DISCIPLING CHILDREN: READING THE BIBLE (PT. 2)

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In my previous post, we covered how during this pandemic many parents are feeling the pull to begin discipling their children more intentionally. They're seeing that it was God's intention for the family to be the primary place of spiritual training. 
We also talked about the main components of discipling your children which included reading the bible, praying, singing, discussing, and modeling. In today's post we'll be covering some specifics on how to begin reading the bible with your family. 

Before I jump into those specifics, I did want to reiterate that there are two ways of reading. The first is for information and the second is for communication and communion. For our children to have a balanced relationship with God they need to learn to do both. I'll explain how to read the bible for communication and communion in another post. 

FINDING A GOOD BIBLE:

The first step is finding a good bible that is appropriate to the age of the child or children that will be listening and reading along. I'm going to mention a few bibles that I have had personal experience  with and loved using with my son.

• The Jesus Storybook Bible: This is the very first bible  we began reading with our son. When he was only around 2 years old we began reading through this with him every night. The beauty of this bible is not only it's simplicity, but that it is a Christ-Centered way of telling  the stories. Jesus once said “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!" It points to how Jesus is a better Joseph, a better Jonah, etc. The illustrations are enjoyable as well. We read ours so many times we had to duct tape the spine.
• The Story for Children, A Storybook Bible: After we had been through the Jesus Storybook Bible enough times we needed a bible that was  still small kid friendly but had more stories in it. This is a great option. 
• The Action Bible: Once we had gone through the Story for Children a couple of times (see a trend here?), we switched to this bible. It's done in comic book style and includes a ton more stories. Over the years we wanted bibles that told more and more of the stories in the bible so we learned more than the top 30 stories most kids bible cover. 
• New International Readers Version: The Adventure Bible: This is the bible that we are currently in. Over the last year and a half in the evenings we have been reading one chapter a night. This bible is easily understandable for kids ages 7 up till 10.
• New Living Translation Study Bible: At a certain point it becomes important for young people to transition to a bible that can help address some of the more confusing parts of scripture. This is where it's important to have some study notes written by biblical scholars that help clear up the historical setting and explain context a little better.

The truth is that as kids get older they could go back and read these bibles for themselves. There's a difference between having the stories read to them and them beginning to read them for themselves. There are a lot of other options out there and I'm not saying these are the best but they have worked well with my family and a number of other families that I know. 

IT HELPS TO HAVE A PLAN

When I first started with my son I didn't really have a plan for reading together.  The nice thing is when they are 4 and under, the point is to get them used to sitting and hearing the stories read regularly. With the first 3 options I listed, you don't have to worry about where to start. You simply open it and read it like a normal book. 
The difficulty comes when you move into a full bible translation. Where do you start? Here are a couple of suggestions. If you are just now starting the habit of reading the bible with your elementary school age child, I would suggest getting a bible reading plan made specifically for kids. Here are a couple options.

• Foundations for Kids (also there is a book for teens): I have only just recently found this devotional and really like the way it is set up. It makes it easy for both the parents and children to read a section of scripture, then explains what's happening in the context of that scripture, has application questions and activities, and gives a sample prayer. It's visually engaging and just "kiddy" enough to get young children engaged, but not so much that older children will be put off.  This book will take you through major stories of scripture in an easy to follow way. They also have a version that goes only through the New Testament during the year to give a deeper dive into more passages that didn't get covered in the first book. They also have a version for teens as well!
• Exploring the Bible: I have been going through this particular reading plan with my son over the last year and I love it! It will also take you through the major stories of the whole bible and has questions that go along with what they read. I highly recommend getting the book that goes along with it called Exploring the Bible Together. Part of the reason is that it has additional questions that are not in the book so my child doesn't see lots of questions and decide he doesn't want to answer them, only I can see the additional questions. Also there are additional scriptures that can be  read that show how stories point to Jesus later in the New Testament.

A couple of notes. One of the downsides to using these books is that often it only reads small sections of scripture. Depending on the age of your child, their attention span, and their previous knowledge of the bible stories, reading the bible using only small sections can leave out a lot of context. It's like walking into the middle of a show on Netflix that's in its 3rd season and not really understanding what's going on.

What I would suggest is look at the section of scripture that is for that day and read the whole chapter. If you as the parent don't understand what is happening in that chapter, then go back and read the chapter before it later in the day so you can discuss what you read together.

Probably what I will end up doing is taking one of these books and making the portions of scripture bigger so that we are reading more of the bible together and getting more of the stories.

PREPARING TO READ

Now that you have your bible, you have your bible reading plan, it's time to settle in and start reading the bible together. Here are the three practical things that I think will help make reading the bible together more likely to become a habit and be sustainable.

