Incorporate Bible Study Into Your Family’s Daily Life
This past Thursday evening I attended Bible study. I discovered attending bible study in mid week recharges me spiritually and I thoroughly enjoy having fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters. In class there was a young man in his twenties, when he spoke I felt immediately that he grew up in a family that taught him Christian principals. Later, it was confirmed when he said he was raised in a Christian home. It struck me how important it is to raise children with the Word of God. It lays a foundation that reaches past their formative years and into adulthood. I thought about my own four year old daughter and how much she retains after we read the Bible. Having Bible study on Sunday simply isn’t enough if we hope to instill a reverence for Christ in our children’s hearts.
Ways to incorporate Bible study in our Children’s Lives:
A Scheduled Family Bible Study
Kids have countless activities they are involved in and as parents we are involved simply through shuttling them around. We are also busy with household, financial, and career obligations. Are we so busy that we neglect to spend time on the most important activity of all, which is learning the word of God? Clear your calendar and make it mandatory to gather as a family for Bible study at home. Take one hour a week after dinner or whenever the whole family has time and commit to Bible study. Make it an important appointment every week.
Relate Conversation to Bible Stories
Communication is an important vehicle to intimacy in a family. Although we may not be privy to every detail in our children’s life as they grow older it is vital to keep the lines of communication open and honest. When we have discussions with our children and they share issues they may be having at school or with friends, think carefully about how you respond. Try to incorporate lessons from the Bible. Give them reference to God in these conversations. They can read the scriptures, but when we relate them to their life they discover true meaning in God’s Word and they see how the Lord works.
Prayer is Meaningful All Day
It is common for kids to pray before a meal and bedtime, but are we instilling in them the concept of pray without ceasing? Make it a habit to say a prayer together in the morning before you send them off to school. Talk to them about praying throughout the day. Let them know that God is available 24/7 and he wants them to turn to him in all circumstances. My daughter and I make it a habit to thank God for the day and to pray before I send her into the classroom, it starts our day off on the right foot with God.
Journaling
Gift your children a journal for their prayers and their conversation with God. Encourage them to keep a spiritual journal. This is a wonderful way for them to develop an intimate relationship with God. It encourages them to think about their spiritual life and it gives them a chance to look back at how God continually blesses them. If you have younger children who can’t write, buy a large notepad and have them draw pictures, or ask them what they are thankful for and record it for them. It is never too early to create ways for children to think about the Lord.
Dinner Blessings
Dinner time is a superb time to give thanks not only for food, but to reflect on what each family member is grateful for that day. After the prayer and during dinner incorporate the gift of gratefulness in the conversation. Ask everyone t o say at least one thing they were grateful for that God did for them. This reminds us of our blessing and God’s goodness.
Bible Study with Friends
If your church doesn’t have a youth group, encourage your children to start one. Sometimes being a child in a Christian family can be isolating and they may feel like the odd ball in school. When your kids are in school, they are faced with peer pressure and issues that are difficult to deal with. Not everyone has the same values and moral beliefs. Kids need support groups too! If your church has children of the same age it can be a great idea to get the kids together every other week to discuss the peer pressure they face as Christians and how they can overcame it through the Word of God. The interaction between peers is important, sure we want our kids to come to us, but if they are able to share their experiences with other Christian peers it is a powerful way to support and encourage one another to stay on God’s path.
There are so many creative and fun ways to motivate our children to hear the Word of God. Love for the Word comes from reading the Bible, knowing God, church and fellowship, and in our own home. Be proactive in your child’s spiritual education and give them every opportunity available to develop an intimate relationship with God that endure beyond their years at home.
Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved
This is something I’ve been praying over and trying to do with my 4 yr old and 2 yr old. I did find a daily devotional for them, and am preparing a lot of copywork as my 4 yr old is learning to write her letters. Reading Scripture to them is so important, and it’s something I’m really trying to do more an dmore. It supports my desire for daily devotions – and hopefully sets an example for them to follow.
Hi Debbie,
My daughter is 4, well actually on Tuesday! But, keep reading them the scriptures, believe me the will retain it. Even if you set aside 10-15 minutes a day before lunch, after bath time any time is good. Another idea is to get a kid’s bible on tape and put it on in the car. My daughter loves David and Goliath, she is learning about the resurrection now and hopefully by Easter it will really have some meaning to her. God bless you! Keep up the good job!
I’m really trying to incorporate bible study in my family through simple practices with my children.
These are great tips. It has really been in heart to try and incorporate more bible study into my daily life, my oldest daughter is also 4 (going on 5) and I’ve recently started reading the children’s bible to her, and it truly is amazing. She brings up the stories as she finds they relate to day. We’ll be having a conversation and she’s say something like just like “so and so mommy”. She also loves those Veggie tales movies Jonah and the Whale is favorite!
Great, informative post! It seems to be one of the greatest challenges in the church and in families today to get kids plugged into God’s Word when there’s so much else vying for their attention. And, it really does come down to parents being intentional about how they live the Word before their children and how they feed the Truth to them on a daily basis. I work with an organization that’s about to explode on the scene with a bunch of Christ-centered products and VBS curricula, as well as couple of films to be released over the next few years! Children really are the future, especially in the church; the integrity and proper communication of the Gospel depends upon younger generations being inherently engrossed in God’s Word.