Elimu ya Kikristo — Sehemu ya 1: Kwa Nini Elimu ya Kikristo?Christian Education — Unit 1: Why Christian Education?

Mvulana mmoja aliamriwa na baba yake aache kusoma Biblia yake. Aliificha pembeni na kuendelea kuisoma licha ya upinzani wa baba yake. Siku moja baba yake alimkuta akisoma Biblia, akainyakua na kuitupa motoni. Lakini baba aligundua kwamba mvulana alikuwa akitabasamu. Akamwuliza, "Mbona unatabasamu?" Mvulana akajibu, "Ah, nilikuwa nikiwaza tu kwamba huwezi kuchoma hiki kilicho humu ndani," akaonyesha moyo wake.A boy was ordered by his father to quit reading his Bible. He slipped it aside and read it despite his father's objections. One day the father caught him reading the Bible and snatched it away and threw it into the fire. The father noticed, however, that the boy was smiling. He said to him, "Why are you smiling?" The boy answered, "Why, I was just thinking that you cannot burn this in here," and he pointed to his heart.

Hapo ndipo Elimu ya Kikristo huhifadhi hazina yake. Si juu ya rafu ambapo baba mwenye uadui anaweza kuiona. Si ndani ya jalada la mtaala ambapo mwanafunzi asiye makini ataipoteza. Bali moyoni, ambapo Roho Mtakatifu huiweka na ambapo moto wa majaribu hauwezi kuifikia. Kusudi zima la Elimu ya Kikristo ni kuliweka Neno la Mungu ndani ya mioyo ya wanafunzi kwa namna ambayo ulimwengu hautaweza kamwe kulitoa tena.That is the place where Christian Education stores its treasure. Not on a shelf where a hostile father can find it. Not in a curriculum binder where a distracted student will lose it. In the heart, where the Holy Spirit places it and where the fire of trial cannot reach it. The whole purpose of Christian Education is to put the Word of God into the hearts of learners in such a way that the world can never take it out again.

Tangu utoto umeyajua maandiko matakatifu.From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures.

Karibu katika kozi ya Elimu ya Kikristo ya Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala. Kozi hii imejengwa juu ya imani moja rahisi: kanisa la mahali lina huduma ya kufundisha iliyo ya kale kama nyumba ya Agano la Kale, ya haraka kama Agizo Kuu, na yenye matokeo kama hubiri lolote lililowahi kuhubiriwa. Wachungaji huhubiri. Walimu hufundisha. Hao wawili hawashindani; wanashirikiana. Mimbari na darasa ni mapafu mawili ya kanisa la mahali, na kanisa linalopumua kwa pafu moja tu huishiwa pumzi katika kila jambo linalofanya.Welcome to the Christian Education course at Chapala Theological Seminary. This course is built on a simple conviction: the local church has a teaching ministry as old as the Old Testament home, as urgent as the Great Commission, and as effective as any sermon ever preached. Pastors preach. Teachers teach. The two are not in competition; they are in partnership. The pulpit and the classroom are the two lungs of the local church, and a church that breathes only with one of them is short of breath in everything it does.

Unasoma kozi iliyoandikwa kwa sauti mbili. Kitabu cha kiada cha lugha mbili, ambacho kiini cha kozi hii kimetolewa humo, kilichapishwa mwaka 1993 kwa jina la waandishi "na Dkt. Wayne Cook, Profesa wa Uhubiri, pamoja na Andi Cook." Andi alikuwa mke wangu. Utaalamu wake ulikuwa Elimu ya Kikristo, na sehemu kubwa ya utakayosoma kuanzia Sehemu ya 2 na kuendelea ni kazi yake. Mafunzo yake yalijumuisha Shahada ya Uzamili ya Elimu ya Kidini kutoka Seminari ya Kitheolojia ya Kibaptisti ya New Orleans na mitihani ya mdomo iliyokamilika kwa ajili ya Shahada ya Uzamivu ya Elimu kutoka chuo hicho hicho. Alifanya kazi kama mwandishi wa habari wa gazeti la Bogalusa Daily News. Alitoa mahubiri ya watoto katika kanisa letu kwa miaka mingi. Aliandika kazi kumi za hadithi za kubuni zinazotokana na Biblia. Ufundishaji katika kozi hii ni wake; mpangilio wa sehemu hii ya ufunguzi ni wangu; imani iliyo chini ya yote mawili ni ya Bwana aliyemwambia Timotheo akumbuke maandiko matakatifu tangu utoto.You are reading a course that was written by two voices. The bilingual textbook from which the heart of this course is drawn was published in 1993 under the byline "by Dr. Wayne Cook, Professor of Preaching, with Andi Cook." Andi was my wife. Her specialty was Christian Education, and most of what you will read from Unit 2 forward is her work. Her training included the Master of Religious Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the completed oral examinations for the Doctor of Education from the same school. She served as a journalist for the Bogalusa Daily News. She delivered children's sermons in our church for many years. She wrote ten works of biblical fiction. The pedagogy in this course is hers; the framing of this opening unit is mine; the conviction underneath both belongs to the Lord who told Timothy to remember from a child the holy scriptures.

