Family bible study cheat sheet.

4 Tips to crushing your family bible study. (In a good way)

Families pursuing Jesus together is more important than ever. You might be a mom or a dad that is just trying to figure this out, you might be afraid or scared to mess it up. But you were born for this. This is what God called you to do. He will strengthen you, he will guide you. Trust him and just start. It's never too late. Let's go!

TIP #1

Lead like John Wick.

One of my favorite movies is John Wick. The reason I love John is because he has no powers. He can't fly, doesn’t have a super suit, or even a billion dollar bat-mobile. So you might be asking, if he doesn't have any of that then what makes him so great?

One of John’s enemies points out why John is so awesome in a quote, “He is a man of singular focus”. This means that there is only one exceptional thing about John, he is focused. If you are going to crush your family bible study. The first step is becoming a person of singular focus (you can do it to ladies).

So what should we become John Wick level focused on? John 15:26 tells us that one of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit is to testify to us about Jesus. What does this mean? This means that the Holy Spirit works to keep you and I focused on Jesus. Sounds simple but in a world filled to the brim with distraction this can be a tall order.

You are distracted all the time, we have billion dollar companies in America who make their money (and a lot of it) by providing daily distractions for you. These come in the form of TV shows, music, sports, social media and lots of other things, are these things bad? No. But if we allow them to distract us from Jesus then ultimately we are giving up what matters most for things that don't matter much. It is impossible to lead your family well when you are not focused on Jesus.

So what is our goal? Our first goal is to set our hearts and minds on Jesus. If having a legitimate family bible study is your goal, your first focus must be remaining centered and focused on Jesus and letting him lead you personally and then as a family, it is only then that you begin to develop the hunger for His word. A relentless focus on Jesus is the first step in starting a family bible study.

Good luck Mr.Wick.

TIP #2

Keep it simple.

When I graduated high school I took a gap year and flew to LA to attend the dream center leadership school, while there I was recruited to coach a high school boys basketball team. Basketball has always been my favorite sport, I love the fast pace, the crazy plays and constant action. But when I took over this team the first thing I noticed was that they were missing the fundamentals. Like a Mustang without gas, they looked good but when you pressed the throttle the car didn't move, we were losing games over simple things, dribbling, passing and shooting.

After several adjustments to our fundamentals, that team went on to win the championship that year. Why? Because we kept it simple, we focused on the basics and the basics win championships. Being able to dunk is cool but if you can't play defense you will never win a ball game.

In a family bible study it is the same way, maybe instead of trying to create the alley oop let's just work on walking and dribbling at the same time. Instead of trying to walk your kids through the book of Revelation, let's start small. Like John, that's a great book to start in. I hear parents all the time say, “I don't know enough” or “I don't feel worthy to lead this”. The problem with these statements is that they haven't used tip #1. Our first focus must be Jesus, once we focus on Jesus hard enough you begin to see that you don't need to know it all you only need to be willing to do what God asks you to do.

KEEP. IT. SIMPLE. Don’t overthink it.

TIP #3

Build a fence not a cage.

When I was a kid we had a dog named Luke. Luke wasn't your average dog. He was a 200 pound rottweiler with a temper. Luke could be fun and sweet but he was protective and not too fond of strangers. After a few minutes he would warm up to you but if you spooked him or entered the back yard without one of us as a guide, you were in for a whole nother side of this giant dog.

One time in particular I remember a guy coming to look at our AC unit (which happened to be in the backyard). Dad told the man to wait while he put Luke up, the guy shrugged off the warning with the old “I handle dogs every day. I'm sure he will be fine”. Before dad could stop him he hopped the fence and landed in the backyard, faster than you could blink Luke had the man on the ground screaming for help, we were finally able to pry Luke off of the man and luckily before the man received any serious injury.

Luke had a pen that he stayed in, the pen was designed with two areas, the first was the entire expanse of the backyard and the second was a smaller pin in the center of the yard, With Lukes size and strength getting out of the larger fence wasn't difficult so we reinforced the inner cage just in case we ever had to have people over or another poor air conditioner man. Why did we design the two cages? The outer one was designed as a fence to keep people out, we knew Luke could get out of it if he really wanted to but we hoped that it would keep other people from entering the backyard without our permission. The inner cage was designed to keep Luke in at all costs.

The first thing to really remember when it comes to creating a successful family bible study is that often as parents we try to create a cage to keep our children in, when actually a real family bible study is designed more like a fence to keep junk out, not necessarily to keep people in.

Our kids will never learn to enjoy bible study if it is built as a chore or a cage that keeps them from being a part of the world. Family bible study is a chance to talk and to dissect the things we experience in the world. As a kid some of the best conversations I ever had with my parents happened either during or directly after family bible study. Bible study was simple (Like rule #2) we never took more than an hour but in that hour I got the chance to ask questions, to challenge the status quo. Bible study was a chance for me to spread my wings not a cage that held me back.

You can design a bible study that does this for your family. If you have young kids make it simple and fun, if you have older kids let them ask questions, explore the craziness of the bible, find the fun stuff.

Build a fence that keeps junk out of your kids' lives, not a cage that traps them in an effort to keep them safe.

TIP #4

Make time for what matters most.

Focus and time with Jesus help us determine what matters most. But that won't force you to prioritize the important things over the non important things.

This final tip is short and sweet, focus is only half the battle, consistency and priority are the other half. As a parent, spouse or even just personally. The key to a great bible study is not the depth of the study but rather the focus and consistency that you bring to the table.

I heard an old pastor say once “Don't attribute to spirituality that which can be attributed too consistency and focus.”.