Family Devotional Ideas

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Ideas

for

Teaching the Bible to

our children, grandchildren,

nieces, nephews, etc.

Also see our spectacular page:

Great Devotions for children and teens

Psalm 23

When my son was two years old, I would pray with him beside his bed at night.

Then at the end of my prayer, I would say Psalm 23.

It would sound something like this:

Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for the food that you have given us. Thank you for my wonderful son. I love him so much.

(Then I would pause for a moment)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen

Amen means "so be it."

We need to be careful what we "Amen" in our life!

Below:

If you feed your little lambs, they can look like this:

What an adorable little lamb!

She was not using the King James Version.
I suggest you use the King James Version.

The ADVANTAGE

to using the King James Version for Psalm 23:

Personally, I think there is an advantage to teaching children the 23rd Psalm from the KJV.

It is often quoted that way even on old Television shows.

I had some young relatives that I was teaching Psalm 23, and one day one of them was watching an old Little House on the Prairie episode with me.

One of the characters began to quote Psalm 23. The child on the show said, "The Lord is my shepherd."

And my little lamb said, "I shall not want." My little lamb was able to continue saying the prayer along with the television character. And he was beaming at his accomplishment!

Bible Versions

I love several versions of the Bible. I chose one to be the main one for working with my little lambs.

Note, it is true that the King James Version is the most accurate. But it is not perfect. Only the original languages are totally inspired by God.

It is wise to ask the Lord which version you should use to teach your little lambs.

What if my bigger lambs are critical of me

starting now?

If you have teenage lambs or grown children, do not let the past hinder you.

If you are asked by your teens,  "Why start now?"

Tell them, "God helped me to realize that this is important. I am growing in obedience to God."

Suggestion - Anytime you want to start a new habit, tell a teenager. They will help keep you accountable!

Wisdom says:

Do what you know is right  -

even if

it feels a little uncomfortable in the beginning.

Full Armor of God

Teach children about the Full Armor of God

found in Ephesians chapter 6.

~

And note that we have a

children's page about the Full Armor.

The Lord's Prayer

Teaching our children and teens

The Lord's Prayer

Teaching Teens

For those of you who have teenagers, I offer our two pages that give commentary on The Lord's Prayer.  You can use that as the basis for a Bible study for your teens.

Click here: The Lord's Prayer

Teaching Children

After my young son had learned to say Psalm 23, I began to teach him "The Lord's Prayer." I also did that one from the King James Version because of the same reasons as Psalm 23.

As I mentioned above, I would say a little prayer with my son at bedtime. Then I would say "The Lord's Prayer."

After I had said "The Lord's Prayer" for a few weeks, I would hear him begin to say it with me.

What a joy to hear his little voice.

Below is video of a little girl saying "The Lord's Prayer."

Next you see a video of a little girl singing "The Lord's Prayer." Singing something is a great way to teach something.

The Lord's Prayer

Singing

"The Lord's Prayer"

Let's be Families that

Play together, Pray together,

and Study the Bible together.

As my son was growing up, I was constantly surprised at his amazing biblical observations. I learned a lot from him even when he was a little lad.

As he got older, he used to sometimes come to me with a Bible verse and say, "You need this."

What would you do if your child did that to you?

Well, I'll tell you what God told me to do.

The first time he did that, I immediately heard in my mind, "Beth, he will learn how to respond to my conviction on his heart by how you respond to this situation. You will teach him how to respond to godly conviction by how you respond."

So I looked at the verse.

And then honestly said,

"You're right. I need to work on that."

God allows your children to sometimes humble you.

You are your children's teacher.

Not only your words teach, but your life teaches as well.

Ideas, Ideas!

This website has many pages directed at helping our children and teens learn more about God.

For example, we have great ideas on our page called

Family Devotions.

Ideas

Psalm 18 has specific ideas for teens and for older children AND A Bible game for younger children. Scroll through the whole page to get ideas.

Teens:

Many teens enjoy sign language. They might like to learn a Bible song in sign language and present it to the family.

Consider going to Youtube and put in the search box these words "Christian songs in sign language" for a great selection of songs!

Note there are many pages on this site that would be good pages to do with your teens as a devotional.
I have a list of some of them farther down.

Pick out Devotional Days

 Consider making certain days of the week a devotional day. Get some routine structure, so you don't let days slip by.

This site also has two Bible pages specifically for teaching young children:

Bible Activities for Kids

 Bible Crafts for Children 

I've listed Bible entertainment ideas here:

Christian entertainment

Video Your LAMBS!

Consider encouraging your children or teens to
read the Bible or sing Bible songs

AND

video tape them.

(Only if it is fun in their eyes!)

Have fun with your children while adding the Bible!

Some children might want to create skits.

Puppet Shows!

My son loved to take his puppets,
get behind the couch, and play Christian songs
while the puppets sang to the music.
And he loved an audience!
He presented puppet shows to his grandparents!

Devotionals for older Children and Teens

Consider these pages:

Inspirational Courage

Inspirational Kindness

Running the Race

Lion of Judah

Bible Wisdom

Full Armor of God

For those in the United States, also consider

Prayer for our Country

Prayer for our Soldiers

All our Bible Devotions.

All our Prayers.

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22

Different Bible versions use different words

for the fruit of the spirit.

Be sure and keep that in mind.

---

Next is a video that will give you

some movements for the above song.

Fruit of the Spirit Card Game

Consider making a game with the fruit of the spirit. Put the name of each fruit of the spirit on two cards. Then mix them up and put them face down in rows. Then play a game - this is like the game of Concentration.

The first person picks a card turns it over. Then he tries to match that fruit of the spirit with the other card that matches that fruit of the spirit.

If someone makes a match, that person gets another turn.

The one with the most matches wins!

Books of the Bible

I encourage you to think of a really great treat

to give your lambs when they know the books of the Bible.

AND

After they have successfully done it once,

give them more opportunities to get a special treat
if they say the books

AGAIN!

_________

Take note that when children are in upper elementary school and they go to Sunday school, they are expected to know HOW to look up a verse.

Help your lambs learn how to look up a verse in the Bible.

Consider teaching your lambs

The Full Armor of God

from Ephesians chapter 6.

The Good Shepherd

for very young children.

Jesus also said

Jesus also told us:

If you love me,

You will obey me.

John 14:15

and

John 14:23

Let's not forget those words in our own life,

and let's not forget to teach this concept

to our older children and teens.

God loves us,

but do we love him?

LIFE

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

I encourage you to make time

for the most important things.

Thank you for visiting our Christian Family Devotions page.

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