If you are like me, you find it hard in your normal lives to stop, take a minute, and read your Bible together as a family…and I’m a pastor! Christians, and our Jewish predecessors, have prioritized storytelling as a part of training up our children in the way they should go. If something good can come out of this virus interrupting our lives, may it be that we find time to get in the rhythm of God’s grace through daily scripture reading, meditation, and weekly online worship…what do you have to lose!
Each week I’ll try to upload a video or two that cover some of our readings to help you out, but frankly, you spending time with your family reading God’s great story is the best medicine in this crazy time! I know reading the Bible can be intimidating. I grew up in church and went to Seminary and there are still things I don’t understand, but this passage in Isaiah 55:9-11 gives me hope:
9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
God’s word will not return empty! There is something powerful about the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 says that it the word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, and Hebrews 4:12 says,
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
God’s word is powerful. Fortunately, it’s not about “understanding” everything. If we just take the time to read it with our families, it can transform us! I will do my best to provide a daily blog post on the passage you can read with your families. The format and questions will be based on Elizabeth Caldwell’s method in her book, I Wonder. Here is a 5-part template for 10-15 minutes of your family Bible time: Enter, Hear, Pause, Wonder, Bless…
Enter:
Find a place where your family can sit comfortably together. You can ask questions like these (don’t feel the need to ask all of them!):
• What made you happy today?
• What made you sad?
• Where did you see God’s love today?
• Where did you give or received God’s love today?
• For what are you most grateful?
• For what are you least grateful?
Hear:
Read the Bible Passage. For younger children, a picture Bible may be used.
Pause:
This might be hard at first, but take a few seconds, or maybe a minute to sit with the scripture in silence. With little ones, it may be a ten count, but we can sit still and let God’s word work!
Wonder:
Let your kids explore the story by asking some questions:
What was interesting to you?
Who were the main characters and what happens to them?
Why is this story in the Bible?
How can we connect with this story? OR When would be a good time to remember this story?
For older kids:
How is this story different from the time and place in which we live?
Is there anything confusing about the story? (Feel free to comment with your questions below or contact a pastor if you don’t know all the answers! This is an opportunity for all of us to learn together)
Bless:
Affirm what was discussed about the story.
Revisit the things the kids brought up during the “Enter” time.
Pray together:
Praise God, Give thanks, Pray for others, confess sins, Praise God!
READING PLAN
Below is our reading plan through Easter. The first reading coincides with our FBCW Treehouse Club At Home Edition YouTube video. Feel free to use it to get you started!
