a dumbing down, though the verse does speak of God’s mighty power?
Here’s the “old” verse for P. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” Romans 1:16.
I have this version memorized due to the times I worked with them on the verse and listened to the music. What I notice about this little change (the rest of the code is the same) is that it speaks of the gospel. This gospel of Christ is His good news, and taking this verse out certainly seems odd. I realize it’s a longer verse, and they’re trying to make the verses easier. Sadly, in making things easier, we’re missing out on some of the message they were getting. In fact, it’s quite frustrating to me. Our kids did struggle because I am so busy I don’t work with the younger ones as much as I did, however, even getting what we did (which was all of the verses in SPARKS…but not always all the activities), I found it to be a great way to get the Word in. I hope my little ones don’t miss out on John 1:1-4 and Psalm 23. I will just have to pull out the old Sparks tapes.
I have been working harder to read the Bible out loud in my home. We read Proverbs during the school day, since there are 31 we can have one chapter each day of the month. I want to read through many books. My struggle is the older/younger combination. We were given an easier version of the NIV, but I am so uncomfortable with it and find it dissatisfying to read. My oldest actually likes the KJV, but the younger ones are so lost listening to that. I generally read NASB or NIV. Not sure what version is best for the family. I want to keep the Word of God in our daily life. I also want to teach it correctly so that when they hear error, they will know it.
I am a C...I am a CH...I am a CHRISTIAN 