“ If you want to influence children ’ s faith significantly , make it a priority to teach them to study and memorize the Bible .”
6 . PROVIDE BIBLE STUDY TOOLS FOR CHILDREN Every child should understand how to use the following
Bible study tools , which make great gifts .
Commentaries explain the meaning and application of Scripture . Scholars spend vast amounts of time studying the Bible and write about their discoveries in commentaries . Scripture can be challenging to understand , so good commentaries are helpful .
Bible Dictionaries list items by theme . Teach children to look up people , places , and themes of Scripture to quickly learn about important and obscure people in the Bible or the meaning of a word . Children can also look up themes such as faith and learn more about the topic .
Concordances are Bible catalogs that list every word alphabetically and tell where to find each word by listing references . Extremely helpful when studying a specific word or recalling a word in a passage when one cannot remember the reference .
Bible Atlases teach about the geography of the Bible , the location of cities , and the whereabouts of important happenings . For example , there is an Old Testament Jericho and a New Testament Jericho , which is helpful to understand . The Scripture writers purposefully wrote that Jesus walked up to a location , which is a geographical reference . It is helpful to know where a city is located to understand a text better .
If you want to influence children ’ s faith significantly , make it a priority to teach them to study and memorize the Bible . Encourage them to open God ’ s Word , be blessed by its truth and beauty , capture its depths and heights , and be captivated by the glorious God in its pages . The joyful experience of reading God ’ s Word is where great parenting and teaching begin . Leave a lasting legacy by training children to develop the spiritual discipline of Scripture reading . ■
Dr . Josh Mulvihill is the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at RenewaNation . He served as a pastor for nearly 20 years , serves on the board of Awana , and helps to provide leadership to the Christian Grandparent Network . He holds a Ph . D . from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary . He is the author of Biblical Grandparenting , Preparing Children for Marriage , Biblical Worldview , and 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home . Josh is married to Jen , and they have five children . Josh blogs at GospelShaped Family . com .
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