Have you ever read your kids a picture book or a beginning chapter book? You probably naturally did some things to make it more interesting for your child. Yet when most adults read portions of the Bible to kids, they often begin to sound like they were raised in Shakespearean England. The reading is serious and somber and not very interesting to a young child (or understandable).
I’m not going to suggest you make reading your child the Bible into some sort of comedy routine. I do think we need to remember the stories in the Bible you read to your kids are probably either true historical accounts or one of the parables Jesus told. They are well written and true. They have godly lessons to be learned. They can also hold a child spellbound and make him or her eager to read the Bible for himself (or herself).
The next time you read a Bible story to your child consider adding the following elements:
If you are like me, you watched quite a bit of Olympics coverage recently. There is something fascinating about watching people do their best. I especially enjoy watching the coaches and parents. They put as much effort in their own ways into helping the athletes succeed. This summer while watching the games, I wondered what the church would look like if Christian parents thought of themselves as coaching their kids to the most important goal and reward possible – getting to Heaven.
Looking for a family service project that will also teach your kids about God? The next time you hear about a flood consider a family service project helping people recover from the devastation left by flood waters.
If your children can speak, you probably realize they consider you and anyone else close to your age “old”. I laugh now, because I will talk to friends from home and they will mention someone is “getting older”. In my memory, that person had to be at least in their 60’s or 70’s when I was a child. Inevitably, I will ask “What?! Isn’t she over 100 by now?” Usually, I realize the “old” person had actually been only in their 30’s or 40’s when I was little!
Want your kids to learn some godly money and stewardship skills? Looking for a family service project? Wish you could have fun teaching your kids about the Bible? There are several great service projects you can do with your kids or teens that will cover all of those goals.