Intentional Parents

“R-r-r-r-ing. R-r-r-r-ing.”

Ellen wiped her hands on a towel and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Ellen. This is Lori.”

“Oh, hi, Lori,” Ellen answered, smiling inside. She liked her little chats with Lori. They kept her on her toes.

“Do you have a minute to answer a few questions?” Lori inquired.

“This is a good time. Ask away,” returned Ellen.

“Well, I was wondering about the comment you made last week. The one about teaching the Bible to your children and not just leaving it up to the Sunday School classes at church. How exactly do you do that?”

“Good question.” Ellen replied. “We start with reading Scripture, praying, and memorizing Bible verses or passages at breakfast each day.”

“I’m scared all ready!” exclaimed Lori.

“It’s not that hard, really. I read aloud a Bible story while the kids eat. Then I read or recite a Bible verse or passage aloud and the children join in on the part(s) they remember. We finish with praying together. The whole thing takes about 10 or 15 minutes.”

“That doesn’t sound so hard,” admitted Lori.

“It’s not hard when it’s a habit. We also make sure we have plenty of good Bible story books for our pre-schoolers and young readers. When they ask for a story, we often read to them about Jesus or Old Testament action stories. We want them to be as familiar with Bible characters as most children are with TV characters.”

“I guess I am teaching my kids about Sesame Street every day, now that you mention it,” Lori admitted.

“Exactly. Then as they get older we help them do relevant Bible studies a couple of days a week and discuss their findings together. For example, my oldest daughter is reading through Proverbs this month, looking for verses that deal with anger. We’ll discuss what she discovered all together as a family,” finished Ellen.

“Do the older children think they don’t need any teaching or sermons from church, then?” inquired Lori.

“Oh, no. We often correlate our weekly studies with the book of the Bible that Pastor is teaching on. The children actually have extra motivation to listen and learn more on Sunday mornings,” Ellen explained.

“So, give me a typical weekly schedule for your Bible teaching at home.”

“Let’s see, it goes something like this.

Every morning: read the Bible, memorize verses, and pray at breakfast.

Every day: read Bible story books to younger children.

Two or three days a week: help older children with Bible study.

Once a week: meet as a family to discuss their study findings.

Yep, that about covers it,” summarized Ellen.

“Now I feel overwhelmed again!” Lori hesitated.

“Just pick one part and do it until it becomes a habit,” Ellen advised. “After that one gets established, add another part. You can do it! It’s too important not to.”

Bible teaching in the home can and should be done for all your children no matter their ages. But, as Ellen described above, the method of teaching will progress as the children mature. Don’t feel overwhelmed. The scenario above painted the big picture so you could see how the individual components fit in. As Ellen advised, select just one part of the big picture to start with. Choose one component that applies to your family during this season of life and begin doing it until it becomes a habit. If you add components one at a time, you’ll soon discover how easy and effective it is to teach your children the Bible at home.

The main components of the big picture are Scripture memory, prayer, and Bible teaching. The Scripture memory and prayer can be done with all the children together. We’ll talk about an easy strategy for Scripture memory another month. The Bible teaching component can be broken into three levels: start with the Great Stories Level, then move to the Guided Studies Level, and end up at the Independent Studies Level. Once your children master the Independent Studies Level, they should be set for a lifetime of Bible study on their own.

This month let’s talk a little about the Great Stories Level. We’ll discuss the other two levels in future e-letters.

Young children love to hear stories; God made them that way. And God also gave much of His Word in narrative (story) form. It makes sense, then, to read the great stories of the Bible to our young children.

The Great Stories Level can start when the child is still a baby. Reading to a child helps develop language skills and strengthen the bond between child and parent. Reading Bible stories can do all that and more. Take every opportunity to surround young children with the great stories in God’s Word. Your goal is that the child will be as familiar with Bible characters as with children’s television program characters.

May I offer two tips? (1) Use your voice to make the story come alive. Use an enthusiastic voice for exciting parts, a saddened voice for sorrowful parts, a loud voice for proclamations, a quiet voice for secrets—you get the idea. Unfortunately, many adults have a hard time reading with good inflection because they’ve never heard anyone read like that. Think of yourself more as a storyteller, than a reader. Please don’t be guilty of making the Bible appear to be a boring book. (2) Resist the temptation to wax eloquent, preach, or expound on the moral of the story at this level. The Word of God is living (Hebrews 4:12). Introduce your child to God’s Word, then get out of the way and let Him use it to work in your child’s heart. You may be surprised at the depth of insight a child can have.

That’s it. Not much more to say about the Great Stories Level. It’s pretty simple: read the great stories of the Bible to your young children. Happy reading!

Q & A

Q: What are the age guidelines for your three levels of Bible teaching?

A: I don’t like to outline specific ages for each level; some children are ready to move on to the next level earlier or later than others. You, as the parent, will be able to tell when each of your children is ready for more. Guide them through these levels at their own pace, helping them feel confident that they can understand the Bible each step of the way.

Q: It’s a struggle to get my toddler to sit through a chapter of the Bible. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Yes, I have a few suggestions.

• Remember that, in addition to getting God’s Word into your child’s mind and heart, you are also influencing your child’s attitude toward the Bible. Try to make daily Bible reading something special to look forward to, rather than something to be endured.
• Young children (and some adults) can sit better if their hands are busy. Try to accommodate busy hands with little, quiet toys, if needed. If the toys get distracting, quietly take them away for that session and keep reading.
• Make daily Bible reading enjoyable and special by cuddling on the couch together as you read.
• You might supply special low-mess, finger-food treats—like raisins, cereal, or pretzels—for the child to munch on as he or she listens.
• Above all, be sure that you don’t limit that child’s exposure to the Bible to those daily specific times. Permeate your child’s life with Bible stories and verses.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 1st, 2004 at 4:42 pm and is filed under The Bible, The Five Gifts of Intentional Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.