• Home
  • About
    • Contact Danika
    • Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible
    • Who What Why Series | Christian Biographies for Kids
    • When Lightning Struck!: The Story of Martin Luther
    • Wonderfully Made: God’s Story of Life from Conception to Birth
    • Statement of Faith and Beliefs
    • Thinking Kids Disclosures
    • Thinking Kids Privacy Policy
    • Thinking Kids Website & Printables Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Thinking Kids Press Store
  • Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible
  • Who What Why Series | Christian Biographies for Kids
  • When Lightning Struck!
  • Wonderfully Made
  • Thinking Kids Press
    • Bible Road Trip™
      • Bible Road Trip™ Year One
      • 10 Reasons to Take a Road Trip Through the Bible
      • The Buzz on Bible Road Trip™ | Reviews
      • BRT ~ The Everything Page
      • Bible Verses for Children: Bible Road Trip™ Memory Verse Cards
      • Statement of Faith and Beliefs
    • Bible Lapbooks | Hands-On Bible Study for Kids
    • Cobblestone Path
  • Book Reviews
    • Parenting / Homeschooling
    • Ages 4-7
    • Middle Grade (Ages 8-12)
    • Middle School
    • High School
  • Christian Parenting
  • Homeschooling Coolness
  • Artfully Learned

Thinking Kids

Teach Your Kids the Bible and Christian History

How to Study the Bible at Home (Even If You Haven’t Read It)

November 17, 2022 By Danika 1 Comment

Thinking Kids Press uses referral links in posts. Signing up for free offers will subscribe you to our email list. We'll send you encouragement, free products, and exclusive offers via email. You can read our disclaimer, privacy policy, terms and conditions of use, and Danika Cooley's personal statement of faith and beliefs for more information. The Thinking Kids Press store is located at ThinkingKidsPress.com.
378 shares
  • Facebook30
  • Twitter3

Do you know how to study the Bible at home — even if you haven’t read it? It’s not hard to get started studying the Bible as a family!


How to study the Bible at Home

Do you ever struggle with how to study the Bible at home with your family?

I mean, should you even do it? What if you get it wrong? What if you really don’t know how to study the Bible at home with your kids?


Grab your FREE 130-page Bible Study Tool Kit--and learn about Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible!


What if you haven’t even read the Bible yourself? Isn’t that what church and Sunday school are for–so they can tell you what the Bible means?


Love the Bible for Kids | A resource you'll love!


Study the Bible?

According to a fall 2016 study by Lifeway with a sample size of 1000 Americans, 11% of Americans have read the Bible once and 9% of Americans have read the Bible more than once.


Take your kids through the Bible in just three years! Try out Bible Road Trip™ with a free three-week sample pack.


Not quite 1 out of 10 Americans have read the Bible all the way through two times.

The Barna Group conducted an American Bible Society survey of American adults (The State of the Bible, 2013). The findings? 100% of Protestant adults say there’s a Bible in their home. Two thirds of Protestant adults report reading the Bible several times a week. Yet, one third of those couldn’t identify the first five books of the Bible, half identified John the Baptist as an apostle, and a quarter didn’t know Paul’s original name.

Most of us don’t really know God’s Word.

It’s OK if you haven’t read through the Bible, either on your own or as a family. You can do it. You should do it. If you’re a disciple of Jesus Christ, you’re commanded to do it. Let’s talk about how.


Bible Road Trip™ Teach Your Kid the Bible


How to Study the Bible at Home

When I really came to understand that I was not only supposed to study the Bible at home, but also teach it to my kids, I had a minor panic attack. I mean, I’d never read the Bible all the way through. How was I supposed to teach it? What if I got it wrong? I had read portions of the Bible a number of times. But the prophetic books? Not really.

That was over 15 years ago. I didn’t go to school for a Master’s degree in theology (though I sure considered it!), but I did take the call to disciple seriously. First, I had to educate myself. Today I write about the Bible for hundreds of thousands of kids. Isn’t life funny?

I’m going to give you three steps that will allow you to study the Bible at home with your family. Listen to this video–or read below.


Bible Study Tools for Kids | FREE Bible Study Resources for Your Family

Grab your FREE Bible Study Tool Kit–over 130 pages of Bible resources for your family!


Study the Bible at Home

1) Read the Bible. The Whole Bible.

