Bible Material for Children
1. Biblical Basis- The Bible commands parents to teach the Bible to their children diligently.
2 Timothy 3:15- “how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 6:4- And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord
Psalm 78- Verses 1-3 refer to instruction ‘of old’ which ‘our fathers have told us,’ and v.4 then states: ‘We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generations to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-25- "Hear, O
When your son asks you in time to
come, saying, 'What [do] the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments
[mean] which the Lord our God commanded you?'
then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in
Deuteronomy 4:9-10- God spoke to the people at Sinai so that ‘they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
Genesis 18:19- ‘For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.’
Sir Edmund Burke wisely observed, "Tell me what are the prevailing sentiments that occupy the minds of your young people and I will tell you what is to be the character of the next generation."
“It is a situation of tremendous responsibility to be a parent … With every babe that God entrusts to your care, he in effect sends the solemn injunction- ‘Take this child, and bring it up for me;’ and at the final audit, will inquire in what manner you have obeyed the command. It will not then be sufficient to plead the strength of your affection, nor the ceaseless efforts to which it gave rise; for if these efforts were not directed at the right end … you will receive the rebuke of Him that sitteth upon the throne.” (John Angell James, The Christian Father’s Present to His Children)
2. The Importance and Value of Teaching or Children
- The Rising Problem of Biblical Illiteracy in the church
- Role of parents more than the Church
- Reaching both parents and children
3. The Need for Substance
Far too often our Bible material
for children is embarrassingly shallow. So much that passes as bible stories for
children these days is a sham. The great
stories of scripture are turned into cute and cuddly little tales. The result of this is that many people think
of Bible stories as something for children; but, I submit to you that if you
read them they most certainly were not written primarily with children in
mind. There are enough cute cuddly
little stories around without domesticating Scripture to turn it into one. Our children need to encounter the Scripture
not emasculated stories. Of course, they
need not have every gory detail, but renditions of Noah and the ark which are
only about nice animals and fun on a boat but fail to deal with the wrath of
God against sin are perversions of the story.
Renditions of David and Goliath whose main point is that little people
can do things too, simply miss the point.
If we want to raise children who have the same deep reverence for God
and passion for His glory which compelled David to take on the giant, then we
must give them the pure milk of the Word.
We are duped by those who say that children cannot handle the deep
truths or the stark realities (e.g. hell).
However, the church through the ages has not thought this way. We do not prepare our children for life by
sugarcoating reality. There is of course
something to thinking about age appropriateness, but currently many seem to
think the only thing appropriate to say to children until they are 12 is God
loves you, you are great, etc. How will
children who hear only this ever know their desperate need for the gospel?
Examples:
-
Nathan
on the Trinity while in
- Nathan- “The power of God!”
- Asking the boys, “Is Abigail sinful?”
- Gospel for Children on Hell
- Isaac Watts songs
- David beheading Goliath- for my boys, these are girly stories
-
4. Some Recommended Resources
Family Worship
The Family Worship Book, Terry Johnson (Christian Focus)
Thoughts on Family Worship, J. W. Alexander
The Christian Father’s Present to His Children, John Angell James
Family Worship in the Bible and Your Home, Donald Whitney
Rediscovering the Lost Treasure of Family Worship, Jerry Marcellino
Catechism
Big Truths for Little Kids, by Susan and Richie Hunt (Crossway)
Truth & Grace Books, ed. Tom Ascol
Small Talks on Big Questions, Selah Helms and Susan Thompson
The Gospel for Children, John Leuzarder (Shepherd Press)
Study Bible
ESV Children’s Bible
Bible Stories
Ø
The Learn About God series (Christian
Focus), 3-6 yrs old - God is kind, has power, never changes, knows everything,
is everywhere, is faithful. These are
simple little chunky board books covering some of the attributes of God. Each page repeats the title, gives a specific
application and a related verse.
Ø
God’s
Little Guidebooks, by Hazel Scrimshire (Christian Focus), 3-6 yrs old -
This series of little booklets covers the 10 Commandments. Sibling duo Sam and Katy present each
commandment and explore how it can be applied to young lives.
Ø
Bible Time & Bible Wise, by Carine
Mackenzie (Christian Focus), 3yrs & up – These are some of the best bible
storybooks we have seen. The stories are
faithfully retold pausing at key points to make appropriate applications. For example one story tells that Gideon was
afraid when he saw the angel and here the author mentions the propriety of the
fear of God. Several of the OT stories
are particularly good in how they make application to the new covenant. (note
other Bible stories by Mackenzie)
Ø
Hear Me Read series, by Mary Manz Simon (Concordia
Publishing House) 3-6 yrs old - There is a level 1 and a level 2 in this series
and we have used level 1. These colorful
books use a minimal number of words (about 12-20) to tell basic bible
stories. They help children learn to
recognize certain words and are easy for them to learn to read on their own.
Ø
My First Study Bible, by Paul Loth (Thomas Nelson), 3-6 yrs old-
This is actually a collection of bible stories going through the entire
bible. It has little asides for children
a bit older to fill in some more details.
The stories are faithfully told using sizeable quotations directly from
Scripture. This is a refreshing contrast
to other books which add so much extra (non-biblical) detail that distracts
from the actual story. Also this book
does not shy away from the issues of God's wrath against sin and even includes
some lesser-known stories. For the
wisdom literature, many of the prophets and the New Testament letters where it
would be difficult to actually present a story, a page is given with the
prophet or author giving a summary of the book.
While one might wish they had given more on these books, at least with
this format they have covered every book of Scripture. One of the great things about this book is it
allows one to read straight through the bible with your children. Of course not everything has been covered but
something from each book has been covered- which is more than many adults have
ever done. As we approached the end of
the book on our first time through I began building up the fact that we were
close to having read through the entire bible and our boys got really excited. Even today they speak with excitement about
having read through 'the whole bible story.'
Of course a side benefit is that the parent can begin to see connections
across the whole of scripture in ways they have not before!
Ø
The Big Picture Story Bible, David Helm (Crossway), 3 yrs & up- Perhaps
the best overall Bible story book I have seen.
Focuses especially on showing how the whole bible fits together, how
Jesus fulfills the OT, etc.
Ø
The Picture Bible, Iva Hoth (Chariot Victor)
Ø
Discovering Jesus in Genesis & Discovering
Jesus in Exodus, Susan & Richie Hunt
Ø
I Love My Bible, Debby Anderson (Crossway), 3-5 yrs- great
little book on why you should love the Bible.
Ø
Herein Is Love Commentary Series, Nancy Ganz (Shepherd Press)
Christmas/Advent
Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration (NavPress)
The Wonders of Christmas, Melody Carlson (Crossway)
The Advent Book, Jack and Kathy Stockman (Crossway)
Other
Ø Dangerous Journey- a nice retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress with good illustrations
Ø The Evergreen Wood, Alan & Linda Parry- another good adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress this time with animals as the characters. Good for younger children.