Sehemu hii ni sehemu ya msingi. Sehemu tisa zinazofuata zitatoka kwenye mwalimu ni nani (S2) hadi Yesu kielelezo chako (S3), wanafunzi (S4), mazingira ya kujifunzia (S5), malengo ya kufundisha na mpango wa somo (S6), mbinu na mikakati (S7), swali, uchunguzi wa kisa, na kujifunza kwa uzoefu (S8), shughuli za kujifunza Biblia (S9), na sehemu ya kilele kuhusu hubiri la watoto (S10). Sehemu zote kumi zinashiriki imani ile ile ambayo Paulo alimwandikia Timotheo: kwamba Maandiko Matakatifu yanafundishika, ni matakatifu, yanaweza kuongoza kwenye wokovu, yamevuviwa na Mungu, na yanafaa kwa kila sehemu ya maisha ya mwanadamu. Sehemu hii inachukua kweli hizo tano kuhusu Maandiko na kuzitumia kama sababu tano za kuwepo kwa Elimu ya Kikristo.

Maelezo ya Uhariri ya CTS (2026): Elimu ya Kikristo ni zaidi ya kumaliza muhtasari wa masomo. Wanafunzi wanapaswa kuweza kueleza kifungu kinasema nini, kueleza ujumbe wake mkuu, na kueleza jinsi kinavyohusika na maisha. Darasa linaweza kuwa kanisani, nyumbani, au mkusanyiko wa nje; lengo linabaki kuwa ufahamu mwaminifu na malezi ya Kikristo. Waombe wanafunzi waeleze kweli kuu kwa maneno yao wenyewe na kutaja kifungu kinachoiunga mkono. Majibu yao humsaidia mwalimu kuona kile kilichojifunzwa kwa kweli.This unit is a foundation unit. The next nine units will move from who is the teacher (U2) through Jesus your model (U3), the learners (U4), the learning environment (U5), teaching aims and the lesson plan (U6), methods and strategies (U7), question, case study, and experiential study (U8), Bible learning activities (U9), and the capstone unit on the children's sermon (U10). All ten units share the same conviction Paul wrote to Timothy: that the Holy Scriptures are teachable, holy, able to lead to salvation, inspired by God, and profitable for every part of human life. This unit takes those five facts about the Scripture and uses them as the five reasons Christian Education exists.

CTS Editorial Note (2026): Christian education is more than finishing a syllabus. Learners should be able to tell what a passage says, explain its central message, and describe how it applies to life. The classroom may be a church, a home, or an outdoor gathering; the aim remains faithful understanding and Christian formation. Ask students to restate a central truth in their own words and identify a passage supporting it. Their answers help the teacher see what has actually been learned.

Paulo anamwandikia Timotheo, "na ya kuwa tangu utoto umeyajua maandiko matakatifu" (2 Timotheo 3:15). Kwa upande wa mama yake Timotheo alikuwa Myahudi; baba yake alikuwa Myunani. Tangu siku zake za kwanza kabisa Timotheo alifundishwa kulijua Neno la Mungu na mama yake Eunike na bibi yake Loisi. Wayahudi walijitahidi kuichora sheria katika akili za watoto wao kiasi kwamba wangesahau majina yao wenyewe kabla ya kusahau sheria ya Mungu.Paul writes to Timothy, "and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:15). On his mother's side Timothy was a Jew; his father had been a Greek. From his earliest days Timothy was trained to know God's Word by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. The Jews tried to so imprint the law on the mind of their children that they would sooner forget their own names than the law of God.

Imani hiyo ndiyo imani ya msingi ya Elimu ya Kikristo. Biblia inafundishika. Inaweza kufundishwa kwa watoto. Inaweza kufundishwa kwa vijana. Inaweza kufundishwa kwa watu wazima. Inaweza kufundishwa kwa wazee. Inaweza kufundishwa katika umri wowote na katika kiwango chochote. Mtoto wa kawaida kabisa wa miaka mitano anaweza kuishika kweli kwamba Mungu ananipenda, na msomi mkongwe kuliko wote anaweza kutumia maisha yake yote akiifunua. Wote wawili wanafanya jambo lile lile: wanapokea kile ambacho Roho Mtakatifu hufundisha kupitia Kitabu kile kile.That conviction is the founding conviction of Christian Education. The Bible is teachable. It can be taught to children. It can be taught to teenagers. It can be taught to adults. It can be taught to the elderly. It can be taught at any age and at any level. The simplest five-year-old can grasp the truth that God loves me, and the most senior scholar can spend a lifetime unfolding it. Both are doing the same thing: receiving what the Holy Spirit teaches through the same Book.

