# Family Worship Question - Looking for a resource



## LeeD (Jul 28, 2010)

Do any of my fellow PBers know of any good printed or online resources / study guides that would work through Scriptures major events AND / OR some sort of a bible character study? I am finishing up a study with my family and would like to do a character study beginning in the OT and working through to the NT so my girls (ages 8 and 10) become very familiar with the major characters of the Scriptures. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## LeeD (Aug 1, 2010)

Did I stump my PB family?


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## Scott1 (Aug 1, 2010)

My first thought might not be exactly what you are looking for.

You might just use the Scripture, the Hymnbook and/or Psalter, and the Confession.

For example, just read one chapter of Scripture to your family and lead discussion of it for one hour. You could also have a short singing time. The Westminster Standards, for example, include the Shorter Catechism, which was written with children in mind. Catechism class (using some of that) usually begins in the fifth grade, which is close to the age of your children.

So you can lead, prepare, discuss- probably having a good study bible would be sufficient, e.g. Thompson Chain Reference, Reformation Study Bible, etc. You might discipline yourself to read the passage in advance to prepare if you like.


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## Jack K (Aug 2, 2010)

The only through-the-Scriptures material I'm really familiar with is Crossway's recently published "A Survey of the Bible." I don't know if it's what you're looking for. It's awfully worksheet-ish and kinda dry, in my opinion. And it may be too hard for your girls' age. But I thought it worth mentioning. It _is_ solid, and takes kids through the Bible chapter by chapter.

Have you considered using a Sunday school curriculum? Great Commission Publications does the best job I've seen in keeping a redemptive-historical approach to Bible lessons while still being lively and holding kids' interest. The older elementary curriculum works through the major events of Scripture. There's no rule saying you can't order this stuff and use it in the home if your church doesn't use it. They're Presbyterian, but the Sunday school lessons (as opposed to the catechism studies) won't often run afoul of Baptist convictions. I've actually ordered material from them for my Baptist church, with no complaints.

I think what you're looking for would be helpful to many parents. I've found character studies are often very good for girls, who for whatever reason may tend not to care about history (including redemptive history) unless it's populated by interesting characters. Well, in God's wisdom, redemptive history does have such characters.

With my 8-year-old daughter, I've finally figured out that just giving her a very readable Bible translation and letting her read these characters' stories at bedtime works as well as anything. But good lessons that guide her in thinking about their life stories would be good. If you find such a thing please let us know. If it continues to be hard to locate, maybe I'll have to write it myself someday. I'm serious.


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## LeeD (Aug 2, 2010)

We are all using the same ESV bible during family worship to make sure we are on the same page (literally!). I may just need to outline the characters I would like to cover and then outline the scripture passages to work through for each character. A bit more leg work on my end, but will prove worthwhile for this study. Thanks for the responses.


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