Practical Advice For Bible Study in the Home
1988 PSN
by Allen Bailey
10 Oct 2019xx
The Bible is the most wonderful book ever written. It is full of spiritual truths and interesting stories, from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. These truths have been told over and over again for thousands of years, yet they are new and fresh and fascinating to every generation. They need to be retold today, so the boys and girls of the twentieth century may see their beauty and catch their inspiration.
It is one of the strangest paradoxes of our time that just when the Bible is enjoying its widest circulation, millions of copies being sold every year, fewer people than ever seem to be reading it. In countless homes family worship and the reading of the Bible have been neglected, and parents themselves seldom open its pages. A whole generation is growing up with little or no knowledge of this wonderful book.
Most modern children have heard little or nothing about the great Bible characters of ancient times, so familiar to their grandparents. Their heroes are not Daniel, Paul, and Peter; but He-Man, Hulk Hogan, Star Commander, and the Incredible Hulk. They have never heard of the love of Jesus, and thus have been robbed of the greatest treasure their minds could possess. No wonder there is such juvenile delinquency, vandalism, and lawlessness.
In my opinion no greater contribution could be made to the welfare of society and peace of the world than to lead children to love the Bible, enjoy its stories, appreciate its teachings, adopt its standards, and find its God.
The over-all purpose of this lesson is to provide what might be called "A Revival." A revival for parents to begin regularly teaching their kids in the home about God's love for man; a revival to reestablish the importance of Bible study in the home. Revival to impress upon your children the vast difference between right and wrong, God and the devil, heaven and hell, benefits of serving God and consequences of serving the devil. Public opinion polls report that the average person's knowledge of the Bible is extremely limited. Few of those questioned could name a dozen of its leading characters. Fewer still could list the books of the Bible. Many had only a vague concept of its origin or purpose and were utterly confused about its teachings. They could not distinguish the books of the Old Testament from those of New and were at a complete loss to find a familiar text.
How is it with you and your Bible? Do you read it? Do you enjoy it? Some people start out in earnest to read the Bible, only to give up after glancing at the first few chapters. Unable to find anything of gripping interest, or bored by some unfamiliar phraseology, they set it aside as if it were completely beyond their understanding.
There must be millions of Bibles lying around in Christian homes, un-opened and unread, save possibly on special occasions such as weddings and funerals.
Yet, down through the centuries the Bible has proved itself to be a book of high spiritual potency. Many of the finest men and women known to history have drawn their inner strength from its pages. Time and again it has changed lives, enriched the mind, enlarged the vision, and transformed desires. Great preachers have found it to be a treasure house of truth, while statesmen, teachers, and writers have never ceased to mine its literary riches.
Here, then, is the strange paradox. We have a book that everybody is willing to admit is the best, the greatest, and the most wonderful book ever written; a book that has lasted longer than any other, a book that has been circulated more widely than any other, a book that has done more good than any other; and yet one of the least read of all books published today.
What can be done to change this situation? How can people who possess this book be lured, enticed, persuaded, to open and read it, to discover for themselves the precious blessings stored within its pages. The purpose of this speech is to attempt to answer these questions.
Study With Your Own Children
At Home
We are so concerned over cooking food for our children, making sure they are properly clothed, making sure the house is in good shape, maintaining good school grades, and the list goes on and on. These things are certainly necessary and obviously should not be neglected; but when these types of things consume all our time and energy, we have truly lost our sense of values. Material things will pass. They may be taken from us in an instant on this earth. We will leave them when we enter into eternity. The only thing we can take with us is another soul, whether it’s the soul of a child, a husband, a relative, or a neighbor. How little time we spend on the one thing that is truly lasting!
The story of Eunice and Lois is an example of how effective home Bible study can be. In spite of an unbelieving father, young Timothy was taught by his mother and grandmother.
2 Timothy 1:5 "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
Every time we read God's instructions to the Israelite parents, we should hang our heads in shame. Please consider Moses' admonition to the people:
Please notice as an added reminder, they wore frontlets containing God's Word on their foreheads and wrote the commands on their doorpost and gates. Deuteronomy 6:8-9 reads, "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
Instead of talking of the Word of the Lord when we "sit in our house" we often watch television. We seldom "walk by the way," but how many times do we teach our children as we are driving to school, store, or on a trip. Frequently, when night time comes, and we "lie down" we are so tired from all our other activities, that we skip the time we meant to study the Bible together. When we "rise up," kids are off to school and dads off to work with no time for studying the Bible in the home.
