One thing that I’ve been working on lately is a list if suggested Bible lessons/topics that parents should teach their children. Ignorance of Bible content is not a problem limited to third world countries, such as where we currently live. It is an increasingly world-wide challenge, as worldly pleasures compete more and more for our time. This isn’t just a challenge for children, but it affects all ages. So, I would like to challenge you to make Bible knowledge a priority in your family. Help your children become students of the Word.
Knowledge alone is not the same thing
as a tender heart that desires to please God.
However, our family members,
both young and old,
need to see that within the pages of His Word
there are men and women who were real,
who had the same basic struggles as we have.
They need to see that some people made good choices
and some made bad choices,
and they need to see what God’s response was,
based on the choices made.
Our families need to be amazed
at God’s power and providence throughout the ages.
If there is one thing I’d like to stress, it is that we should not underestimate the minds of little children! They are so often capable of MUCH MORE than we give them credit for. Most two and three year old children are capable of learning all of the books of the Bible, from memory! You may find that you have some catching up to do, and that’s okay, as long as you recognize the need and you are willing to do something about it. Learn together with your children.
So far I have the list finished for the Old Testament. Please know that this list is just a starting place! It is in no way a complete list of all relevant events in the Old Testament, but rather, it is designed to help parents who may feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin.
I’m also working on one for the New Testament and it is proving to be much more difficult for me to decide what to list, keeping in mind that one of my goals is to translate it into Swahili so that it can be shared with parents who absolutely do not know how to go about teaching their children. It’s still a work in progress, but hopefully I will be done soon, and then I can share my N.T. list with you also.
If you are interesting in having this O.T. list in .doc format email me privately and I will be happy to send it to you. You are free to use it and edit it to make it work for you.
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This looks great – a excellent resource for us to translate and use in our "Building Strong Families" ministry in Honduras! Thanks for sharing – appreciate your thoughtful work.
Joy, I love the list you have composed. Thank you for the caring and time you have put into this. You are such an encouragement! I will email you 🙂
Thanks for this good reminder. If our toddlers can learn their ABC's by age two, why not the books of the Bible? I'd love to have this list in document form, too.
What a wonderful list and tool to use, Joy! Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate your work in encouraging all of us in our study and in teaching our children/grandchildren, other little ones. Will you please send this list to me via email? Thank you.
Love,
Debbie
Joy, this is great! I'm so thankful for all you do to help parents. We are blessed to be part of your family!
Thanks Laura! Like I said, it's a work in progress, and I've already thought of other things that I would like to add to the list. We should never get tired of hearing these Bible accounts. 🙂
This is a lovely idea for Moms and Dads, especially if you are a new Christian. I remember when we were very young and had just started learning the Bible ourselves. At first we were embarrassed to admit that we knew very little Bible, but learning the Bible with our children while we taught them became so much fun! That was how we learned all those amazing Bible heros! This is a wonderful list, Joy!!!
I think it is great for anyone to check to be sure we have not forgotten to teach our own children and to remind ourselves that knowledge of God's Word is our responsibility as parents, not the Sunday School teacher's!! Thank you for all your hard work!