Question: How do you teach a 4 year old about God?
Well, I have been asking myself that very same question for a while. I have realized in these 4 years of parenting that I feel very ill equipped in teaching my 4 year old most things. I struggle breaking things down so that I feel he will understand. Lets table the spiritual convo for a second and simply talk about things like throwing a football, putting on a shirt, or using safety scissors (our latest venture). I try to think step by step about these tasks and end up just probably confusing the mess out of the poor kid. I am blessed in that I have a smart son who learns despite his momma.
Ok, back to God.
I needed a simple yet structured way to teach him some basic truths about scripture and the God that we serve. Now is the time we are building a foundation for his understanding, so for me, I didn’t want to simply teach him the ’stories’ of the Bible, but I want him to know the God of the Bible. For instance, instead of him being able to know all the details of the story of Noah, I want him to understand that that story was a beautiful picture of God’s grace and mercy to those that believe, and how he is a good God that is trustworthy.
Since my child is super excited about his ABCs at this age, I thought it would be a wonderful way to help him remember the lessons. So, I created one lesson per letter that also has a Bible verse and a few activities or crafts to go along with each one. We do one letter per week, because repetition is key!
If there is one thing that I would say to any parents of young children, it is that we will never feel completely equipped to shepherd our children, but don’t let that stop you from doing something. Start wherever you want, but just start! Before we get to the first lesson, I had to give a shout out to the BEST child Bible I have ever read! It made me cry!!! I know right?! It is so different from any other one that I have ever read. The other Bible’s simply told each story very dryly. This Bible does an amazing job of bringing each story to life and pointing each one back to God. I put a little snippet of it at the end of this post if you are interested in reading.
So, here we go with the letter ‘A‘.
Lesson: Armor Of God
Bible Verse: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”-Eph. 6:11
I talked to him about how God is strong and how He wants us to be strong. And how we should take everything He has set out for us and put them to use so we will be able to fight anything the devil throws our way. We are up against more than we can handle on our own, but God has given us weapons to conquer our enemies. We talked about how we don’t have to be afraid, but we have to be ready And so, like a great warrior, we need to put on our armor. And because our enemy is a spirit, God will give us spiritual armor.
So put on the full Armor of God!
A while ago I had read a blog that mentioned finding a knight costume for super cheap at the Dollar Store, so I went to one and found it. The helmet was 1.00, the breastplate was a 1.00 and the shield was 1.00. They were out of the sword so I just constructed one out of cardboard. I wrote on each piece what it was, such as for the helmet I wrote ‘Salvation’ etc.
I had the ‘armor’ in a bag so he couldn’t see, and then pulled out the first piece and talked about what it meant before I let him put it on. He LOVED this!
First, we tied the Belt of Truth around his waist.
I told him that God is real. God loves you, and Jesus died for your sins. God is on your side – that is the Truth!
Hold on to the Truth, and like a good tight belt, the truth will hold you up and keep you strong when Satan attacks.
Next, we put on the Breastplate of Righteousness.
Guard your heart.
Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. Always do what is right and good. That way, Satan won’t have anything to grab onto to worm his way into your heart. You will be able to stand straight and tall, with your head held high.
Next, we put on the Shoes of Readiness.
Be ready to go wherever God sends you to tell the Good News of God’s amazing love for us.
I thought it would add a little fun!
When you are saved, then you are God’s child! Satan has already lost, death is already defeated, and nothing can ever take you away from God. Keep your thoughts always on that!
God has given us a weapon to fight back against Satan’s lies. Our weapon is the truth of God’s Word. It is the Bible. God’s Word can cut Satan’s lies to pieces. Use God’s Word to fight Satan just like Jesus did when Satan tempted him in the desert. The words of the Bible are your sword.
So, he ran around the house with his knight costume on for a long time. And this was one activity that we did multiple times during the week since it was such a big hit. What was so great was a few weeks later when we were at the park playing together he told me, ‘Momma, here I come! You better get your shield of Faith!’ :)
He is doing good with our Bible time each day, and if your kiddos are anything like mine, it has REALLY helped to have something fun to do as we talk. He listens much better and the activity reinforces what we are talking about.
Finally, I wanted to post a small part of the introduction in The Jesus Storybook Bible for you to read. Precious!
