Hello Church Family,

Mark Driscoll, former pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle WA wrote an article on this that I think is pretty helpful. I’m going to forward on the seven tips he put in his newsletter for you to think over for yourself. These are seven things to consider if you want to help you children learn to think biblically.

Ideally, start early.Second Timothy 3:15 says of Timothy, “From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” God the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writing of Scripture, is amazingly helpful at assisting even a young child to begin to understand the Word of God.

Look for the teachable moments.
If Bible study is something that only happens on a set day at a set hour, a lot of opportunity can be lost. In addition to regular times, there are also teachable moments when God provides parents the opportunity to teach a child whose heart and mind are open. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Yes, the grocery store, soccer field, and car ride in traffic include opportunities to discuss the Bible in practical ways. This is very much like Jesus raising up His disciples by talking with them as they ate food, went for walks, and did chores together in relationship.

Think Biblically Yourself
If both mom and dad are Christians, they should each help the children think biblically. Proverbs is a book of the Bible that includes the example of a mom and dad both teaching their kids biblical truth. Proverbs 1:8 says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” As both parents grow, they can help the child grow, as well.

Keep it practical.
The mother and father in Proverbs speak with their children about practical matters of life in relation to God. They cover such topics as friends (1:10–16, 4:14), work (6:10–11, 10:5), sex (5:1–22, 6:24-26, 7:1–27, 29:3, 31:1–3), money (15:27), beer (31:4), food (28:7), language (4:24, 20:20, 23:15–16, 30:11, 31:28), and respecting elders (30:17).

Repeat, Repeat & Repeat.
You won’t regret repitition. One key to learning is repeating. You cannot simply tell a children something one time and expect them to remember it forever. Instead, you may have to repeat Bible verses and principles over and over for them to really stick with the children. In Proverbs, for example, the parents explain the importance of wisdom in comparison to folly to their children over and over..

Set an example.
A Godly parents should have a good study Bible in the house that the kids see them read. A Godly parents should have Bible reference books and/or software in the home that they use for deeper study and teach the kids to use.

Make the Bible come to life.
Don’t bore your kids with the Bible. Make up fun Bible questions for quizzes. Get family members dressed up in costumes to act out fun Bible stories – like the time that our young son stood on the dinner table pretending to be Zacchaeus up in a tree while we laughed. We even took our kids to a secondhand store to pick out outlandish dress-up clothes so we could be snewiers, wise men, dragons, princesses, and shepherds. One of my favrite costumes was a big, fake, muscular Goliath who got killed when one of the kids hit him in the head with a fake rock.