Let’s read the Bible together as families in 2019! I recently asked one of my grown daughters what was the most helpful thing we did in our family. She said, “Papa, it was those times we sat in the living room and read through the Bible.” For many years, our family read the Bible out loud together. We did it for about a decade. It gave our children a love for the Word of God, and it provided them with an understanding of the sweeping history of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. It showed them where they fit in the world.
Here is my challenge: read the Bible with your whole family in 2019. Here are Ten Tips for Reading the Bible as a Family in 2019:
1. Resolve this issue right away: Can your children handle it? Yes! Don’t be intimidated by the fact that your children are young. They may not get everything out of everything, but they will get something out of everything. You will find that they will understand more than you anticipate.
2. Prepare a heart of gladness: The entire Bible points to, “good tidings of great joy which will be for all the people. The more you love the Word of God, the easier it will be for your children to hear you read it to them. It is contagious when you love the words and the stories of the Bible, believing that they are “pure,” “perfect” and “holy.”
3. Keep it simple: Don’t think you need to explain everything. When you are reading through the Bible in a year, there is no way you can carefully talk about and analyze everything in the chapters for each day. When you are finished reading the chapter or the section, pick out one verse or one idea and talk about it. I often asked questions like, “What was your favorite part?” or “What wonderful things did you see in His law?” (Ps 119:18).
4. Pick a consistent place and time of the day to read: Consistency is key. Why? Because everything in your life will wage war against whatever time you choose. The Devil will throw every trick in the book to get you to divert your family from reading the Bible, including your own family members. Select an unbreakable time.
5. Be a good tour guide: Take your family by the hand and walk them through the corridors of saving grace. Marvel in the people, the places, the eras and the personalities God included in the history of saving grace. Point to the beauty as you read. Cultivate a spirit of awe toward the words and the stories. As you journey, stand in awe at the beauty, truthfulness and practicality that is displayed.
6. Have everyone read: One of the things we did in our family was to have each person read five verses going around the circle. If we had children who could only read a few words, we had them read one, two or more words. If they were too young to read, we would read a few words and ask them to repeat them. It was one of our methods for teaching them to read.
7. Anticipate being slowed down by child discipline: Children sometimes disobey or have bad attitudes.These things need to be dealt with on the spot. If possible, it is helpful if one parent leaves with the erring child to deal with problem, while the rest of the family continues reading. Don’t let this discourage you. It is a normal part of life. I believe that these things happen in order for parents to confront sin so that children are freed from their rebellion.
8. Choose a method for reading the Bible in a year: There are many methods to choose from. Our family used John MacArthur’s schedule. It usually took us between 20 minutes to an hour to read each day, depending on the age of our children, and how much discussion (or discipline problems) we had.
9. Catch up when you fall behind: I predict you will sometimes fall behind. Our family did – many times each year. Don’t say, “We might fall behind so we shouldn’t try.” It is usually a mistake to neglect a great thing for possible failure. Yes, you will fall behind from time to time. Life happens!
Are your children ready for the trials ahead? Reading the whole counsel of God is the best training for the future. Don’t let your children leave home without it.