Sisi kama wazazi tuna wajibu wa kuwafundisha watoto wetu habari za Mungu kwa namna ile ile ambayo Eunike na Loisi walimfundisha Timotheo. Ushawishi wetu ni mkubwa, iwe kwa mema au kwa mabaya. Katika nyumba ambamo wazazi huwasomea watoto Biblia na ni washiriki wa kanisa, ni jambo la kawaida kabisa kwa watoto kuwa kanisani. Mithali inasema hapa kwa sauti ya hekima ya jumla badala ya hakikisho lisilovunjika: "Mlee mtoto katika njia impasayo, naye hataiacha, hata atakapokuwa mzee" (Mithali 22:6) inaeleza mwenendo wa kawaida wa maisha yaliyolelewa vyema, si kanuni inayoondoa mapenzi ya mtoto mwenyewe. Baadhi ya watoto waliolelewa na wazazi waaminifu wanaomcha Mungu huondoka kwa muda au kabisa, na hilo linapotokea halimaanishi moja kwa moja kwamba wazazi walishindwa. Hata hivyo, mwenendo ambao mithali hiyo inautaja ni halisi na unastahili kufuatiliwa kwa kila kitu alicho nacho mzazi: malezi ya mapema na ya uaminifu huunda maisha, na hata mtoto anayetangatanga mbali mara nyingi hubeba dai la Mungu juu yake kwa siku zake zote zilizobaki.We as parents have a responsibility to teach our children about God in the same way Eunice and Lois taught Timothy. Our influence is great whether for good or for bad. In a home where the parents read the Bible to the children and are members of the church, it is a very natural thing for the children to be in church. Proverbs speaks here in the register of general wisdom rather than an ironclad guarantee: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6) describes the normal pattern of a life well-trained, not a formula that removes a child's own will. Some children raised by faithful, godly parents do walk away for a season or for good, and when that happens it does not automatically mean the parents failed. Still, the pattern the proverb names is real and worth pursuing with everything a parent has: early, faithful training shapes a life, and even a child who wanders far often carries God's claim on him for the rest of his days.

Charles L. Allen akiwa na miaka mitanoCharles L. Allen at five years old

Charles L. Allen, mhubiri mkuu wa Kimethodisti, alisema alikuwa na miaka mitano alipokwenda mbele wakati wa mwaliko. Wengine wangesema alikuwa mdogo mno. Allen alijibu, "Haukuwa umri mdogo mno kwangu." Alitaka kuishi kama Yesu kwa kadiri alivyoweza na alijitoa Kwake kwa namna bora aliyoijua. Kumbuka kwamba Yesu alisema, "Waacheni watoto wadogo waje kwangu, msiwazuie, kwa maana walio mfano wa hawa ufalme wa Mungu ni wao" (Marko 10:14). Umri wa miaka mitano au sita unaweza kuwa mapema mno kwa wengi, lakini idadi kubwa sana ya waamini leo walifanya maamuzi ya kumfuata Kristo kufikia miaka yao ya mwanzo ya ujana au kabla ya hapo.Charles L. Allen, the great Methodist preacher, said he was five years old when he went forward on the invitation. Some would say he was too young. Allen replied, "It was not too young for me." He wanted to live like Jesus as nearly as he could and was dedicated to Him the best that he knew. Remember that Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14). The ages of five or six might be too early for most, but the vast majority of believers today made decisions for Christ by their early teens or before.

Hii ndiyo sababu Elimu ya Kikristo ni muhimu. Mtoto aliyeyajua Maandiko akiwa na umri mdogo atakuwa tayari Mungu atakapomwita. Mwalimu anayemfundisha mtoto wa miaka minne katika Shule ya Jumapili huenda anapanda mbegu itakayookoa maisha miaka arobaini baadaye katika chumba cha hospitali au katika chumba cha gereza au katika uwanja wa vita. Somo halipotei bure. Somo ndilo mbegu. Elimu ya Kikristo ipo kwa sababu Maandiko yanafundishika tangu utotoni hadi kaburini, na kwa sababu kila umri ulio katikati ni uwanja halali kwa Roho wa Mungu.This is why Christian Education matters. The child who has known the Scriptures at an early age is going to be ready when God calls. The teacher who teaches a four-year-old in Sunday school may be planting a seed that will save a life forty years later in a hospital room or a prison cell or a battlefield. The lesson is not wasted. The lesson is the seed. Christian Education exists because the Scriptures are teachable from the cradle to the grave, and because every age in between is fair game for the Spirit of God.

Paulo anamwambia Timotheo kwamba ameyajua maandiko matakatifu. Tafsiri ya neno kwa neno ya msemo huo ni maandishi matakatifu (au herufi takatifu). Hilo linadokeza kwamba Timotheo mdogo alijifunza alfabeti ya Kiebrania kwa kutamka herufi kupitia Agano la Kale. Neno takatifu linamaanisha tofauti, lililotengwa. Biblia ni tofauti na kila kitabu kingine, hata na vitabu vinavyoizungumzia Biblia, kwa sababu imetengwa na Mungu.Paul tells Timothy he has known the holy Scriptures. A literal translation of the phrase is sacred letters. The suggestion is that young Timothy learned his Hebrew alphabet by spelling his way through the Old Testament. The word holy means different, set apart. The Bible is different from every other book, even from books about the Bible, because it has been set apart by God.

