Today was the first day of school for our crew – which made it a perfect re-starting point for our Family Bible Time. We have 3 kids – ages 6 to 14 – so I have created some simple, easy-to-adapt, Bible lessons for our family. I thought I’d share them here, in hopes that they might be beneficial to others.
Before we began, I made sure each child had paper, a pencil, and a Bible. In addition, we had the computer on hand to look up words – and a couple of Bible commentaries for the older two. Our kids like to jot down a few notes – and the littlest one likes to draw while we talk.
We started our time together by asking our youngest daughter to read Ephesians 2:8.
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. – Ephesians 2:8 HCSB
All three kids used the same version of the Bible, and the older 2 helped the youngest with the longer words.
We then circled the main words in the first part of the verse. Our pace is deliberate, because we are both studying and learning how to study each text.
They selected and circled: grace – saved – and faith
Awesome!
So, were were off. We used the computer and Blue Letter Bible look up the meaning of the word grace.
This was a great chance to teach the older two about how to use a concordance. By the way, grace is Strong’s G5485 – charis.
Side Note: I was able to discuss (briefly) the fact that the Bible was written in another language and has been translated into our modern languages. Often, during Family Bible Time, I’ll jot down notes, to remind myself to talk to the kids about a particular topic, on another day. That happened tonight two or three times.
Back to the study –
Our oldest daughter looked up Ephesians 2:8 in one of the commentaries and our son looked up grace in the Bible dictionary.
Our oldest read the commentary – slowly – and we discussed grace – and what it means. Likewise, my son read the definition from the dictionary. (During this time, our youngest, who is 6, was drawing a picture of Jesus and writing down the words grace, saved, and faith. More on that, in a bit.)
Eventually, we decided to write out a definition for grace, using the information we had gathered. Here’s what the kids came up with –
Grace – God’s beautiful love for us, that we do not have to earn, and cannot lose.
Pretty cool, I think. They really liked that one of the definitions for the word used the words beautiful and lovely, so they wanted a bit of that flavor in our definition.
Now, here’s the kicker. Our youngest, who had been listening, drawing, reading ahead, and acting a little disinterested, came up with this gem, just as we were finishing our discussion.
Me: So, what do you think it means when it reads “by grace you are saved…”
Her: It means, He saves us, simply because He loves us! (followed by a fist pump)
Man, I love me some Family Bible Time. Blessings. -Jason
Final notes: Tonight’s Family Bible Time lasted, oh, 20 minutes or so. The kids enjoyed it – and asked great questions. I like focusing on one or two words (or ideas) at a time. There’s no need to overwhelm – we have all of eternity to figure this stuff out! 🙂 Archive for the ‘Free Lessons’ Category
Family Bible Time – Ephesians 2:8 And Grace
Posted by Jason on August 6th, 2014
Today was the first day of school for our crew – which made it a perfect re-starting point for our Family Bible Time. We have 3 kids – ages 6 to 14 – so I have created some simple, easy-to-adapt, Bible lessons for our family. I thought I’d share them here, in hopes that they might be beneficial to others.
Before we began, I made sure each child had paper, a pencil, and a Bible. In addition, we had the computer on hand to look up words – and a couple of Bible commentaries for the older two. Our kids like to jot down a few notes – and the littlest one likes to draw while we talk.
We started our time together by asking our youngest daughter to read Ephesians 2:8.
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. – Ephesians 2:8 HCSB
All three kids used the same version of the Bible, and the older 2 helped the youngest with the longer words.
We then circled the main words in the first part of the verse. Our pace is deliberate, because we are both studying and learning how to study each text.
They selected and circled: grace – saved – and faith
Awesome!
So, were were off. We used the computer and Blue Letter Bible look up the meaning of the word grace.
This was a great chance to teach the older two about how to use a concordance. By the way, grace is Strong’s G5485 – charis.
Side Note: I was able to discuss (briefly) the fact that the Bible was written in another language and has been translated into our modern languages. Often, during Family Bible Time, I’ll jot down notes, to remind myself to talk to the kids about a particular topic, on another day. That happened tonight two or three times.
Back to the study –
Our oldest daughter looked up Ephesians 2:8 in one of the commentaries and our son looked up grace in the Bible dictionary.
Our oldest read the commentary – slowly – and we discussed grace – and what it means. Likewise, my son read the definition from the dictionary. (During this time, our youngest, who is 6, was drawing a picture of Jesus and writing down the words grace, saved, and faith. More on that, in a bit.)
Eventually, we decided to write out a definition for grace, using the information we had gathered. Here’s what the kids came up with –
Grace – God’s beautiful love for us, that we do not have to earn, and cannot lose.
Pretty cool, I think. They really liked that one of the definitions for the word used the words beautiful and lovely, so they wanted a bit of that flavor in our definition.
Now, here’s the kicker. Our youngest, who had been listening, drawing, reading ahead, and acting a little disinterested, came up with this gem, just as we were finishing our discussion.
Me: So, what do you think it means when it reads “by grace you are saved…”
Her: It means, He saves us, simply because He loves us! (followed by a fist pump)
Man, I love me some Family Bible Time. Blessings. -Jason
Final notes: Tonight’s Family Bible Time lasted, oh, 20 minutes or so. The kids enjoyed it – and asked great questions. I like focusing on one or two words (or ideas) at a time. There’s no need to overwhelm – we have all of eternity to figure this stuff out! 🙂 
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Free Children’s Church Lesson For Christmas
Posted by Jason on December 17th, 2012
The following can be used for Children’s Church / Small Group / Sunday School
Let’s talk a little bit about Jesus.
Jesus has always existed – there’s a word for this – Jesus is ETERNAL.
However, to show us how much he loves us, and so that we could better understand Him, Jesus became a man – and was born – just like each of you.
This is what we celebrate at Christmas – the birth of Jesus.
Jesus was not born in a hospital like you were, he was born in a manger.
A manger is a small cave or barn, where animals (sheep, goats, donkeys) lived.
His parents were Mary and Joseph – but you may have already known that. What you may not have known is that Jesus was born – to save the world!
God loves people – He loves you, your parents, your friends, your classmates, even people that you don’t know! He loves them all. So, He sent Jesus – His one and only Son – to show people just how much He loves them.
As He grew up, Jesus read the scriptures (what we now call the Bible) – and He was even able to teach grown ups a thing-or-two about what the scriptures really meant. He helped people, healed people, cared for people, listened to people, encouraged people, and taught people. Jesus was – and is – awesome!
Jesus lived a perfect life – and He demonstrated God’s perfect love for us. You can trust Jesus – to be your friend, your teacher, your helper, and your Lord. (Lord is an awesome word – it means “one who directs and instructs”.)
When Jesus was born, God sent angels (special messengers) to spread the “good news”. The angels went to shepherds, who were taking caring of sheep, and the angels told the shepherds that “Jesus had been born”. The shepherds were so excited – they left their sheep – and found Jesus and his family. Then, after spending time with Him, they went to all of their friends, telling them about Jesus.
Once we hear about Jesus – and spend some time getting to know Him and about Him – we can then share what we know with our friends. Knowing Jesus is awesome – and so is telling others about Him!
Feel free to print this article and use it as a guide for teaching others about grace.
