Life can be busy these days. Now that lockdowns and travel restrictions have been eased, everything has gone back to how it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. This involves most parents reporting back to their offices and children going back to school to attend face-to-face classes.
But no matter how busy life can be, it is essential to spend time not just with our families, but with God. And one way to do this is by having a Bible Study as a family. In an episode of Teach With Joy on Plus Network, author, wife, and homeschooling mom Joy Mendoza shares tips and also modeled how to conduct a simple family Bible Study together with her husband, registered financial planner Edric Mendoza and their children.
The flow of every family Bible Study should be as follows:
- Prayer – During this part, you can ask your child to lead the prayer.
- Bible Reading – You may read a short verse or story from the Bible. The Bible offers a lot of great lessons about character.
- Application – Talk about how you can apply the Bible verse or story in your lives. Parents can lead the discussion by asking questions to their children and also by sharing their experiences.
More than the workplace and our children’s schools, it is really in our homes where we see each other’s unfiltered behavior, actions, and attitude. Our behavior, whether positive or negative, are all manifestations of what’s going on in our hearts and minds. Reading the Word of God as a family will not only address the matters of the heart and mind, but will also bring the whole family closer to each other, and most importantly, closer to God.
Below are some tips we can include during our Bible Studies with our families:
- Make it Short and Simple – A 15-minute Bible Study is enough, especially for families with little children. The younger they are, the shorter their attention spans are.
- Conducive Environment – Make sure that the environment is free from distractions such as gadgets. This will help both the parents and their children to focus.
- Add Actions or Songs – We can never go wrong with a little bit of music and movement. Songs and actions can help the children memorize the Bible verses.
- Model the Lessons – It is important to remember that our actions are more effective than our words. Practice what we preach, parents!
The 15-minute Bible Study we set aside to spend time with our children will certainly not go to waste. It is a wise investment in our children’s character, values, and future.
For more parenting tips, you can watch episodes of Teach with Joy or visit Plus Network on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
