As a church we want to continue to encourage and equip parents to do the vitally important, yet mostly ordinary task of discipling their kids at home. However when you are looking for resources there are so many and it can be hard to work out which ones might be good for your family, in the current season of life you are in. So we have done a bunch of the hard work for you and below is a list of some of the ones we might recommend.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out and chat to Tom Fittell (0413 723 901) or Chris Pine (0403 187 076) as we would love to chat to you more about what might work best for your family.
EARLY YEARS
The Beginners Bible
Kids aged 6 and under will enjoy the pictures in this fun kids bible while their parents read the simple stories to them. This bible is a key resource in our pre-primary ‘God’s Rescue Plan’ kids church curriculum.
Great for pre-readers and early readers 2-6.
The Big Picture Story Bible
This great kids bible tells the story of ‘God’s people in God’s place, under God’s rule’. It has an emphasis on anticipating Jesus in the Old Testament, and making his crucifixion and resurrection the proper climax of the New Testament. Stories from this bible form the basis of our pre-primary ‘God’s Story’ kids church curriculum.
This kids bible can also be purchase with an accompanying Family Devotional resource to help facilitate discipleship at home.
Great for early readers 4-8.
KIDS
Laugh and Grow Bible For Kids
Each story in this great kids bible is vividly illustrated, takes just five minutes to read, and includes a Family Connection section to encourage family Bible study and help readers learn, talk, and pray together! PLUS, bonus content connects the dots of each Bible story, making this bible a great family devotional Bible that provides a big picture, applicational view of the Biblical narrative.
Great for early to mid primary 5-10.
Gospel Story Bible
This unique kids bible uses 156 Bible stories to present God’s plan of salvation in Christ, from its opening narrative in Genesis to its finale in Revelation. Each Story ends with a couple simple questions to prompt family discussions.
The Gospel Story Bible is one of a serios of great devotional resources for families.
Great for middle to upper primary aged kids and families 6-12
What Every Child Should Know About PRAYER
This book introduces children to the gift of prayer and encourages them to enjoy speaking to their father God. It explains in child-friendly language what prayer is, how and why we should pray, and the things we can pray about. There is a Bible verse for each topic, and a prayer for children to make their own.
Great for early to mid primary 5-10.
YOUTH
Explore App
This app has great Bible reading plans that can take you through books of the Bible or Biblical themes. There are a couple of free ones to get you started, but plenty of great sets of devotions from respected authors. Each devotion should take 5-10 mins and has some Scripture reading along with some words that expand on that by the author.
https://www.thegoodbook.com/explore-app
Bible Project
Known for their animated videos, the Bible Project has a bunch of extra options to help individuals or families to read the Bible:
- https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/ – On the popular Bible App by YouVersion, the Bible Project has a number of Bible reading plans worth checking out.
- https://bibleproject.com/reading-plans/ – if you want to go further in depth the Bible Project have developed an app that includes a reading journey (that also integrates their videos).
- Even if you are reading books of the Bible yourself using something like the Swedish method (below), The Bible Project has great animated overview videos for each book of the Bible – Old Testament, New Testament.
Bible Reading Devotionals
As a family there are a bunch of Bible reading guides which are not just useful for individual Bible reading but can be used as a family. It can be hard to sift through all the options out there, so here are some we recommend:
- https://www.thegoodbook.com.au/daily-bible-reading/ – lots of good options that have been developed for different ages and stages.
- https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/bible-reading-guides – a couple of options where you can get paper versions, but also digital copies.
ALL AGES
Swedish Method
This is a simple way to read any passage or book in the Bible together. The Swedish method gives you prompts to help you figure out what a passage means and how to apply it. This method can be adapted to any age and stage.
https://youthworks.net/articles/how-to-use-the-swedish-method-with-kids
https://fervr.net/bible/using-the-swedish-method-to-read-the-bible