Teaching kids about Satan can be a bit tricky. You want your children to be watchful and prepared, but you also don’t want to make them overly fearful. Younger children can usually understand there is a being we can’t see named Satan or the devil. They can begin to grasp that Satan tries to trick them into disobeying their parents and God.
Older elementary aged kids need to begin learning some of the most common tricks Satan uses. The story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness is a good place to start (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). Older readers might also enjoy reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Begin having talks about how your kids see Satan trying to trick them and their friends using some of those same techniques.
For a fun activity to reinforce how Satan can use people to help trick them, start by reading or telling your (older) kids the story of the Witch of Endor. (1 Samuel 28:3-25) Explain that the Bible doesn’t make it absolutely clear, but it appears this “witch” had made money tricking people into believing she had access to spirits. Often, people would use the “advice” of the spirits to make their decisions. Using spirits as a guide for making decisions is wrong, because God wants us to have Him guide us.
Continue reading Fun Activity Teaching Kids About Satan’s Tricks
When adults think of God’s love for us, we immediately think about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. For young children though, those concepts are very abstract. It’s important they hear them even though they can’t quite understand it fully. When you want young children to understand God’s love for them however, you want to also use some very concrete things. Things they can see, touch, smell.
Absalom is a great example of someone in the Bible who thought they were “all that and a bag of chips.” It’s easy to see why. “In the whole land of Israel there wasn’t any man as handsome as Absalom was. That’s why everyone praised him. From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet he didn’t have any flaws.” (2 Samuel 14:25 NIrV)
As your children enter their teen years, you may begin to feel a sense of urgency in your parenting. You only have a few years remaining when you will see your child daily and have hours a day to help build their spiritual foundation. By your child’s senior year of high school, even the most proactive Christian parent can feel a sense of panic. What have you forgotten to teach? What more do you need to say?
If you have been on Pinterest or have a creative hobby, you have probably heard of inspiration boards. They are large pieces of poster board (or they can be virtual) and contain words and photos (or magazine clippings) that inspire the person working on a particular project. They probably started with planning weddings or decorating rooms, but have expanded way beyond that today. In fact, in New York City, there is a museum that positions itself as an inspiration board of sorts.