Hii ndiyo sababu ya pili ya kuwepo kwa Elimu ya Kikristo. Kitabu tunachokifundisha si kitabu kimoja tu kizuri kati ya vitabu vingi vizuri. Ndicho Kitabu kimoja kinachostahimili kila juhudi ya kukiangamiza. Historia ya upinzani dhidi ya Biblia ni ndefu, lakini mfano mmoja maarufu unaeleza habari yote.This is the second reason Christian Education exists. The book we are teaching is not just one good book among many good books. It is the one Book that survives every effort to destroy it. The history of opposition to the Bible is long, but a single famous example tells the story.

Nyumba ya VoltaireVoltaire's house

Voltaire alikuwa mtu wa akili za ucheshi na kejeli aliyesifiwa kuliko wote katika karne yake, mtu ambaye kalamu yake ilifikia kila nyumba ya watu wanaojua kusoma huko Ulaya. Kwa kawaida ananukuliwa kuwa alitabiri kwamba Biblia ingesahauliwa hivi karibuni na kutupwa katika jalala la historia, ingawa maneno kamili yanayohusishwa naye kwa kawaida hayawezi kufuatiliwa kwa uhakika hadi kwenye maandishi yake mwenyewe. Kilichothibitishwa kwa maandishi ni hiki: ndani ya miongo michache baada ya kifo chake, nyumba yake ya zamani huko Geneva ilikuja kutumika, kwa sehemu, kuhifadhi Biblia zilizosambazwa na chama cha Biblia cha Kiinjili. Kuna hubiri katika mpangilio huo. Wanaoichukia Biblia huja na kwenda, pamoja na akili zao zote na ushawishi wao wote. Biblia yenyewe inadumu kuliko wao.Voltaire was the most celebrated wit of his century, a man whose pen reached every literate household in Europe. He is widely quoted as having predicted that the Bible would soon be forgotten and consigned to history's dustbin, though the precise wording commonly attributed to him cannot be traced with certainty to his own writings. What is documented is this: within decades of his death, his former home in Geneva came to be used, in part, to store Bibles distributed by an evangelical Bible society. There is a sermon in that arrangement. The haters of the Bible come and go, with all their wit and all their reach. The Bible itself outlasts them.

"Majani yakauka, ua lanyauka; bali neno la Mungu wetu litasimama milele." (Isaya 40:8)"The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever." (Isaiah 40:8)

Kwa nini jambo hili ni muhimu katika darasa la Shule ya JumapiliWhy this matters in the Sunday school classroom

Kila mtaala mwingine ambao mwalimu anaweza kuutumia utabadilishwa. Kitabu cha kusoma katika shule ya mtoto wako kitarekebishwa baada ya miaka mitano na kutupwa baada ya miaka kumi. Kitabu cha sayansi kitapitwa na wakati kabla mtoto wako hajamaliza shule ya sekondari. Kitabu cha historia kitaandikwa upya kadiri vizazi vipya vinavyoandika upya mapendeleo yao. Hakuna kimoja kati ya vitabu hivyo ambacho ni kibaya chenyewe; ni kwamba tu si vitakatifu. Havijatengwa kwa ajili ya Mungu. Vinaharibika.Every other curriculum a teacher might use is going to be replaced. The reading textbook in your child's school will be revised in five years and discarded in ten. The science textbook will be obsolete before your child finishes high school. The history textbook will be rewritten as new generations rewrite their preferences. None of those textbooks is bad in itself; they are just not holy. They are not set apart. They are perishable.

Biblia ndicho kitabu kimoja cha kiada ambacho mwalimu hatalazimika kamwe kukiombea radhi baada ya miaka ishirini. Ujumbe wake mwaka 2046 utakuwa ujumbe ule ule uliokuwa nao mwaka 46 B.K. Paulo alipomwandikia Timotheo. Mwalimu Mkristo hufanya kazi na nyenzo pekee katika shughuli nzima ya elimu ambayo imehakikishiwa kudumu kuliko mwanafunzi wake. Jambo hilo huipa kazi yetu uzito na udumifu ambao darasa la kidunia haliwezi kuulinganisha.The Bible is the one textbook a teacher will never have to apologize for in twenty years. Its message in 2046 will be the message it had in 46 AD when Paul wrote to Timothy. The Christian teacher works with the only material in the entire educational enterprise that is guaranteed to outlast its student. That gives our work a weight and a permanence that the secular classroom cannot match.

