Just a few days ago, we hit a major milestone for our family: We completed reading the entire Bible aloud. I promised my daughter, on her 6th birthday, that we would do this by her 18th birthday. And it took much less time than I expected: A few months from now, she will turn 11. We have plenty of time to do it again.
You can read more about why and how we did this in two previous posts (here and here). But here is a summary:
- Once per week, we spent 45-60 minutes reading out loud. We would occasionally stop for questions, but mostly just kept reading.
- The children were not required to sit still and listen. They could do anything they wanted during the time, as long as 1) it didn’t involve anything noisy or electronic, and 2) it didn’t require them to leave the living room. Matchbox cars, legos, board game bits, comic books, chess sets, sketch pads, and art supplies all got liberal use during family Bible reading time.
- Bible reading was followed immediately by dinner together, when we might discuss some portion of the text we read. Then we were off to evening activities.
- We would miss 5-10 weeks per year on account of traveling or extraordinary activities. But we made a habit of treating Sunday afternoon Bible reading time as nonnegotiable.
- I began reading the ESV, but I switched to the CSB somewhere late in the Pentateuch or early in the OT historical books.
- I read the OT in canonical order. I read the NT according to four tracks. The children took turns selecting a gospel, and then I would read that gospel and all additional NT books associated with it. Then the next child would choose another gospel, and so on. We had fun offering the fourth child a “choice” between Mark and Mark.
What’s Next?
We’re going to take a break from sustained reading aloud. For at least the next year, I plan to repurpose the time to teach the children an overview of each book of the Bible. We’ll cover a book each week, and I want to provide them with notes on the author, audience, occasion, structure, and main point of each book.
I trust this series of overviews will give them something they can refer to as their own Bible study matures. And it will give us some much-needed variety in our family routine.
But once we get through all of the books, I expect to go back to extended reading time. I think I’ll mix it up by using a chronological reading order.
How Did it Go?
I believe these 5 years of extended Bible reading have been great for our family. They have opened a multitude of discussion topics, as we sought to process whatever biblical material was before us. This led us naturally into conversations about love and romance, suffering and persecution, evil and judgment, morality and theology, church and family life.
I couldn’t make a systematic curriculum out of the topics that came up in discussion, but I can’t overstate the value of having our topics for conversation be driven by whatever questions the kids had about what we were reading. Instead of me asking them all the questions—as used to be the case in our prior family devotions—they were asking me questions. Sometimes, I would ask a few comprehension questions to make sure they could follow what was happening in the text. But normally, if they didn’t have any questions, we would simply continue forward.
Final Reflections
Here are some thoughts, now that I’ve completed the experience:
- Find whatever motivates you to get your children simmering in the Scriptures. For years, I tried doing daily family devotions, with a published guide and everything. And if that works for you, do it. But it didn’t work for us. I was never excited about reading only a few verses at a time, and then asking a series of questions provided by someone who had never met my children. And with my motivation low, it was very difficult to build a disciplined habit. But once we started simply reading for lengthy stretches, I couldn’t wait for it to come each week.
- Don’t underestimate what your children can handle. My oldest (twins) are now 13, and my youngest is 3. All six children participated in family Bible reading time. And all, I believe, have come to enjoy it and benefit from it. (As I’ve mentioned before, though, I don’t mean to paint too homely and rosy of a picture. I’m sure almost all of them would select playtime at a friend’s house, or a movie night, instead of family Bible reading if given the choice.) Because I respect them enough to hear and respond to all Scripture (including lists of names, lengthy prophetic poems, codes of ritual instructions, and narratives of unsavory behavior), they have grown in their own respect for Scripture and for its relevance to what they face in life.
- While daily dipping has a place, so does periodic immersion. Though we haven’t had daily family devotions, we still train our children to spend personal time in the Scripture every day. Many of them prefer to listen to an audio Bible while doing chores or drawing picture; a few prefer to read the Bible with their own eyes. Whatever the format, these daily dips into Scripture are shaping their loves and their thinking. And our weekly, hour-long reading sessions have taken their exposure to the Lord’s Word to a whole new level. Those lengthier immersions have done much to make us feel like this is our story. These are our people. This is our God and our Messiah, and we are his flock.
To be clear: I’m not trying to persuade you to do what we have done. I just know the guilt and demotivation I felt from the expectation for family Bible instruction to take a certain shape. I was delighted to discover a creative alternative. Perhaps you’ll discover something else entirely that works best for your family.
Do whatever it takes to be in the Word with your kids. If you don’t, someone or something else will fill the gap and captivate their hearts.
And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
Judges 2:10-15
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods… And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies… And they were in terrible distress.
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Psalm 128:1-6
who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
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