Nothing beats knowing Scripture yourself. Did you know that if you read 12 pages a day from a non-study Bible you can read from Genesis to Revelation in 90 days?

You can read the whole Bible through in 90 days by reading roughly 45 minutes a day if you’re a slower reader like me. What can you give up for a half-hour or so a day? Do you watch television? Can you go to bed a little later or get up a little earlier?

As you read, look for the major themes of the story and pay attention to what the Bible tells you about God’s nature.

Done reading? Read it again. The only way to really study something is to go through it.

Need a little help approaching the Bible with your kids? Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible is your crash course to teaching the Bible to your kids!


Listen to the Bible as you cook, drive, or workout.

The Word of Promise Audio Bible: New King James VersionThe Word of Promise Audio Bible: New King James VersionThe Word of Promise Audio Bible: New King James VersionThe NIV Listener's Audio Bible: Vocal Performance by Max McLeanThe NIV Listener’s Audio Bible: Vocal Performance by Max McLeanThe NIV Listener's Audio Bible: Vocal Performance by Max McLeanNIV LIVE, Audio CD: A New Bible ExperienceNIV LIVE, Audio CD: A New Bible ExperienceNIV LIVE, Audio CD: A New Bible ExperienceHoly Bible (King James Version)Holy Bible (King James Version)Holy Bible (King James Version)NIV, Audio Bible, Dramatized, Audio CDNIV, Audio Bible, Dramatized, Audio CDNIV, Audio Bible, Dramatized, Audio CD


2) Study the Bible.

We parents are pretty busy people. But most of us have some time in the day we can listen to a sermon or lecture.

Do you commute to the kids’ school, to work, or to run errands? Do you make dinner? What about the time you spend getting showered and dressed, or your exercise time?

I use those times to listen. I started out listening to our local sermon station on the radio. Not every city has a sermon station, but you can find great resources on the internet. There are great resources available, too, to help you learn more about the Bible systematically, and as you have questions.

  • Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible will help you understand the overall structure and message of the Bible–and how to stay on track as you study the Bible with your kids!
  • Sermon Audio is an incredible resource. It has over 800,000 free sermons available. You can search by topic, speaker, Bible reference, or date. Alistair Begg, RC Sproul, Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, CH Spurgeon, and John MacArthur are some of my favorite preachers to listen to.
  • GotQuestions.org can be a great place to look for answers to your questions about the Bible.
  • Ligonier Ministries is another great place to look for guidance. They have daily resources available for a donation of any amount, $5 Fridays, and free resources as well. In fact, Ligonier’s Crucial Questions series is free in ebook format. There are 20 books available covering basic topics. These are great to share with your older students, and a terrific way to educate yourself.
  • I suggest you get yourself a great study Bible as well, and maybe some commentaries. Look up referenced verses from the category you’re reading. Check out what the notes say about the passage you’re stuck on. Look up the geography and history of the place and period you’re reading about. Slow down and really understand what you’re reading.

Dig deeper with resources that will help you study the Bible.

Help Your Kids Learn and Love the BibleHelp Your Kids Learn and Love the BibleHelp Your Kids Learn and Love the BibleESV Study BibleESV Study BibleESV Study BibleNIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of ScriptureNIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of ScriptureNIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of ScriptureThe KJV Study Bible (Bonded Leather) (King James Bible)The KJV Study Bible (Bonded Leather) (King James Bible)The KJV Study Bible (Bonded Leather) (King James Bible)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies)Crossway ESV Bible AtlasCrossway ESV Bible AtlasCrossway ESV Bible Atlas


3) Teach the Bible.

One of the best ways to learn is to teach. I suggest using a curriculum and being systematic about your study.

In our family, we study using Bible Road Trip™ in the mornings and my husband reads a chapter (usually Proverbs or the Psalms) to us at dinner every night. Easy, right? My kids have been through the Bible several time, and through Proverbs about a gajillion times.

Teaching will help you learn as you go. You’ll be solidifying what you learned in your study, and digging deeper to be certain you get it right!

Need an overall game plan? Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible will give you a solid plan to study the Bible as a family.


Books of the Bible Bundle
Teach your kids about the books of the Bible with this great family study bundle!


