Helping Kids Navigate the Bible

Survey

The key question here is, “What is going on?” When you survey, you attempt to understand the overarching picture behind a passage. Read the whole book first. Find out as much on your own as you can about the author, setting, audience, time period, historical data, cultural data, major players, and circumstances. You will need some good study tools after you dig as far as you can go. Things like study Bibles, concordances, Bible dictionaries, and cursory commentaries are helpful here.

Observe

When you observe, you are trying to answer the question, “What do I see?” You aren’t trying to get to meaning yet. Think of Sergeant Joe Friday: “Just the facts, ma’am.” Look for repeated words, emphasis, action words, long words that need definition, lists, the style of writing, opposites and similarities, major themes, places, and conclusive terms (therefore, because of, for this reason, so that).

I’m reminded of a story about a young seminarian who wanted to learn directly from his revered professor how to get the most out of the Bible. This professor met with him in his office one afternoon and told him to study the goldfish on his bookshelf, making a note of everything he observed. For an entire week, the young student did just as the professor instructed. Finally, on Friday, the student asked his mentor when they were going to get instruction about studying the Bible. The professor looked at him and said, “Study that fish until you have made every observation possible, then we’ll study God’s Word the same way.”

Interpret

Now that you have garnered all the facts, you can begin answering the question, “What does it mean?” Do not mistake this for “What does it mean to me?” for that is such a relativistic question never to be asked of the Scriptures. Understand clearly here that the Scripture has one interpretation and many applications. It cannot mean two very different things and it can never mean something different from the original author’s intent. Helpful strategies include finding other Scriptures that enlighten your understanding, getting to the most literal proposition, contemplating what is said before and after, and seeking the help of much more learned people than yourself who have studied extensively and written on the passage.

You may try to discern what commands are being made. You may read it out loud. You may paraphrase the passage in your own words. However, one of the most integral steps to this process is discerning what that passage says about Jesus. Sometimes, this can be as plain as the “suffering servant” passage in Isaiah 53 or as discreet as Nehemiah as a “type” of the true Christ to come who will rebuild the walls of His people through his victorious death and resurrection. This, then, is one of the chief goals in understanding Scripture, that is, recognizing Christ as the end of its parts and its whole.

Apply

Now that you understand the meaning of the passage, you can be free to apply it to your life and the lives of those who listen to you. The question of most importance in this step is, “What is to be done and how?” In our drive-through society, we can so quickly breeze through or skip the other steps in order to “do something.” When we allow this, or lead kids to do this, we forsake the richness of chewing on the meat of the Word. It is akin to forcing a child to enjoy a 2-foot kiddy pool at a beach house when the vast adventurous ocean lies 50 yards from your backyard.

Application takes a special measure of guidance of the Holy Spirit. A prayer that recognizes the facts of the passage, confesses sin, and asks for personal transparency is in order at this point. Why not stop in the middle of your children’s sermon to pray before you get to the application? Application seeks to expose areas of one’s Christian life that need change or that are displeasing to the Lord. Application can also encourage one, helping him to see where he has been right or honoring the Lord. Proper application should lead to obedience and encourage the changing party to share his insight with others.

——————–

These principles are tried and tested, not just by me, but by many faithful people before me. I know that our children’s ministries will be much better off with them in place. We can never fail our children when we provide them with God’s Word. It is the beaten path that leads to the most fruitful ministry. In that spirit, let me leave you with the prophetic and powerful words of Paul to young Timothy:

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).