Teach God's Word to Your ChildrenDon't depend on others - You be the teacher
In over thirty years of pastoring, counseling and teaching Christian education, we have had the privilege of teaching thousands of children and teens. We have found ourselves consistently disappointed with teens who don’t know the basic fundamentals of God’s Word. Why not? They didn’t have parents in the early years who consistently, daily and proactively taught them God’s Word. The truth for parents is simple: Hide the Word in a child’s heart and that Word will keep the child from sin. (Psalm 119)
It’s easy enough for most children to learn Bible stories and characters from their Sunday school or children’s church experience. But knowing the absolute truths of God’s Word, the eternal principles or doctrines that underpin the whole of God’s Word, is often lacking. We can identify for you 12 God Ideas (follow link) that every preschool child should have hidden in his or her heart by the time the child enters the middle years. Each idea has a memory verse and suggestions for teaching in each of the learning styles: hear, see, touch, say, do.
In order to be proactive about teaching God’s Word, do this:
Take time. Have a children’s Bible to read from with your child every day. I recommend Bible Now which can be ordered from 2=1, your local bookstore or The American Bible Society. Internationally, check with your pastor or church.
Teach the God’s Ideas. Each month, beginning with your child’s first birthday until your child’s sixth birthday, focus on one of these twelve truths or God Ideas. Choose Bible stories to read with your child that reinforce the Big Idea. Read the same stories over and over again until your child can point to the illustrations and tell you the story.
Memorize the verses suggested for each God Idea. Write that verse in places where your child can see it: chalk boards, posters, computer screens, mirrors, etc. If you have Bible Now you will have additional memory versus suggested with each story. Also, get a copy of the Bible Now curriculum that any parent or church can use to teach children the Scriptures (available from The American Bible Society).
Stay in God’s Word. Every place you go, be proactive and intentional in teaching the God Idea, memory verse and Bible stories all the time. Deuteronomy 6 records God’s command to teach your children when you rise up and lie down, go out and come in. Wherever you go, keep the God Ideas in front of your child. Use sock puppets to help you tell stories to your children and to act out situations with your child such as sharing, being king to others, watching what we say, etc.
Understand the process of being Presence-driven. Stay in God's presence continually with worship, the Word, prayer and living for Jesus. Realize that God's presence births purpose in your life. Don't go anyplace in life until God goes before you (Ex. 33). Stay on-purpose (Eccl. 3:1-2). Remember that Presence-birthed purpose will birth an abundance of plans (Jere. 29:11, John 10:10, Ps 37) that will give you idea after idea for implementing God's purpose.
Pray. Be patient and persistent. Don't give up. Even if you mess up one plan, go to the next. If you press through, keep on-purpose, and fix your eyes on Jesus you cannot fail! Each plan will birth prosperity (Ps 1) and good fruit (John 15) in your life. That fruit has substance for sustaining you today and seed for you to sow for tomorrow's harvest.
Stay the watch - be on your guard (1 Cor. 16:13). Pray continually. Guard the doorways into your child's life - other people, playmates, sitters, media, toys, games - anything or anyone that teaches or influences your child needs to be screened by you, the parent.
Communicate with your child. Spend time together. Use all the love languages - affirming words, gift giving, physical touch, acts of service, quality time. Discipline to teach and correct, not to punish and hurt. God's truth that you sow today into your child's life will reap a lifelong, eternal harvest. You are leaving a good inheritance for your seed.
Extract from 2=1's Legacy Magazine
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