Studying the Bible is a lifetime pursuit, and there’s no better time to start than today. Knowing God’s Word well will help you feel confidant as you teach your own children what Scripture says — and what it means.


Bible Curriculum for Your Kids

Bible Road Trip™ CurriculumBible Road Trip™ CurriculumLearn More HereBible Road Trip™ Memory Verse CardsBible Road Trip™ Memory Verse CardsBuy HereBible Road Trip™ Notebooking JournalsBible Road Trip™ Notebooking JournalsBuy Here


Teach Your Kids the Bible with Bible Road Trip™

Bible Road Trip™ Year One Sample

Bible Road Trip™ is a three-year Bible survey curriculum. Take your family through the Bible five times from preschool to high school.

To help you get the most out of your studies, Bible Road Trip™ has an array of coordinating weekly activities:

  • Researching the section of the Bible you’re studying
  • Reading and discussing the Bible
  • Memorizing Scripture
  • Notebooking about your studies
  • Praying for the nations
  • Suggestions for further study
  • Crafting about what you’ve learned
  • For your older students: A project to share what they’ve learned
  • Bible Road Trip™ also has some great tools you can use along with it, such as:
    • Notebooking Journals for grades 1-9. Want a structured notebooking journal for high school? Don’t hesitate to use the Dialectic journal (grades 7-9).
    • Bible Memory Card Sets for all five levels of study, preschool to high school. These are available in both ESV and KJV.

Grab your Bible Road Trip™ Year One Sample Pack. You’ll get:

  • The Bible Road Trip™ Parent / Teacher Guide.
  • The first three weeks of the curriculum for all five learning levels. Week Three is where we really dive into the Bible and begin to our systematic study. Week Three will give you a good feel for the rest of the curriculum.
  • The first three weeks of the Bible Memory Card sets for all five levels, in ESV and KJV.
  • The first three weeks of each of the three leveled Notebooking Journals.

Grab the Sample Pack for FREE:

Free Button

Disciple your kids by taking your family through the Bible together in a meaningful way!


Spiritual Disciplines Calendar for Kids

Grab the Spiritual Disciplines Calendar to go with your Daily Devotions for Kids Calendar!
Your kids will develop a habit of daily Bible reading, Scripture memorization, and prayer in a fun, hands–on way!


Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible

Love the Bible for Kids | A resource you'll love!

You want your kids to learn and love the Bible. 

You want to teach the Bible…

As parents, we deeply desire the best for our kids. We look for the right schools, we make them eat right and exercise, and we get them involved in extracurricular activities. We take our job as parents seriously.

But are we also putting our time and energy into
teaching them the Bible? Giving them the life-changing, soul-nourishing words of Scripture is not only doable, it’s an essential part of parenting kids for Jesus. And the good news is, studying God’s Word as a family doesn’t have to be difficult!

2 Timothy 2:15, ESV, says:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Our job, as parents who love Jesus, is to help our kids become approved workers, unashamed and rightly handling the word of truth.

The good news? Teaching the Bible isn’t hard. Your family can learn the Bible together.

…and you can!

A Crash Course in Teaching the Bible to Your Kids

Danika Cooley’s book, Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, will give you the tools and confidence to study the Bible as a family. It will help you identify and overcome your objections and fears, give you a crash course in what the Bible is all about and how to teach it, and provide the guidance you need to set up a family Bible study habit.

You will finish this book feeling encouraged and empowered to initiate and strengthen your child’s relationship with the Lord through His Word.

Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible button

Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible will equip you with everything you need to know to teach the Bible to your kids!

Tauna Meyer Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible 3


More Thinking Kids Posts You’ll Love!