Paulo anasema Maandiko "yaweza kukuhekimisha hata upate wokovu kwa imani iliyo katika Kristo Yesu" (2 Timotheo 3:15). Angalia kwa makini kile Paulo anachosema na kile asichosema. Hasemi kwamba Biblia inaokoa. Biblia si kitabu cha uchawi ambacho tunakigusa ili tuponywe au tunakiweka juu ya rafu ili kufukuza pepo wabaya. Hata hasemi kwamba kuiamini Biblia kunaokoa. Shetani anaijua Biblia sura kwa sura na mstari kwa mstari, na Shetani hajaokoka.Paul says the Scriptures "are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). Notice carefully what Paul does and does not say. He does not say the Bible saves. The Bible is not a magical book that we touch to be healed or that we keep on a shelf to ward off evil spirits. He does not even say believing the Bible saves. Satan knows the Bible chapter and verse, and Satan is not saved.

Biblia inaongoza kwenye wokovu. Wokovu wenyewe huja kwa imani katika Kristo ambaye Biblia inamfunua. Timotheo alilelewa kwa Maandiko Matakatifu katika nyumba ya kumcha Mungu. Hata hivyo haikuwa mpaka Paulo alipomwongoza kwa Kristo ndipo Timotheo alipookoka yeye binafsi. Kazi ya mwalimu Mkristo ni kuwa Paulo anayemwongoza Timotheo kutoka kwenye Maandiko hadi kwa Kristo. Maandiko ni daraja; Kristo ndiye mwisho wa safari.The Bible leads to salvation. Salvation itself comes through faith in the Christ whom the Bible reveals. Timothy was raised on the Holy Scriptures in a godly home. Yet it was not until Paul led him to Christ that Timothy was personally saved. The Christian teacher's job is to be the Paul who leads the Timothy from the Scripture to the Christ. The Scripture is the bridge; Christ is the destination.

Maandiko hufanyaje kazi hii ya kuongoza? Si kwa mabishano na si kwa burudani, bali kwa kujiweka kimya kimya katika njia ya msomaji mnyoofu na kungoja. Neno la Mungu, likishaingia mkononi au kwenye ukurasa uliofunguliwa mbele ya akili iliyo tayari, lina njia yake lenyewe ya kufanya kazi. Hadithi moja rahisi inaonyesha jambo hili.How does the Scripture do this leading? Not by argument and not by entertainment, but by quietly placing itself in the path of an honest reader and waiting. The Word of God, once it gets into a hand or onto a page open before a willing mind, has its own way of working. One simple story makes the point.

Mwokotaji wa ufukweni huko ChileA Chilean beachcomber

Mtu mmoja huko Chile alikuwa akitembea kando ya ufuko wa bahari katika siku zilizofuata tetemeko la ardhi na wimbi kubwa la bahari (tsunami). Wimbi hilo lilikuwa limesomba kila aina ya takataka hadi ufukweni — mbao, mabaki ya vitu vilivyovunjika, vyombo vya nyumbani. Katikati ya takataka hizo aliona kurasa chache zilizolowa za kitabu fulani. Aliziokota kwa udadisi, akazikausha, akazisoma.A man in Chile was walking along the seashore in the days following an earthquake and a tidal wave. The wave had washed all kinds of debris up onto the beach — lumber, wreckage, household objects. Among the debris he found a few wet pages of a book. He picked them up out of curiosity, dried them, and read them.

Alichosoma kilimsumbua. Alizisoma tena. Hakuweza kupumzika mpaka alipopata Biblia nzima ambayo kurasa hizo chache zilitoka humo. Aliisoma yote. Si tu kwamba akawa Mkristo, bali pia alijitoa maisha yake yote yaliyobaki kusambaza Maandiko katika vijiji vilivyosahaulika vya kaskazini mwa Chile. Kurasa zile chache za ufukweni zikawa huduma ya maisha yote kwa watu ambao hakuna shirika la wamisionari ambalo lingewafikia.What he read troubled him. He read them again. He could not rest until he had obtained the rest of the Bible from which those few pages had come. He read the whole of it. Not only did he become a Christian, but he devoted the rest of his life to distributing the Scriptures in the forgotten villages of northern Chile. The few pages on the beach became a lifetime of ministry to people whom no missionary society would have reached.

Angalia njia hiyo. Wimbi liliweka Neno njiani mwake; Neno likafanya yaliyobaki. Hakukuwa na mmisionari. Hakuna kijitabu cha injili kilichokuwa kimepelekwa kwa makusudi. Roho wa Mungu alitumia tu kurasa chache zilizolowa kwenye ufukwe wa Chile kumtoa mtu kutoka kwenye udadisi wa bure hadi kwenye huduma ya maisha yote. Hiyo ndiyo aina ya kazi ambayo darasa la Elimu ya Kikristo linaifanya. Mwalimu hulitoa Neno, wiki baada ya wiki, somo baada ya somo, na Neno hufanya kazi yake lenyewe katika moyo wa mwanafunzi. Mwalimu ndiye wimbi. Roho ndiye Yule anayefungua ukurasa.Notice the path. A wave placed the Word in his way; the Word did the rest. No missionary was present. No tract had been deliberately delivered. The Spirit of God simply used a few wet pages on a Chilean beach to bring a man from idle curiosity to lifelong ministry. That is the kind of work the Christian Education classroom is in. The teacher hands the Word out, week after week, lesson after lesson, and the Word does its own work in the heart of the learner. The teacher is the wave. The Spirit is the One who turns the page.

