Spread the word!

I am a baby Christian. Well, that’s not entirely true. According to a scale that Chris was shown, I’m technically a “toddler Christian”, but really? That’s not much better. I am still a Bible newbie, so you can imagine my panic when my sweet four year old informed me that he wanted to learn from my big kid Bible because the verses he was memorizing weren’t in his little kid Bibles. Yikes! How do we teach our children Biblical truth when we are Bible newbies ourselves?

Teaching the Bible as a Bible Newbie

I’m not going to lie. I procrastinated. A lot. I didn’t know where to begin! Chris and I had just watched the Bible series, and that just solidified my fear. I mean, teaching my four year old that God asked a man to take his son up onto a mountain and kill him? Even though it was just a test, that’s enough to give a preschooler nightmares! Or there’s David. He killed a giant. Great story for a little boy! But then he committed adultery and had someone murdered… Not exactly preschool material. My biggest issue was I didn’t know where the “bad” was, so I was too afraid to start. How did we get from preschool Bibles to actual Bible study?

Ask for help!

This one is HUGE! I was overwhelmed and scared and feeling totally unworthy. I talked with some of my friends that are further on their walks than me. I am very lucky in that a few of my closest friends are actually pastors, so they know a whole lot about the Bible. Use your friends, parents, pastors, anyone! They can guide you with where to start and what to avoid. Now, just a disclaimer, I am not one to believe you should pick and choose verses, chapters, or books and leave the rest. However, there are some things that are inappropriate for my four year old! He can learn those parts a little later when he is ready to handle them.

Make it fun!

My son loves crafts. He loves to draw and color and paint. This is an area that doesn’t get as much time in our homeschool as it should. Same with Bible study, so I just started pairing them! We read a section, then he colors a picture with it. We’re going through the days of creation, and we’re making a different picture for each day, and we’re going to make it into a book. I think with Noah we might make paintings of the boat, the water, and eventually the rainbow. [My kiddos love rainbows] These little crafts can be found all over pinterest, so they’re safe even for us Bible newbies!

Keep it simple!

If you try to go from reading little preschool Bible stories to “a chapter a day every day no matter what” you will probably get overwhelmed almost immediately and give up. Read a few verses to start. We broke it up into the days of creation. Teeny tiny bite sized pieces. Don’t try to memorize an entire chapter in one month. Maybe just start with a verse. Recite the verse over breakfast and dinner. Have your kids share what they learned with Dad when he gets home. Teaching one or two verses really well is much better than teaching a chapter or two without any retention! When you first started reading your Bible I doubt you read the whole thing in one sitting! We’re Bible newbies here, baby steps!

Just start

Really, it’s that simple. That fear that you have that you won’t be good enough isn’t the Holy Spirit talking! God gave you this child for a reason. You are the perfect person to teach your kids God’s word. Now, that does not mean that you will always teach it perfectly. You will probably have some major fails here and there, and your child will ask you a question you can’t answer. But think of the discussion that can come with that! Maybe the two of you can go together to ask a leader at your church? Maybe you two can look in different areas of the Bible to find the answer. It’s okay for your child to know that you don’t know everything. Just start. Start small. Have fun. But just start.

So how do you teach the Bible to your kids or in your homeschool? Are you a Bible newbie like me, or an old pro?