Teaching God’s Word Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

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I’ve been working on a new book for moms and one of the questions I’m often asked is this, “How do you teach God’s word to your kids?” Here is an excerpt from my book Modern Moms © and its perfect for everyday moms like you and I wanting to led our kids to Jesus. 🙂 

Being in central Nebraska, I am smack dab in the middle of farm country. In fact, most of my friends have grown up on farms or are married to farmers. Don’t even get me started about football around here either (We still don’t really get it). Husker season impacts our farming community in a sea of red. What I love about this area is daily I drive by fields with row upon hundreds of rows displaying the fruit (well veggies in this case) of the farmer’s hard labor.

Early in the fall as I drift off to sleep, I can hear combines in the distance still bringing the harvest in. Our children are just like those fields. The ground is fresh and untouched until the farmer surveys the land, taking stock of its soil. Next comes the plowing and rows are prepared to receive the seed. After each row has been planted, the farmer doesn’t sit idly by; he’s at work checking on the moisture of the soil, making sure it’s irrigated and prepping farm equipment for the future harvest. 

In late spring we begin to see what’s been at work under the ground. Shoots of green dot the rows. All too soon, it’s time to reap the harvest of the seed that was planted months before.

The product we want to harvest from our children is much the same way. We plant the seeds of Christ, through Bible stories, walking out our faith in front of them in the everyday things, and instilling values, morals and developing character through watering, nurturing and tending to their sweet souls. Now that we have a fresh view of our little ones (including your grade-schooler), let’s look at tools you can use to combat the “It’s all about me” culture we are bombarded with. Starting with Scripture.

Scripture is a great way to teach character, what the Bible says, who Jesus is, and how we treat others. These are some of my favorite verses simplified for you and your kids. 

The ABC’s of Faith © by Heather R. Riggleman

A. Ask and it shall be given to you. Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

B. “Believe in the Lord and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 (NIV)

C. “Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do.” Ephesians 6:1 (TLB)

D. Delight yourself in the lord. Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

E.  “Every knee will bow to me.” Romans 14:11 (ISV)

F. “ ‘Follow me’ ” Jesus said, “‘and I will make you fishers of men’” Matthew 4:19           (NIV)

G. “God is love.” 1 John 4:16 (NIV)

H. “Honor your father and your mother.” Exodus 20: 12 (NIV)

I. “If you love me, you will keep my commandants.” John 14:15 (ESV)

J. Jesus told them, “‘I am the way, the truth and life.’”  John 14: 6 (NLT)

K. “Kind words are like honey—enjoyable and healthful.” Proverbs 16:24 (TLB)

L. “Let everything that has breath, praise the lord.” Psalm 150:6 (ESV)

M. “Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth.” Psalm 66:1 (ASV)

N. “No one can serve two masters.”  Matthew 6:24 (NIV)

O. “Obey God because you are his children.” 1 Peter 1:14 (NLT)

P. “Pray about everything” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

Q. “Quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 (NIV)

R.  “Rejoice in the lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

S. “Seek the kingdom of God first.”  Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

T. “Trust in the lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

U. “Unto us a child is born.” Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

V. “Very truly I say to you, no servant is greater than his master.” John 13:6 (NIV)

W. “We love each other because he [God] loved us first.” 1 John 4:19 (NLT)

X. “Exceeding great and precious promises are given unto us.” 2 Peter 1:4 (NIV) 

Y. “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 (NIV)

Z. “‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’” Luke 19:5 (NIV)

            The scriptures listed above are examples of how to teach the ABC’s of God’s word to your child. Focus on verses that you want to impress on your child, like “pressing” seed into the soil, you can plant seeds of kindness and compassion.

            The labor of teaching them to hide God’s word in their hearts is invaluable. Once our minds take hold of information, we analyze process and store it for later. As we go about our busy days, we encounter a situation which jars our memory banks and the information we stored pops to the forefront of our thoughts. Memorizing scripture is like having the Bible stored in our memory banks. What is so great about Scripture compared to any other books out there is that the word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. 

Stephanie Shott
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