Why should we read the bible?

Focus

1) To understand who God is

2) Improve our relationship with him

3) To become more Christ-Like

Hook

Get the kids to tell you about their favourite book. Ask them who is their favourite character in the book ask them if they think they know the character well. Ask them to tell you about their favourite book and why do they like reading it.

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Useful Verses

2 Tim 3: 16-17
Pov 3: 1-6
Matt 4:4

What is the Bible?

Ask the kid what is the bible and what does the bible mean to them. (Use this question to get them thinking and it gives the group leaders a chance to know more about the kids understanding of the Bible. Get the kids to answer you before giving the answer) Ask them if the bible is more important than their favourite book mentioned in the hook. (ask them why)

The bible is the manual to life and it is also the good news. (This is the easiest answer to explain to the kids.) You can explain to them that the bible is the source of life as it tells us how God saved us and teaches us how to live as Christians in this world.

The purpose of reading the bible can be found in Pov 3:1-6. The verses are to help them understand that the bible contains the promises of God (e.g. V6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.), the purpose of life (Living a life that is pleasing in God’s sight) and is also a way God uses to speak to us(V1: My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,).

To understand who God is

Ask the Kids who do they think God is? (the kids will probably reply God is the father, Jesus is God, God created me). In order to understand who God really is, we will have to read the bible and find out through the bible stories.

God is the God of love, forgiveness and even anger. However we will be focusing on a few characteristics of God today through the Bible.

God of Compassion

God loves us so much that he has compassion for the weak, the poor and the helpless. Ask the kids what it means to have compassion on others. Then read John 11: 32-44. This is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had compassion towards Mary and Martha when he saw how hurt they were due to the loss of Lazarus. (Vr33: when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.) We then learn later on that Jesus went to revive Lazarus from the dead and this is an act of compassion to Mary and Martha and to those who loved Lazarus, because they were badly hurt by the loss of Lazarus.

God of wrath

Apart from a God of compassion and love, God is also a God of wrath and anger. Ask the kids what do they get angry about and ask them if it was right for them to be angry. (Do try to correct your kids if they were angry for the wrong reasons). Then read Deu 1:29-40. This is the passage about the Israelites who disobeyed God. This caused the Israelites to feel God’s wrath as they were forced to wander in the Desert for 40 Years. God did have a right to be angry as the Israelites disobeyed God’s commandment when the commandment was very clear.

God of mercy

Ask the kids if they have ever gotten away from some sort of punishment that they duly deserved. Ask them if they have done anything to try and make up for their mistake which led to the punishment. The Bible tells us that God is a God of Mercy. Mercy in the dictionary means: A disposition to be kind and forgiving. In other words, God shows us a lot of mercy by removing the punishment we duly deserve. Read Jonah 3:1-10. This is the story of how Jonah warns the people of Nineveh how corrupted and evil they were. The people of Nineveh were afraid and therefore begged for the forgiveness of God, who in turn showed mercy upon the people of Nineveh by not destroying the city (V10). Ask the kids if they have been showed mercy before and if they have shown mercy to others as well.

God of Forgiveness

Definition of forgiveness: disposition or willingness to forgive.

We have all been hurt by friends or loved ones before and it is very hard to forgive one who has hurt us really badly. But if God can forgive our sins (Which caused Jesus pain and death), we too should show forgiveness to others. Read Luke 19:1-10. This is the story of Zacchaues the Tax collector. He wrongly collected high amounts of taxes and pocketed it for his own. When he realized his error he sought after God’s forgiveness and amended his ways. Jesus forgave his sins and gave him a new start to life. Ask the kids if there are any area in their life where they can show forgiveness and try to encourage them to show more forgiveness to others.

In conclusion we can only understand more about God’s characteristics and traits when we read the bible and studying the bible. If we had not read the bible we would not have known God was the God of all the above characteristics. We wouldn’t have known he forgives people or that God does feel anger as well. Therefore reading the bible is the way for us to understand more about God.

Improving our relationship with God

Ask them how we can improve our relationship with God. Explain to them that the bible holds the answer on how to improve our relationship with God.

Read Luke 10: 38-42

The passage depicts the time when Jesus visited Martha and Mary. We realized that all Mary did was just to sit down and listen to Jesus speaking. Because Martha was too busy with the preparations, she forgot what was truly important, and that was to listen to what Jesus said. Mary did what was important in God’s sight, and that was to listen to God and improve her relationship with him.

Martha wanted to serve Jesus and do the best she could for him and it is not wrong to serve God (In fact one of our purpose on earth is to serve God). However God wants us to focus on him instead and improve our relationship with him first before serve him. We can focus and develop our relationship with God by listening to what has to say to us through the word God in the Bible. (V39 .....Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to what he said). For many Christians in this world the Lord speaks to us through the Bible as it is God’s Words. Therefore by reading the bible, we are listening to the voice of God.

To become more Christ-like

Our purpose as Christians is to become more Christ-like. However we can only become more Christ like when we develop our relationship with God and develop the fruits of the spirit, which are found in the bible. By developing our relationship with God, we can become more Christ like as we will understand what pleases him and what does not.

Read Gal 5:22-26

The fruits of the spirit tell us what we as Christians need to develop to become more Christ like.

Go through the fruits of the spirit with your kids. And ask them which area of their lives they would need to improve on. Then you can pray for them later to improve that area of their live!

In Conclusion:
The only way to become more Christ-like is to know the characteristics of God which will help to develop a deep relationship with God, by reading the bible daily!

P.S. Sorry for the late post!