Lesson 1: God’s command to teach children

Deuteronomy 31:12-13
• To who are God’s instructions addressed?
• Why should people do what God has commanded?
• For how long should they follow God’s commandment?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Psalms 34:11, Psalms 78:1-8

• Why do we teach children?
• When do we teach children?
• Where do we teach children?
• What do we teach children?

Proverbs 22:6
• What are our responsibilities towards children?

Information to share:

In Deuteronomy 31:12-13 we see that God includes the children when He speaks to His
people. He also wants the children to hear His Words. We see three aims: children need to
learn about God, they need to fear Him and they need to obey God’s commandments. It is a
lifelong issue! We teach children, because this is what God wants us to do!

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we see again that God asks us to teach children. We just have to
obey! We see this can be done during the whole day and wherever you are. Find the
opportunities in daily life! You see it all starts from home! We teach the children that there is
only one God, Who we need to love with our whole heart and life.

Psalms 34:12 shows that an adult wants to teach the children the fear of the Lord. The word
‘fear’ expresses respect for our holy God. It doesn’t mean to give children fear in a way like
you want to run away for danger. No, God wants to draw us near to Him, to have a
relationship with Him, but we still acknowledge His holiness, His power, His glory etc.

In Psalms 78:1-8 we see a new aspect in teaching children. From generation to generation
we share the history of God’s deeds and miracles. We share His commandments. This has
three aims again: to put your hope in God, not to forget God’s deeds and to live according to
His will!

We learn from Proverbs 22:6 that we, parents/teachers/pastors, have the responsibility to
teach children about God and His Word, acknowledging the age of a child.

How we prepare a Bible lesson

Because it is the Lord Who is asking us to teach children, we will see how we can do so. The
Bible is not an easy book, so how can we share God’s Word with children? When you just
read the Bible for them, they will get stuck, because they don’t understand all you read.
There are words that need explanation etc.
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We need to bring the Bible Words to children in a way they can understand them. This
means to come down to their level of understanding.
In this lesson we want to share how you can prepare a Bible lesson.
Normally you prepare the story a at least a day before you teach, so you can ‘digest’ the
information. Follow the steps!

• Pray to God to help you, by His Spirit, in your study. (John 14:16-17)
• Read the passage in the context. Is it history or a parable?
• Observe the passage and answer the 5 –W questions:

1. Who is involved? What do you know about them? What is their character?
2. Where did it happen? Names of villages, cities etc.
3. When did it happen? Historical situation. Day or night? Old or New Testament? What
happened before?
4. What is happening? Make a summary in headlines in your own words
5. Why is this story in the Bible? We call this the message or the aim of the story. It is
possible to get more than one. Try to focus on the most important one. Make it
relevant for our daily life! Think and pray about the passage so God can show what
He wants us to learn:
• What does God tell us in this story about Himself? About Jesus? About us?
• What does this story teach us to do or not to do?

A Bible story has the following structure:

1. Introduction
Make a sentence to start with to get the interest from the children. Tell the story
as if it is happening on this moment. (Present tense) That will involve the
children! Try to avoid long sentences and difficult words. When you need to use
an unknown word, explain it. Examples from daily life can help. (Like Jesus did in
explaining biblical truths with parables.)
2. Progression
Tell the story facts. Make it attractive and interesting. That doesn’t mean drama,
but paint with words the picture of the scene so the children see what you tell.
Use your voice, gestures and body language. It will help to place yourself in the
situation. Think about what you would think, do etc. when you would be the
person you are telling about. Be a story teller, but never change the truth. Stick
to the Biblical truth! Make your applications (short!) in between when you are
going to a climax, the most important point in the story.
3. Conclusion
Try to avoid telling the story as just a story and preach at the end. You will lose
the attention from the children. Children end in their head when the story ends.
They can concentrate for about 10-20 minutes, depending on their age. Think
already about the last sentence that you want to say. Make the children looking
forward to the next lesson.

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With the help of these main lines you should try to imagine how you will tell the story. Try to
make a picture from the story in your head. Never read the story, but tell it!

When you prepare a Bible lesson, the first blessing is already for yourself!

Lesson 2: Each child is valuable

Psalm 139:15, Jeremiah 1:5-7, Psalm 8:1-2

• From these Scriptures, what do you think is God’s attitude towards children?

Psalm 127:3
• What does this psalm say about children?
• How do we treat gifts and rewards?

Mark 10:13-16 (The same story you can read in Matthew 19:13-15 and in Luke 18:15-17)
• Why did the parents bring their children to Jesus?
• Why was Jesus displeased with his disciples?
• To whom does the Kingdom of God belong?
• What kind of faith does a child have?

Information to share:

God knows us right from the beginning of our life, starting from the conception (Psalms
139:15), He sees us in the womb of our mother and has a plan for our life (Jeremiah 1:5-7).
Even when we are very young we are there for His glory (Psalms 8:1-2.) God values the life of
children very much. In Psalm 127:3 children are called a heritance, a reward. Well, we should
treat children as the most precious gift you can get on earth! Who is responsible for this
precious gift? The one who receives it! So the main responsibility for caring and teaching
children is with their own parents!

