4 Tips for Using the Bible in Sunday School

Sunday School is one of the best places where children start receiving their spiritual education. It's in Sunday School where they learn all the familiar Bible stories, like Noah and the Ark and David & Goliath and where children first begin to memorize the books of the Bible and memory verses. However, you would be surprised at how many children go through their Sunday School class without actually opening or even touching a Bible.

Many times, a Sunday School teacher will study and plan for his/her Sunday School class using just the Sunday School book. They'll teach the class using some sort of visual aid, write the memory verse on the dry erase board and use a poster for teaching the books of the Bible. If children don't have the opportunity to use the Bible in their Sunday School class, how will they ever learn how important it is to a Christians' spiritual growth?

You may be used to teaching your Sunday School class the way that you've always taught it, but you can begin to implement the Bible into your class little by little. Making even one small change can have a lasting effect on your children's impression of the Bible and what it is for. Here are some tips to help you use the Bible in your own children's Sunday School class.

1. Read the Bible when studying your lesson.
The use of the Bible really starts before you even enter your Sunday School classroom on Sunday morning. If you use a Sunday School curriculum and it has a teacher's guide, be sure that you are also using your Bible when you're preparing for your class. Look up the passage in your Bible and read it, don't just read the highlights that are spelled out for you in the teacher's guide. Find the memory verse in your Bible as well and mark it so that you can find it easily during class. And most importantly, pray as you're reading so that you can fully understand the text and hear God speak to you through it.

2. Let the children see you using your Bible in class.
If you must use your teacher's guide or lesson outline, go ahead and use it. But tuck it into your Bible so that anytime you are referring to it, you are also seen holding the open Bible. When you review your memory verse, do it from the Bible.

3. Have each child look up passages and memory verses in their own Bible
If your Sunday School kids are not in the habit of bringing their own Bibles to class, then have a set of classroom Bibles that the children can use. Before each lesson, make sure each child has a Bible in front of them and direct them to open up the Bible to the book where you'll be studying. Do the same when it's time to review your memory verse. Use Bible drills in class so that kids become familiar with where each book in the Bible is.

4. Use the Bible when counseling children
Whenever you give an invitation in class for children to accept Jesus as their Saviour, you want to have your Bible ready so that you can go through different passages and show that child exactly what it means to become a Christian. Consider giving that child their own Bible when they've made that decision so that they can begin to study it on their own and grow.