100 Things Your Child Should Know Before Confirmation – The Parables of Jesus

Rebecca Kirkpatrick is an ordained pastor in the PC(USA) and has written an interesting blog called called “Bread, Not Stones” from her experiences teaching the Confirmation Class at her local church.  She has also published a new book, “100 Things Every Child Should Know Before Confirmation.”  It’s worth reading!

Over the course of the next several months, we’ll be re-posting her blog posts for you as she tackles the privilege of guiding our children into a deeper, more trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. May her thoughts, your coaching, and your child’s active participation with their FPC Sunday School small group work together to raise your child to be a faithful follower of our Lord!


It was a conversation on the parables that first brought to my attention the possibility that students were not as prepared for Confirmation Class as I had hoped they would be. It was my very first class, and I was in my very first year of ordained ministry. We must have been talking about the New Testament or about the Gospels, and I asked if anyone could tell us the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Silence.

“Has anyone heard the story before, but just can’t tell it to us?”

Silence.

“Does the phrase ‘good Samaritan’ mean anything to anyone?” Hands finally went up in the air, and they explained that this is how you describe helping someone out, being nice to someone in need, going out of your way. They even knew about “good Samaritan laws” that reduce the liability of those who stop to help strangers in need. But none of them could describe the actual Parable of the Good Samaritan.

That was ten years ago. Just last week I had yet another variation on that experience as I prepared our Middle Schoolers to spend a year learning about and exploring the parables of Jesus. So below, in my ongoing series on the things that students should bring with them to Confirmation Class, are five iconic parables. We should not only tell these to our children, but also teach them to recognize them as important pieces of the message of the Gospel.

46. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
47. The Lost Sheep and Coin (Luke 15:1-10)
48. The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
49. The Sower (Matthew 13:1-9)
50. The Mustard Seed (Matthew 13: 31-32)

Click here to read the full blog post.

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