Teach Your Children The Scriptures Series Review

One of our strongest motivations here at Growing Fathers is to equip other young dads to lead their families in connection with the Word of God. Thankfully, the number of quality resources for family worship and Bible study is rapidly expanding these days, and we enjoy the opportunity to direct you to some of them. Several weeks ago, Kris Schaal posted a book review on Kevin DeYoung’s The Biggest Story Bible Storybook, and I heartily second his recommendation! I have used that resource with my own children.

However, my kids are now 10 and almost 12 and are rapidly outgrowing the picture storybook phase. I began searching for something with a bit more depth – moving beyond the vital basics and adding some more mature layers to their understanding of Bible truth. I was thankful to find this wonderful new series by Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson. The Teach Your Children the Scriptures series is ideal in both content and approach for those who are looking for a family worship guide that masterfully fits that gap between young children and teens.

The Authors

Joel Beeke is a well-known author, sought-after speaker, and faithful pastor. He has served in various seminary teaching and administrative roles for 30 years. Nick Thompson is a young pastor at a church in Chattanooga, TN.

The Basics

This series currently consists of two volumes and covers the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Bible. The first volume, titled Beginning, walks your family through the Book of Genesis in 92 individual daily lessons. The second volume, Wilderness, uses 88 lessons to guide your family through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, filling out the story of Israel’s birth as a nation and God’s introduction of himself to his people.

Each lesson includes the following features:

1. Questions to ask your family that review the main points of the previous lesson
2. A Scripture passage to read together (usually 10-20 verses or so)
3. Discussion questions to gauge your children’s understanding of the passage just read
4. A brief but comprehensive “Reflect” portion to read together that expounds on the truth of the passage
5. Questions that help your family apply that truth to your thinking and actions
6. Ideas for closing prayer reflecting on what you have studied

In our home we concluded the Genesis study at the end of the last school year and are just starting the second volume. Here are just some of the features of this series that have been a blessing to us and equipping for me as I strive to deepen my kids’ love for and understanding of God’s Word.

Scripture-Centric

I have used several effective Study Bibles or guides throughout our children’s lives. Most of them provide summaries of Bible truth and are accompanied by helpful illustrations. Summary and visual aids are immensely effective (and I would argue even vital) to children’s understanding and retention. The big-picture approach to many of these resources is also helpful in teaching kids that the Bible isn’t a collection of individual stories, but rather one big amazing story of God’s love and plan.

However, as our children grow older, they need more than summary and colorful illustrations. They need to actually look at the pages of Scripture themselves and understand what they are reading. Each lesson takes your family to a particular passage and has you read it before explaining or expounding on it. Each morning, I have one of my children read it aloud. Tying truths we are learning to the actual words of God in the Scriptures is extremely important as our children grow spiritually. This series does a great job making that connection clear. There is even an appendix featuring some ideas for Scripture memory.

Discussion-Centric

As they grow, our children need to be trained to put their thinking caps on when they encounter God’s Word. Early on we train them simply to listen and take in the simple truths we are teaching them. But their learning process must develop reasoning skills, analytical thinking, and the wisdom to apply what they hear. This is part of what we are called to as we “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Each lesson in this series includes at least 7-8 total questions to ask your family. These questions are designed to review, ensure understanding of the passage, and help think through the truths we discover there.

Some questions are simple observation questions with straightforward answers; for example, “What did Pharaoh command the Israelite midwives to do [in Exodus 1], and what did they actually do?” Others require more timeless insight to answer; for example, “What are some ways God uses persecution for the good of his people?” Involving our growing children in verbal participation will aid retention and also develop skills they will need to benefit from the Bible in their own study.

Gospel-Centric

The whole Bible is the story of God bringing himself glory through the redemption of the people he created, despite their rebellion against him. And at the centerpiece of that story is Jesus! The gospel the good news - what Jesus accomplished to deliver us from sin and reconcile us to God again. The arc of the story that happens before Jesus points forward to him, and what comes after Jesus points back to him.

This is perhaps the biggest strength of this series. In the central “reflect” portion of each lesson, the authors constantly detail that what is happening early in these Old Testament accounts points to Jesus, foreshadows Jesus, or reminds us of what Jesus would come to do. This series lifts up Jesus Christ as our ultimate deliverer, helper, example, and hope in clear, powerful, comprehensive ways. The centrality of Jesus in all of Scripture is one of the greatest realities we can teach our children at this early stage of their spiritual development. This series is such a fantastic help with that.

Concluding Thoughts

Note that the series is written from a reformed theological viewpoint, though I feel the authors have done a good job appealing to a broader audience and not pushing theological perspectives to which others may not adhere. You will on rare occasions interact with the authors’ views on things like the Sabbath and infant baptism. But again, those instances are isolated and not pushed.

I don’t know if the authors did this intentionally, but the fact that their series begins with these five foundational books of the Bible is wonderful. As I’ve posted on Growing Fathers before, these beginning portions of Scripture are especially pertinent for young believing minds just beginning to grow in their faith.

I can’t think of a better place to begin digging deeper in your family worship than in the Pentateuch, and I’m not aware of a better guide to the Pentateuch designed for the late-elementary age child than this series. I highly recommend it for your family as your worship, learn, and grow together daily!