In his article, “In Peace or Crisis, Instruct Your Children in the Lord,” William Ross makes a heart-felt and biblical plea to parents to take seriously the catechizing of their children:
Most days my wife would review a chosen verse, helping our son, Amos, remember and recite it, and each night we worked on one of “his questions” before bed. Nothing complicated, just a simple “repeat after me” approach in small chunks at a time, reviewing the ones we’d done already. He absorbed them much faster than we expected. By June Amos could zip through a handful of Bible verses, and no fewer than 30 catechism questions and answers. What a joy it is to watch your child grow in the knowledge of the Lord!
And what a firm foundation it builds for times of trouble!
Everything changed abruptly, almost without warning. Several weeks ago, I was hiking in Kentucky with friends when I got a phone call from my wife, who was at the emergency room with our three-year-old son. Shortly after that, we wept together in utter shock as I listened on speakerphone to a doctor telling us that Amos had a tumor in his head. By the time I made it back to California, where we had gone to visit family from Cambridge where we live, he was 40 minutes from his first of two brain surgeries.
It’s cancer…
Let me make my point very clear: Parents, I exhort you to teach your children about our God, both from Scripture and with the organized instruction of a children’s catechism. If you haven’t started, now is unquestionably the right time. Laying the rock-solid truth of Scripture in the foundation of your child’s soul can never begin too early. Although there aren’t any shortcuts, it isn’t as hard as you might think. And regardless of how daunting it may seem, Scripture commands us to teach our children about our wonderful God. Speaking from experience, no task proves more rewarding.
(found at www.thegospelcoalition.org)
Are you looking for more help in implementing Bible memory and catechism in your home in order to prepare your children to stand firm in the Lord through life’s joys and sorrows? Consider attending the following seminars at our 2016 National Conference, April 14-16, 2016: The Power of the Memorized Word in the Fight of Faith Presented by Brian Eaton Believers have access to the most powerful weapon to fight the fight of faith—the Word of God. Learn how you can wield the sword of the Spirit through the discipline of Bible memorization. You will hear testimony of God’s goodness through His Word, and leave with practical tools to help you, your family, and your church begin and sustain a Bible memory program. Catechism: Out of Date, or a Tried and True Teaching Tool of Eternal Truths? Presented by Sally Michael For centuries, the church has educated the next generation through the use of catechisms. Why have we departed from this mode of instruction? Was it a good departure? What is the benefit of catechisms? What is the content of the catechism? Should we restore the use of catechisms, and if so, how do we do it? These questions and more will be answered in this seminar. Learn more about the(Image courtesy of Stoonn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)
