One of the greatest lessons parents who are believers want to teach their children is how to have a strong faith in God. We are very fortunate to have a guide for doing that – the Bible. God has given us a textbook for life; if we follow it diligently, we will find that the head knowledge for living a faith-filled life is right there within its pages. The part we need to help our children learn is heart knowledge and how to make it part of their lives.
Some parents think taking their children to Sunday school and church is enough. But here again, they learn the stories, but sometimes the application and internalization are missing.
Probably the most memorable Bible story for kids is the story of David and Goliath. Children love a hero and love to act this story out in role-play. If someone asks you what Bible story you remember in the Bible, would David and Goliath come to mind?
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There came a time when the Philistines were at war with the Israelites. The Israelites decided to send a man into the camp of the Philistines. One of the Philistines, whose name was Goliath, challenged the Israelites. When Goliath stepped forward, the Israelites were amazed at the size of this nine-foot man. David stepped forward and volunteered to go up against him. He reminded them as a shepherd boy, he had gone up against bears and removed one of his sheep from the bear’s mouth and never had any trouble. I will fight Goliath.
So David prepared to take on Goliath. Saul wanted David to wear his protective armor, but he refused once he tried it on. It was too heavy. “I can’t fight like this. I don’t need the armor. I have the Lord almighty with me. As I said, I have fought off the animals with no protection.” As David crossed the stream, he reached down and selected five smooth stones from the stream, pulled out his slingshot, and searched for Goliath. When he found him, he put one of his stones in the slingshot and killed Goliath.
In those days, it was a trophy to cut off the head of the one you had killed.
For the Children
David was just a young boy, but when he faced a daunting task, such as killing Goliath, he knew God was with him. He had been taught great faith in God in his home. David had made the transfer from head knowledge to heart knowledge and knew he would be protected.
Can you think of a potentially dangerous situation where you trusted God to take care of you? Share it with your children.
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Everywhere he went, Jesus had people around him who wanted to be healed. There were so many people that those who really needed to touch Him could not get close enough. This lady had been bleeding for twelve years and was desperate to get to Jesus.
This woman was in the crowd but could not get to Jesus. She looked for a way just to touch his garment. Once she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He immediately turned and asked. “Who just touched my robe?” The woman knelt at Jesus’ feet and told Him the truth. He replied to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”
For the Children
Maybe you have never thought about touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. After all, He lived thousands of years ago. But that’s not the point. We should live so close to Him that we feel like we can reach out and touch Him.
Have your children go to the other side of the room and try to reach out and grasp the sleeve or hem of what you are wearing. Can they do it? No! They have to move closer to you to be able to touch it.
Have the children brainstorm how they can get closer to Jesus.
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After Jesus had fed the 5,000, he urged his disciples to go ahead and cross the lake. Jesus dismissed the crowd and went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, he was alone on the mountainside, but the boat was pretty far from land. The wind blew, and the sea was rough.
Jesus decided to walk out to the boat the disciples were in. The disciples were terrified; they thought it was a ghost.
Peter said, “Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” said Jesus.Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus. But the wind got up, and Peter became afraid. “Lord, save me,” he said. Jesus reached out to Peter and said, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”
As Jesus reached out to grab Peter to put him back in the boat, they were halfway across the lake.
For the Children
Have you ever tried to walk on water? What happened? Did you float or sink?
How much faith did it take for Peter to step out of that boat? Do you think you could walk on water? Next time you are in a pool or lake, ask Dad to hold you up and see if you can walk on water.
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Noah was a man of God, righteous and blameless among the people he knew. But the world had become corrupt and was full of violence. God told Noah he was going to destroy the world and all the people in it. So He told Noah to build an ark in which he and his family could be safe from the rains. God also gave Noah the dimensions, so he knew exactly what God expected him to build.
At the time, God gave Noah his instructions. It wasn’t even raining. His friends and neighbors thought he had taken leave of his senses. When it threatened to rain, God told Noah to gather his family, two animals of every kind, one male and one female, and take all his food for you and them.
For the Children
When God told Noah to build an ark, it wasn’t even raining. Can you imagine what he thought? Why did he go ahead and build the ark? What does that tell us about Noah’s faith? What else in this story shows us Noah’s great faith?
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In conversation with an expert in the law, their conversation turned to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus used this parable to answer that question.
A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Others were also going the same way. The man came upon robbers who took his clothes and money and beat him nearly to death. A priest came along the same road. He crossed to the other side and passed on by. Not long after, a Levite came by and did the same thing.
Then a Samaritan came upon the man lying on the road. He saw the man and took pity on him. He poured wine and oil on his wounds and bandaged him up. He lifted him onto his donkey, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins to take care of the man.
”When I return, I’ll reimburse you for any additional expenses,” he told the innkeeper. Jesus asked the expert of the law he had been talking to, “Which of those three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert answered, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus answered, “Go and do likewise.”
For the Children
What is mercy? Have you ever had someone have mercy on you? Many people don’t think of mercy as part of your faith. However, mercy is an attribute of God, one we also want to replicate. Explain to your children how mercy relates to faith. If you have four or more children, let your children act out the story of The Good Samaritan.
Using the Bible to share stories of faith is a great way to instill that faith in their lives. But the very best way to help them learn about faith is to see it in action. Living out your faith daily and occasionally talking to them about why you relied on your faith in certain situations. You probably have multiple stories from your faith journey. Don’t hesitate to share them with your children.
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Linda Gilden is an award-winning writer, speaker, editor, certified writing and speaking coach, and personality consultant. Her passion is helping others discover the joy of writing and learn to use their writing to make a difference. Linda recently released Articles, Articles, Articles! and is the author of over a thousand magazine articles and 19 books including the new Quick Guides for Personalities. She loves every opportunity to share her testimony, especially through her writing. Linda’s favorite activity (other than eating folded potato chips) is floating in a pool with a good book surrounded by splashing grandchildren—a great source of writing material!