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Model for Children to Study the Bible

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Bible Study Tool for Children
(Click to enlarge in Pinterest & repin. You are permitted to print a copy of the image to distribute to students.)

We can give children tools to help them remember how to read and study God’s Word, but that will only take them so far. They need to see it modeled. Personal reading and study of God’s Word needs to be reinforced by their Bible teachers. Even how a teacher speaks of and uses God’s Word in the classroom can make a difference.

In a previous post you were given a tool you can use with children to help them read and study God’s Word. If you did not read that post, let me encourage you to do so before reading this one to help you better understand the significance of the words in the Bible acrostic I will be referring to below.

Believe

If you want children to believe the importance of the Bible, they need to see their Bible teachers using it when teaching, not just referring to the curriculum lesson book. If they don’t see you using it in church, why should they use it at home? Also, Bible teachers need to make sure they are emphasizing the right things about the Bible, that it isn’t merely a book of rules or nice stories but a way to get to know and love our great God and to hear from Him.

Investigate

Teach children how to discover truth on their own by practicing it in the classroom. Don’t just tell them what the Bible says but rather ask questions and use methods that require them to dig deeper. By doing this, you will increase their understanding of how to study the Bible on their own.

Benefit

Get beyond merely teaching what the Bible says, head knowledge, to helping students see how it relates to them. Use questions and discussion methodology to help them think through the implications of the lesson’s truth to their lives. If children aren’t used to thinking through the benefits of Scripture in the classroom, they might have a more difficult time doing so on their own.

Listen

Go far enough in your teaching. Helping children see the implications of truth to their lives is good but giving them opportunity to practice the application of those truths is even better. Role playing is one method you might use. Also, seek commitments from them for steps they will take. If they see the difference it can make in their lives when they obey, or put into practice, God’s Word, it could spur them on to go that far in their own reading and studying of the Bible.

Encourage

Children will be more likely to believe, value, appreciate, and apply God’s Word when they share what they have learned with others. Help children understand that reading and studying God’s Word isn’t just for the effect it has on them but also so they can encourage others with it. Model this step by ending class with at least a few students being able to share one thing they learned that day. Or, have them make crafts representing what they have learned for them to pass on to someone else. Or, perhaps you can make a take home paper for them, if not provided by the curriculum, for them to use as a tool to tell parents or friends what they learned.

Teacher Training Resource:  Discipling Students in Word of God Worksheet

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2 Replies to “Model for Children to Study the Bible”

    • How true, Bill. They certainly would be children’s best role models. Imagine the impact of parents not only encouraging children to study the Bible but also modeling personal time in His Word because they want to know Him better! Sadly, though, many adults don’t spend much personal time in God’s Word. Sending a tool like the acrostic in this post home with children could be beneficial to not only the children but also their parents. You could even send a note home with it to parents explaining what it is about and how they are the best ones to reinforce Bible reading in their children’s lives. The more tools we can provide to parents to fulfill their responsibility of nurturing their children, the better.

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