Who Do Your Kids Really Love More: Jesus or Wii?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

Jesus said this is the most important commandment. How does this verse play out in your family?

I know it takes intentional effort to balance all four areas and teach our kids how to best love God. It’s a challenge my husband and I regularly encounter as we spiritually train our two daughters.

How do we train our kids to love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind and strength in a world that teaches them to love their iPod® and Wii® more? Maybe these few ideas will provide some direction:

Expand their hearts

Jesus Christ is the only One who can change a human heart. This happens through a personal relationship with Christ. Have your kids trusted Christ for salvation?

One way to explain God’s plan for salvation is to use the Gospel Wheel. By studying these Bible verses, you can share the gospel with confidence.

Deepen their souls

Two ways to encourage a healthy, vibrant soul are through prayer and worship.

Prayer:

• Pray for others. Keep a prayer journal of requests and answered prayer.
• Pray for your kids, too.

Worship:

• Worship at home. Play worship CDs and sing together at breakfast or after dinner.
• Find your local Christian radio station and listen to it in the car.

Stretch their minds

Reading and memorizing God’s Word will stretch your kids’ minds as they become more like Him. The goal: God’s Word will move from their head into their heart.

Reading God’s Word:

• Start family devotions at home. Use the Awana at Home® parent kits featuring DVD segments, discussion questions and Scripture teaching.
• Talk about the message and Bible verses taught at church each week

Memorizing God’s Word:

• Encourage your kids to memorize verses in their Awana handbooks. Practice verses over breakfast.
• Try these memorization tips.

Raise up servants

After Jesus shared the greatest commandment from Mark 12:30 listed above, His next instruction is found in Mark 12:31: The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

One way we can love our neighbors is to serve them in times of need.

• Stock a food pantry in your community.
• Visit a nursing home and bless the elderly.
• Make cards or crafts for someone in need of encouragement. Hand deliver your card or craft if possible.

How do you teach your kids to love Jesus?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 at 6:05 am and is filed under Bible and Bible memory, Discipleship, Serving, Worship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.