Truth: The Core of Every Bible Lesson
When you arrive at the “Truth” section of your Bible lesson, children will have participated in a relationship activity. They’ll be enjoying the positive relational environment you have created.
They will have also participated in an experiential activity, where they will have felt emotions that are connected to the lesson aim. Now they will be anxious to learn the Bible lesson.
When teaching children at church, biblical truth must be at the core.
To prepare to teach this element of EGM’s discipleship model, it’s important to take time to study the Bible passage yourself. It is essential for you to have a clear understanding of the facts and the lesson aim. We recommend that you take time to reflect on the story and apply the lesson aim to your own life.
[socialpug_tweet tweet=”As a children’s ministry leader, it is essential to take time to study the Bible passage in your lesson beforehand.” remove_url=”yes”]
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God gave the Israelites instructions on how to participate in the spiritual development of the children in their community. In verses 6-7, God says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children”.
The idea of “impressing” them is the same idea of a millstone that slowly grinds away. As it does, there is an impression that is made in the rock. In the same way, we must be committed to teaching God’s truth to children consistently over a period of time.
Get Creative!
The Truth element of the teaching model is when we not only get to teach the children God’s Word, but we get to be creative!
Lean into the anticipation of your class. Have fun and be creative. This makes the word of God come alive in the hearts and minds of the children.
[socialpug_tweet tweet=”The worst way to teach a Bible story to children is to teach it the same way every time.”]
Experts say the worst way to teach a Bible story to children is to teach it the same way every time. The key here is to remember that the Bible is the most interesting book in the world. It is made up of amazing stories that would capture the attention of any child.
Church should not be boring
When children say that church is boring, it’s really sad because there is nothing boring about the Bible or following Jesus. But it is boring for children to “listen” to a story every week or for them to always learn about the Bible story in the same way.
Children like to have fun. Children like excitement and surprises. Make this part of the lesson engaging, interactive and exciting. Not only will the children learn the story when you are creative, but they will develop an interest in the Bible; a desire to read and study it.
It is important to stay focused on the lesson aim
As you teach, you will want to make sure to stay focused on the lesson aim. It can be tempting to try and teach multiple truths. We can also lose focus if we get too caught up in the historical background and story facts.
[socialpug_tweet tweet=”Our goal with Bible teaching is that children will live out the spiritual truth they learn.” remove_url=”yes”]
Remember, our goal is that the children will live out the spiritual truth that they learn. In order to do that, the lesson aim and the spiritual truth must be singular and taught in a very clear way.
3 Tips for teaching a Bible truth to children:
- We recommend that you teach with the Bible in hand. We know some of you prefer to read the passage from a phone, tablet, laptop or piece of paper. However, using an actual Bible makes the source of your lesson clear as day. Regardless of how you choose read the story, make sure to let the children know that you are teaching a story from the Bible – which is God’s Word. These are not pretend stories. Using phrases such as, “This is a true story” and “This story really happened” will help the children to understand that.
- This is the moment where children discover what the lesson aim is and what Bible story it comes from. Keep the Bible teaching portion of the lesson simple and make a clear connection to the lesson aim.
- Repeat the lesson aim multiple times. This helps the children to learn and remember it.