How can we, as parents, prepare to teach God’s Word to our children on a regular basis? You might feel hesitant, overwhelmed, or just wanting some ideas for this area of your life.
Teaching? It is true that you can learn all together sometimes. But God also enables Christian parents to teach their children about Him, to share what you already have learned to lead.
Table of Contents
Know the Author and Love His Word!
Having the ability to teach the Bible to your children does not depend on your formal educational background. While my dad and his parents had some excellent Bible college training, my mom did not, and neither did her parents.
Yet all of them effectively taught the Word of God in their homes and raised children who committed their lives to the Lord as well. And all of them were well-loved Sunday School teachers and leaders.
While my dad and his siblings attended a Christian school for some of their years, the rest of the student-aged people attended public schools for most or all of their years. It wasn’t because they homeschooled that they had time to teach the Bible; no, they taught the Bible because they were Christian parents fulfilling that role regardless of where their children/teens went for the academics.
With determination, they found the time for family devotions often in the morning around breakfast plus in the evening plus were often involved in church ministries. And they lived lives which were very evident of seeking to honour the Lord in what they did and said to others.
Not that they were perfect – they weren’t. But I was blessed to be raised in a family and have extended family where children were taught diligently of our wonderful God and Saviour! (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
♥ Preparation to teach the Scriptures ALWAYS starts with knowing both the Author (God) and the passage of Scripture you will be teaching. You won’t have spiritual understanding into the Bible if you don’t personally know Christ and as a teacher, you need to first be a student of the Word of God yourself:
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14
“[Words of Jesus]: Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Matthew 7:24-27
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
Proverbs 15:28
It will take some amount of time to read or listen to the Word of God to understand its treasures. Anything of value takes time. God will illuminate our understanding to find these treasures but we have to go where real treasure can be found (i.e. to the Bible, not to other distractions) AND pick up the shovel!
One example of how long it may take to read in the Bible is given at this link: Scripture Union – Reading the Bible – One Whole Book at a Time. I think it was Dr. Lehman Strauss who encouraged pastors to read the whole Book of the Bible they would preach on (e.g. 1 Peter), several times (e.g. once each day), before teaching it to their people!
Other examples include various lists for plans to read the Bible within one year, within two years, or perhaps within three or five years. The Canadian Bible Society also currently offers a Bible reading plan emphasizing a varied arrangement on key passages, which can come in the mail.
The Ability
Feeling Inadequate? Look to God’s Promises –
You might ask, how does one have the ability to be able to teach His Word to others (or be able to do anything else of spiritual value)?
Here are a few of God’s promises (for those who have invited Christ into their hearts and lives – true believers in Jesus Christ as Saviour and God):
Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:9b-11
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 14:26
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:6-10
The multitudes could bring their children to Jesus (Mark 10:13). You can too!
Feeling Like There’s No Time?
Watch how busy, distracted, and non-disciplined your life becomes!
Be dependent on direction from God’s Word to be determined to cut out things which are being priorities in your life when they have no business being so.
“…For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2b
Years ago when our oldest was a baby and we lived in the city, I was asked to provide something weekly in the morning service for the children’s sake (since that church had decided to no longer have a family Sunday School program before the service). My most memorable lesson was one when I used things which demonstrated magnification as an object lesson and referred to the church’s banner above the platform which read, “O Magnify the Lord….”
I ask, “What does GOD want magnified in our lives?”
We have HIS answer – it’s His Name and His Word! So are we making those two things seen as bigger in our lives (as a church, as a family)? (How can we show that these two things are very important to us?)
The Bible declares: “…For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2b
Neglect is a big problem in today’s Christian families. It indicates idolatry – that other things are valued and thought worthy (worshipped) instead.
Cut It Out!
Obviously you need to eat and you have necessary work in your role(s) God has called you into. I’m not saying that anyone should cut those things out of a list of priorities.
But I am saying, do consider your spiritual food and feeding your family such instead of ‘starving them’ or putting them on a poor diet!
Christian parents really have no business in reading story after story of regular books aloud to their children or watching sports or listening to radio programs or working on crafts or other projects if they are ALSO starving their children from spiritual food from the Bible! That kind of food should come first!
“Oh, I realize the importance of feeding in God’s Word,” one might say. “I get up each morning and take time to have a devotional time with my coffee.”
OK. That can be good. You could eat by yourself before feeding your kids or you could eat alongside them.
But do you also expect them to shop for all of the ingredients and make all their own meals in your household and eat alone? Or does your family value eating together most of the time?
One of the things moms talk about sometimes is “how to manage” the lack of godly leadership from their Christian husbands – the guys who go off to work each day as well as some who stay away for days at a time due to their work – without leading in family Bible time daily or at all! They leave that kind of training for their wives to do. These women feel tired, strained, and also not usually fed the Word of God by their husbands even in regular devotional time as a couple.