Paulo anaandika, "Kila andiko, lenye pumzi ya Mungu" (2 Timotheo 3:16). Neno la Kigiriki linalotafsiriwa lenye pumzi ya Mungu (yaani, limevuviwa na Mungu) ni theopneustos — kihalisi limepuliziwa pumzi na Mungu. Ulimwengu umekuwa na vitabu vingi vya kidini ambavyo watu waliamini vimevuviwa. Wagnostiki walikuwa na vitabu vyao vya kubuni. Makundi ya awali yaliyopotoka kimafundisho kama Wamarkioni na Wamontani yalikuwa na maandishi yao. Waislamu wana Kurani. Watakatifu wa Siku za Mwisho (Wamormoni) wana Kitabu cha Mormoni. Lakini vitabu hivyo vyote vimetengenezwa na wanadamu. Vitabu sitini na sita vya Biblia vimepuliziwa pumzi na Mungu.Paul writes, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek word translated given by inspiration of God is theopneustos — literally God-breathed. The world has had many religious books that men believed were inspired. The Gnostics had their own fanciful books. Early heterodox groups like the Marcionites and the Montanists had their own writings. Muslims have the Qur'an. Latter-day Saints have the Book of Mormon. But all those books are man-made. The sixty-six books of the Bible are God-breathed.

Katika 2 Petro 1:21 tunapata habari zaidi kuhusu uvuvio huu. "Maana unabii haukuletwa kamwe kwa mapenzi ya mwanadamu; bali wanadamu walinena yaliyotoka kwa Mungu, wakiongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu." Watu wa Mungu ndio walioandika, lakini Roho Mtakatifu aliwabeba. Petro aliandika kama Petro; Paulo aliandika kama Paulo; Yakobo aliandika kama Yakobo. Kila mtindo ni tofauti, lakini kusudi lile lile la kimungu linasimama nyuma ya yote. Mungu aliweza kumchukua kila mtu na kutumia haiba yake kutimiza makusudi Yake mwenyewe.In 2 Peter 1:21 we find out more about this inspiration. "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Men of God did the writing, but the Holy Spirit carried them along. Peter wrote like Peter; Paul wrote like Paul; James wrote like James. Each style is different, but the same divine purpose stands behind all of them. God could take each man and use his personality to accomplish His own ends.

Hili ndilo linalofanya darasa la Kikristo kuwa tofauti na kila darasa lingine. Mwalimu katika chumba cha Elimu ya Kikristo anafundisha kutoka kwenye kitabu pekee chumbani ambacho hakimdanganyi msomaji wake. Kila sauti nyingine katika maisha ya mwanafunzi — televisheni, wanafunzi wenzake, intaneti, matangazo ya biashara, hata ndugu mwenye nia njema — itapindisha mstari kidogo ili mstari uonekane sawa. Biblia inakataa. Biblia inasema inachosema, na inachosema kinatoka moja kwa moja kwenye pumzi ya Mungu. Mamlaka ya mwalimu mwenyewe ni mamlaka ya kuazima, yaliyo halisi kwa kadiri tu anavyopokeza kwa uaminifu kile ambacho maandiko yenyewe yanasema kwa kweli, si chochote ambacho yeye binafsi angeweza kukitafsiri.This is what makes the Christian classroom different from every other classroom. The teacher in the Christian Education room is teaching from the only book in the room that does not deceive its reader. Every other voice in the student's life — television, schoolmates, internet, advertising, even the well-meaning relative — is going to bend the line a little to make the line look right. The Bible refuses. The Bible says what it says, and what it says is straight from the breath of God. The teacher's own authority is a borrowed authority, real only insofar as he faithfully hands on what the text itself actually says, not whatever he might personally make of it.

Hii ndiyo sababu mwalimu Mkristo hahitaji kuomba radhi kwa ajili ya mamlaka yaliyomo chumbani. Hatueneza maoni. Hatuuzi mtazamo. Tunafungua gombo ambalo Roho Mtakatifu aliliamuru liandikwe na ambalo karne kumi na tisa za waamini wamelijaribu. Tunapoliambia darasa, "Hivi ndivyo Biblia inavyosema," tunasema jambo ambalo mwalimu wa kidunia hawezi kulisema kuhusu kitabu chochote cha kiada katika jengo hilo. Mamlaka ya chumba si sisi. Mamlaka ya chumba ni pumzi ya Mungu.This is why the Christian teacher does not need to apologize for the authority in the room. We are not propagating an opinion. We are not selling a perspective. We are unrolling a scroll that the Holy Spirit dictated and that nineteen centuries of believers have tested. When we say to a class, "This is what the Bible says," we are saying something the secular teacher cannot say of any textbook in the building. The authority of the room is not us. The authority of the room is the breath of God.