Yes, we know the command! We can quote Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go." Our intentions are good, but we cannot seem to get around to studying the Bible in the home. The responsibility of this task is laid squarely on the shoulders of the father. God has given man the position of head in the family. He needs the support and cooperation from the wife as well, but the responsibility starts at the top and works its way down.
Christian friends, when we are overflowing with zeal to study God's Word ourselves, teaching our children becomes second nature. Just like the Israelites were commanded in Exodus 13:8 to explain their observance of the Passover to their children.
Yes, it will take a great amount of effort to succeed at reworking your daily activities. But, if your priorities are properly laid out, then it will not be a problem for you to decide now, this very moment, that teaching your children God's Word is one of the most important things that you can do. If you do not know the Bible, then start learning it, so you can teach your children, and loved ones. It may mean getting less sleep at night, not volunteering to work overtime on the job, or watching less television; but the rewards astronomically out-weigh such sacrifices.
General References To
Religion in the Home
1.
Joshua establishes religion in his home (
Joshua 24:15
).
2.
Job sanctifies his children (
Job 1:5
).
3.
The healed demon was told to tell others about God (
Luke 8:39
).
4.
Mary sits at Jesus' feet in her home (
Luke 10:39
).
5.
Andrew leads his brother to Christ (
John 1:41
).
6.
The entire family of the nobleman accepts Christ (
John 4:53
).
7.
Lydia and her household was converted (
Acts 16:15
).
8.
The Philippian Jailer and his family are baptized (
Acts 16:33
).
9.
Home is the best place to show piety (
1 Timothy 5:4
- ).
Devout Fathers
In the Bible
1.
Abraham exerts a spiritual influence upon his family (Genesis 18:19).
2.
Isaac blesses his son (Genesis 27:26-27).
3.
Jacob commands his household to put away idols (Genesis 35:2).
4.
Manoah prays for instruction in regard to his coming child (Judges. 13:8).
5.
David gives godly advice to his son Solomon (1 Kings. 2:1-4).
6.
Zechariah was the godly father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67).
7.
- Cornelius was the head of a religious household (Acts 10:2).
Devout Mothers
in the Bible
1.
Sarah (Genesis 21:6) The mother of Isaac.
2.
Hannah (1 Samuel 1:22) The mother of Samuel.
3.
Elizabeth (Luke 1:41) John the Baptist's mother.
4.
Mary (Luke 1:46) The mother of Jesus.
5.
- Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5) The mother of Timothy.
Parental Prayers
1.
Abraham for Ishmael (Genesis 17:18).
2.
David for the life of his child (2 Samuel 12:16).
3.
David for Solomon (1 Chronicles 29:19).
4.
Job for his children (Job 1:5).
5.
- The father for the demoniac (Matthew 17:15).
Examples of Good Children
1.
Isaac "Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here." Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" (Genesis 22:7).
2.
Samuel "And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men" (1 Samuel 2:26).
3.
John the Baptist "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80).
4.
The Boy Jesus "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).
5.
- Timothy "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also" (2 Timothy 1:5). "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15).
Practical Advice For
Home Bible Study
1.
Ask Your Children Questions Based on the Bible. These questions should be centered around major events, characters, or perhaps the life of Jesus Christ. Ask them: "What is the plan of salvation?" or "What are the items of worship?" If your children are old enough to know these answers and they do not know them, you are behind and have some great catching up to do! Many times we were riding down the road and mother or daddy would start asking us Bible related questions. Questions and answers spark a great amount of interest in children. Recently, we listed to several children, ages five to nine, asking each other Bible questions. This can be really fun, educational, and rewarding to a family. Following are different ways we studied and discussed the Bible as a family.
- -Who was the wisest man who ever live? Solomon -Who was the strongest man who ever lived? Samson -Who was the oldest man who ever lived? Methuselah -What is the shortest verse in the Bible? John 11:35 -What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 117 -What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalm 119 -Who can name the 12 apostles? (5 J's: James, James, Judas, Judas, John; 2 P's: Peter, Phillip; 3 that rhyme: Andrew, Matthew, Bartholomew; S: Simon; and T: Thomas)
2.