Ken Ham has talked about this sort of lack of leadership in the family years ago in his video, “Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World” (VHS) or “How Can We Raise Godly Children?” (DVD) or a similar title by Answers in Genesis online. (He has also written a book on the topic; we’ve not read it but would assume it has similar content.)
Years before I heard him speak, it greatly disturbed me to hear from school-aged children living in a Christian home whose the parents were “in ministry”, that they were surprised I read from my Bible when I wasn’t “in church” – that I could do that?! They thought that kind of activity was just allowed for Sundays! These children had no memory of their parents reading from the Bible in their home – but their parents read other daily bedtime stories (e.g. Cinderella). How sad!!!
I’ll put an additional note here to this post. I read in a newsletter by Greg Yoder, Keys for Kids Ministries (June 17, 2026):
“Family-ministry leaders estimate that only about 10 to 20 percent of Christian families regularly gather for family devotions. Those are terrible numbers even though 70-percent of Christian parents want their kids to have their faith in Christ. They’re just not doing it. The message is clear: far too few kids and teens are consistently reading God’s Word with the adults who love them.”
God can make a way –
Perhaps your husband’s schedule doesn’t fit well with when your children are awake and ready to listen. Maybe you’re thinking that your family dynamics are somehow too varied (e.g. children/teens of varying ages). Maybe you’re a Christian mom without a Christian husband.
God can make a way for children to be fed spiritually in a Christian home!
Example 1: Timothy had a non-Christian father, at least for a portion if not all of his life. But his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois taught him. (Acts 16:1, 2 Timothy 1:5)
Example 2: Some historical notes were written by my uncle Alf describing my great-great grandfather, Johann. He owned a flour mill; significant amounts of his time had to be available to other people for his work. He and his wife committed their lives to Christ shortly after the birth of their third child. When my great-grandma, Katharina, was 11 years old, her mother passed away and her father remarried. There were 12 children raised in total (minus the ones who died in infancy). My uncle writes of my great-grandma, “The development of her spiritual life was strongly influenced by the minister______, as well as her parents. Apparently her father would read the Bible and pray with the family not only in the morning and evening, but also at 10 in the morning. After the kitchen and bedrooms were cleaned up, her father would come in from the mill, and they would gather in the living room, as her father would read some scripture and they would all kneel down in prayer. Katharina also began to teach Sunday School as she grew older. She…loved to sing at home from the hymnal _____ as she sat and mended socks [in her teens/early 20s].”
Did Johann have a life of ease that he could take time to lead in family Bible time? I would imagine his life was just as difficult if not more so, in comparison to many of us today. He raised his family during the time when communism and atheism was rising in his country, tried to help the poor health of some close family, and grieved deaths of numerous family members. But he was a man known for his reputation of a strong faith in God and for his kindness.
Just a good idea or something to obey?
Many Christian parents get the idea that their children should learn from the Word of God. They might get their kids various apps, products, enrol them in children’s programs, etc.. But statistically, it seems that fewer Christian parents take the time to be their Bible teacher(s).
Often, this topic of teaching the Bible within the family unit is only presented as a “good idea” to aim to follow for its benefits.
“Isn’t it just to pass along wisdom (whenever we do that) and to encourage kids to read the Bible as they get reading skills? If we don’t do this sort of thing in our family, are we actually being disobedient to what God wants for family life?”
Well, would you agree, in general throughout the Bible, that spiritual food is presented as having greater value than physical food? If so, turn to read this instruction to Christians: 1 Timothy 5:8.
Neglect or obedience – it’s a choice really that will be based on what we really value.
Example of Preparing to Teach
I personally have been growing in my relationship with Christ for many years (e.g. over 40 years at the time of writing this). As a young child, I put my faith in Him for my salvation and desired to serve Him. While I am not perfect by any means, I have continued to love Him.
So, yes, when I teach my children (especially the younger levels), it does not take as much effort as it would if I were a more recent Christian, because I am reminded of many things I’ve learned over years and years. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t learn new things that I share with my kids – I do. And it doesn’t mean that I don’t need to study anymore – of course I still do need to.
Yet one thing I have kept learning in these years of raising children is that my dependence needs to remain on God – not my knowledge or my energy levels, not my oodles of resources that I can grab off my shelves, not my super-duper scheduling that can cover things in an organized fashion, not on my ability (or lack thereof) of studying the Bible in a group setting, but rather on God.
HE LEADS and I just have to follow.
Sometimes our Bible time is very simple, sometimes more “extras” are added to it.
Sometimes our Bible time is organized according to a “schedule” that we know where we turn to. Other times, it is more spontaneous and one of the children wants to read something he or she picks out.
But depending on God to be the Ultimate One to lead our family is very important. So is obedience – to magnify the Lord in our home.
