Sunday Snippet: Se7en Ways to Personalize the Bible For Your Kids…

When I was in High School someone submitted this poem for the school year book:

God Loves You…

So What…

He Loves Everybody Else Too…

Melodramatic I know and somewhat depressing!!! I want my kids to know that our God is a personal God and that when he wrote the Bible he wrote it with each of them in mind. Yes He wrote it for everyone, but He wrote it for each of us as individuals too. And I have been thinking of ways to personalize the Bible for my kids. I think the key is Bible Knowledge the more they know their Bibles the closer than are to discovering it for the gift that it is.

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I really want to lose the image that the Bible is a big boring book for adults to read, you know,  that book that lurks in the pews at church on Sundays. So here’s a list of Se7en + 1 things that make the Bible more fun for our kids and more real to each of them:

  1. Name It: When you read the Bible you can read their name into Bible verses for them. I do this sometimes just for fun – just replace “you” with their name and I guarantee you will have your kids full attention!!!
  2. Act It: You can let them act out dramas from the Bible or play Bible charades. There is nothing like being part of a story to help you understand it.
  3. Retell it: Let them retell a Bible story as if they were part of it. Ask them if they were a lion in the lions den then what would the story be like? If they were Ester how would the story go. What would their life be like if they were one of Paul’s prison guards.
  4. Read it: Read the real Bible with them, not just Bible Stories. It is one thing to know a couple of Bible Stories and it is quite another to read through the nitty gritty of some of the text! It is challenging but then nothing that is worthwhile is ever easy. It doesn’t have to be boring – there are lots of fun Bibles to read with kids with snippets and ideas to keep them interested and motivated.
  5. All of it: Read all of the Bible with them – let them find and discover the hidden treasures. Let them discover that the dreary parts serve a purpose too and they aren’t that dreary when you get to know them. I used to hate reading genealogies until someone taught me that they demonstrate that God has a plan… Now we scamper after them seeking them out. Bible reading is something you really have to do with your kids in order for them to learn to love it… Read it any way you can – if you are appalling at reading out loud then find an audible bible that you can all listen to and enjoy.
  6. Learn it: Encourage them to learn Bible verses – and if you are as useless as I am with this one then have a family challenge – they love the chance to win!!!
  7. Play it: Play Bible Quizzes they are great fun and a fabulous way to learn. Let them invent the questions sometimes and be afraid – they will stretch you to the limit. Pitch the adults vs the kids – you will be surprised at just how much they know!!!
  8. The Se7en + 1th thing…

  9. Demonstrate it: Lead by example – action speaks a whole lot louder than words… if your kids never see you reading and enjoying the Bible they are never going to catch the “treasure” of it all. They need to see us treasuring God’s word in our hearts in order to apply it to themselves.

Sometimes we just need a practical reminder to make the Bible more real to our kids. If you have any ideas then add them in the comments!!!

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