4 Tips for Engaging Kids with the Bible
It is an unspeakable joy to be able to hold the very words of God in our hands and read them in our own language so we may know how to walk obediently. As Jesus Himself said in Luke 11:28, “Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” May the Lord give Christian parents diligence to both model and teach a love for God’s Word. The stakes could not be higher.
Here are four tips that may help Christian parents engage kids with the Bible.
1. Lead by example.
Children should know that you love the Bible and that reading it is a vital part of your day. They should see you reading it or hear you talking about what you read today. Instill in them what a high privilege it is to have God’s Word accessible to us. God speaks to us through His Word and we must be eager to learn from it every day.
Children may be studying the Bible as part of school or church curriculum, but reading the Bible on their own is in a separate, vital category. As soon as your children are old enough to read, secure a personal copy of God’s Word for each of them so they can begin to treasure their own Bible and read it daily. Reading through the Bible is a worthy goal when children reach a certain age but establishing the habit of daily Bible reading early on is key. This is not to be relegated to a chore list so that it becomes simply a matter of checking another box along with making one’s bed. Don’t underestimate how the Lord will use a child’s reading of even a few verses a day on their own.
2. Develop a sense of wonder.
As you explore the Bible together, emphasize that it is not like any other book. Using age-appropriate words, explain how it is infallible, inerrant, sufficient, and eternal. Pray that they will grow up with an increasing sense of awe that God carefully preserved His very words for us for over two thousand years. Teach them the fascinating story of how the Bible was preserved and translated and how many brave men and women lost their lives in the process.
God speaks to us through His Word and we must be eager to learn from it every day.
3. Memorize the Bible with them.
Children’s brains are like sponges. They can memorize easily. The more God’s Word is hidden in their hearts, the better it will serve them throughout their lives. Choose short verses to start, and soon you will have an arsenal of learned passages. If a child is having a particular struggle with fear or anxiety, for example, memorize key passages with him so that he can easily call God’s truth to mind at any time. Some families enjoy memorizing whole chapters or even whole books together as they work on it one verse at a time for however long it takes. Once memorized passages have successfully moved into our long-term memories, there is no limit to how the Lord will use His words to aid us in calming our own hearts and being able to speak the truth to those who are hurting and in need of the gospel.
The Bible we hold in our hands does not just contain the word of God—it is the Word of God. This may be a helpful passage to begin with for memorization:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17)
4. Cultivate conversations that connect the Bible to life.
This can be done in limitless ways on any given day. Perhaps in your own Bible reading you cover the account of Balaam’s talking donkey—that would make interesting breakfast conversation! However, other passages deal with topics your child does not need to know about yet. Help them to realize that they will not understand every passage they read, and neither do you. Even the most learned scholars cannot understand it all. We must not be frustrated by that nor let it diminish our genuine love for God’s Word. The Lord will reveal truth to us as we genuinely seek to understand how He is at work from Genesis to Revelation to the praise of His glory.
Remember, the world wants your children to think the Bible is an old, irrelevant book. We know better. And we must continually be in conversation with our kids at every stage to eagerly show them how the Bible is indeed not only relevant but truly “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”