Paulo anakamilisha sentensi: Biblia "lafaa kwa mafundisho, na kwa kuwaonya watu makosa yao, na kwa kuwaongoza, na kwa kuwaadibisha katika haki; ili mtu wa Mungu awe kamili, amekamilishwa apate kutenda kila tendo jema" (2 Timotheo 3:16–17). Matumizi manne yenye faida yametajwa; kusudi moja la mwisho limetolewa. Elimu ya Kikristo ipo ili kutumikia matumizi yote manne na kutimiza kusudi hilo la mwisho.Paul completes the sentence: the Bible "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Four profitable uses are listed; one final purpose is given. Christian Education exists to serve all four uses and to deliver the final purpose.

1. Kwa mafundisho (kufundisha)1. For doctrine (teaching)

Kila wakati mwalimu wa Shule ya Jumapili yuko pamoja na wanafunzi, mafundisho ya Biblia yanapaswa kuendelea. Darasa ni kwa ajili ya maudhui. Watu wengine husema, "Basi, niliihitaji Biblia nilipokuwa mdogo, lakini sasa naweza kuishi bila hiyo." Wamekosea kiasi gani! Watu wazima wanalihitaji Neno la Mungu kuliko watoto, kwa sababu wanakabili majaribu makubwa zaidi na hufanya maamuzi mengi zaidi. Huduma ya kufundisha ya kanisa si saa ya watoto yenye mapumziko ya kunywa juisi. Ni malezi ya mwamini katika kila umri.Anytime a Sunday school teacher is with students, Bible teaching should be going on. The classroom is for content. Some people say, "Well, I needed the Bible when I was younger, but I can do without it now." How wrong they are. Adults need the Word of God more than children, because they face greater temptations and make more decisions. The teaching ministry of the church is not a children's hour with a juice break. It is the formation of a believer at every age.

2. Kwa kuonya (kukemea)2. For reproof (rebuking)

Maandiko hutusaidia kuyaona makosa yetu. Kioo hakibembelezi. Waebrania 4:12 inasema "Neno la Mungu li hai, tena lina nguvu, tena lina ukali kuliko upanga uwao wote ukatao kuwili… tena li jepesi kuyatambua mawazo na makusudi ya moyo." Sehemu ya kazi ya mwalimu wa Biblia ni kuutumia upanga huo kwa upendo. Makosa yasiyotajwa kamwe hayarekebishwi kamwe. Darasa la Kikristo ni mahali salama kuliko pote duniani kwa ajili ya karipio la uaminifu, kwa sababu karipio hilo hufuatwa na matumizi mawili yanayofuata.The Scripture helps us find our faults. The mirror is not flattering. Hebrews 4:12 says "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword… a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." A Bible-teacher's work is partly to wield that sword in love. Faults that are never named never get fixed. The Christian classroom is the safest place in the world for a faithful rebuke, because the rebuke is followed by the next two uses.

3. Kwa kuongoza (kusahihisha)3. For correction

Imani zetu zote, theolojia zetu na mapokeo yetu yanahitaji kupimwa kwa Biblia. Yakipingana na Biblia, yanapaswa kukataliwa. Darasa la Elimu ya Kikristo ndipo mahali ambapo mwamini hujifunza kuweka maoni yake mwenyewe kando ya Maandiko na kuyaacha Maandiko yawe kipimo. Waamini wengi wa maisha yote wamekua chini ya mahubiri ya uaminifu bila kamwe kufundishwa jinsi ya kusahihisha imani potofu kwa Biblia iliyo wazi. Darasa ndipo mahali ustadi huo hujifunzwa.All of our beliefs and theologies and traditions need to be checked against the Bible. If they contradict the Bible, they are to be refused. The Christian Education classroom is where the believer learns to lay his own opinions next to the Scripture and let the Scripture be the ruler. Many lifelong believers have grown up under faithful preaching and never been taught how to correct a wrong belief by the open Bible. The classroom is where that skill is learned.

