Making the Most of Bible Study in Homeschool
Being Christians who choose to homeschool we have a unique opportunity to help our kids grow their love of God and studying God’s word. All Christians, all parents really, are given the responsibility to teach their children about God. Let’s explore how we can make the most of Bible study in homeschool.
Regardless of the choice each parent makes in their educational training, we have a distinct command by God to teach our children to know Him and to obey him.
Most of us are familiar with the passage in Deuteronomy 6:7 where Moses in his final discourse with the children of Israel reminds them of the commands which God had given to them, before he was to pass, and before they were to enter the land of Canaan.
“…thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Deuteronomy 6:7
But, did you know that in his long discourse he doesn’t simply say this one time, not even two times but he reminds them THREE TIMES to teach these things to their children.
- Deuteronomy 5:9,10;
- 11:18-21
And we’re all familiar with Proverbs 22:6 to train up a child in the way he should go, and also, Ephesians 6:4, to… bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
And, my favorite passage concerning the training of children;
“And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”
Isaiah 54:13
Scripture also teaches us that children, too, have a duty to hear and learn from their parents.
“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.”
Proverbs 1:8
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”
Ephesians 6:1
I know that these passages are familiar to many of us. And, it’s quite likely that if you are homeschooling or considering homeschooling that one of your main reasons is to protect them from worldly influence and to instill in them God’s word.
But, with all the educational requirements, all the pressure to make our home schools look like public school, all the pressure to ensure our kids are prepared for college, it can seem very difficult to fit in Biblical studies.
Satan’s goal is to distract us from our true purpose. His goal is to lead us away from Bible study in our homes, our homeschools, and even our congregations.
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Our Goal in Teaching Bible Study in Homeschool
Our goal is to teach our children to know God, to love, and to obey God.
Our reason isn’t just to help them be better people, good citizens, or to teach them a good moral compass. That is the goal of many who homeschool. Our goal is more than that.
A Christian’s goal for their children should always be to help them have a right relationship with God and to help our children get to heaven.
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:”
-2 Thessalonians 1:7,8
Our work at home is more than teaching ABCs, and 123s, and, hear me on this… It’s more than just teaching memorization of Bible facts.
Our work should be about teaching our children to:
- Know,
- love, and
- To obey God their Father through their Lord, Jesus Christ.
And in doing so, we too are showing our knowledge, love, and obedience to Him as well. Our goal is to aim our children toward heaven, and to do all within our power to help them to get there.
So, how do we do this? How do we foster in them a love for God?
Our work at home is more than teaching ABCs, and 123s, and it’s more than just teaching memorization of Bible facts. It’s teaching our children to know, love, and obey God their Father through their Lord, Jesus Christ.
And in doing so, we too are showing our knowledge, love, and obedience to Him as well.
“That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
– Titus 2:4,5
God placed the primary role of training children in the husband’s purview, Ephesians 6:4. For women, our role is to help our husbands in their responsibilities. And, to love our children.
There is no greater way to love our children, than to teach them to know God. So, we come alongside our husbands and help to teach and train our little one’s in God’s word.
And as homeschool moms we have the unique opportunity to dedicate even more time to this training.
Four Ways to Make Bible Study an Integral Part of Your Homeschool
1- Make Bible study the first study of the day.
Set aside the first half hour or hour of your homeschooling day to be Bible study. Use a good solid Bible study curriculum (see resources below).
Don’t skip this time period. No matter how behind you might feel in other lessons, decide that Bible study take precedence.
2-Let Bible Study Become Life Schooling
We say it all the time, that homeschool is life schooling. But do we really live that when it comes to Bible study?
Bible study doesn’t have to be just one time a day as part of our homeschool studies. Bible study should truly be life schooling. It should happen throughout our day as the opportunity arises.
Throughout your days, evenings, and weekends let the Bible be your guide for life. Use it to teach, admonish, to discipline and guide everything you do.
- When questions arise.
- When discipline is needed.
- When you sit down to meals.
- When you rise up in the mornings
- When you go to bed at night.
- When you assemble with the saints.
- Let your own study be an example to your children.
- Teach them not only the facts, but also the meaning, the application, and the discernment of scripture.
Live the life of a Bible study student, let your study become your daily action. Which will set the proper example to your children on how to live as God desires His people to live.
Remember, that direction Moses gave to the Israelites, to teach them when they rise up, when they sit down, when they walk by the way, and when they lie down. Let Bible study be your life school.
3- Incorporate Bible Time into your Lessons
Utilize a curriculum that has a Christian worldview. I personally love, and have used for many years now, Notgrass Publishing’s history based unit study materials.
Using curriculum with a Christian worldview allows you to seamlessly incorporate Biblical discussion into most, if not all of your lessons.
4- Family Bible Study Each Evening
What better way to send your children off to bed than with a family Bible study. It could be reading from a Children’s Bible story book, or reading aloud from the Bible.
You might use a family devotional series (see resources below) or your husband could lead a topical study.
When I was a child my parents incorporated several of these types of study in our family Bible studies.
Dad also would pose questions to us and we would then debate/discuss the Biblical answers to those questions. This helped us to formulate our own understanding of scripture, prepared us for defending truth, and helped us to grow our own faith.
Resources for Bible Study in Homeschool
- Apologetics Press
- Discovering God’s Way – CEI Bookstore – Truth Publications
Good Bible Study Reading Materials to Keep On-hand
- Arch Readers
- Egermeier’s Bible Story Book
- Mrs. Lee’s Stories about God’s People, and Stories about Jesus
Digital Bible Study Resources
- eSword
- Logos Bible Software, Base Version is Free
- Bible Gateway
- You Version App from Bible.com
Let us also remember that we are training up the next generation. When we are teaching our children not only are we working to guide them toward heaven, we are training them to be Christians in the church. We are training them in being confident in the Bible, the word, so they can also teach others the good news of Jesus, reaching out to those in the world to help bring them into the fold.
How are you teaching Bible study in your Homeschool? I’d love to know. Share your favorite resources with me in the comments below.
