Many Christian parents feel it is best to leave Bible teaching to the “experts” at the church. But, guess what! Most of those “experts” are parent volunteers, just like you. You are more than capable of teaching your child how to use the Bible, even if you haven’t picked it up in a while yourself. Here’s the first part of how to teach your kids to use the Bible.
What is the Bible?
To use the Bible, your kids need to understand what the Bible is and is not.
The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by God through his people throughout a designated time.
Though you may not see it by reading little by little, one big story points us to a relationship with God through Jesus. This big story is told through smaller stories, genealogies, poems, wisdom, songs, and prophecies.
The Bible is true, but it isn’t always literal. Also, there are several genres of writing, including metaphors.
There are inconsistencies in the Bible, but that doesn’t make it wrong in its purpose, pointing us to Christ.
The Bible is our best way of knowing and learning about God through Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit.
What to Look for in the Bible?
It is also important to teach your kids what to look for in the Bible. Otherwise, they will misuse and misread the Bible.
There is a popular acronym for Bible:
- Basic
- Instructions
- Before
- Leaving
- Earth.
While it is true that there are some basic instructions, I don’t believe the Bible was written as an instruction manual.
The Bible is a love letter to us allowing us to know God and come into a relationship with him through Jesus.
You won’t find an answer to every question. You won’t find a scientific explanation of the world. You won’t read all the do’s and don’ts of being a “good Christian.”
But, if you look for who God is and how to grow in relationship with him, that you will find.
Structure
It is important for kids to understand the basic structure of the Bible to learn how to use the Bible.
The Bible is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the first two-thirds of the Bible and it is the story of God and his people before the birth of Jesus. Jesus is in there, but not by name or as a human, yet.
The second part of the Bible is the New Testament. Here you will find records of Jesus’s birth, life, crucifixion, resurrection, and the early church, as well as some prophecies about the return of Jesus.
Next week we will talk more specifics about the genres and one big story, or metanarrative, of the Bible.
Within each testament are books. Then, in the books are chapters, and the chapters are divided into verses.
How to Find Things in the Bible
The Bible is a big book, but it is designed with an easy way to find what kids are looking for.
To find something in the Bible, we use references or as I like to call them with kids, addresses. These include the book, chapter, and verse. It may look like Genesis 1:27 or John 3:16.
For the first example, Genesis is the book. The chapter would be 1 and the verse is 27.
To find these addresses is just a hop, skip, and jump. I recently read this from someone in a Facebook group and I wish I knew who it was or could find it. But, it stuck with me and I want to share it with you.
Hop
First, hop to the book. If you don’t know where the book is, no biggie. There is a table of contents in the front of your Bible, sometimes there are even two with one being alphabetical.
Skip
Next, skip to the first number the chapter. These are the big numbers in the book.
Jump
Then, jump to the verse, or the little numbers.
Invitation to Start
While the Bible might seem intimidating if you aren’t familiar with it, I invite you to simply open it and start reading. So, I suggest starting in the New Testament with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). These are the stories of Jesus’s life and a wonderful place to begin, especially with kids.
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