While visiting a website recently (http://familyreadingbible.com/) I came across some startling facts:
-Less than 10% of Christian families read the Bible together
-Our children are in church 40 hours a year and they are with us about 3000
I am very aware that the Bible clearly gives the responsibility of spiritual formation of children to the parents. We are all pretty familiar with the above verses from Deuteronomy, but the Bible is really filled with similar verses mandating us, as parents, to teach our children the ways of the Lord:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9
Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” Deuteronomy 4:10
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21
he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 32:46
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
But as for you, hold on to what you have learned and know to be true. Remember where you learned them. You have known the Holy Writings since you were a child. They are able to give you wisdom that leads to being saved from the punishment of sin by putting your trust in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:14-15
And the list goes on and on....
Since our return from the United States we felt convicted that perhaps we weren't doing enough to spiritually form the children in our home. I know that might sound crazy I mean, we are missionaries, right?! We are leaders of a church, right?! But, the truth is, we weren't amongst the 10% of families who read the Bible together. Yes, we pray together before meals, or on occasion when there is a problem. We have our daily quiet times and have taught our youth to do the same. We talk about the Lord frequently and try our best to model what it means to live a life for Him, but we weren't actually in the Word on a regular basis with them. We would consult the Word with them when certain situations or questions arose, but we hadn't been setting down regularly and studying it with them. We began thinking and praying for how to begin this new study with our youth. There are tons of resources out there, and lots of ideas. There is even a family Bible that makes it all simple. What we decided, though, based on our youths' current spiritual level and maturity is to give them weekly questions to investigate and study. What we do is each Monday we present B and E with a question to investigate. The question can be theological (From where did Cain take his wife?), to apologetic (Explain how Noah got the dinosaurs on the ark), to life application (Is it okay for Christians to listen to non-Christian music?), to doctrinal (Is it okay for women to wear pants?), to controversial (Should Christians support the death penalty?). Then on Saturday after dinner, we all get together and discuss what we have found. It has been lots of fun discussing these topics with them and watching them dig deeper into the Word and other resources to discover answers. Our prayer is that through this they will learn how to answer some of the hard questions, that sometimes it's okay to say "I don't know," and how to defend their faith. We hope that they will be able to do just as Peter instructs..."Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect." 1 Peter 3:15
If you are interested in studying the Bible with your children, here are some links to some great resources that we have found:
www.gotquestions.org On this website you can even sign up for the question of the week which they will deliver to your inbox.
ww.answersingenesis.org Amazing resource and organization! Their Creation Museum in Kentucky is an absolute must for every family!
www.dividedthemovie.com Very thought-provoking movie. We can't say that we agree with 100% of what they say, but they certainly left us thinking.
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