Guidelines For Teaching The Scriptures To Children

I.                    Practice family worship.

A.                 Sing together, pray together, read and discuss Scripture together.

B.                 Start this with your children as soon as possible.

1.                  You want your child to early learn the habit of interacting with God regularly.

2.                  Even if the child cannot talk or read, the child will become familiar with the acts of worship.

3.                  Let small children contribute by passing out the Bibles and songbooks.

4.                  Let small children look on while you sing and read even though they cannot read. They will still feel a part.

5.                  You know your child is catching on when he mutters “Bible” or “Amen,” or when he bows his head for prayer, or when he attempts to sing.

C.                 You must assign priority to family worship and schedule it as definitely as you do other activities or it will not be done.

II.                 Here are some practical tips for teaching Scripture to a child.

A.                 Since a child’s concentration is short, keep family worship short.

B.                 Do not wait until just before bedtime when the child is too tired to concentrate.

C.                 Repetition is the mother of learning. This is especially true of small children. Go over the same material repeatedly.

D.                 Read short segments and question the child about what was read.

E.                  If the child can read, let him read some, as this will force concentration. A good practice is to have each family member read a verse at the time.

F.                  Since their reasoning power is deficient, emphasize knowledge of facts to younger children. When they get older you can emphasize understanding of the facts and wisdom.

G.                 It is especially helpful to illustrate points using examples of things within the child’s experience.

1.                  Mention the experiences of people whom they know.

2.                  Try to apply the principles to their lives.

H.                 Allow children to offer prayer when they are able to do so.

I.                    Teach your chi1dren to pray for specific needs of the family, the church, and the nation.

J.                   When God answers prayer, focus the attention of the children on that. Emphasize the reality of our personal, prayer-answering God.

K.                Occasionally assign an older child a passage to read and have them make notes. Review and discuss their notes.

L.                  Allow a child who can write to make notes on the sermon and review the notes with him.

III.               Here is a suggested lesson plan for presenting an overview of the Bible to a child. This lesson plan includes facts for younger children and concepts for older ones.

A.                 Begin with teaching about God.

1.                  Creation proves His existence (Rom. 1:20).

2.                  There is one God (Deut. 6:4).

3.                  God is a spirit (Jn. 4:24).

4.                  God is invisible (1 Tim. 1:17).

5.                  God is eternal. He has no beginning and no ending (Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2).

6.                  God is almighty. Nothing is too hard for God (Gen. 17:1; Jer. 32:17; Mk. 10:27).

7.                  God owns everything (1Chr. 29-11).

8.                  God rules everything (Ps. 103:19).

9.                  God knows everything (Ps. 139:1-6).

10.              God is present everywhere (Jer. 23:24; Ps. 139:7-10).

11.              God is true. He does not lie (Ro. 3:4; Tit. 1:2).

12.              God is good (Ps. 100:5).

B.                 Then teach the creation of the world and the fall of man into sin (Gen 1-3).

1.                  Emphasize How God created the world.

2.                  Emphasize How God created Man

3.                  Show that sin is not doing what God says.

4.                  Have the child memorize Gen. 1:1 as this sums up the creation.

C.                 Review Bible stories that demonstrate the power of God.

1.                  Children should be early impressed with the power of God.

2.                  Why should children be taught miraculous fantasies when they can be taught miraculous realities?

3.                  Some suggestions are:

a)                  The flood (Gen. 6-8)

b)                  The exodus out of Egypt (Ex. 14:13-31).

c)                  God’s dealings with Israel and Egypt (Ex. 1:20 or Ps. 105).

d)                  David and Goliath (1 Sa. 17).

e)                  Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace (Dan 3).

f)                    Daniel in the den of lions (Dan. 6).

D.                 Present the following facts about the Lord Jesus Christ.

1.                  Read of His miraculous conception and birth (Mat. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38, 2:1-10).

2.                  Point out that Jesus is God and man (Jn 1:1-3, 14).

3.                  Go over different accounts of His miracles pointing up His great power.

4.                  Emphasize that Jesus never sinned; he never did anything wrong (1 Pet. 2:22; II Cor. 5-21).

5.                  Select one of the gospels and go over the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ.

6.                  Also teach them about His ascension into heaven and the promise of His return (Acts 1:1-11).

7.                  Teach them that Christ will return to raise the dead and to judge the world (I Thes. 4:13-18; II Thes. 1:7-10).

E.                  Read and explain the Ten Commandments impressing upon the child the necessity of obeying God (Ex. 20:1-17).

F.                  Present the following information about sin.

1.                  Sin is breaking God’s commandments (I Jn. 3:4).

2.                  God is too pure to look upon sin and God hates sinners (Hab. 2:13; Ps. 5:4-5)

3.                  God will punish sinners (Ps. 11:6; Mat 25:41; Rev 21:8).

4.                  All have sinned (Ro. 3:9-12, 23).

G.                 Then introduce the subject of salvation from sin and sin’s consequences by pointing out the following facts.

1.                  Because God loved His people, He sent His Son to save them from their sins (Mat 1:21; Rom 5:8).

a)                  God does not love everybody. He loves the elect (Ro 9:11-13).

b)                  God chose His people before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).

2.                  God saves His people by taking their sins upon Himself and suffering the punishment for them (Is 53:4-6).

a)                  Recall that Jesus has no sin of his own to suffer for.

b)                  Therefore, He suffered for our sins.

c)                  Use the illustration of an obedient child taking the punishment for his disobedient brother or sister.

3.                  If a person believes and obeys God, then this proves he is one of God’s elect whom Jesus came to save (Jn 3:16; Heb 5:9).

H.                 Present the fact that this world will end according to II Pet 3:7-13.

I.                    Read about the new heavens and the new earth that God will bring in when the present heavens and earth are dissolved (Rev 21:22).