Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Let's get the Whole Family Involved

How do children from other religions develop their faith? For instance in the Muslim faith - one article suggested that the mother should begin to recite the Koran to the child in the womb. Another mentioned to begin to teach at the first cognitive interest of the child. In fact some articles say that by the time a child is 7, 8 or 9 years old they should have already memorized the Koran.

Weekly, many families have faith sharing nights. Like Saturday evenings, younger children are paired with grandparents or older family members. They relate to them morals learned from the Khutbah using the Koran and Hadith resources. They also give examples of how they can apply these morals to their daily lives. It appears as though they divide the training into two parts; behavior/morals and teaching/instruction of the text. They teach basics - God, predestination, Angels, Holy books, Prophets, Judgement day, and life after death.

How might we improve the delivery/teaching of the Bible to our little ones? Do we get the whole family involved? How dedicated are we to begin their teaching at a very young age? These are all important questions that we have to ask ourselves.

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Friday, October 24, 2008

What Dad & Mom says Counts!

I was thinking recently about how the roots of educating little ones in the Bible go way back to the traditions of our Jewish heritage. After a little bit of research it became clear that the primary text book for these little ones was the Torah, or Old Testament scriptures. It was the goal for the child to gain an understanding of the laws and statutes of God. They were taught these laws and statutes from a very early age, some think way before they were able to read. One thing we do know for certain, Jewish children were exposed to the Holy Scriptures through many different instructional means.

Primarily it was the father who was ultimately responsible for educating the little ones in the things of God. However, the mother was still very much involved in the educational process; particularly from birth to about 5 years old. A good picture of this can be found in 1st Samuel, with Hannah. As Samuel’s mother, she nurtured him and gave him his primary training until he was ready to attend to Eli the high priest and to his duties in the tabernacle.

More on the Internet
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http://exegetethetext.blogspot.com/

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Friday, October 10, 2008

Great for Car Rides, Prayer Time, Bed Time & More!

This Bible Talks is an effort that I co created with my teenage daughter. The talking book concept helps pre readers and little ones grasp key concepts by being exposed to pictures and listening to the stories at the same time (especially when mom or dad is tired and cannot read). When the child selects the story they wish to hear and presses the corresponding icon button the story is read to them in a gentle voice. Such a book can be a great asset on those long car trips and perfect for night prayers and the usual bedtime rituals. This first talking storybook has been praised by Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic clergy.

To See... Hear... and Order This Bible Talks storybook go to http://www.thisbibletalks.com/
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