How to Read and Study the Bible With Your Family
Do you want to read and study the Bible with your family but feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start? This easy Bible reading method will have you reading, learning and sharing together today.
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For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope – Romans 15:4
Why We Should Read and Study God’s Word
The foundation of Storyschooling™ is God’s Word. This is the most important book before any other. By studying God’s story first, the more we will understand His purpose not only for our own lives but for all people. The more we know what is written in His Word, the more the rest of our world makes sense so that we are able to navigate the endless information available to us in a more logical and discerning way. Every other subject area comes to life and is illuminated when held up to the light of God’s Word to all people. His story then becomes our story as we learn the history of His world and the beautiful hope and truth in His plans for you and me.
Do you find that even after years of being a Christian, you are still only on the milk and not the meat of God’s Word because you have not made a daily habit of Bible reading?
Hebrews 5:12-14 says,
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
One of the main regrets I hear from Christian parents is that they did not prioritise daily Bible time in their families. It is easy to get drawn in to the sphere of academic, sporting or other achievements and neglect family devotions and family worship, leaving our Bibles relegated to an occasional token reading or devotional or maybe never at all. As we struggle to fit in way too many subjects, curriculums and extra-curricular activities over the course of our days, months and years with our children, it is easy to lose sight of our First Love and forget that creating a habit of family discipleship has eternal value. Daily Scripture reading and Bible study with our children not only gives them a solid grounding in the Word of God and draws them closer to Jesus as they spend time with Him but also arms them with the tools they need to navigate a world where the rules keep changing. The only guidelines that stay true from one year to the next are those that come straight from God.
Be encouraged. The answer is and has always been right in front of us. All we have to do is take our Bible in our hands and invite Jesus into our hearts and minds and lives as we bask in His beautiful, complete and perfect Word.
So… where do we begin?
Use the below Bible reading method as a simple way to start your daily family Bible study time. This is suitable for younger kids as well as teens. I encourage you to read every chapter and verse of the Bible with the whole family, except where you feel it may be inappropriate for young children. You can use this method for family Bible studies as well as for a small group with old and young people alike.
If Bible reading is new to your children, especially older children, do not be discouraged if conversation around the readings does not flow naturally. When getting started, the Bible can seem overwhelming. It is only with daily continuous reading that the pieces of the puzzle will come together and you and your children will start making connections with former passages and books of the Bible and start seeing it as one continuous story.
If your teens are really struggling with reading a chapter per day, be patient with them and reduce the readings to short selections. Also, make sure you are using a translation that is appropriate for their reading level. You want to foster a lifelong love for God’s Word in them, not make it a burden.
Making family reading a chore may end up having the opposite effect on your children. You want to enjoy your time reading together. Relax, go slowly, make a hot chocolate, share what has happened in your day with each other and prioritise relationship with your children over any schedule.
Read together by choosing a time of the day that everyone is able to gather together for family Bible time. Depending on the age of your children, each family member may take turns reading a few verses of the daily readings or you may choose just one person each day to read all of the Bible verses.
Maybe first thing in the morning works for your family or maybe later around the dinner table or before bedtime is better. Choose the time that will set you up for success and that you are more likely to be able to be consistent and create a daily habit of reading and studying together.
This reading method can be used over whatever span of time works best for your family. Do not feel obligated to fit to any schedule if this weighs you down or you or your children feel pressured in any way. Take less time or more as needed. The priority is simply to start and pick up the next day where you left off the day before and keep going until you have read right through the entire Bible.
If there is a particular book that your children are drawn to, choose that for further study or study a particular theme or topic in the Bible. If you have young children under the age of 10, choosing a story narrative to study in depth might work best for this age. A story focussed on one or a few particular people and how they were used by God is often more exciting and inspiring for young children. Daily reading as well as more focussed study of individual books is one of the most effective ways to know God’s Word.
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so – Acts 17:11
Recommended Resources
- Bible translation of your choice
- Bible Reading Record
- Maps & Timelines
- Children’s Bibles (under 12 years of age)
Recommended resources are not substitutes for The Bible. They are to be used as contextual aids while reading the Bible for yourself. Only the Bible has the power of the Holy Spirit embedded within every word. Any word from man is fallible and open to error. God’s Word is infallible and perfect and true. May we not take any word written or spoken by man as truth unless we see and read for ourselves that it lines up with God’s Word.