CREATE A REGULAR TIME & SACRED SPACE: I've said it before, but time is not created, it's guarded. The only way you are going to make this a regular habit is if you set the time that best works for you and your child and then put up a fence on your calendar that says nothing else gets to enter here. It is a fallacy to believe we can add a vibrant spiritual life into our packed schedules. We have to unpack part of our schedule in order to make space to grow in our relationship with Jesus. 
This is actually "stewardship" of time. God gives us time and how we manage it is our responsibility. Do we give him back  some of the 24 hours he's graciously given to us.

You'll also want to find a place in your house that is comfortable, well lit, and quiet. It needs to probably be away from a TV, or spaces that are "common spaces". In my house it's upstairs in my office sitting together in my comfy chair. I have found that over time, when my son comes into my office, the change in environment signals to him it's time for something different.

HAVE A FAVORITE PEN/HIGHLIGHTER: If you are going through a bible reading plan that has space for your children to write answers to questions then you'll need a pen. I'm a creature of habit as well as a bit of an aesthetic freak. I have pens that I absolutely love to write with. So I made this part of the special preparation. You might want to ask them what their favorite pen is, and later go and buy a few of them to make this process special for them.

You may also want to buy a highlighter to highlight words and passages of scripture in their bible. This does a couple of things. It gives them an activity to engage in. It also makes them reread what they're highlighting. I recommend the Zebrite highlighters because they don't bleed through the thin pages.

START WITH A PRAYER: This is the official start to reading the bible in our house. We start by giving ourselves about 30 seconds to a minute of silence. Before we do that, I remind my son that this is the time where we take our minds off of whatever he was doing that morning and put them being ready to listen to God's voice. We take 3 deep long breathes. Then I begin with a simple prayer. "Holy Spirit speak, your servants are listening." It's based on a simple prayer that Samuel the prophet said.

TIME TO READ!

Then begin reading. For children that are younger you will probably do the majority of the reading. Once my son hit 8 years old he was reading well enough that I had him begin reading out loud. If he got tired of reading then I would finish, or gently encourage him that he could do it.

You may want to tell your child that if there is anything they don't understand or have a question about, that it's okay to stop and talk about it when they hear it. If they ask a question that you don't know how to answer, it is a totally acceptable answer to say "That's a great question, I actually don't know. I tell you what, I'll see if I can find an answer for you." Then you can  contact your pastor or a mature Christian friend and ask them, where should I go to find some information on this particular question?

I'll have another post on some questions to help you discuss what you've read with your child. However, even if you don't have an in depth conversation about scripture, you're already doing a great job. God doesn't expect us to have it all figured out. He simply expects us to be obedient. Read his word to and with our family. He'll help you figure out the rest.

BOOKS TO BRING ALONGSIDE THE BIBLE

As our son got older and his attention span got longer we began to incorporate some additional books. These books don't replace reading the bible, but they are great for helping what they're learning in the bible make even more sense. I would say that these books work well for children about 7 or 8 and above. Here is a short list of books  that we have loved. 

• The Ology: I absolutely love this book and can't say enough good things about it. It helps take big truths like the Trinity, or Jesus being both human and divine and puts it into ways that are helpful for children.  We'll probably pull this book back out again soon since it's been about a year since we went through it.
• Indescribable: For the child that loves science, this is a great way to reinforce to children that God is the great designer and that science and faith coexist perfectly together. 
• The Radical Book for Kids: This is another fantastic book that takes the great truths of Christianity and makes them easy to understand as well as visually appealing. It starts by summarizing the entire bible in one sentence as well as showing how Genesis and Revelation parallel each other.
• If I Could Ask God Anything: if you have a kid who is constantly asking questions, this is a great resource. It addresses questions like "where did God come from," or "Does God Care Whether My Body Is Skinny or  Fat?" 

VIDEOS AND APPS TO BRING ALONGSIDE THE BIBLE

I prefer to do as much of our time together not on a screen or digital device simply because of the potential for distraction. However, there are some additional resources that can make your time reading the bible even richer. Here are some of those resources.

• THE BIBLE PROJECT: Even if you don't have children, you should check these guys out. They have animated short videos that explain each book of the bible. They have videos the explain major themes of the bible in beautiful ways. When my son and I are reading, before we start a new book or if we're struggling to understand a book (like Job) we will watch this video together and talk about it.
• WHAT'S IN THE BIBLE: (now on the Minno App) These videos were made by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales. There are fantastic and walk through each book of the bible. They cover tough questions like why would God command Israel to kill the people in the promise land. I know right!
• THE BIBLE FOR KIDS APP: When my son was very little he enjoyed opening this app and interacting with it. It has a number of bible stories that kids can touch and the characters or animals do something. It's a fun way to get kids started. We still use the sound of the Pharisees grumbling years later.

Again, the intention of this post is not to give you a ton of books to go out and buy or to make anyone feel like they're failing. The point is that with a good bible, some guidance from a bible reading plan, and some preparation, you'll be able to take the plunge together and avoid some of the learning curve.

Are there resources that you've used that you love? What are they and what age did they work well for?