When I was five-years-old, I remember summer days with the neighbor kids searching for insects and rolly-pollies in the dirt together. Every now and then our moms would let us inside to play Pitfall on the Atari or even—hold your breath—Super Mario Brothers on the brand new 1984 Nintendo. Those were the days…
My five-year-old niece has her own iPad. And, seriously, she knows how to work it better than I do.
When we began crafting Explore the Bible for all ages, we knew that we would provide a curriculum that explores the Bible in its context so that we could equip people to apply it in their context. For kids, we want them to understand the Bible in a way that they can apply it to their lives and understand it so that they might live out its truths “missionally” to those around them
The concept of context has changed dramatically. But the truths of Scripture are forever.
So, in Explore the Bible: Kids, we teach these truths from each book of the Bible. One practical way we do this is to provide a Text Truth every week. This allows kids to have one primary “takeaway” from the passage each week. We also provide life application ideas and activities to help kids live out what they have learned—to apply it in their context—whether it’s a soccer field, social media updates or groups, church activities, or on their own iPads.
As a five-year-old, my mission field was in the dirt. And God used the dirt. I remember a kid asking me if bugs were on Noah’s ark, arguing that if God cares about all things, He cares about bugs too. And in my little heart, I wondered: if God cares about bugs, surely He cares about me. And a foundation was solidified in my heart that day. Today, kids might have very different mission fields. Let’s hold fast to teaching biblical truths and challenge them to find ways to apply it in their context—from insects to iPads.