{"id":32796,"date":"2017-11-22T13:03:09","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?p=32796"},"modified":"2018-09-10T09:36:40","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T13:36:40","slug":"help-your-kids-read-the-bible-an-interview-with-david-murray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/help-your-kids-read-the-bible-an-interview-with-david-murray\/","title":{"rendered":"Help Your Kids Read the Bible: An Interview with David Murray"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David<\/a>How should you introduce your 6- to 12-year-old kids to the most important passages and big-picture storyline of the Bible? How can you best answer your children’s questions about the Bible when you don’t know the answer yourself? <\/p>\n

Bible Gateway interviewed David Murray<\/a> (@davidpmurray<\/a>) about his book, Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Crossway, 2017).<\/p>\n

Is it correct to assume that parents don\u2019t read the Bible to their children as often as they should?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Buy<\/a><\/p>\n

David Murray:<\/strong> Many parents do read the Bible to their kids, but they’re probably in the minority. The two main reasons parents don\u2019t do this are that many parents have not prioritized this and others are too busy to do it. Unless it\u2019s made a family priority, and it\u2019s scheduled as part of our everyday life, it\u2019s not going to happen.<\/p>\n

Why is it important for parents to read the Bible to their kids and to model the reading of the Bible for their kids?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

David Murray:<\/strong> We believe that God blesses Bible reading not just in the shaping of our children\u2019s character (Ps. 119:9<\/a>) but in the saving of their souls (2 Tim. 3:15<\/a>). We should encourage children to read the Bible for themselves, but reading it with<\/em> them gives them an opportunity to ask questions and for us to explain the Bible to them. We can also show our children how to apply this ancient book to modern life to help them see how relevant it is to them. The earlier we can get them started the better (Prov. 22:6<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Bible includes stories of sin, sex, and violence. How should parents handle that when recommending the Bible to their children?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

David Murray:<\/strong> Yes, it does, although there are not that many places with these themes and they’re usually described in ways that are a lot more discrete than R-rated movies (for example, Gen. 4:1<\/a>). However, yes, there are still parts of the Bible that we might think would be best to save for later when they’re a bit older and able to understand it better (Gen. 19:30-38<\/a>). Having said that, our family has been in the practice of simply reading through the Bible consecutively for 21 years and we don\u2019t miss out anything. We simply trust God with it and if questions are raised we try to answer them in age-appropriate ways or encourage them to wait until they’re older to get answers.<\/p>\n

How can parents establish a routine of Bible reading?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

David Murray:<\/strong> One of the advantages of Exploring the Bible<\/em><\/a> is that it takes kids from Genesis<\/a> to Revelation<\/a> in the course of a year. Its daily readings are only a few verses long. Although that means that large chunks of the Bible are not covered, the main highlights are; and connecting paragraphs help to keep the story linked together. Parents could go through this with their kids in no more than five minutes a day. <\/p>\n

However, I think parents can also begin with a Gospel<\/a> and gauge how much to read each day depending on the ages and capacities of the kids. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to do a little every day than do larger readings just when you can manage (Isa. 28:10<\/a>). I recommend doing it after the family meal each evening if possible because that happens every night and hopefully most of the family will be there. <\/p>\n