Do you remember the days when your child was excited to sit down for tea time and devotions with mom? You know, back when object lessons were the greatest entertainment. How about singing silly songs to memorize scripture. I mean seriously! We were crushing it as parents. Our kids loved Jesus with all their hearts. And then something weird happened. They turned into teenagers. Their priorities shifted and all of the sudden your teen is a mini adult complete with their own identities. They are formulating their opinions, and learning their place in the world.
Most teens have unanswered questions about their faith
Will your teens question their faith? If you ever want your teen to have their own walk with God, they should question their faith. As parents, it can be easy to think you have failed your child when they begin asking questions about God or their faith. How dare they ask such questions after we spent all of these years telling them everything they would ever need to know about Jesus.
Asking questions about God is normal
Did the teen years surprise you like they did me? As a mama of three teens (and a pre-teen), I can say the teen years came with challenges I always thought I was prepared for. Walking with our teens through the years of many questions is incredibly difficult but also rewarding! As a mom who just sent her first teen out into the world, I have had the opportunity to watch her take the independent faith we helped her to establish and make it her own.
Can I be honest? Understanding and parenting your teen can feel overwhelming. As a parent of Christian teenagers you may feel unsure about the skills you have given them. You might be scared that you did not do enough to prepare them. There is a real fear of our teens losing their faith as they leave our homes. The statistics are very real and I do not want to sugarcoat this reality. Giving teens practical steps they can take to learn will ensure their ability to grow for a lifetime.
Here are some practical and foundational things you can put in place for your teens that will not return void. Make it your business to make them learners of His Word, and surrender the transformation to Jesus! Although your teens will have their own journey in faith, rest assured that they will retain the ability to learn and grow in God’s Word with practical steps to learn with.
Helping your teen establish a Bible study habit
Give your teen a space they can call their own to grow and study God’s Word. This space should be different from where they sit to complete their homeschool duties or after school homework. It needs to be a place they can disconnect from the things of the world and connect with the scriptures.
DO NOT over complicate this! Maybe you do not have a lot of extra space in your home. Great news! You do not need a lot of room. Clear out a corner of the bedroom and make this a space to connect with God. If you have no room at all consider using public places like coffee shops and libraries too.
Maybe you have wasted space or empty closets in your home! Be creative. Allow your teen to have a voice in creating this space. This is a place they will meet with God daily and begin to develop healthy Bible learning and prayer habits.
Make this as fun as possible! Fun pens, art supplies, journals and stickers may be just what your teen needs to fill this sacred space and make it a place they want to hang out for a bit each day.
Giving your homeschool teens a Bible learning plan
As a parent you want to ensure your teens have a the tools they need to walk out their faith for a lifetime. Knowing the Bible and how to use it is exactly what your teen needs before they leave home. This can feel like a daunting task. The college years are quickly approaching. You may be worried time is short, and it is! No matter where you are starting with your teen, it is never to late to introduce independent Bible learning skills.
The most important things your teen needs to know about the Bible
There are so many “Bible Studies” and ways to learn the Bible and they all promise to deliver success. How do you know your current trajectory is one that will work? Ask yourself if your current Bible curriculum helps your teens to implement the five basic components of Bible learning:
- Understanding the Bible timeline and how the Bible pieces together like a puzzle
- Interaction with Bible characters and events
- Discovering God’s character within context
- Personalized scripture application
- Call to repentance and prayer
Helping your teens apply scripture to their everyday lives
It is easy for Bible study to become an intellectual exercise. Have you ever told your teen “Don’t give me the Sunday School answer, stop and think first”? How do you know if your teens are just giving you an intellectual answer or speaking from the heart? How can you take your teens from the intellectual part of Bible study and teaching them how to apply the Word to their lives. This question can be asked after each Bible reading?
What did I learn about God’s Character from these verses?
Discovering God’s character will assist your teen with personal application of the scriptures. It can be really easy to take the scriptures out of context when you are missing good application questions. When scripture is taken out of context, your teen can be easily deceived. Understanding who God is in character should come first before deciding how the scriptures apply and fit within the frames of their lives.
Here is an example! If you have just read Genesis 1 with your teen they would ask, “what do I know about God’s character from these verses?”
The most common, Sunday School answer is that God is “the creator.” And, that is correct, but let’s go one step further. One of God’s character traits from Genesis 1 is that He is a God of order.
Your teen can easily identify that God is the creator, but knowing HE is God of order can help them to apply these verses to their own lives for growth.
Teaching teens to seek Biblical transformation and repentance
Beyond the application of scripture, your teens faith will be transformed when they not only apply the scriptures but seek to be changed by them. With just one question at the end of your teens Bible study they can be prompted to take the step of obedience and repent of their sins.
What action, attitude or belief do I need to change after studying these verses?
As your teens seek growth in God’s Word, remember, they should never come away from God’s Word without taking an action. Seeking repentance and making prayer central to their learning time will keep your teen growing in their understanding of God and how the scriptures are the the key to their spiritual growth.
How does iWrite Bible give your teen the confidence to learn the Bible?
iWrite Bible equips your teens with a foundational Bible learning method that not only gives them knowledge, but actionable steps retain and recall scripture as they apply in to their lives for growth.
Your student will learn the Bible through scripture writing AND have the foundation they need to grow in God’s Word as they transition into adulthood. Download a generous FREE sample of our Old Testament Scripture Writing Bible Studies here!
With the simple and effective learning plan from iWrite Bible, your teens will quickly gain confidence in their abilities to learn the Bible and apply Godly principals to their lives. Through reading, writing and effective application questions, a life time of skills are inherited!
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