HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO STUDY THE BIBLE ON THEIR OWN

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

When we look at raising spiritually mature adults who possess a firmly rooted authenticate faith, this adage applies as well.  One of the best things we can do for our children and the Youth and the development of their faith is to teach them to study the Bible on their own. 

Think about it: If we never teach our children how to open up God’s word, read it, study it, learn from it, and apply its truth to their life on their own, they will always be reliant upon someone else to do it for them. 

Not only does this limit their availability and intake of truth, but it also opens them up to being swayed by false teaching.

As Christians, it is good for us to sit under solid teaching and preaching of the Word of God, but it is also our responsibility to make sure that what we are hearing is sound.

There are many methods of studying the bible on your own.  Instead of providing your children gifts like video games, mobiles, etc.  Gift them a Bible. 

And remember the vow you made when you got married, you made in front of the priest and the presence of the Lord that you will raise your children to be good children and God fearing.

Here are some handful of inductive Bible study methods that will help you study the Bible on your own. 

The inductive method is an investigative way of studying the bible.  It helps to provide an overall understanding of a passage of scripture what it says, the intended meaning to the original audience, and how it can be applied today. 

So, pick up your Bible, a notebook, and a pen, and try one of these out. Believe me, you will enjoy it.

It will be much more interesting than web series, games, storybooks, etc.  Moreover, you will learn how to lead a good life as Jesus did.   If you don’t already practice studying the Bible on your own, try out one of these approaches.  Remember, reading is different from studying.  Digging into God’s Word, dissecting it to learn its meaning, and then bringing an application to your life and the life of your children is both life-giving and faith-deepening and the benefits are priceless.  You have the opportunity to help them feed themselves spiritually for a lifetime!   Before you begin say a small prayer To Jesus and the Holy Spirit to teach, lead, and guide you through the Word, speak to you, and help you understand.

Let’s begin

• Observation

Read the passage and observe what you see.  Gather the facts of what is happening or being said.  Ask yourself the five W’s and an H:

Who? What? When? Where? why? How?

• Interpretation

What does the text mean? Try to discover what the author is trying to communicate.  What was the author’s intended meaning to the original audience?  Use the context to make sure you fully understand what is going on and what is being said. 

• Application

How do you apply what you have just learned to everyday life?  What does this mean for your life?  Your priorities, and your decisions?

• Prayer

Pray to God to give you the strength and grace for this purpose.

H.E.A.R.  Inductive Bible study.

• Highlight

Highlight each verse that speaks to you. Note the name of the book, the passage of scripture, the chapter, and the verse number that especially speak to you, and create a title to describe the passage.

• Explain

Ask simple questions to determine what the text means.  Why was it written? To whom was it originally written?  How does it fit with the verses before and after it?  Why did the Holy Spirit include this passage in the book? What is he intending to communicate through this text?

• Apply

Everything you have learned and noted so far culminates under this heading.  Answer these questions to uncover the significance of the passage for you.  How can this help me? what does this mean today? What would the application of this passage look like in my life?  What is God saying to me?

• Respond

Here you can write out a call to action, describe how you will be different because of what you read, or indicate what you are going to do because of what you learned.

C.O.M.A. Inductive Bible study

• Context

This refers to the background of the passage and the circumstances in which it was written.  Answer questions like Who wrote the passage? Why was it written who was it written to? What is the literary genre? What happens immediately before and after this passage? Are there specific themes or ideas that are expressed?

• Observation

This means carefully examining the passage you are reading.  Look to answer questions like is there any structure or arrangement to the passage?  Is there any repetition or comparisons or contrast?  Are there any keywords or phrases? Does anything surprise you or stick out?  If there are characters, what do they say and do? What theological terms are used and what do they mean?

• Meaning

This refers to the main point or idea that the author wanted his original audience to understand.  Ask questions about the passage such as how does the passage describe, point to, or refer back to Jesus?  What is the reader supposed to learn about God from the passage?  If you could sum up the main point of the writer in a sentence, what would it be?

• Application

This refers to how you as the reader are supposed to respond to the text.  Think through questions like does this

passage challenge or confirm my beliefs?  Is there an attitude or assumption I must change?  Are there any changes to my actions or the way I live being advised by the passage?  Is there a promise I should be believing or an attribute of God’s nature that I should be trusting?

As you can see, each of these inductive methods is similar.  You can choose which you are comfortable with. 

How do we teach our children how to study the bible? Do you want your children to develop a firmly rooted authentic faith?  Teaching them to study the bible on their own and helping them learn and practice how to do this is one of the most important things you can do for them.  So, make sure they have a Bible, a nice notebook, and maybe even a special pen, and walk them through how to do this.  Practice it with them.  Start with the training wheels on and slowly work toward them being able to study on their own.  I would recommend starting this around middle school for some and high school for most.  This involves some hard work.  But you can do it. 

God bless you all abundantly.

Thank you