Kara Durbin - Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments

Parenting with Scripture

A TOPICAL GUIDE FOR TEACHABLE MOMENTS

Kara Durbin

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

2012 by
K ARA D URBIN

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblia. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 60189, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Dictionary definitions: From Scholastic Childrens Dictionary. Copyright 1996 by Scholastic, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic, Inc.

Dictionary definitions for discern and godly: From Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language by Victor Neufeldt. Copyright 1984, 1979, 1977, 1975, 1971 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., a Division of Gulf & Western Corporation. All rights reserved. Published by Warner Books.

Edited by Annette LaPlaca
Interior design: Ragont Design
Cover design: DesignbyJulia
Cover image: iStock | Christopher Futcher
Author photo: Brian Mosley

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Durbin, Kara
Parenting with Scripture: a topical guide for teachable moments/Kara Durbin
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 13: 978-0-8024-0849-5
1. Christian education of children. 2. Christian educationHome training. 3. Christian ethicsBiblical teaching. 4. ChildrenReligious life. I. Title.
BV1590 .D87 2001
248.845dc21

00-046925

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Dedicated to my mother, who blessed my life by parenting me with Scripture

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:1617

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christto the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:911

A number of years ago, my sister told me about a time when she caught her five-year-old son lying. She told him he should always be honest, not only because she said so, but more importantly, because God said so. She then quoted a related Scripture to him and explained what it meant in reference to what he had done. I was amazed that she had the perfect verse ready to use in that teachable moment. I began to think through the different issues parents face with their children and questioned whether I knew Scripture that addressed all the possible situations. I began searching for a topical Scripture reference for parentsand couldnt find one. So, in response to my own need and a desire to minister to other families, I began researching and writing. This book is a result of that study.

What, Exactly, Is This Tool?
This book is a

Reference for teachable moments

This book can serve as a launch pad for discussing topics related to situations your child tells you about or is dealing with, news reports, TV show scenarios

Communication facilitator

When a child asks, or when you wonder, What does God say about

When a child asks, What does ____ mean?

As an opening to help you find out what your child knows and does not know about each topic.

Topical devotional guide for your child or family

Scripture reference for memory work

As you deal with certain situations, you and your child might choose to memorize verses that pertain to those specific issues.

Prayer guide

Pick a verse a day and pray those words for yourself and your child.

Ask God to help you know how to best communicate and teach each topic to your child.

Ask God to help you set a good example in each area.

Your Job as a Personal Trainer

Parenting with Scripture can be used for twos through teens. The verses and discussions can be geared toward what your child can understand, and the Take Action activities can be adapted to the childs age, interest, and ability. It is never too early or too late to begin instilling these principles in your child. Do not neglect your job as a teacher of these subjects, the personal trainer who chooses to train a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6a).

The exciting part about using this book is that you are teaching your child to think through the Scripture and apply it to his life. This process will give the Bible meaning and make the words real to him. Most importantly, you will instill in your child a habit of turning to the Scripture to answer questions so that it will serve as the guidebook for life.

The discussion questions for each topic will make you and your child think. Unfortunately, thinking is not encouraged enough in todays society. However, if you want your child to base his life and decision making on a firm biblical foundation, you must prepare him by helping him think through each of these topics. For example, when a question refers to a Scripture, give the child a chance to think and answer before reading the Scripture. Then discuss and compare his answer with Gods Word. Through these discussions, you will learn what your child knows about the topic, what he is struggling with, what he does not understand, and what needs to be reinforced. Youll be training him to apply Gods Word to his own life on his own.

The verses given are by no means an exhaustive list. The concordance and index to subjects found in the back of most Bibles are good resources for finding more verses on each topic. If you happen upon helpful verses that are not listed in the book, write them in for future reference.

God bless your efforts to train your child. May your child learn to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up