Inadequate Bible Teaching for the Children

Ms. Emily Sandosham, a leading Christian lady in Kerala, wrote about the strict Bible teaching that she received when she was young in the following way. “The first book my father put in our hands as soon as we could read was a copy of the Bible in our mother tongue, Malayalam. Every day we were expected to read a certain chapter, learn any one verse from it by heart, and recite it to him. This routine continued for years till we left home for higher studies”.

“No book other than the Bible was permitted to be read on Saturday night. We had to read the Bible as we were expected to go over the weekly reading and the seven verses in preparation for the written test every Sunday night, when we had to answer the questions set by him. Each answer paper was carefully scrutinised and marks given accordingly”.

This is the way by which the last generation of Christians studied the Word of God. But the greatest harm that we do to our children now is that our children are not encouraged to read or study the Word of God. They also do not hear the Word of God in the Church, Sunday school or meetings. If we do not take pains to teach the Word of God to our children, then we will be producing a generation of Christians who will not have their foundation on the Word of God. When they grow old, they will be carried away by the world and the devil. As evangelical Christians we need to take steps to rectify this anomaly. Here are few ways by which this problem can be tackled.

1. The commandment for parents in the Bible is to teach the Bible diligently, and talk to the children about the Bible in Deut 6:6, 7. We need to do it every day. It is important that we teach them the Word of God, when they are young. 
2. Train them to read at least one chapter from the Bible every day when they are able to read the Bible. When they are young, purchase good Children’s Bible and teach them the Bible stories. We spend so much money on dresses and other needs of the children. If you have Children, then the children Bible is a must for them.
3. Take them to the church regularly. For most of the children, the church is the only place where they hear the Word of God. If your church is an evangelistic Church exploit the Bible teaching for the benefit of your child by

1. Sitting with the child in the front benches of your church and requesting your child to write down the main points and verses while he hears the message.
2. By being a model to him in the Church by listening and taking notes.
3. By having a brief time of discussion about the sermon informally after the service is over.
4. By answering all the questions that he asks about the sermon and helping him to put the sermon into practise.

1. Take them to meetings, retreats or services where the Word of God is preached.
2. Encourage them to hear messages from good radio programmes. You can purchase good audio cassettes of preachers of the Word of God and encourage your children to hear them.
3. When the children are young send them regularly to Sunday schools and then to the youth meeting, where the Word of God is taught. If the Word of God is not taught in these programmes, you have to involve in these programmes personally and teach the Word of God. They can also be sent to V.B.S and special camps and retreats.

By these ways we can teach the Word of God to our children regularly and systematically. It should be done immediately because the character of our children tomorrow is shaped by what they hear from us today.