Bible translation of your choice
Choose a Bible of your choice. Some of the most accurate Word for Word translations are the New American Standard Bible (NASB), English Standard Version (ESV), King James Version (KJV) and the New King James Version (NKJV).
If you have a low level of literacy or are reading with very young children, you may choose to start with the New International Version (NIV). Click here for more information about translations.
Bible Reading Record
Print out a copy of this Bible Reading Record for each member of the family. Having the children mark their own reading record will help make the journey personal for them. This is an easy way to keep track of your Bible reading journey and can be used for family and personal Bible reading.
Maps & Timelines
I recommend affixing a timeline to your wall in order to give the whole family an easy visual of what is happening and when, in each book of the Bible.
To give some context, Genesis, the first book of the Bible covers the whole time period from before Creation through to approximately the mid 15th century BC. Job is also within this time. The books of Exodus through to Song of Solomon then cover the next 1,000 or so years through to around 400BC. Although the major and minor prophets from Isaiah through to Malachi come after Song of Solomon in the Bible, the events happen concurrently. They occur during the time of 2 Kings through to Nehemiah, overlaying the period of some of the Old Testament books by approximately 500 years from 900BC through to 400BC.
There are 400 silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament at the end of the BC (Before Christ) era, leading up to the birth of Jesus. Although often referred to as the silent years, there are many historical events that happened during this time which laid the foundation and prepared the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. The New Testament was then written in the first century AD (Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord)).
Here are some excellent Maps & Timelines (some available in movie form) for a visual representation of the lives and journeys of major events in the Bible. The Day by Day Kid’s Bible also contains a lovely 14-page full color timeline.
Children’s Bibles
These children’s versions are written with events placed in chronological order and the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible also contains a 14-page full color timeline from Genesis to Revelation. Each reading in the Day by Day Begin to Read Bible contains cross references that parallel the readings in the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible if you have children in both age groups and want to extend the readings to more comprehensive passages. Both of these Day by Day Bibles also reference the Scripture readings in a full translation so you are not tempted to forgo reading God’s actual Word each day with your family.
The The Day by Day Kid’s Bible also contains extensive lists in the back of the book with Bible stories in chronological order and Bible book order. There are also top 100 Bible lists.
These are the top 100 Bible lists:
- 100 Main Events, Passages and Teachings
- 100 Favorite Bedtime Stories
- 100 Stories to Talk About With Your Family.
Why Read the Day by Day Kid’s Bibles?
The Day by Day Begin to Read Bible and the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible by Karyn Henley are two of the best children’s Bibles to aid your chronological understanding of the whole Bible narrative. Because they are much more condensed than a full translation Bible, they can be of great value to gaining a quick understanding of God’s great story while not forsaking the true Word of God as you also read a full translation Bible at a slower pace.
Remember though, that children’s Bibles are not the real Bible nor the inspired Word of God as they are not direct translations of the original Biblical texts. No matter how well they are written, they do not have the power to save and transform lives.
How to Read and Study God’s Word
Pray
Before you begin reading each day, pray as a family and ask God to reveal His truth to you as you read and study together. Pray that He will help you to put aside any pride, bias or tradition you may be holding on to that distorts the way you receive His Word. Pray that you will genuinely desire to know what His Word says and that you will understand what it actually means instead of what others say it means.
Don’t worry if you do not yet understand everything you are reading. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding as you read. Take time to discuss together, being very open with your children that you do not have all the answers. As you continue to read the whole Bible through the months and years, the pieces of the puzzle will start to come together in order to form the complete picture of God’s one big story.
Gospels + Whole Bible Overview
If you and your children are very familiar with the Bible, have all read the Bible through at least once and your children are all in their teens, I recommend starting with the Gospel of John, reading and discussing at least one chapter per day and continuing through the new testament, book by book. If you and your children are not familiar with the complete Bible story or even if they are, I also recommend incorporating the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible into your daily readings alongside your Bible readings.
Age 2-7
If you have children in this age group, I recommend starting with the Bible storybook, Day by Day Begin to Read Bible. This is suitable for beginning readers so if your child is learning to read, they could either read the passages to you or you could read to them or you could take turns. Do what works best for your family.
Start from the beginning. This is written chronologically and will help you and your children understand the complete narrative of God’s story from beginning to end. If you also have children in the 6-12 year old age group, the Day by Day Begin to Read Bible aligns with the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible by recommending parallel passages for older children.
It may be tempting to only read the children’s version with your children and not the real Bible but I strongly advise against this. Only God’s Word has the power to save and transform lives. Giving your children the gift of His precious Word at a young age will prepare them for a life time of serving Him.
