Want to help kids dig into Bible study? Ignite their motivation. Provide the tools and techniques they’ll need and lead some practice sessions.
Same things you’d do if you were taking kids along on an archaeological dig—the motif for the new book Kids’ Guide to Exploring the Bible: Tools, Techniques, & Tips for Digging into God’s Word.
The book begins with the why of Bible study and gives readers two: to know God and to grow in wisdom.
(Right on!)
“When we read [the Bible], we get to know Him by learning what He is like. We learn how God acts, what He thinks, what’s important to Him, and what bring Him joy and sadness. Even better, we learn what He has done to show us His love. The Bible reveals who God is.”
Chapters that follow cover
• prayer (important of course but I would have moved or shortened the information in this chapter),
• tools (study Bibles, concordances, journals, apps, and more),
• how the Bible is organized and what each genre contains,
• study methods (inductive, word studies, character studies, devotional reading)
and
• how and why to memorize Scripture.
Chapters also contain short practice exercises plus interesting sidebars about Bible people, words, and facts.
The archaeological theme weaves throughout the book the artwork and in chapter titles and opening information. For example, the chapter about Scripture memory is titled “Save Your Treasure (Making the Bible a Part of Your Life)” and the chapter begins by discussing how artifacts and other kinds of treasure are preserved and protected.
To close the book, the final chapter provides nine different reading plans to help kids explore the Bible with the skills they’ve learned, such as “The Story of Jesus in One Month” and “Two Weeks with Amazing Women in the Bible.” There’s also a glossary and a short list of endnotes
The book’s conversational tone is a big plus. Kids won’t be put off and grownups will find they learn something too.
Parents might want to read this book with their kids on daily or weekly basis, taking enough time to absorb the information and try out all the suggested study resources and skills. Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders could do the same.
I kinda love this book! Highly recommend.
Kids’ Guide to Exploring the Bible
written by A.L. Rogers
published by Barbour Kidz (2021)
paperback, 128 pages