We read in Marc 10:13-16 how Jesus opened the eyes of the disciples, His students, to teach
them about the importance of caring for children.

• Jesus made time for them (emotional care).

• Jesus blessed them (spiritual care).
• Jesus touched them (physical care).

We, adults, need to know not to be a hindrance for children, but to follow Jesus’ example.
We have to encourage children to get to know Jesus. How earlier, how better! The younger a
child is when he/she comes to Jesus, the longer his/her life will be to God’s glory. What a
blessing!
We see how children are an example for us by their uncomplicated faith. They can even be
used by God to bring others to Jesus. The Kingdom of heaven is for everyone that believes in
Jesus as a child: full of trust, humble, dependant...

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 Lesson 3: Also children are sinners

Revision
In the previous lesson we learned that children are of great value for the Lord, starting from
the time they are conceived. Can you quote a verse from Scripture to proof this fact?

• At what age does a child start to sin? Why do you think so?

Genesis 1
• What does God say after every day of creation?
• What does God say after creating Adam and Eve?
• What does it mean Adam and Eve were created in the image of God?

Genesis 3
• Why did Adam and Eve sin?
• What was their sin?

Romans 5:12
• What does it mean for us that Adam and Eve became sinners?

Romans 3:10-12 and 23

• Are children sinners? Why do you think so?

Psalms 51:5, Job 14:4, Isaiah 48:8

• When does a child become a sinner? Why?

Information to share:

In Genesis 1 we see how everything is created by God. Everything was good! That is what
God says at the end of every day of that first week. But after creating Adam and Eve He even
says: “It was very good!”
Man and woman are created in the image of God. Above any other creature God gave us the
ability to choose between good and evil, to be creative, to experience relationships with God
and which one another. It shows how valuable we and our children are!

God gave a commandment to Adam and Eve. They could eat from every tree, except from
the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Adam and Eve were created perfect. They could make the choice to obey God, to trust His
Word, to life a perfect life with a perfect relationship which God and others.

But Adam and Eve didn’t obey God. They choose to trust the lies of the devil. Sin still often
starts with listening to wrong words, with looking... and then the wrong act follows...
From this moment on Adam and Eve where sinners.

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Sin entered the world and goes from generation to generation. We learn from the Bible,
especially in the book of Romans, that everyone is a sinner. And every sinner deserves death.
God is holy. He can’t accept sin (Romans 5:12).

We read in Romans 3:10-12 and 23 that all have sinned and no one does good. That includes
children. Psalms 51:5 proofs that we are born as sinners. And Job 14:4 helps us to
understand this even better. Because our parents are sinners, we are born as sinners. Even a
new born baby has already a sinful nature. It will be revealed when it grows up. We see the
same information also in Isaiah 48:8.

An example can help us to understand this better. When you have a mango tree, what kind
of fruits will you harvest? Of course mangos! When you see small mangos starting to grow in
your tree, you know they are mangos already, although they are not fully grown yet. You
don’t expect they will be bananas when they are ripe to harvest. A mango tree can only give
mangos. A banana tree can only produce bananas. Sinners can only bring forth sinners...

Lesson 4: Salvation for children

Revision
In lesson 3 we have been learning about children are sinners. So they are in need of
salvation.

It is vital to understand properly why a child is a sinner. It is born as a sinner. A sinner can
never bring forth something else as a sinner. But what about God’s grace? God’s grace is for
sinners. How does God reach out to children? We have to see what the Lord is telling us
about this topic.

Ephesians 2:12
• What is a covenant?
• What is the covenant of promise? Read Luke 1:68-79 for more information, especially
verse 72-75.

Genesis 17:1-14
• Which are the two parties in this covenant?
• What is the promise?
• What is the condition?
• Are children included in God’s covenant? How do you know?

Acts 2:38-39
• Which are the two parties in this covenant?
• What is the promise?
• What is the condition?
• Are children included in God’s covenant? How do you know?

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Luke 19:9-10, Acts 11:14, Acts 16:14-15 and 30-34
• What are the words describing inclusive thinking?
• What does this mean for our approach towards children?

1 Corinthians 7:14
• What makes the children holy?
• What does the word ‘holy’ mean?

Ezekiel 18:20-23, Acts 10:43 and Romans 10:9-11

• What is needed to be saved?

Lamentations 5:21, Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8-9

• Explain in your own words what these verses mean for you.

Use the last hour before tea break to go through the questions from the Bible study, to check
if everyone got the right answers. You don’t need to read the Scripture again. That will
consume too much time. Only proof with Scripture when the students didn’t get the right
answer.

