When our children were three and one year old, we began reading The Big Picture Story Bible together and saying thankful prayers at bedtime. This cherished habit of nightly family worship would never have been established if not for my husband’s (sometimes stubborn) dedication. I am kaput by bedtime and, no doubt, would not have carried it on. But thanks to Chris, seven years later, the tradition is firmly set into our family culture.
Through the years, our family worship time has grown with the children. When they were four, two and new, we started bookending family worship with the Lord’s Prayer and the doxology. And Chris read Sally Lloyd-Jones’ wonderful Jesus Storybook Bible. As we read, the kids 1) became familiar with the Bible’s most foundational stories, 2) gained an overview of the overarching themes from creation to the fall to redemption and 3) steadily got to know the character of God. Picture Bibles aid understanding and provide images to hold in their minds forever.
Later, we began singing hymns and memorizing Bible verses to store up truth in their hearts. We started with passages like Acts 16:31, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 and John 3:16. Also, we added The Beginning Reader’s Bible (ICB) to our stash. Whenever we finished one picture Bible we reread another.
When they were six, four, two and new, we added intercessory prayer to our routine and started steadily memorizing the catechism. The children started asking deep questions that spurred meaningful discussion in our living room.
At ages eight, six, four and two, we added Catherine Vos’s excellent pictureless Child’s Story Bible to our rotation. Some of the children drew Bible scenes while they listened to Dad read aloud. We also encouraged the children to apologize and forgive one another for trespasses. As Chris explains, “With so many tiny humans running around, we inevitably hurt each other every day. So, we make it a point to ask for forgiveness whenever we mess up, mommy and daddy included. To make sure we don’t forget to do this, we developed a habit of going around the circle at bedtime and giving everyone the chance to ask for forgiveness and/or to forgive.”
Last year, Chris started reading from the Book of Common Prayer because, though we are nondenominational, we have fallen in love with liturgy. Also, we alternated reading from picture Bibles for our younger children and the beautifully written, easy to understand New Living Translation (NLT) for our older ones.
Nowadays, at ages ten, seven, six, four and one, our routine is streamlined: After kitchen clean-up, Chris reads from the Book of Common Prayer then we say the Lord’s Prayer, practice our current memory verse, read from the NLT or a picture Bible, discuss the reading, forgive one another, pray and sing the doxology. Then we tuck them into bed. It takes fifteen minutes.
If you do not have a spouse ready to lead family Bible study, you can simply build the habit of reading a short Bible verse aloud and discussing it during breakfast or dinner everyday and pray together before heading to bed. Do what works for your family.
I am thankful that our children are gaining biblical knowledge and a Christian worldview from their earliest years. But more than that, I rejoice that they are already experiencing God’s personal love and help first hand every day of their lives. And I know God enjoys it.
This article was printed in the Winnsboro News in September 2021 as part of the series: Six Months Cultivating Habits, Skills and Joys in Your Children
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