One of my goals in Discipleship Cliff is to create content that will guide parents who are right in the middle of the family discipleship process and parents who are just getting started. I want it to be accessible and helpful for you. So regardless of where you are on this journey, be encouraged. I believe that the time you invest to prepare for family Bible studies is going to have a huge impact on your children.
It’s also going to have a huge impact on your own experience. Maybe bigger! My work writing Bible study lessons and sermons taught me that God is going to work on your heart and mind in the preparation time. You will only be able to teach a small part of what you actually learned. You’re actually teaching from the overflow of what God is working out in you as the teacher. So don’t skip out on the preparation stage, because your family will get out of it what you put into it.
A Plan for the Other Nights
In a previous article, A Realistic Family Bible Study Routine, I made the point that preparing and teaching a Bible study every night to your family will probably be difficult. I offered my family devotions routine to simplify your time together on most nights by using solid family Bible storybook, asking discussion questions, and then praying together. With most nights planned out already, it leaves you with time to invest in study and preparation to lead your own family Bible study one time a week. And that is my focus in this post!
Bible Study Skills
Here are the steps that I follow to prepare:
PRAY
Spend some time in prayer asking God to use the Bible to teach you something new. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to illuminate the truth in His Word. Pray for your kids. Think about their spiritual condition. Think about their specific needs and struggles. Ask God to soften your heart towards them. Ask God to begin working in their heart and mind before you teach them.
PICK A BOOK
Choose a book of the Bible to read – we’ll use Colossians for this guide. The main reason we’re using Colossians is because it’s a short book and it’s one of my favorite books of the Bible.
READ
Set a time to read Colossians from beginning to end. Do this 2x. Use a pencil and highlighter to locate themes, names, or phrases that stand out to you. Don’t read any study Bibles or commentaries yet. That’s coming soon.
STUDY
Use a good Study Bible like the ESV (English Standard Version) or CSB (Christian Standard Bible). Read the introduction to supplement what you already learned when you read the book twice on your own. Answer some questions: Who is the author? Who is he talking to? What is he concerned about for the people he is writing to? Are there false teachers influencing the people? What is he hoping they will change or act on based on what you read? Where is Jesus in this passage?
DIG DEEPER
Now just focus on one chapter at a time. This is the perfect opportunity to slow down and wrap your mind around what you’ve been reading. Are there any words or phrases that Paul is repeating? I recommend that you underline or highlight these. Continue this process though Colossians, chapter by chapter, until you’ve read through the entire book.
RESPOND
What did you learn about God from Colossians? At this point in the Bible study process, it would be easy to come up with some personal life applications. But it’s important to spend time thinking about who God is and what he has done. You’ll notice the questions I ask begin with questions about God’s character and then moves into how that affects our lives. Where do you see the redemptive work of Jesus? How have I fallen short of God’s perfection and holiness? Are there any specific sin patterns that God brings to your mind? How can I apply the Gospel to this? How might God want to transform me based on His love and goodness towards me?
Getting Ready to Teach Your Family
Once you come to this part of the process, it’s time to figure out how you will teach this to your family. You know your family the best, so this is your chance to tailor the Bible study for them. Each family is different. How many kids do you have? What are their ages? Where are they in their Bible knowledge? I’d recommend breaking each chapter of Colossians into a few sections so it’s not information overload for everyone.
Suggested outline for your time together:
Open up your time in prayer
Ask for God’s blessing during the Bible study time, for hearts to be softened, for clarity of mind, and thankfulness for this special time together.
Read the Bible passage together
If you children can read, this is another good opportunity to get them involved in the Bible study.
Bible teaching
You learned a lot about the passage from your study time, but this is the time to simplify what you are teaching your kids. Make sure you are connecting the teaching with them at their age level.
Discussion Questions
Come up with a few questions that your kids can answer. Make sure everyone has the chance to be part of the discussion. Your kids might even come up with some questions for you. Maybe it’s something you can easily answer and maybe it’s something a bit more complicated. Be honest if you don’t know. Spend some time during the week studying or talking to someone who might be able to help you.
Life Application
I think it’s a good idea to figure out how you will guide your family towards applying the Biblical principles that will come from your study time. Here is my suggestion: Work together as a family to list one way that your entire family can put the Bible’s teaching into practice. Keep it simple.
Close in prayer
In another article coming soon, I’m going to post the first lesson from the Colossians Bible study that I wrote for my family. My goal is to post each study as we complete them as a family. Until then, I’ll be praying that God uses your family Bible study time in a powerful way!
Related Articles:
Family Discipleship: A Biblical Guide for Parents
Building A Realistic Family Bible Study Routine
Leave a Reply