I Have A Question…
How do I make the Bible interesting for my kids?
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 & II Timothy 3:1-17
A new pastor came to town and set out to visit the families in his parish. He came to the door of one woman who had not attended church for some time, who was home with her young son. She was obviously uncomfortable about not being a regular at church, and tried to compensate by pointing out a large Bible prominently placed on a shelf in the living room. She spoke in hushed and reverent tones about “the Word of God.” “The Word of God?” Her young son asked confused. “It’s a book, not a word!” “Yes, said the pastor, but it’s God’s book.” The son said, “Well, if it’s God’s book, then we’d better give it back to Him, because we never read it!”
During these summer months we have invited you to determine the topic we discuss on Sunday morning. This morning, we are going to consider a question that I feel is appropriate for Father’s day, “How do I make the Bible interesting for my kids?”
How can a couple and family keep their Bible study fresh and interesting and keep everyone involved and participating? That is a challenge that goes back to the very first time that the words of God were set down in writing. Thousands and thousands of years ago, when the Lord first instructed Moses to take two tablets of stone, and write down the commandments of God, and then followed that initial inscription with the Torah, or book of the Law, God instructed that His word be taught in the home. Hear me – the HOME is the first place the Bible is to be taught, not the school, not the youth group, not even the church. Each father and mother is given very clear instruction from God concerning parental responsibility, coupled with an equally clear teaching about the child’s response.
When I first read the question that we are exploring today, “How do I make Bible study and devotions fun and interesting for my family?” my thought was, “By being excited about it myself!”
Think about it for a moment. When my children were young, we lived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. I was working at Bethel College and Seminary at the time. My boss was a huge baseball fan, especially the Twins. He had season tickets. As I hung out with him, I got interested in the Twins, and the second year there, we began to share the season tickets. Soon I had Twins license plates on my car, Twins caps on my head, a Kirby Pucket baseball card collection, T-shirts, posters and pennants in the kids’ rooms – and then they went to the World Series and I really got on board!
As I got excited about the Twins, my little girl, Nicole, got excited about them – at age 5! She knew nothing about how baseball worked, what the men on the field were doing, or even what the score was most of the time – but she knew I was excited, so she was excited! It happens in many areas of life – my grandfather loved to read, my dad caught that passion from him, I got if from my dad, and my kids got it from me. You’ve seen it in your own life – from sports, to mechanics, cooking to woodworking, our kids tend to get passionate about what we are passionate about!
I believe that same principle is embodied in one of the earliest portions of Scripture that is one of the most important in the Jewish faith up to this day. It’s found in Deuteronomy chapter 6:4-9.
In Deuteronomy, Moses is preparing for his own death. God had told him that he would not be permitted to enter into the Promised Land because of his sin before the people, so he knew his time to die had come. Before he left, he reviewed the word of God with the people, and left them the written law of God. In chapter 6 of that book, as he begins to share with them the content of the written word of God, he presents the challenge that has passed down through the generations to each one of us as parents and followers of God:
Hear, O Israel The Lord, our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deut 6:6-9)
Do you see the progression? In my Bible, I have underlined the words - “love,” “heart,” “teach,” “talk,” and “walk.” These words form a sequence of thought and action that are essential in the life of a godly family.
1. Love the Lord.
It all starts with love. Whether it’s a baseball team or the word of God, we are not going to invest ourselves in something that we don’t feel very deeply about. How many times do you hear people around here say, “Oh, Yeah, I love da’ Packers!” That love gets handed down from generation to generation. God knows that about us - He created us! And He commands us, through Moses’ words, to love Him first and foremost – with all our heart, soul, and strength. Notice that all the calls for us to learn and teach and obey follow the call to love. RELIGION gets us nowhere! God isn’t interested in your religious duty – through Isaiah He tells us to stop observing our religious traditions until we get our love right – put Him first! Dad – if you want you kids to love the Lord – YOU have to love the Lord. Your example will set the pace for your entire family. If they see everything else in life coming before God in your life – then don’t be surprised when God comes last in theirs.
The Hebrew word here for “love,” means “to make one’s choice.” Love is just that – a choice. It’s not an emotion, or a warm fuzzy feeling – many marriages have failed because the participants believe they “aren’t in love anymore” because the feelings have died. Well, they started with a wrong definition of love. Love is a commitment – a decision – a devotion of one’s self to another despite the feelings, regardless of the emotions. Deciding to put their needs ahead of our own. Does God - His will, His kingdom, His righteousness come first in your world – or do you love God as long as He delivers – like a giant Pez dispenser in the cosmos? Love the Lord ultimately – with all you are. Absent that love, in your heart, there can be no such love in your children.
