Do all the demands on your time leave you scrambling to find out how to help your children learn the bible?
Children need to feed on the word and they need to hear it regularly. However, the job lies with the parents to make it interesting for them to want to learn the bible and apply it in their everyday lives.
Our goal as parents is to have the Bible as a normal, natural, helpful, and enjoyable part of life. It should definitely not be seen as a story book, idealistic or something that parents only use when they are disciplining children. Let it be a natural everyday occurrence in the little things and the big things.
Here are some Tips to Help Your Children Learn the Bible
Start Early
As we read in 2 Timothy 3:15 “…from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” God the Holy Spirit, is amazingly helpful at assisting even a young child to begin to understand the Word of God. If it is in the bible then God expects that children from a young age can learn about God, recieve and believe and grow in his word. So start early.
Keep it Practical
Children are used to google when it comes to finding answers to everything from homework to how to make some slime. Help them learn and see the bible as a source of answers and tools for practical life situations; this will go a long way. When the bible becomes a natural source of truth you will not have to chase them to spend time on the word as they get older and life gets busier. The mother and father in Proverbs speak with their children about practical matters of life in relation to God. They cover such topics as friends (1:10-16, 4:14), work (6:10-11, 10:5), sex (5:1-22, 6:24-26, 7:1-27, 29:3, 31:1-3), money (15:27), beer (31:4), food (28:7), language (4:24, 20:20, 23:15-16, 30:11, 31:28) and respecting elders (30:17).
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Repeat
Just like it says in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
We cannot expect a child to hear it one time and it will stick so repeat it without nagging though. The key to learning is repetition and practice for it to become second nature. You may have to repeat Bible verses and principles over and over for them to really stick with the child
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Be the Example
You have to be an example they follow! There is no better way than to model the behaviours you want your children to follow. So be a positive example when it comes to growing spiritually, do they see you reading the bible? Do they see you spending time with God on a regular basis? A godly parent should have a good study Bible in the house that the kids see them read. A godly parent should have Bible reference books or an app that they use for deeper study and teach the children to use. Proverbs 1:8 says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching…” As both parents grow, they can help the child grow, as well.
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Look for Teachable Moments
Do not limit the growth in the word to be a Sunday affair or only family prayer time. Teachable moments abound in the unplanned moments and these are the best times to further deepen their knowledge of God.
My son had complained that his leg hurt and he might not be able to run in sports practice and wanted to change his preferred sport. I was supposed to write a note for him to give his teacher to excuse him from practise. I forgot to do this and when i picked him up from school, i asked him what happened. He proudly told me “Guess what mum? I prayed to God before running to let me run and I was able to run and I even came 2nd”. This is what you call getting back what you have been teaching. I constantly tell them to pray and ask for God’s help in the small things and the big things.