Talking Through Scripture With Kids – Road Map Month 2

Over the last month my family has enjoyed reading through Genesis and discussing the beginnings of the Bible. We've made it a goal this year to walk our kids through most of the Bible in a year. This is challenging because there is a lot of ground to cover, and attention spans can be short. Thankfully, through our years of reading out loud together, our kids are conditioned to be able to sit and listen to stories. Even better—they're curious about what they hear, and that makes for great conversations that continue well after the reading ends.

If you're just here to grab your road map for the second month to read along with us, scroll to the bottom and you can get it there!

In our second month in the Word together we'll finish up Genesis, and journey through Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. There are some fantastic episodes of God's faithfulness to keep the promise He made to Abraham in these books. However when you're not living in the middle of the action, it's easy to forget that these stories are real history. Even the Israelites began to forget, and that's why God encourages them to continue to tell the stories to their children lest they fall away from his ways.

So how do you talk with your children about scripture?

What if this is your first time reading some of these tricky passages yourself? How will you know what's even important to talk about?

Start With Curiosity

Kids are naturally curious, so let that start your conversations. Teach your kids to observe by asking those age old reporter questions:

  • Who is this chapter about?
  • What are they doing?
  • When did it happen?
  • What was going on at the same time?
  • Where were they?
  • Were they supposed to be there?
  • Why did it happen?
  • How did it happen?

Look up the locations of the events. Follow their journeys, and you'll gain extra insight to the story. I love the Baker Atlas of Christian History. It's a great resource to have on the shelf!

After you've taken the time to observe the basics, your curiosity can carry you to deeper topics. Depending on the age of your kids, this might take years to develop or they might be ready for the deep end already. You can try some deeper questions like:

What is the theme of this chapter, section, or book?

Here are a couple of themes to get you started:

  • The battle of the seed - In Genesis 3:15, God curses the serpent and also provides the solution to the fall of Adam and Eve—her seed will crush the head of his seed...battle. You see the battle begin to play out in Cain (wicked seed) and Abel (righteous seed), all the people of the world (wicked seed) and Noah (righteous seed), and then in Noah's sons, Ham (wicked seed) and Shem (righteous seed). This continues all throughout the Old Testament and it's a fascinating theme to follow that will lead readers directly to Christ, the righteous seed that comes out victorious over the wicked seed once and for all.
  • Salvation - Every picture of anyone or anything being saved offers readers a fuller understanding of the salvation we receive through Christ. It can be something as simple as Abraham being saved from his fear when he tells powerful people that Sarah is his sister (Genesis 12 & 20), to the Israelites being rescued from slavery to the Egyptians. It's everywhere!

A great source of inspiration for helping you draw out these themes are the introduction sketches produced by The Bible Project. We watch these intros before we start reading through the book, and it gives us a bit of informed direction for our curiosities to explore.

Another excellent resource for drawing out the themes in the books that you're reading are the Walk Thru the Bible resources from Wilkinson and Boa. Their Bible Handbook gives you the bare bones basics of excellent points to ponder.

We've also used their keyword cards from the Walk Thru the Bible class you can take.

34198X: OT39 Old Testament Flashcards
OT39 Old Testament Flashcards
By Walk Thru the BibleOT39 Flashcards are an innovative and fun way for adults and children to learn the "big ideas" of the 39 books of the Old Testament.

They also have an app you can buy to keep the cards handy on your phone! I love it.

Worldview Questions

Another path for deeper contemplation are questions that get to the heart of a biblical worldview. Here are some great questions to discuss:

  • What does this story tell us about God?
  • What does this story tell us about man?
  • What does it say about sin/man's condition?
  • Why did the Author choose this story to communicate this idea?
    • Why did he choose these characters?
    • In this time period?
    • In this way?

All of these questions are open ended, which can be scary. If there isn't an answer key, sometimes it can be scary to ask a question. However, if your family gets stumped with an idea, be a lead learner and go dig deeper until you have an answer that can satisfy both their curiosity and your desire to handle the Word of God rightly.

What Are You Going To Remember?

Conversations build understanding and they really serve to help you remember more than a quick reading will ever do. Talk about the memorable parts of the passages over and over. Tie them together as you continue reading. Point them out when you find them in your regular life during the day. How you choose to respond to the truths of the scriptures will set the pattern for how your children will choose to respond to the same truths.

Download Your Month 2 Reading Guide

If you missed out starting with us in January, you're welcome to go back to the beginning and start now reading through most of the Bible in a year. Don't worry about the calendar year, just start. If you're ready to continue reading through, the story just keeps getting better and better! I can't wait to talk with my kids through the second month of scripture.

Talking through scripture

Download your Month 2 Road Map here!

Want the Rest of the Plan?

Click on the links below to read more about our complete reading plan. Start wherever you'd like to jump in!

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