How can parents teach their children to love God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their mind?
The strength to do what we need to do begins in our minds. But the desire starts in the heart.
Remember, repetitively praying the Shema helps imprint these instructional directives into the mind to recall later. Pray this prayer daily and often! Let this be a memory verse!
The word Shema means “to listen, to obey.” There is a difference between listening and hearing. True listening is an active discipline. We can hear many things like birds chirping, but active listening transforms the heart.
Repetition of the Ten Commandments needs to be accompanied by action, which will transform the heart and reinforce biblical principles. Likewise, the Lord’s Prayer is also a call to honor God and live according to his heavenly ways. These prayers, given by the Father and the Son, are imperative life-or-death principles that we are commanded to teach our children as soon as they can comprehend language.
We must prepare the next generation to be followers of Jesus by pointing them to Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
Lee Ann has taken the Ten Commandments from the Bible and created a kid version for little ones to understand, “The Ten Commandments for Little Ones.”
Books Referenced:
- Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls, by Gary Thomas
- Preparing Children for Marriage: How to Teach God’s Good Design for Marriage, Sex, Purity, and Dating, by Josh Mulvihill
- The Child in Christian Thought, by Marcia J. Bunge
- The Jew and His Home: A Guide to Jewish Family Life, by Eliyahu Kitov
- Christian Nurture, by Horace Bushnell
Bible Verses Referenced:
Get a cup of coffee, take about ten minutes to recharge your batteries, and equip your mind so you can raise warriors for Christ that will stand firm in the face of evil! Occasionally, we will be giving away free books – so stay tuned! My team and I are here to serve you all for the glory of our Lord!