2. Believe it.
The next directive we have is found in verse 6 – “and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart…” Note that God does not call us to keep His word in our HEAD – but out HEARTS. It’s not enough to know the words – we have to believe them. When I worked at the schools here in Mayville and in Horicon, I had a chance to talk to a lot of students who were going through the confirmation process a their’ church. More often than not, when they talked about it, it was in terms of resignation – “Well, you know, I’ve got to do this or grandma will have a fit – I don’t really believe it, but I’ll learn it!” That type of attitude is far too common for many in the church – and not just teenagers going through confirmation.
We “know” that the Bible says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” But when things don’t go our way, we quickly accuse God of abandoning us. We may “know” that the Bible promises that God will not allow us to face any temptation greater than we can bear, but we fall into sin and say, “I just couldn’t say ‘no’!” You may “know” the word, but do you “believe” it? Has it moved from your head to your heart? There has to be both knowledge and belief – Paul wrote to Timothy, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able…” It was that knowledge and belief that allowed Paul to be faithful even when his world was falling apart.
Dad, your children need to see that belief in action – they need so see you faith displayed in action and conviction.
3. Teach it.
Thirdly, we are instructed to teach the word. It is a sad commentary in our Nation that we have more Bibles at our disposal than any generation in the history of the world, but the level of ignorance of God’s word has never been greater. A recent Barna Research Group survey conducted among a random probability sample of 641 adults demonstrated that many Americans have a woeful knowledge of the Bible.
Among Christians in the survey:
Among non-Christians in the survey:
The responsibility for this ignorance lays primarily at the feet of parents who do not know the Bible themselves, and who do not teach it in the home! God makes it clear that the teaching is to take place in the home – you are to teach your children!
4. Live it.
Finally, we are called to live it. In fact, we are to teach it by living it. In verses 7 we see this truth defined: “talk of [the word of God] when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.” You’ve probably heard or seen the old poem, “Children learn what they live.”
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight, etc.
The concept is true. Dads, our children will learn the defining characteristics of their lives not by the books they read, or the classes they attend, but from the life they live in your home. If you want your child to live a godly life – YOU must live a godly life! If you want them to have deep faith, YOU must have deep faith. If you want them to be excited about God and His Word – YOU must be excited about it! That’s right, dad – YOU! Not mom. Your kids need to see that being godly is part of being manly – not the opposite of manliness. You must demonstrate holiness, integrity and leadership in your home – as a parent; it is your responsibility before God.
The Child’s Response
But while it is the parent’s responsibility to provide a nurturing environment for their children to grow in love with God and His word, the ultimate responsibility lies with each of us individually, and that includes you children. So what does the Bible say to young people about their response to the Word of God? Turn to II Timothy. This is a very intimate letter that Paul wrote to a young man that he considered his “son in the faith.” His instructions here are vital to your life as a Christian.
1. Own it.
In II Tim 1:5 Paul writes, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now live in you also.” You have to make a personal response to the love of God. The love, faith, teaching and lifestyle of your mom and dad or your grandparents will NOT get you into heaven – only our own response to His love will do that. It must be in you also – you have to own it! You must make a personal decision for yourself that you will follow Christ, and become His disciple.
2. Know it. (3:10-15)
But you must go further. God’s gift of faith, and eternal life, is just the beginning. We are called to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In chapter 3 of II Timothy, Paul challenges Timothy to KNOW. Beginning in verse 10, he writes, “You, however KNOW all about my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, etc…” In verse 14 he continues, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures…”
No one can know the Bible for you – no one can learn it for you – YOU must take responsibility for your own spiritual knowledge. Get into the word – read it – every day – believe me, it will amaze you how practical it is. I’ve been studying this book since I was 10 years old, and I am still blown away by how it speaks to my life situation every day. But you can’t know that until you know it! Read it, learn it, study it, memorize it and, finally, LIVE IT.
3. Live it. (3:16-17)
In verse 16, Paul tells Timothy that the word of God, and our faith in Him, is to impact our every day lives. “All Scripture,” he writes, “is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That word “useful” means that it is practical – it is helpful and functional in a street-level, real-life way. This word is not simply meant for Sunday morning story-telling. It is to impact every aspect of our lives from age 5 to age 105! Allow the Word of God to do it’s teaching, rebuking, correcting and training work in your life – take personal responsibility for your spiritual growth – learn the will of God as revealed in His word – and live it out every day.
“How do families make Bible study interesting for our children and keep everyone involved in it?
It happens by being passionate about it as parents, and passing that passion on to the generations to come…
May God stir up a holy passion in each of our hearts for His word and His will.
Amen.