Sunday 12th July 2020 - The Bible
Holy Habits 2 - The Bible
Worship:
You know the actions, so join in the fun as we praise God with ‘My Lighthouse’ Rend Collective:
Word:
The Bible is the Word of God. It is the God-inspired, written Word that becomes the living Word as Holy Spirit makes it come alive in our hearts. The Bible is also our truth, on which followers of Christ build their lives. The Bible is often also described as a light that helps us to find the way; the right way, God’s way in all circumstances of our lives (this is why we sing - my lighthouse). We are thinking about why we should make reading the Bible a ‘holy habit’ - something that we do choose to do regularly. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 helps us to understand why we should read it:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
Biblical teaching draws us to Jesus and feeds us, challenges us, shapes us and inspires us. It is one of the most important holy habits to set us up for the adventure of following Jesus!
Some things to think about together as families:
I wonder if you enjoy reading the Bible?
I wonder if you hear the voice of God when you read the Bible?
I wonder if you think that what you read in the Bible applies to your own life?
I wonder if you talk with others about what scripture means?
Spend some time talking about what the Bible means to each one of you. Be honest with each other about how easy/difficult you find it to read. Talk about favourite Bible stories, important scripture and bits you’ve memorised and why.
It is helpful to have an understanding of the whole of the Bible too - how it all fits together and the different parts of the Bible - perhaps you could talk about this with your older children. Watching the following video might be a good introduction:
Crossroads Kid’s Club - God’s Story: The Bible
Activity Suggestions:
How you practise reading the Bible as a family might look different. Here are some things to think about to explore the Bible so that we can allow God’s Word to correct us when we are wrong and teach us to do what is right. Let’s allow God to use scripture to prepare and equip us to do good works and to live as God wants us to.
Using Toys - such as Lego to create a Bible story (listen to a Bible passage and try to recreate it using bricks or Duplo or plasticine etc)
Re-telling - reading or listening to a Bible passage and then re-telling it in your own words is a really effective way of thinking about what it says - you read it more actively when you know you will re-tell it!
Bible Apps - technology can be used for good! See what Joanne from Beauchief Baptist Church recommends for different aged children by reading her blog:
Family Devotional Guides - two I can recommend (there are many more) - ‘All Together: The Family Devotional’ by Steve and Bekah Legg. ‘The Wonder of Easter’ (a lent devotional) by Ed Drew.
Books to inspire you as parents - ‘Together with God; An introduction to Family Worship’ by Ed Mackenzie & Gareth Crispin. ‘Raising Burning Hearts’ by Patricia Bootsma. ‘
Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method - Choose a Bible passage, read it. Then re-tell it in your own words. Read again out loud to reinforce it. Discuss the following questions:
1) What can we learn about God from this passage?
2) What can we learn about people from this passage?
3) What should we do / shouldn’t we do based on this passage?
Then think about what it means for us and how we share about Jesus with people who don’t know Him yet. (I encourage you to join with other families and try this method of family Bible Study.)
Reflection:
Meditating and reflecting prayerfully on God’s Word can be really helpful. Why not take a short passage from the Bible and read it (or listen to it) a couple of times, then lay back and just repeat it in your mind or think about it or pray about what it might mean.
A couple of possible Bible verses to get you started - Matthew 7: 7 / Psalm 119: 105 / Acts 2: 42 / John 1: 14