Articles by Rick Edwards
The articles listed below have been written by Rick Edwards. Rick is a publishing veteran with more than 40 years of experience in ministry, curriculum development, and magazine publishing. He is currently involved as a speaker, author, and Bible teacher while managing a Christian publishing business. He is the owner and publisher of SundaySchoolZone.com.
Shaping Identity In the Local Church
A local church has the ability to influence an individual’s personal identity through its discipleship ministry. How this happens is a complex and ongoing process. The degree to which an individual is associated with a church, the time a church has with the individual, and other factors will impact just how influential a church may…
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Identity Runs Deep
The fact that we are more than we think (see prior article) is an important principle that will be repeated and underscored in other places in this series of articles. There are aspects of our identity that are determined by reality and what God says about us; not by our opinions, desires, behavior, and histories.…
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We Are More Than We Think
How we each perceive our own identities is shaped by a variety of important factors. It’s important to note, however, that our actual identity is more than or different from our perception of our identity. We are more than we think. Reality defines identity more than our individual perceptions. Just because I perceive that I…
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Helping People Develop a Biblical Identity
Much can be said (and has been said) about how any given individual develops his or her own particular identity. It is a complex process that takes place through life and continues until we die. It is not our intent to oversimplify this process or suggest that identity development can be reduced to a simplistic…
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Rock the Cradle… Rule the World!
William Ross Wallace was a 19th Century American poet who wrote The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and understood what the contemporary church has too often forgotten… “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” It is a truth grounded in virtually every page of Scripture… Rock the cradle… rule…
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Can We Teach Babies?
Most churches recognize the value of “childcare” for newborns. It’s important to provide a proper “nursery” so parents and family members can attend other activities taking place at church. But what about teaching newborns? Can we teach babies? Should churches give serious consideration to “discipling” (teaching) babies? Can infants and those who are not yet…
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The Impact of Adam and Eve’s Sin on Newborns
How we go about teaching young babies in our homes and churches will be influenced by what we believe about the impact of Adam and Eve’s Sin on newborns. Do babies need to be “trained” from birth to overcome the sinful nature? Is “disciplining” newborns (teaching them to deny the sinful nature) something we should…
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Resurrection Sunday and Good Friday
It’s a reality of many church calendars that it’s really easy to skip over Good Friday in our treatment of the relevant Easter stories for kids. The prior Sunday is when we typically celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. There’s nothing wrong with this. And, of course, it’s…
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Advent Resources On Sunday School Zone
The Advent season consists of the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. We typically think of the Advent season as celebrating the advent or “coming” of Jesus in His birth because the season is so closely related to Christmas on the calendar. But Advent is also intended to point forward to Jesus’ second “coming” at…
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