A lot of people think that Bible Sunday school is enough for their kids to learn all about the word of God. Although Bible Sunday school is important, it is not the whole story. The most important activity, in fact, is family Bible study. You see, the church is a community, and the family is a community within the community. Unless you study the Bible with your children, you will not be able to nurture that community. Your kids respect you, so they must know that the love of God is in your heart for it to find its place in theirs.
Of course, children Bible study is not as easy as you might think. It is easy to give them some familiarity with the stories, but to tell them in a way that is appropriate for kids and does not distort the word of God is a little bit difficult sometimes. You see, children are naturally curious. Family Bible study has to address the curiosity and answer all the questions in a meaningful way that they will understand. That is the only way that they can get a head start on mastering the truths of the Bible.
Bible study resources can be a great addition to your normal practice of reading the Bible to your kids. Family Bible study, of course, starts with the book itself, but it goes beyond it. You need to get your kids to start thinking about the Bible, to incorporate into their everyday life. Your family Bible study can be complemented by the things that kids like – games, puppets, songs and stories. Telling kids parables is also an excellent way to enrich the family Bible studies. Parables can teach them right and wrong and help to integrate the morals of the Bible it into their lives. If your kids can learn early on how practical and useful the Bible is, they'll never turn from it.
If you are not sure how to go about setting up a family Bible study program, you can always consult the teacher at your child's Sunday school. Don't be afraid to ask questions when you're doing family Bible study. After all, just because you know how to be a good parent does not mean you know how to be a good teacher. Teaching is a whole different set of skills, and if you don't possess them, you have to find a way to learn it one way or another.
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