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The church only gets 1 of The very first responsibility we have as parents is to teach our children of God. That early teaching will stay with them the rest of their lives. Impressions are made while they are young. And I believe that much of that spiritual influence can come by way of family devotions.
So let me share with you some practical and proven ways to successfully have family devotions: I know that when the subject of family devotions comes up, we as parents start to feel guilty for not doing a better or more consistent job at this. Start with five minutes and add more time as your kids mature.
This is a component of family life that has become a real help to our family, having become a cornerstone for spiritual growth and training in our home. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Michael Horton Oct 24 Christian parents may faithfully take their children to church, teach them the gospel at home, and pray diligently for them and still some seem to While family devotions are important in creating a godly and firm family dynamic, they cannot replace our personal time spent with Him. Opens up doors of spiritual communication.
If possible, stick to a regular devotions time. Kids work well with routines, so try to make your devotions happen at a certain time each day. Get your kids involved!
While you may favour a certain translation of the Bible, it can be helpful to incorporate an easier-to-read translation for your kids such as the NIV, NIRV or The Message , which is a paraphrase. Devotions are a great time for kids to discuss, ask questions and explore hard-to-grasp concepts. Encourage your kids to open up about their thoughts and questions. Follow up by doing your own research or by talking to your pastor.
Try to "mix things up" every now and then. Adding variety can prevent boredom and provide kids a fresh perspective on God. Many Christian bookstores sell devotionals for kids of all ages. Ensure that each day you read enough for it to be significant but not so much that you lose the attention of the children. It includes a daily reading plus a short devotional and a couple of optional discussion questions.
It is framed around the Westminster Confession of Faith and teaches a broad systematic theology. Read Around the Table.
But as children get older and more adept at reading, it may be best to get each child a Bible so they can follow along. When you do this, you can have each person take a turn reading aloud. It may be too clunky to read one verse per person, but perhaps each person can read a few verses at a time.
This gets children comfortable with reading and perhaps praying in front of others while also pushing for deeper engagement with the text.
Read Long Story Short. Marty Machowski has released two excellent books that are ideal for family devotions: Old Story New is the sequel and walks children through the great truths of the Christian faith in the New Testament.
Both include daily readings, discussion points, and prayer suggestions, and are designed to be completed in about 10 minutes per day. You might also consider his book Wise Up which focuses on Proverbs. Just Read the Bible.
This is the simplest suggestion of all: Just read the Bible a book at a time.