Read Bible Stories to Them. —Mrs. Lee's Stories About Jesus (questions provided on each story) — Mrs. Lee's Stories About God's First People (Questions provided) — The Bible Story (Maxwell) (Excellent material, Beautiful pictures) Note. These books by Maxwell are put out by Seventh Day Adventist, but other than mentioning the Sabbath Day frequently, no other doctrines are taught that I have read thus far! I have not read all ten books however. It makes mention of Seventh Day in this sense: The Sabbath was given to people in olden days and we should keep it to! Proper explanation is in order, but as a whole this is a good set of books! * Read Bible stories directly from the Bible and discuss them together.
3.
Discuss Famous Bible Characters
- __Adam and Eve —Phoebe __Cain and Able —Priscilla and Acqullla —Noah and the Ark —Annanias and Sapphira —David and Goliath —Stephen — Daniel and the Lion's Den —Dorcas —Jonah and the Whale —Peter (Good and bad points) — Moses —Judas Iscariot —Elijah —John the Baptist
4.
Cases of Conversion
- —Jews, Acts 2 —Cornelius, Acts 10 —Samaria, Acts 8:4-13 —Lydia, Acts 16:13-15 __ Ethiopian Eunuch, Acts 8:26-39 —Philippian Jailor, Acts 16:23-34 —Paul (Saul), Acts 9:1-20, 22:1-16 —Corinthians, Acts 18:8
5.
Cases of Non-Conversion
- __ Felix, Acts 24 —King Agrippa, Acts 26
6.
Religious Journals
- —The Christian Expositor —The Old Path Advocate —Church Bulletins —Notes from Preachers Studies __ Old Paths Pulpit I, II
7.
Tracts. Hundreds of good tracts are available.
8.
Bible Correspondence Courses
These are normally well organized, scriptural references provided, a text to read and questions to answer! This is an excellent way to study the Bible as a family and easy to organize while following the prescribed course!
9. Study Aids, Reference Material, Bible Helps
- —Concordance __Bible Dictionary __Reference Bible (Thompson Chain Reference, Nave's Topical) —Commentaries (Gospel Advocate is a good basic commentary)
10. Attend Special Meetings
Nearly every month of the year there is a special meeting going on somewhere! While you probably couldn't go to all of them you could arrange to take the family and go to some of them. Going to these meetings are very spiritual uplifting, helpful in getting acquainted with other Christians. Yes, there is some expense involved. I remember that we use to save dimes from one Sulphur Meeting to the next, and that is how we went to the meeting. It was a real treat to save the dimes, roll them up, and pack our bags (however due to inflation, I would suggest that you save quarters).
- February Wichita Kansas Young People Meeting March Ada Oklahoma Young People Meeting April Tulsa Oklahoma Young People Meeting May Memorial Day Meeting June Fourth of July Meetings Begin July Sulphur and Lebanon September Labor Day Meeting November Thanksgiving Meeting December Preacher's Study and New Year Meeting
12. Individual Bible Reading Program
Establish a good Bible Reading Program to fit your daily schedule. Read four chapters daily to complete the Bible in less than a year. Read three chapters daily and five on Sunday with the same result. For a New Testament monthly schedule, read one book a day. There are only ten books of the New Testament with ten or more chapters. So, there will be only ten days of extensive reading per month; the other seventeen books can be easily read in a few minutes! Just establish for yourself some type of schedule and stick with it!
13. Different Techniques for Family Bible Study
Read a chapter every morning at breakfast before breaking up for daily routine, and also in the evening have family prayer.
- Practice question and answers after sermons while riding home from church. Purchased Bible Workbooks for family to use and study more extensively. Have your children read one chapter a day, while listening to the Bible on cassette tape. [pod-casts, internet, cell phone, etc.] Read a Bible story, sing a couple of songs, and let each family member lead a prayer.
Conclusion
Please re-evaluate your daily routine. Stop and see what needs to be done in order to have quality time spent with your children. Your children will not be small forever. They are willing to be taught now, so do not lose this golden opportunity. God bless you in all your efforts to instill in your children the love of God and the desire to learn more about Him.
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