Bible Road Trip™ Three Year CurriculumLove the Bible for Kids | A resource you'll love!Who What Why Christian History SeriesWonderfully Made: God's Story of Life from Conception to BirthWhen Lightning Struck!: The Story of Martin LutherChristian Homeschool Science Curriculum10 Reasons to Take a Road Trip Through the BibleMy Book Log: A Notebooking JourneyMy Timeline Notebooking JournalBest Bible Verses for Your Family to MemorizeSpiritual Disciplines Calendar for KidsFun Field Trip Ideas for Your KidsHow to Study the Bible for KidsHow to Notebook with KidsBible fun and memorableThe Absolutely Enormous List of Christian History BooksWhat Do You Mean You Don't Want to Study Today? | Homeschooling Tips and Ideas to Overcome ResistanceFun Printable Bible Activities for KidsDaily Devotions for Kids | A 12-Month Bible Verse Calendar for your FamilyMy Sermon NotebookThe Right Age to Teach Your Children the BibleWho What Why Reformation Free Printable LapbooksThe Bible is a StoryReassess Your Homeschool Mid-Year4 Reasons to Teach Christian History to Your KidsBible Lapbooks | Hands-On Bible Study for KidsMy Field Trip and Travel JournalFree Educational Virtual Field TripsChristian Parenting. Fight the Good Fight.3 Reasons to Homeschool High SchoolChristian Homeschool Curriculum We've Lovedteach about the bible5 Things That Occur When I Complain about My KidThe 3 Most Important Homeschool SubjectsIntentional Christian Parenting Tipsbible bannerTidying Up | The Bible, Materialism, and Your KidsTeaching Christian Worldview to Your Children in a Way They'll UnderstandCurrent Events for TeensFamous People Who Kept Journals - Is Notebooking Right for Your Child?5 Things that Occur When I Yell at My KidsRead through the BibleWhen Your Child Breaks Your Heart | How to Survive!Five Things That Occur When I Encourage My Child5 Things that Occur When I Overreact to My Child's OffenseWhat is Notebooking? And Why Notebook?Train up100+ Screen Free Activities for HomeschoolersHow to use Bible Notebooking Pages to Teach the Biblebible road trip journalsLife in the wombTeach Kids the BibleStudy BibleNever Homeschool5 Life Lessons from MotherhoodStewarding Talents and Spiritual Gifts in Your ChildrenUnexpected homeschoolBible lapbookBible is a storycheat sheetsfamily Bible studyinside bible road trip5 Parenting Questions to Ask YourselfBible puppets10 Ways to Show Respect for Your TeenDaily Bible readingverses about the BibleCalm the Angry Parent Inside and Build Your Kids UpBible comic stripGeneration BibleBible Reading chartHomeschool Through Chronic IllnessParenting Lessons from My Marriagebooks bible posterBible activitiesfamily discipleshipbible road trip reviewsbooks Bible bookmarkstough questions biblegospel bible versesbible road trip memory cardslevels of bibleround robin biblelet go of perfection in Bible studymemorize bible verses


 

How to study the Bible at Home

Join the newsletter

Get the Family Prayer Box Project FREE!

Teach your children to pray with this fun project that includes 7 printable sets!

Awesome! Go check your email to confirm your subscription. After you confirm, I'll send your Family Prayer Box Project!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Filed Under: Bible Road Trip ~ A 3 Year Bible Survey, Christian Parenting

Join the Newsletter and Get Gifts and Offers

« Christian Books for Girls: Real Life Heroes
Thanksgiving Activities for Christian Kids »

Comments

  1. Kris Hage says

    August 11, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    Thank you, Danika, for providing resources and encouragement to take in our spiritual food in order to grow, just like we take in our physical food to grow! I’m excited to try Bible Road Trip with my high school age children!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

photo credit: @billdjohnson

Welcome to Thinking Kids!

My name is Danika Cooley, and I’m glad you’re here. This site exists to help equip you to teach your kids the Bible and Christian history. I’m an author, a homeschool mom, and a curriculum developer. Pull up a chair and stay awhile.

Get Gifts & Exclusive Offers

Danika Cooley | As Seen and Heard On
Love the Bible for Kids | A resource you'll love!
10 Reasons to Take a Road Trip Through the Bible
Who What Why Reformation Free Printable Lapbooks

Popular Posts

How to Read the Bible using Round Robin Reading

How to Read the Bible with Kids using Round Robin Reading

The Ology by Marty Machowski | Theology for Kids

The Ology by Marty Machowski | Theology for Kids

How to Study the Bible in Context | Two Great Books for Kids!

How to Study the Bible in Context | Two Great Books for Kids!

Picture Books about the Minor Prophets of the Bible

Picture Books about the Minor Prophets of the Bible

Copyright 2010-2019 Danika Cooley.

About page images © Pam Koch 2015. Headshot © Bill D. Johnson 2015.
378 shares

Teaching history? 
Register now
for the FREE, online
God-Centered History Summit!
×