As we continue our journey through the Bible chronologically (via The Gospel Project), I hope your family is enjoying new opportunities to open the Bible and discuss together.  We’ve certainly read enough for questions to arise from kids: Why did God create the world?  Why would one brother plot and steal from another?  How do we know that we can trust God? Is God going to send another flood?   But back to opening the Bible….are you doing that?  Are you physically getting out your Bible and opening it with your family?     Do you realize how important this is for your kids – not only that they know [with their minds] that you read the Bible, but also that they see [with their eyes] that you do – ?  Your kids will remember learning from and with you.  You know the verses, “…these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6).  Remember, God’s people, at this time, did not have the Bible.  They did not have the luxury of all of Scripture recorded into one book, in their own language, sitting on their nightstand and ready for reading.  We do.

So, where do you start?  Well, since it’s Advent, start with the nativity story.  Open your Bible and read Luke 2 aloud together.  Does your child have a Bible?  Get it out and help them to find Luke in the New Testament of their own Bible.  Depending on the version, theirs might or might not have the same wording as yours.  That’s ok.  Discuss what you notice to be the same/different.  What is the passage teaching you about God?  about your own relationship to Him?

Every week at SonChasers, we open our Bibles together.  We believe that every child should open a Bible personally, learning of God’s promises and hope from it.  We understand that every child may not have his own Bible at home, but it is our prayer that eventually each one will.

• On Sundays, we often read from the ESV (English Standard Version – read more about this version here) and have extra copies of the Seek and Find Bible (ages 5-9) and the Grow! Bible (ages 8-12) available for kids to use. Both of these versions are easy to read and include maps and a glossary in the back.  [Click on either of those titles for a link to more information]
• Another Bible to consider is The Big Picture Interactive Bible (Holman Christian Standard Version) which corresponds with The Gospel Project curriculum that we are currently studying. This Bible includes a topical concordance for kids – a great tool for kids to learn to use!
• Our preschoolers and early readers study from the My First Hands-On Bible, which highlights particular Bible accounts from both the Old and New Testaments (including actual Bible text and many fun suggestions for activities).

Does your child have a Bible to call his own?  Maybe Christmas is a good time to provide that.

Or maybe you already have a Bible at home, and you just need to make the time to open it together.  Start today.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  Deuteronomy 6 & 12

Devoted to Jesus – Dedicated to One Another – Driven to Reach [little] People