Proverbs 22:6
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
This fall my church has decided to
do a Bible study called, “The Challenge.” It is a study of the New Testament
and includes the Books of the Bible New Testament and a Challenge journal. The
plan is to finish by Thanksgiving. The Books of the Bible New Testament is
broken down in a way to keep readers on schedule but also to coincide with the Challenge
journal. The journal includes reflections of each reading, weekly questions and
some other valuable thinking challenges. When my pastor mentioned this new
Bible Study during a sermon a few weeks back my first reaction was, “Oh how
awesome, who can I get to join in the Bible Study with me?” My mind totally wandered
thinking of people I work-out with, neighbors, my husband’s coworkers, etc. Fun
thoughts of gathering at someone’s home or hosting, meals or snacks being
prepared, kids getting to play at someone’s house while we share babysitters
crossed thorough my mind like a slot machine that just hit it big.
It wasn’t until ten minutes later
when I glanced over at my son eagerly listening to our pastor that I thought to
myself, “What about my son?” He is fifteen years old and should be involved in
this too. He takes such an interest every week when our pastor is giving a
lesson. Sometimes he takes notes and other times he is just soaking it in.
Every time we are asked to turn somewhere in our Bible my son either uses his
You Version application on his phone or opens one of the available Bibles by
our seats. He is always thoroughly engaged and stays focused on the topic. Although,
I did catch him dosing off one time this summer after a late night/early
morning sleepover with some buddies. But only that one time and we have all
done that at least once in our life. Why was I all of a sudden stressing about
this. What was the big contemplation? Do I need to involve him in this new
study? How do I go about including him but also involving numerous other friends
of ours? Would it be personal for my son? Will he feel intimidated being around
all of our adult friends?
After praying about it for nearly
ten seconds, I received an answer from God before I could even say Amen. He was
loud and clear in church to me that day. He reminded me of all the Bible
studies I have been involved in, the ones I’m currently doing and the ones I
will be signing up for. I will be doing one Tuesday mornings, Monday evenings and
MOPS on Thursday mornings. My husband is doing one on Thursday evenings and as
a couple we have one we are currently doing on certain Sunday evenings.
Goodness are we capable of doing another Bible study? Sure we are capable of it,
but this time as a family because they need us too. I don’t want to rely on
Sunday school, Awana, and small daily prayers or chats we have with our
children about Christ. I want to actually sit down and go through this journey
together. How amazing for us as a family to say we read and discussed the
entire New Testament together. My oldest will definitely learn a great deal
from it. He is only under our roof for three more years. We really need to make
sure we spend quality time with him that involves our Lord. Our nine year old
will also partake; she is at a critical age where she really needs to KNOW the
Bible and not just memorize a weekly verse. Then there is our six year old who
probably knows more about the Bible than I do. She was born to be a pastor’s
wife. She will be sure to make all of our family accountable for this upcoming Bible
Study. The three year old will probably pay attention for about three minutes
but if we can make it fun and include him in conversation then that’s all I can
ask for.
My husband and I are involved in
wonderful Bible studies that have taught us more than we could ever pray for.
We love our groups and enjoy sharing with others. This time, however, we have
been called to do a Bible study as a family. What better way to influence our
children than through the two most important people on this Earth, their
parents. Leading our children to Christ through our encouragement is crucial to
me. My husband and I both grew up going to church but we did not find Christ until
we were in our mid-20’s and unfortunately our parents weren’t the ones that led
us on that path. We absolutely want to make an impact on our children before we
send them off into this crazy world. As much as I want to include others in
this new Bible study I know that God is telling me to do this one as a family.
In the meantime I’m going to make sure and mention it to others because I think
everyone should do it. That is one reason for writing about it today. Once we
finish I can’t wait to share with others what we did. Even more exciting will
be watching my kids share with their friends how they read the entire New
Testament with their parents and maybe challenge their friends to do the same.
Here is a link to the Bible study my family will be starting this fall:
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