A friend asked how I would explain a certain Bible story to my 3 (almost 4) year old because she wasn’t quite sure how to explain it to her 4 year old. That led to my desire to help people with how to talk to young children about difficult Bible stories. Talking to young kids about valuable, life-changing Bible stories is a daunting task. Their short attention spans and always hungry bellies (or is it just my kids that say they’re hungry every ten minutes?) don’t make our job easy, but that doesn’t mean the task is any less important. “Train them. Give them sharp eyes and bellies full of laughter...and.they will pollute the shadows”. Let’s fill their heads and their days with Jesus. He is the most important thing after all.
I don’t know about you, but I often want to know exactly what happens in someone’s house for other ideas on how to do things. I want to be a fly on the wall, so I recorded here the dialogue I had with M while reading the creation Bible story from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. It’s to provide one example of how to talk about a Bible story with a young child. Below the transcription, at the bottom of the post, I have the big Truths learned from the story. How I did it is just one way to talk about the story. I’d love to hear how you have shared this story with your littles. If you haven’t shared it with them yet, you can always start now.
Note: I didn't transcribe every sentence of the Bible story. The bolded lines are quotes from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
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Mamo: Let’s read a Bible story.
M: How about Goliath?
Mamo: We’re going to read the very first story in the Bible this time. The Bible is made up of lots of different books, kind of like a library. Each story tells something different about God, about who He is, about what He’s done. Some are poems, some tell about who is in Jesus’ family, some are telling about things that happened, some are stories that can help give us an idea of how things are made. We’re going to talk about that one today, the creation one. The very first one. The Bible has a beginning. The world has a beginning. There’s lots of different Bibles (translations) and they all say the same thing about God.
“In the beginning there was nothing,...only emptiness and darkness”
God took that emptiness and filled it.
When you are drawing you have an empty page, you have nothing, then when you draw on it you have something, you make something. So God was going to make things and fill up the space.
“God spoke...and whatever He said, it happened.”
God made life happen with just a word. If you say “Hamburger, be on this plate in front of me” would it happen?
M: Yeah.
Mamo: No, you’d have to go get it. But God could just say it and it’d be there. Isn’t that amazing?
M: Then He could eat it.
Mamo: Do you think God likes burgers?
M: Yeah, I like burgers.
Mamo: Me too.
Close your eyes. It’s dark, right? Imagine that there’s nothing around you. Now open your eyes! He spoke words then everything came into existence. Imagine what it must have been like to see nothing then everything.
“‘You’re good,’ God said. And they were.”
Does God make good things?
M: No
Mamo: Why do you say no?
M: Let me go get water. (came back) Here’s some toy bugs. (shows me the toys)
Mamo: Let’s keep reading to see if what God made was good. Are you listening?
“‘You’re good,’ God said. And they were.”
Remember when we saw the beach last year? Do you remember that? God made that.
You know the tree in front of our house? God made that.
Remember the flower you brought home to me yesterday? God made that.
Does God make beautiful and good things?
M: There’s a spider on me. (his toy)
Mamo: Oh no! Hey, does God make beautiful and good things?
M: Yeah.
Mamo: Remember how sometimes you can see the moon in the middle of the day? God made the moon and the sun.
Wow, can you believe everything He made? It’s amazing.
“‘Hello birds!’ God said.”
M: This one’s a good one.
Mamo: Yeah, you like this part, about God making birds? Can you make the grackle sound you like to make?
M: Caw Caw
Mamo: Remember the aquarium and all the fish and birds there? God made all those.
Imagine all the animals. We’ve seen peacocks and elephants, God made all those.
“God saw all that he had made and he loved them. And they were lovely because he loved them.”
M: We’ve even heard strange birds (he made an animal sound).
Mamo: God was pretty creative, huh? When He made all those different sounds.
“God breathed life in Adam and Eve.”
Adam and Eve were the first people.
M: Let’s read Adam and Eve.
Mamo: We will later.
“...When God saw them he was like a new dad. ‘You look like me,’ he said. ‘You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made!’ God loved them with all of his heart.”
We thought you were the most beautiful thing that God made when we first saw you.
Who loves us?
M: (he got distracted by toys and started talking about his water)
Mamo: God made water and He loves us.
“Whatever happened, whatever it cost him, he would always love them.”
The creation story tells us that God is super creative with all the different creatures He made and it’s important to take care of all the creatures because He loves them. He takes care of us and the animals and we're going to help take care of each other and the animals. How can we take care of God’s creation?
Picking up garbage and loving other people can help take care of his creation.
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As you can see, our storytime was filled with distractions, interrupting, redirecting, silliness, asking questions, giving examples, and relating the story to our lives. What matters was that our heads were filled with God. M didn't seem to pick up every detail of the story, but I've been amazed that weeks later he will bring up a detail from a story out of the blue. I tried reading the creation story using an “adult” Bible to M, which I think is great and I will continue to do, but he was more distracted with that one (longer and no pictures). At this age the Jesus Storybook Bible really holds his attention and I love it too.
This dialogue was not meant as a script. Each time I read it we might talk about different aspects of the story. God made every child different. Study your children and learn the best way to teach them about Jesus and continue doing it, even if you don’t feel like anything is sticking, even if you feel like you’re doing it wrong. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truths to your child and for wisdom in answering questions about the story. It’s ok to say you don’t know the answer to their question, but that you will try to find out. Some things only God knows for sure.
I’ve found it’s best to hold my plans loosely, meaning that if my kid at this age and at this time can’t sit still for the story maybe I’ll try reading a different time or try another activity that my child loves that can share the same message. When I treat teaching my kids about Jesus with flexibility and gearing it towards who God made them to be, my whole family seems happier because it’s not me trying to force something on them. Rather than it feeling like a chore, I want my kids to discover and experience an attitude of awe and wonder toward who God is.
The big Truths, or manna (food for our soul from God) that I wanted to tell M and will review with him at other times are that:
God was there at the beginning of time
God made everything (side note: M will ask if God made things like the road. I say that God made the materials, the people who had the idea, and the people who made it, so yes, God made the road)
Everything God made is good
We need to help take care of what God has made
Resources that inspired this post:
http://www.northparkpres.org/blog/doing-theology-children-the-creation-story/:
https://annvoskamp.com/2020/01/4-lessons-children-can-learn-about-god-from-the-creation-story/
https://missionbibleclass.org/old-testament/part1/creation-through-noah/creation-story/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQI72THyO5I (for parents, if you want to know more about the Bible)
Other activities on this creation story topic: (art, snacks, books, etc.)
Turn off the lights and turn on a flashlight (God created light)
Create fish art - https://kinderart.com/art-lessons/drawing/under-the-sea/
More fish art - http://www.artforsmallhands.com/2012/10/painting-stuffed-fish.html
Play with sand - make mountains and valleys (God created land)
Memorize Genesis 1:1
Play the story from your phone or discuss the story while on a walk
Lord,
When we read this story ourselves and reread it to our children may it come alive to us in new ways. Give us insight on how to use all the senses you’ve given us in making the story interactive for our kids. May we truly feel the awe and wonder of You creating everything. Give us guidance and perseverance in teaching our kids about You.
Amen.