Pray
Pray, as you study the Bible alone and with others (e.g. your spouse), that you will grow in your knowledge and relationship with Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and what God wants us to know and has revealed to us in the Scriptures:
The psalmist prayed:
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. Psalms 119:18 (Joy’s note: The word “law” is a term sometimes used in the Psalms to refer to God’s Word in general – the Bible).
Prayer is talking to God. You talk to Him respectfully and as His friend.
(Due to the current trend of ritualistic praying where people think they need to be repetitive until they get silent to hear some sort of voice with an acceptable message to them, I should clarify what Biblical prayer actually is. According to Jesus (Matthew 6:7), prayer is not to be repetitive like the pagan way of praying (that includes the ritual of repeating “Bible words or phrases”). As one pastor put it, you can imagine how you’d like it if your friend phoned you up each day and just repeated your name over and over.)
God likes it when we pour out our hearts to Him in talking meaningfully.
God is both Sovereign and far above us AND He also cares about us very personally.
“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Isaiah 57:15
I pray for my family, both with them (so they can hear too) and, in more detail, with my husband and by myself quietly.
God knows our thoughts. Praying is often throughout the day, here and there, as I go about my work. Sometimes it is in the middle of the night or early morning – whenever!
When to study?
Your preparation time CAN be earlier in the morning but not necessarily so if you’re not a “morning person”.
It simply means that you are preparing over the days, months, years of your own personal Christian growth and what you are teaching, you have learned yourself at some point in the past.
For me, most of the years as a mom, I have not risen earlier to study on a regular basis. Some moms can and that is just fine but some moms need the sleep at that time of day. And God understands that. Teaching God’s Word to your children is never intended by God as a legalistic spiritual discipline under a strict schedule that causes guilt if you can’t keep up with your goals.
Sometimes moms can feel so bad if they can’t get up earlier, if they miss a FB group time or a ladies Bible study meeting, or are days behind in where they planned to be reading. Instead, God wants your time in His Word to be a delight and a refreshing time. Meet Him there often – do not neglect it for sure – but realize what He wants you to do according to what He says in the Bible, not just someone else’s goals and expectations for a thriving and godly life.
Personal devotions in our family are encouraged (e.g. we might supply materials or give suggestions to our kids) when a child/teen desires to add this to their day. This is when they are able to read extra or do extra studies in their free-time, such as before breakfast or on Sunday afternoons.
But everyone of all ages happily joins together for family Bible times. Family Bible time isn’t just for the younger ones – we don’t “graduate” kids from this special time anymore than we graduate them from eating physical meals with us!
When Rob and I would visit my parents with our young family years ago, we would join them for their morning and evening devotion times as well. When I was growing up, it was a privilege to listen to my grandparents (and aunts and uncles) read and discuss the Bible and pray, whether in a devotional time such as before a meal or informally as topics came up to talk about during visits.
“But the other moms…”
You don’t have to worry about that. Some moms are part of one or more Bible study groups (online or in their local areas). One of my pastors often quoted the verse below and I’ve thought of it sometimes when I have felt discouraged in comparing myself with other Christian moms who appear to do “much more” than I for involvement in Bible studies.
It reminds me that I don’t need to feel guilty when I don’t add more to my plate than what God directs – my direction can come from Him and not all “the other good ideas” that would overwhelm me or my family.
You too have been offered that kind of freedom.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free… Galatians 5:1a KJV
The “other moms” may be able to encourage you in a good direction, so joining a group might be exactly what you should do though.
You have been given the liberty to choose what might be helpful to you and your family.
God uses other people in our lives to edify us and encourage us. They might be able to help us to be accountable to overcome struggles or point us towards resources that would enrich our lives.
And certainly, godly friendships and fellowship (working together for the sake of spreading the gospel message of God’s salvation) are very important!
Pray for His guidance in this matter.
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8
Walking Your Talk
Your kids (and everyone else who sees you around) will watch and learn from your example of who you are in real life. In God’s strength, aim to make it fit Scriptural principles.
Mention appropriate examples from your life about how you learned or saw or heard about some truth that is related. You can do this during your Bible time or when the thought comes up and you’re talking together. This is being “real” yet also thoughtful because you are keeping the examples to appropriate ones, not slanderous or unforgiving ones.
None of our lives are perfect down here on earth. But when your life shows real peace, humility, joyfulness, displaying God’s character, others will be reminded of their Creator.
“…to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
from Titus 2
With this sort of a “life-long” preparation, you can confidently, effectively, and lovingly teach what the Bible says to your children because your dependence relies on God, not yourself.
And HE is the perfect Teacher Who is all-sufficient to meet every need!
Additional Resources:
For this topic, you might also like to check out…
- What Manner of Person Ought We to Be? (a sermon series plus a few coloring pages) (free)
- Studying the Bible | The Word In Our Hearts (seminars by my dad) (free)
- What is Your Life? | The Word In Our Hearts (an audio about being a surrendered and obedient Christian)
(Note: All Scripture in the above post is quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible (NKJV), unless otherwise stated.)