Young children may not be able to read yet, but they can learn about the Bible. You can introduce preschoolers the Bible's character and content as you teach them the stories of the Bible. Following are a few things you can do to help preschoolers become biblically literate.
- Use the Bible as you teach—even if you're not reading directly from the text, you can have your Bible open to the corresponding text. Show the children that the story is from the Bible by pointing to the text that you are going to read.
- Read directly from the text—even if your lesson only has one verse from a Bible story, you can read that verse from the Bible, saying something like, "I'm going to read from the Bible now. This is what God says..."
- Expand and review key biblical themes—repetition encourages memorization.
- Make simple connections in the stories, as well as the Bible as a whole. For example, in telling children about the fall you could ask some simple questions that lead them to see the connection between God's command and the consequence that followed because of disobedience to that command.
God created Adam and Eve and God put them in the garden to live.
God gave them a special rule about one of the trees.
Adam and Eve must obey God.
Adam and Eve did not obey God.
They ate from that one tree.
Questions to Ask: Will God be happy with Adam and Eve? No. Why not? Because they disobeyed His rule. That is wrong. What will happen Adam and Eve? Yes, they will die.
- Present the gospel message with key themes introduced in Bible stories. For example,
God is holy, He never sins.
People disobey God—we are sinners.
God is right to punish sin.
God loves us and is patient and kind.
Jesus is God's Son.
God sent Jesus to us.
Jesus died to save us.
Jesus came alive again!
Jesus saves sinners.
Believe Jesus.
At this stage, it is not necessary that the children fully understand all of these themes and their connections. You're beginning to give them truths and connections that will be the foundation for greater biblical understanding as they mature.
- Use pictures or activities that review key people and events, as well as the chronological order of the stories.
- Encourage Bible memory with simple, faith nurturing verses like those in the Foundation Verses and Fighter Verses.
- Show the Bible's uniqueness and trustworthiness through your words and actions. You can do this through how you talk about the Bible, and even by how you treat your Bible as you teach:
The Bible is true. It never lies. We can always trust what it says.
God speaks to us in the Bible. It is His holy Word.
