One of the most overwhelming things about leading people spiritually can be the feeling that you have to do it all yourself. Spiritual truths are deep and powerful things, and I have felt the intense concern as a parent myself that I might not be doing enough, or explaining enough or making sure that my children are getting the right amount of the right thing at the right time and stage. It can be a bit much sometimes.
One of the things that is comforting and helpful when those feelings hit is the knowledge that there are resources to help us when we endeavor to lead our families in their devotion to Christ. This post is to share some of the resources that I have found helpful in our family and hopefully to give everyone some ideas about what things are available to them.
Before I share a little bit about the resources below, I want to say two things. First, our family looks a little bit different than yours. We have three young children and one on the way. You might have more or less children of differing ages and on top of that no two children are alike! What works for us might not work that same for you. That brings me to the second thing – the way we use our resources, and the way that we do devotions as a family is not the standard (far from it). Your efforts can and should look different even if they use some of the same practices and resources.
Catechism for Young Children
This little book is meant especially for young children, but we have found that it is a fun way to start teaching some of the basics of the Christian faith for our kids from infancy and beyond. A catechism is a great tool for handling those feelings of wondering if your family is getting truth that covers different questions that people encounter in life. What is God? Who are we as people? Why are we here? What is the Bible? What about the Trinity? This little book gives short, easy-to-remember answers to a lot of the questions that we have as believers. It is also a great stepping stone for other catechisms, like the Westminster Shorter Catechism which is incredibly useful for providing memorable answers to our questions about our faith.
The way we use this one is pretty simple. We simply ask the question and then work with the children on the answer. From there we add in questions and see how far we can get into them by doing them all in a row. It’s amazing how much they are able to retain! Even before children can talk they can understand much. We started this catechism when our first child was under a year old by adding in little hand motions for the answers. For example, Question 1: Who made you? Answer 1: GOD! Hand Motion: Point up to the ceiling. Even before our young ones could speak they could simply “point up” and participate with smiles in our family devotions.
The Biggest Story by Kevin DeYoung
There are many good children’s Bibles and many of them go into more detail on the individual stories than this one does. However, the art style, subtle humor and Christ-centered nature of The Biggest Story make this one of our favorites. Kevin DeYoung traces the themes from the beginning of the Bible and God’s work in Creation all the way through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ. I would not be surprised if adult readers came away from reading this book with a better understanding of how God’s Story (and our story) fit together as a whole.
With this book, some nights we find that it is a one-page night, or a two-page night, or a rare three-page night, depending on everyone’s level of attention at bedtime. In any case, working through these stories and their beautifully colored pictures has been a great way to add a “big picture” story to the individual Bible Stories as we read them in other books.
Originally I intended to do four resources in one post, but after a somewhat brief commercial (no I don’t get kickbacks on book sales) and a little personal experience with each, I have found that would be an exceptionally long article that I myself would not want to read. So next week we will do Part 2!
Remember that God is at work. Our efforts, however feeble they might seem to us, will bear fruit in our families.
In any case, I hope that these resources can be a blessing to you! Whether you think they would be a good fit for what you do as a family, or if it inspires confidence by contrast in the practices and resources that you use in your routine, remember that God is at work. Our efforts, however feeble they might seem to us, will bear fruit in our families. Bed-time or dinner-time? This book or that book? Catechism, or Bible verses, or just being glad no one lost their mind during prayer time? These things don’t ultimately make the difference. What really makes a difference is the fact that when we look at God’s Truth and study His Word together as a family, His Spirit is pleased to dwell with us and to bless us.
What really makes a difference is the fact that when we look at God’s Truth and study His Word together as a family, His Spirit is pleased to dwell with us and to bless us.