Here are six reasons why you want to read the Bible with your kids.
1. Read the Bible with Your Kids in Obedience to the Lord
First, you want to read the Bible with your kids because God commands us in his Word to do this! Moses records God’s words in the book of Deuteronomy and then instructs God’s people to “teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV). Moses then says that teaching your kids God’s Word is an all-the-time activity, morning and night, “when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 11:19 ESV). God commands us to diligently teach his Word to the next generation. We want to read the Bible with our kids out of joyful obedience to the Lord! Part of honoring the Lord as a parent means obeying his Word to teach your kids the Word of God.
2. Read the Bible with Your Kids to Glorify the Lord
Second, reading the Bible with your kids is a way to praise and glorify God. The psalmist talks about telling of the Lord’s mighty works to the next generation.
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. (Psalm 78:4 ESV)
The Bible reveals God’s character, his promises to us, the good news about Jesus, and our future hope for eternity. When we read the Bible with our kids, we are exposing them to the glorious deeds and character of the Lord. We bring God glory as we tell of his greatness to our kids and help them know him rightly.
3. Reading the Bible with Your Kids will Give Them Hope
Third, reading the Bible with your kids prepares them for the future, and teaches them to hope in God. The psalm mentioned above continues by talking about teaching the “testimony” to the next generation; “…that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments…” (Psalm 78:6-7 ESV).
We want to tell our kids the testimony about what God has done in history, and most importantly what he has done for us in Jesus. We want them to know the works of God, so they don’t forget him, and to know his commands, so they might live God-honoring lives.
We read the Bible with our kids because there they discover God’s character, his works, his commands, and his promises. Then, when they face crisis or heartache, or questions, they will know where to go to find hope.
When we teach our children God’s commands, we are giving them a compass, to help them discern right from wrong, navigate the troubles of this life, and to equip them to obey Jesus. But our kids will stumble along and fail, just like we do. They will sin. And this is why we must tell our kids, most of all, the good news about Jesus. When we tell our children the good news about Jesus, we are giving them hope—hope that though they are sinners and cannot do right before God, he has made a way for a loving relationship with them through Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.
Read the Bible with your kids so that they might learn to set their hope in God, remember his works, and keep his commands.
4. Reading the Bible with Your Kids Shows Them How to Relate to God
Fourth, reading the Bible with your kids will teach them by example what it looks like to follow Jesus and have a relationship with God. We want our children to have a relationship with God, and they learn how to relate to God the same way they learn other things—by both instruction and by observation. Praising God, reading the Bible together, and telling our kids of the hope and peace found in Jesus gives children a real-life picture of what it means to be a Christian.
As you read the Bible, you communicate your need for God’s guidance and wisdom. As you pray together, you model for your kids the conversations they can have with God, and you can implicitly teach them that nothing is too small or trivial to pray about, and nothing is too hard for the Lord, either. As you depend on him as your Father in heaven, you demonstrate the privilege of being part of God’s family. As you prioritize your relationship with God in the home, you illustrate that you need the Lord more than anything else in the world.
Reading the Bible with your kids and making Scripture a part of your home will teach them how to relate to God so that if they put their faith in Christ, they will already know what walking with him looks like.
5. Reading the Bible with Your Kids Will Grow You
Fifth, reading the Bible with your kids will grow your own faith and relationship with God! As we read God’s instructions in the Bible, we are not only teaching our kids, but we are also preaching the gospel to ourselves. Family worship puts us, as parents, under the authority of Scripture and encourages a posture of humility within the whole family. There are questions we won’t know how to answer. There are times we’ll have to patiently explain the answers we do have. There are times we’ll be too tired to read the Bible but still must open it up. There will be times we will choose to open the Bible when there are plenty of other things we need to do. But choosing to live under the influence of God’s Word will grow the whole family. Our awareness of God’s presence in our family’s life will expand, and we will teach our kids to see, look for, and expect God to be at work in our lives.
6. Reading the Bible with Your Kids Will Be Rewarding
Finally, reading the Bible with your kids will lead to seeing God at work. If you’ve known Jesus and have seen him walk with you throughout your life, you know that there is nothing more exciting than following him, waiting on him, and watching him prove his faithfulness. What might he do in your family through this family worship time? Your kids get to share in your faith journey and by God’s grace may begin walking on their own. You all get to know the Bible better. You will learn to love each other better and pray for one another. A family culture of service and joy may develop. And best of all, you certainly will get to know Jesus better!
God promises in the book of Isaiah that his Word always has an effect in our lives, for “it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 NIV). Trust that when you read the Bible with your kids, God is speaking to them through his Word, and his Word will have an effect on their lives. Read the Bible expectantly, trusting that God “rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).