Information to share:

In Ephesians 2:12 we read about the covenant of promise. A covenant is an agreement

between two parties. It binds two parties together in a relationship. You promise something
to each other and share the conditions. There are consequences for keeping or breaking the
covenant.
In Luke 1 we can see in the song of Zechariah the connection between the coming of Jesus in
the New Testament and the promises done in the Old Testament. The covenant with
Abraham is mentioned.

The covenant with Abraham is established in Genesis 17. We see it all starts with God. He
comes to Abraham with His promises. In Abraham his offspring is included. (verse 17)
God promises to be God to Abraham and his offspring. Abraham will be the father of nations
and receives the land Canaan as the promised land. The condition is that every male under
this covenant needs to be circumcised. The whole household of Abraham is described: it
includes children (circumcision is done on the 8th day after birth), slaves (bought with
money) and foreigners (adopted family members who stay with you). You see Abraham is
representing the whole group when God comes with His covenant to him.

On the Pentecostal day you see something similar. God comes with His Holy Spirit to
establish a covenant between Him and everyone who believes in Jesus as His Saviour. God
promises forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The conditions are repentance
and baptism. Also here you see the inclusive thinking: the promise is even for the children
and the ones far off (gentiles, according to Acts 22:21 and Ephesians 2: 13 and 17).

You see beautiful examples in Scripture about this inclusive thinking. The mentioned verses
speak about the house, all your household, the entire household or the whole household.

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With the description from Genesis 17 in mind, we know what the Bible means. When God
offers salvation He includes the children!

1 Corinthians 7:14 shows that children are holy, when even only one of the parents is a
believer. Holy means: set apart. Included in God’s covenant! You can’t say that means you
are saved automatically, like you can see from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 where God warns us
with the example of the Israelites, the people of God’s covenant in the Old Testament.

In Ezekiel 18:20-23, Acts 10:43 and Romans 10:9-11 we see that repentance and (confession
of your) faith are needed to be saved. That is the same for adults and children. But can we
ourselves repent and believe? We can only be saved by God’s grace. That is what we see in
Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5 and Lamentations 5:21. Our salvation is not dependent from
ourselves and our good works. The only thing God asks from us, and what He wants to give
to us, is relying on what Jesus did for sinners! So parents, teachers and pastors just have to
guide the children to Jesus!

Lesson 5: Biblical child discipline

How do you control the behavior of the children during your program? Or in church? Why?

1 Sam.2:22-25 and 3:13

• Which two things do we learn from the story from Eli as a father?

No you get different verses from scripture about discipline. Find the profit from discipline in:
• Proverbs 1:7-8 and 8:33 and 12:1
• Proverbs 13:18
• Proverbs 3:11-12 and 13:24
• Proverbs 4:1,13 and 6:23. (The opposite you see in Proverbs 5:23)
• Proverbs 22:6
• Proverbs 29:17

Proverbs 19:18 and 23:13. Also Ephesians 6:4.

• How do we discipline our children?

What do we learn from these verses?

• Job 5:17
• Deuteronomy 8:5
• Jeremiah 10:24 (30:11, 46:28)
• Hebrews 12:5-11
• Revelation 3:19

Information to share:

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In 1 Samuel 2:22-25 and 3:13 we learn discipline is very important. Parents are responsible
for the behaviour of their children. Parents have the first responsibility to teach and train
their children!

Why is discipline important?

• It makes you wise. (Proverbs 1:7-8 and 8:33 and 12:1)
• It gives you respect. (Proverbs 13:18)
• It is a sign of love. (Proverbs 3:11-12 and 13:24)
• It gives life. (Proverbs 4:1,13 and 6:23. The opposite you see in Proverbs 5:23)
• It protects for further sins. (Proverbs 22:6)
• It gives joy out of the results. (Proverbs 29:17)

There are more verses in Proverbs speaking about the importance of discipline and also the
prophets Jeremiah, Hosea and Sefanja are speaking about this topic.

How do we discipline our children? (Proverbs 19:18 and 23:13. Ephesians 6:4)
• Be self-controlled.
• Let love be the motivation.
• Keep the age of the child in mind.

❖ Explain your rule with arguments.

❖ Ask the rule back when a child disobeys.
▪ Is the rule unknown, explain again.
▪ Is the rule known, give a warning (including the consequence).
❖ Disobedience again? Let the consequence be there!

Discipline is also something God does with His children. He punishes sin. But He does it out
of love to change us. He wants us to be part of His holiness and to bear the fruit of
righteousness. (Job 5:17, Deuteronomy 8:5, Jeremiah 10:24 (30:11, 46:28), Hebrews 12:5-11
and Revelation 3:19)

Extra information for discussion when you still have time. Some people misuse Bible verses
about disciplining children or about the need of children to obey to justify child abuse. They
use verses as Proverbs 13:24, 23:13-14 and Hebrews 12:6 to beat a child up.
• What are signs of child abuse?
• How can you help abused children?
• What do we do with the ones that abuse children?
• How does Psalm 23 speak about a rod?

We often discipline children for behaviour that just connects to their age group. When your
demands are not fitting with the level of development from the children it is like asking for
problems.

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