Acquainting Children with the Life-Changing Word of God

When the apostle Paul was writing to Timothy, a younger Christian and pastor, he admonished him:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14–17)

Paul emphasized the vital and supreme place that Scripture should hold in our thinking. It’s through the very “breathed out” Word of God that we can be taught, reproved, corrected, and trained for God’s service. But in order for Scripture to shape our thinking, we need to know what it teaches. And, ideally, that learning should start when we are young children, as it did for Timothy, thanks to his mother and grandmother.

When children are taught Scripture from the beginning, it forms the basis for their thinking.

When children are taught Scripture from the beginning, it forms the basis for their thinking. They learn to view the world through the lens of what the Bible teaches about us, our condition, our only hope, and our moral responsibilities before our Creator. It’s vital they learn to do this for themselves, rather than being taught a list of “dos and don’ts.” Someday they will be thinking on their own and making their own decisions, and they need to know what they firmly believe, as Timothy did, so they can remain steadfast.

One way that churches can contribute to acquainting children with the “sacred writings” is by using a Sunday School curriculum steeped in God’s Word. Our four-year curriculum, Answers Bible Curriculum (ABC), goes through the entire Bible chronologically. The chronological approach puts the events in Scripture in the order they actually happened. This helps bring the Bible to life and makes overall themes and theology connect and make sense. It’s a great way of increasing biblical literacy, even among children, helping them both remember what they are learning and understand what they are reading on their own.

You can learn more about ABC and its unique approach by trying a month of lessons for free.