Each reading in the Day by Day Begin to Read Bible references the parallel passages from the Bible. If your children are too young to sit through a whole chapter of the Bible, even reading a short passage will plant seeds in their hearts.
Discuss what you are reading with your children. You do not need to ask questions about every single verse but pull one or two ideas out of each reading and discuss and ask questions about these with your children. Keep your reading time simple. The idea is to create daily habits and not to overwhelm you or your child with a drawn out, complicated method. Spending time in Scripture is valuable in itself. You do not need fancy curriculums and worksheets to impart God’s truths to your children.
Instead of reading the parallel passages in the Bible, you could instead choose to read the Gospel of Luke. This is a great way to introduce your children to the life of Jesus while also grounding them in the complete Bible narrative with the Day by Day Bibles. Some other good narrative books of the Bible suitable for small children are listed below. These highlight the story of a particular person or persons and tell story narratives that are easier for young children to grasp than some other Bible books.
Best narrative Bible books
Best narrative Bible books for younger children:
- Genesis
- Joshua
- Ruth
- Jonah
- Luke
Age 6-12
If you have children in this age group, I recommend starting with the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible. This is suitable for more developed readers so they could either read to you or you could read to them or you could take turns.
Do whatever works best for your family. This is a condensed but still reasonably comprehensive children’s Bible and bridges the gap between a storybook Bible and a full text Bible. Start from the beginning as this is written chronologically and will help you and your children understand the complete narrative of God’s story from beginning to end.
If you also have children in the 2-7 year old age group, the Day by Day Begin to Read Bible aligns with the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible by recommending parallel passages for older children. The The Day by Day Kid’s Bible also references the Bible passages from which the daily readings are taken so you can then read the full passages in the Bible. Alternatively, you could read the Gospel of Luke in the Bible and work through the new testament while still gaining the full Bible narrative from the children’s Bibles.
Keep your reading time simple and just discuss what you are reading with your children. Create daily habits and do not overwhelm you or your child with drawn out, complicated methods. Spending time in Scripture is valuable in itself. You will be building relationship with Jesus and with each other as you do so.
Age 12+
If you or your children have never read the Bible through, I recommend starting with the above recommendations for age 6-12 while also starting in the Gospel of Luke in the Bible and working your way through the new testament, book by book. This will form a daily habit of reading the Bible while also providing a full Bible narrative.
Before you read the book of Revelation at the end of the new testament, it may be beneficial to read the narrative in the The Day by Day Kid’s Bible to give you an overview of end times events. Revelation is the end of the story so you are unlikely to understand much of Revelation until you have read Genesis and the rest of the Old Testament and God’s plan for the children of Israel.
The New Testament is the fulfilment of the Old Testament and Revelation is the future fulfilment of many of the prophecies in the Old Testament. It covers the past and present but mostly the future. Revisit Revelation once you have read the rest of the Bible right through.
If you and your children have read the Bible through before, I recommend continuing with the below 4-year reading rotation as you continue to read and discuss the Bible together each day. I also highly recommend that you and your teens take this free How to Study Scripture course from Philippians 1:9 Ministries and take your Bible study to a deeper level (Details below).
4-year Bible reading plan:
- John-Jude
- Matthew & Genesis-Esther
- Mark & Job-Song of Solomon
- Luke & Isaiah-Malachi & Revelation
I pray you will be truly blessed as you and your children spend time reading and studying God’s Word together. May they know God’s Great Story as the love and truth of Jesus grows in their hearts.
Free Course: How to Study the Bible (Adults and Teens)
If you would like to study the Bible in greater depth, this will not only bring you closer in your walk with Jesus but will also benefit your children as you will be better equipped to impart God’s truths to them as you spend time together in God’s Word. This is also suitable for teens who would like to pursue a deeper relationship with Jesus. I highly recommend this free How to Study Scripture course from Philippians 1:9 Ministries.
Free Bible Lesson Plans!
Storyschooling Lesson Plans
Storyschooling Bible & Church History Lesson Plans
Coming 2025!
A 4-year rotation through the whole Bible & church history.
- Prioritise Biblical literacy and truth (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
- Examine false teachings (Acts 20:27-32).
- Journey with missionaries.
- Study Bible geography, maps & timelines.
- Read apologetics and worldview books.
- Build all other subject areas upon this foundation.
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
-Colossians 3:16