As Christian parents, we are charged with the responsibility of teaching and training our children in the ways of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”.
This command is not the Sunday school teacher, or the school teacher, but to the parent. It is supposed to be an intentional, well calculated and carefully executed indoctrination using everyday opportunities at home. One of the greatest ways to do this is through setting up a consistent family devotion time. For us this takes about 1 hour, led by either my Husband or I, for children of all ages (currently our children are age 8, 6, 4 and 2. We started when the eldest was about 1 year old, and have never stopped). These are some of the activities we do:
Singing
Ephesians 5:19. We teach our children that worship does not end with the Sunday service. We teach them to sing even when they do not want to. We teach them that songs are prayers and words of prophesy. This means that you need to watch what you sing, for not all songs have sound doctrine.
Reading the word
Ephesians 4:12. We read a portion of scripture. It is advisable to use a physical copy of the Bible. We read it and teach by asking questions and dramatizing the stories. We then act out the story together with the children. These make for fun times! Click here for a Bible reading plan for family devotion.
Scripture memory
Ps. 119:11. We recite scriptures. We started with Eph. 6:1-2, portions of Psalm 119, then the whole of Psalm 23 and Psalm 91 among other smaller verses. The list continues to grow depending on what we feel will fallow their hearts for God’s activity and promptings both now and in the future.
Prayer
Jas. 5:16. We pray for each other, for family and friends. We use an app called ‘Unreached of the Day’ to pray for those who do not know Jesus and to cultivate in the children a missionary mindset.
Affirmations
Prov. 18:21. We speak over the children life and the word of God. We speak what we feel is God’s will for their lives. We speak into their future.
Catechism
Prov. 22:6. This we have not started yet but plan to incorporate into our family devotion time. I used think that Catechism is old school and a reserve of the Catholics, until one day I came across this and it blew my mind.
Breaking Bread
1 Cor. 11:23-26. This has been an amazing aspect of family devotion. We don’t do it everyday but at least once a week. Breaking bread or Holy Communion is one of the greatest resources that Jesus gave us to constantly declare and remind us that ‘It was finished’. What a great salvation!
What do you do during your family devotion time?
Related Articles:
- A Fresh, Protestant Perspective on Catechism
- Bible Reading Plan for Family Devotion
- Cultivating a Missionary Mindset in Children