Proverbs 22:6 admonishes parents to train their children in the ways of God.
Setting time aside daily to meditate on God's word is an important part of a dedicated Christian's service. However, it can be a challenge to keep children interested in doing daily devotionals, which are brief religious services. One way to keep them interested and excited about studying the word of God on a daily basis is combining a devotional reading and an enjoyable activity. For very young children, it helps to use a picture Bible that presents illustrated and simplified versions of classic stories, rather than reading the more complex Scriptures.
Creation
Read the story of the creation from Genesis Chapter 1, or a summarized text that tells the creation story. Stress the idea that God created everything is good, and that we should be thankful for the things that we have.
Reinforce the idea of creation and thanks by planting flowers. Prepare a window box with potting soil. Take turns as a family planting seeds or flower bulbs in the soil. As you take turns pressing seed into the soil, take turns thanking God for things He created, such as flowers, trees, puppies, snow or the ocean. Each day, as you return to the garden box to water the flowers, have your child give thanks for the things in creation and pray for help to grow as a Christian, as the flowers are growing.
Humility
Read Obadiah 1:11-21, or a paraphrased version of the Edom story. Explain to your child that the Edomites were proud and thought they were stronger than God. Point out that God wants Christians to be humble, protected by God's strength and not their own power.
To demonstrate the idea of God's strength and man's humility, have children build a "Mountain of Pride." Inflate a simple latex balloon, then let the air out. This softens the latex. Slide a funnel through the balloon's throat, and fill the balloon with sand. Give the child a marker and have her draw a mountain and eagle on one side, and a crown on the other. Explain that the mountain and the eagle represent God's strength and the power in which Christians should place their trust, and the crown represents the power of man, which can fail.
Friendship
Read 1 Samuel 20 or a paraphrased version of the story of David and Jonathan's friendship. Stress the importance of friendship in our Christian lives, and emphasize that God wants us to be good friends to one another.
As an activity, help your child make a friendship bracelet. Friendship bracelets are made by braiding embroidery thread together. A number of patterns for special designs can be found online or in craft books. Encourage your child to give the bracelet to a friend.
Obedience
Children are instructed to obey their parents, and adults are commanded to be obedient to God. Read John 10:14-27 or a children's reading of the verses. Talk about the relationship between a sheep and a shepherd. The sheep are the responsibility of the shepherd, who works to protect them. The sheep learn to rely on the shepherd and follow his voice. Like sheep, Christians should follow God's voice.
To reinforce the idea of being like sheep, print out a sheep coloring page from the Internet. Instead of coloring the sheep, have the child glue cotton balls to the sheep's body to represent its wool. Write Bible verse John 10:27 on the back of the sheep.
Provision
Read John 6:1-14 or a simplified version of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Stress to your child that Jesus provided for all who came to him, even though Christ had only five loaves and two fishes.
Create a basket with loaves and fishes. Accordion-fold two pieces of gray paper. Cut a fish shape into each folded piece of paper, in the same way paper dolls are cut from paper, with each fish connected to the next. Accordion-fold five pieces of tan paper. Cut a bread shape into each piece so that each loaf is connected to the next. Glue the bottom loaf and fish in each folded stack to the inside of a paper plate decorated to represent a basket. Pull on a single fish or loaf, and it will cascade into a long chain of loaves to demonstrate the way Christ multiplied the meal.
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