Sharing the Bible with Children
We pray for more children in our church. My church now has only two school-age children. Sadly, this is becoming the norm in my community as more and more churches give up on holding VBS and even Sunday school due to the lack of children.
Parents and grandparents may find that they need to stand in the gap taking more responsibility for teaching the Bible to the children in their homes and neighborhoods.
Bible picture books are helpful for introducing children to the foundations of our faith. There are many excellent books to choose from. But as children grow older, they need to know more than is generally included in books for children. How can we prepare to help them transition from listening to Bible story books to reading the Bible for themselves?
The obvious answer is to know the Bible ourselves. For some, that might mean brushing up a little, while for others, this may seem like an overwhelming task. If you happen to be one who lacks basic knowledge, you are not alone. Our western culture seems to be attacking the Bible in more ways than we can imagine, deliberately trying to discourage people from reading it. Sadly, many of the more liberal denominations discourage its members from taking the Bible literally.
If you could use a tool to help give you an overview of the Bible, I highly recommend you consider using one of the following books for an overview.
- The Story, published by Zondervan, is a blend of Bible passages quoted from the Today’s New International Version with condensed narratives written in italics that connect and transition between the major passages of the Bible. There are three printed versions of The Story, one for adults, one for teens, and one for children.
- The Jesus Storybook Bible is published by Zonderkids. It is written for young children so the telling is fairly brief. But the delightful part of this book is that it emphasizes how the entire Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, all points to the coming of Jesus. The insights in this book are powerful.
- There are many other children’s Bible storybook collections that also cover much of the Bible including both the Old and New Testaments.
There is another tool that is so easily available and often overlooked. Computer search engines such as Google are fantastic for helping you to locate a specific verse or passage. You can also use it to locate any event in the Bible. For instance, you can use the keywords “Joseph in Egypt Bible” and you will be given Bible references to various parts of the story. You will also find more articles written about this time in Bible history.
The best tool of all, is the Bible itself. Take up a plan to read through the Bible, and stick to it. Some plans are designed to read the Bible in a year and others offer a two or three-year plan. The deeper you get into Bible reading, the more effective you will be in reaching children and youth for Christ.
Copyright: regina555 / 123RF Stock Photo
Written by Janice D. Green, author of The First Christmas and The Creation.