I know I shouldn’t have favorites, but if I had to pick my favorite books of the Bible, James would definitely make the list. Written by James, the brother of Jesus, the Book of James is one of the most easy to understand, practical books in the Bible. Because of that, it is one of the books I suggest kids and teens just beginning to read their Bible independently tackle first.
With only five chapters, a child or teen who reads well can read the entire book in less than an hour. It’s not a bad idea to let them read the book through quickly the first time. They will feel a sense of accomplishment and get a better feel for the meaning of the entire book. You may even want to ask them what they think the “big picture” of the book is after they have read it. We like to ask kids and teens, “Why do you think God thought this letter was important to put in the Bible?”
Continue reading Introducing Kids to the (Bible) Book of James
People often ask the best way to encourage their children to begin reading the Bible independently. The first thing to do is to make sure your child has a Bible that is accurate, but still easy to understand. The best one I have found so far is the NIrV version. It’s written on a third grade reading level, but is a translation and not a paraphrase (which can be very inaccurate in my opinion). Until recently, it only came in covers appropriate for young children, but I noticed the last time I was in the bookstore it now comes in covers for adults and even has a student study version.
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Do your kids know the basic facts of several Bible stories? Can they win Bible trivia contests at Church? Can they sometimes correct adults on the details of their favorite person in the Bible’s life? If, so they have made a great beginning on understanding the Bible. Unfortunately, that’s where many Bible school classes stop.