You will find such great delight as you guide your children in discovering the truths of God’s word for themselves. It will bring you such deep joy seeing the word of God planted in their hearts as they apply this simple 1,2,3 Bible Study Method for kids.
I’m going to be real with you right from the beginning. I’m willing to bet that every good thing you treasure has taken hard work and discipline and so will teaching faith habits to your children.
A previous study of churchgoing Protestant parents by LifeWay Research found regular Bible reading as a child was the biggest factor in predicting the spiritual health of young adults. I am living proof of those statistics.
My parents were the first generation to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They had no idea what to do with a Bible other than to lay a large Bible open in their home. They had to figure out this whole faith habits thing all on their own and they made lots of mistakes along the way but they also got so many things right. One of those being developing basic faith habits in our home.
My dad would call us to join him at the dinner table to read the Bible in the evenings after he got home late at night from work. It was quite boring so we were anything but pleasant during this time but he didn’t let our attitudes stop him.
Teach Your Kids To Have Their Own Bible Time: Bible study Methods for Kids
We were recently studying the Psalms as a family using this 1,2,3 bible study method and we came to psalm 34. So this idea popped into my head to help illustrate this verse to my children during our discussion time. I grabbed a bag of plumped grapes and I sat at the kitchen island with my family and started enjoying the sweetness with great delight.
My boys are always hungry so they immediately asked for some. I didn’t respond and I kept enjoying them with great pleasure. Finally, one child said, “So you’re just going to sit there and enjoy them by yourself and not share.”
I replied with, “That’s exactly why we are sitting here connecting with God’s word as a family. Your daddy and I don’t just want to sit here and enjoy Him by ourselves and not share God’s truth with you. But I don’t just want to tell you about God I want to teach you how to taste and see the goodness of God’s word for yourself.”
But I wasn’t done with my object lesson. So then I handed them a grape and said don’t eat it yet. I said, “Here’s the thing, your daddy and I, only have the ability to show you how to connect with God’s word. But only you can choose to taste it for yourself. I can’t make you taste it.
You can take that grape and walk around with it all day long because it looks good or you’ve heard it’s good but until you choose to taste it for yourself only until then will your heart & soul be truly satisfied.”
That is our prayer as you dive into this 1,2,3, Bible study method that God will give you the boldness and courage to equip your children with the tools to study God’s word. And that our children may choose to taste and see His goodness.
1,2,3 Bible Study Method
It’s a simple method that I used when I first started studying scripture in Bible college. Then I taught my children how to use it. This method is simply a stepping stone for your more advanced methods you’ll learn later in life. I learned how to study God’s word in steps. I didn’t start with Bible Concordances, Greek language lexicons, or Bible commentaries and we definitely don’t want to start our children there either. They will learn the major inductive studying later in life but for now, we’ll start them with the basics.
So what I will be sharing with you is a simple and easy way for your children to begin tasting His goodness for themselves. You can also use this method as an adult.
All you will need is a Bible, pen, and copies of the FREE printable here—>: Bible Study Method for kids single page
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To begin:
- Always start and end seeking God for guidance and understanding.
- Make sure you read the whole passage or chapter, not just a few verses. You always want to get the big picture and context of the author’s purpose when he wrote it. I explained it to my son like this, “If you receive a letter you don’t just pick out one sentence and put the letter away. You read the whole thing so you know what they are saying.”
These are the 3 steps:
- Discover – Discover more about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. What does this passage teach us about God? What did you learn about God? What is God doing in this passage? How does this passage help you worship God?
- Explore – Explore His Word and record 2 or 3 observations from the passage. Who wrote this? Why was it written? What is this passage about & what is happening? What is happening in this passage? Who are the characters in the story? What words stood out or were repeated? Are there Contrast? Comparisons? Commands?
- Apply – Pause to ponder–How does it apply to my life? How will I live differently because of what I just read? Sins to confess? Commands to follow?
Fill this out: Because God _____ I am/will/I can_____.
- As you go through steps 1 and 2 make sure you stick to writing down what the verse says not what you think it says.
- The doodling section is optional but you can use that section for creatively writing a word that stood out to you or drawing the passage.
- Make sure you write 1 or 2 verses that stood out to you. Don’t skip this part. It’s been proven that if we write something out after we’ve heard it, it’s more likely to stick.
We have thoroughly enjoyed discovering God’s word using the 1,2,3 Bible Study Method for kids. The method and worksheet is also adaptable to other settings. For example, as you connect with God through worship music or a devotional you can go through each step. Think about what do I learn about God/Jesus/ Holy Spirit through this song/devotional excerpt. How does this song/devotion help me worship God?
Let’s use this method with Psalm 23: 1-3. I won’t be doing the doodling or writing here but make sure you do it on your own.
Pray and ask God to open the eyes to see what He has for you to learn from this passage. Read Psalm 23.
- Discover– Lord is my shepherd. vs1
He makes me lie down in green pastures.vs 2
He leads me beside still waters vs 2
He refreshes my soul vs. 3
He guides me along vs. 3
His name sake vs. 3 - Explore – David wrote this Psalm.
God is being compared to a Shepherd and us as sheep. vs. 1
David uses very personal terminology to address God, “My” shepherd vs.1
God is making, leading, refreshing, guiding us.
The Lord as our shepherd we lack nothing. vs 1
“me” is repeated through the 3 verses. - Apply – Sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Sheep need to be made to lie down, led to water, and guided. They are very dependent on their Shepherd for their care and well-being. Because God is my Shepherd I can follow Him and trust Him as He leads me, guides me and refreshes me.
One of the wonderful resources you can use to help you understand the overall general context of a book is — The Bible Project. They offer tons of videos that are short and visually appealing that explain the history and context of the overall book. They are free, you should check it out next time before you dive into a book you haven’t read before.
Just so you know I have 20+ years of ministry experience with women, children and youth as a Bible teacher, mentor, and speaker. My Master’s degree is in Christian Education with a focus in counseling, and I’m also a certified Mentor Mom Life Coach.
