Category: Bible Study

Kids, Egypt and God

Kids, Egypt and God - Parenting Like HannahKids love learning about Egypt, and who can blame them? Between mummies and hieroglyphics, it’s a world of interesting new things to discover. Imagine how excited your kids would be if they connected the Egypt of the Bible with the Egypt at school.

Strange as it may sound, kids love learning something at Church before they learn it in school. I have seen this happen year after year. There is just something special about having learned something outside of school before you are taught about it in school.

Too many times we glide right through those stories about Joseph and Moses without taking a look at the society in which those stories occurred. We miss out on opportunities to make the Bible stories more memorable and help our kids make the connection that the Bible is a book of history and not fiction.

There are several main areas you can cover when connecting Egyptian society to the appropriate Bible stories. Depending upon the age of your children, you can introduce them to more complex ideas and activities as they get older.

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Teaching Christian Kids to Ask for Help

Teaching Christian Kids to Ask for Help - Parenting Like HannahIn the last post, we talked about the importance of teaching your children to obey Jeremiah 6:16. There is one last little part to that verse we didn’t discuss though.

“But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV) Those Israelites were stubborn people! Unfortunately, so are we and our children. Choosing not to heed this verse caused the Jewish people a host of extremely negative consequences.

Had they only asked for God’s advice on how to live their lives or heeded the advice He had already given them, things would have been so different. In fact throughout the history of Israel, there were several times the people got into a world of trouble because they forgot to ask God’s advice before making some important choices.

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Teaching Christian Kids to Take the Easy Path

Teaching Christian Kids to Take the Easy Path- Parenting Like HannahBet you are wondering what in the world I am thinking. Everyone knows the Christian life is really hard. And in some ways, I guess it is. You may not get to be quite as popular, because you opt not to do everything everyone else is doing. You may struggle not to sin. You may even be persecuted in mild or even painfully, fatal ways.

There is another side to the Christian life people rarely discuss. It’s really a shame, because it is one of the biggest earthly benefits of living a Christian lifestyle. Our adult Bible class teacher reminded of this verse on Sunday.

“This is what the Lord says:“Stand at the crossroads and look;ask for the ancient paths,ask where the good way is, and walk in it,and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV)

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Christian Kids and the Jewish Holidays

Christian Kids and the Jewish Holidays - Parenting Like HannahChildren love holidays. There is something about the preparations, the excitement, the food and very often the presence of extended family and friends that make holidays special. Yet in many churches and Christian homes, children never learn much about the holidays in the Old Testament. These holidays can hold so much history and meaning in them for Christian children today. Introducing them to your kids can add another rich layer to their faith development.

At first glance, teaching your children about the holidays in the Old Testament can appear intimidating. If you have not been exposed to Judaism, many of the terms and concepts may not be familiar to you. A quick search will reveal the way they are celebrated today, but often that has changed quite a bit from the original celebration and even intent of the holiday. In spite of these obstacles, you can begin introducing your children to these special celebrations without a lot of stress.

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Kids, Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Kids, Baptism and the Age of Accountability - Parenting Like HannahActs 2:38 is a verse I have heard quoted thousands and thousands of times in my lifetime. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV) When I place this scripture beside all of the conversion accounts in the New Testament and the meaning of the original Greek word for baptism, two things become clear. Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins is clearly a command and the person who is baptized must understand and be capable of repenting.

In Christian circles, the age when a person is capable of understanding sin and repenting of it so they can be baptized for the remission of their sins has become known as the “age of accountability”. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t give us a specific age when this accountability kicks in, although it does tell us it exists.

Recently, I found the most interesting scripture while I was reading my Bible. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” (Isaiah 7:14-16 NIV Emphasis mine.)

Clearly this is a prophecy about Jesus, the coming Messiah. What to me is really interesting is the part I italicized. Evidently, even Jesus had a point in his childhood when he did not know enough “to reject the wrong and choose the right”. In fact the verses go on to imply, Jesus reached that age earlier than most (if not all) because he was still eating curds and honey when he reached that “age of accountability”.

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