4. Kwa kuadibisha katika haki (mafunzo)4. For instruction in righteousness (training)

Je, unataka kujua lililo sawa na lililo baya? Tafuta jibu katika Neno la Mungu. Biblia peke yake imebadilisha wahalifu, viongozi wa kisiasa, wanasayansi, mabenki, vibarua, viongozi wa dini, akina mama wa nyumbani, na watu wa kila hali ya maisha. Hakuna kitabu cha kiada katika mtaala wa kidunia kinachodai matokeo hayo kwa mwanadamu hata mmoja. Darasa la Elimu ya Kikristo ndipo mahali ambapo nguvu hiyo ya kubadilisha huachiliwa katika maisha ya waamini wa kawaida, wiki baada ya wiki, somo baada ya somo, mpaka mwanamume au mwanamke wa Mungu awe kamili — neno hilo linamaanisha aliyekamilika, aliyekomaa, aliyewezeshwa kikamilifu — na amekamilishwa apate kutenda kila tendo jema.Do you want to know what is right and wrong? Find the answer in God's Word. The Bible alone has changed criminals, political leaders, scientists, bankers, laborers, religious leaders, housewives, and people from every walk of life. No textbook in the secular curriculum claims that effect on a single human being. The Christian Education classroom is the place where that transforming power is unleashed in the lives of ordinary believers, week after week, lesson after lesson, until the man or woman of God is perfect — the word means complete, mature, fully equipped — and thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Kweli tano. Sababu tano. Biblia inafundishika, ni takatifu, inaweza kuongoza kwenye wokovu, imevuviwa na Mungu, na inafaa kwa maisha yote ya mwamini. Ondoa yoyote kati ya hizo tano na Elimu ya Kikristo inaporomoka na kuwa kitu kingine — burudani, maoni, falsafa, tiba ya kikundi, klabu. Shika zote tano na Elimu ya Kikristo inakuwa kile ambacho imekuwa daima katika ubora wake: Roho wa Mungu akilitumia Neno la Mungu kufanya kazi ya Mungu katika moyo wa mwanafunzi.Five facts. Five reasons. The Bible is teachable, holy, able to lead to salvation, inspired by God, and profitable for the whole life of the believer. Take any of those five away and Christian Education collapses into something else — entertainment, opinion, philosophy, group therapy, club. Keep all five and Christian Education becomes what it has always been at its best: the Spirit of God using the Word of God to do the work of God in the heart of the learner.

Sehemu hii ilianza na mvulana ambaye baba yake aliitupa Biblia yake motoni. Mvulana alikuwa akitabasamu kwa sababu alijua kwamba maneno ya Biblia hiyo tayari yalikuwa ndani yake, mahali ambapo mikono ya baba yake haingeweza kufika. "Huwezi kuchoma hiki kilicho humu ndani," mvulana alisema, akionyesha moyo wake.The unit began with a boy whose father threw his Bible into the fire. The boy was smiling because he knew that the words of that Bible were already inside him, in a place his father's hands could not reach. "You cannot burn this in here," the boy said, pointing to his heart.

Hilo ndilo tumaini la mwalimu wa Elimu ya Kikristo. Mpango wa somo tunaoushughulikia wiki hii huenda usionekane kufanya mengi. Watoto wa miaka mitano tunaowafundisha huenda wakaonekana kutokumbuka chochote. Vijana tunaowaongoza huenda wakaonekana kuota ndoto za mchana kila Jumapili. Watu wazima katika darasa letu huenda wakaonekana kuja zaidi kwa ajili ya kahawa kuliko kwa ajili ya Neno. Hakuna kati ya hayo kinachoamua. Swali linaloamua ni kama Neno la Mungu linawekwa mahali ambapo haliwezi kuchomwa.That is the hope of the Christian Education teacher. The lesson plan we work over this week may not seem to do much. The five-year-olds we teach may seem to remember nothing. The teenagers we lead may seem to be daydreaming through every Sunday. The adults in our class may seem to come more for the coffee than for the Word. None of that is decisive. The decisive question is whether the Word of God is being placed where it cannot be burned.

Andi alitumia huduma yake akifanya kazi hii. Aliandika mahubiri ya watoto ambayo mengi yao hatuna tena kwenye karatasi, lakini yaliishi ndani ya mioyo ya watoto ambao sasa ni wanaume na wanawake wazima. Baadhi ya mahubiri hayo ya watoto yamefungwa katika Sehemu ya 10 ya kozi hii. Mengi zaidi yaliishi muda wao wote wa maisha kati ya mkono wake na moyo wa mtoto wa miaka sita, yakafanya kazi yao, na yamekwenda pale mbegu njema huenda.Andi spent her ministry doing this work. She wrote children's sermons most of which we no longer have on paper, but which lived in the hearts of children who are now grown men and women. Some of those children's sermons are bound into Unit 10 of this course. Many more lived their whole life span between her hand and the heart of a six-year-old, and have done their work, and have gone where good seed goes.

Kozi utakayoipitia ni, kwa namna halisi, kozi yake. Ufundishaji ni wake. Mafunzo ya seminari ni yake. Huduma ya kufundisha ilikuwa yake. Muundo wa lugha mbili unabeba jina lake kwenye cheti pamoja na langu kwa sababu alilistahili. Tangu utoto umeyajua maandiko matakatifu. Yeye aliyajua. Aliyafundisha. Aliamini kwamba Roho aliyeyapulizia pumzi angefanya kazi Yake ndani ya watoto aliowakabidhi.The course you are about to walk through is, in a real way, her course. The pedagogy is hers. The seminary training is hers. The teaching ministry was hers. The bilingual structure carries her name on the certificate alongside mine because she earned it. From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures. She knew them. She taught them. She trusted that the Spirit who breathed them would do His work in the children to whom she handed them.

Karibu katika Sehemu ya 1. Faulu mtihani huu, nasi tutakutana na sauti ya Andi katika Sehemu ya 2 anapotambulisha kipengele muhimu zaidi katika mchakato wa kufundisha na kujifunza: wewe, mwalimu.Welcome to Unit 1. Pass this examination, and we will meet Andi's voice in Unit 2 as she introduces the most important element in the teaching-learning process: you, the teacher.