Resources for Devotions

We have used lots of different devotional materials with our children over the years. Here are some of our favorites:

The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos is a great Bible for reading aloud to your children. We usually read out of the NIV, but we have enjoyed using this Bible, too, especially for Old Testament stories. It is meaty enough for older children, yet the stories are written simply enough for younger ones to understand, so it is perfect for families to read together.

We are currently using Balancing the Sword for our morning devotions. There are two volumes, and each volume has several factual questions for every single chapter in the Bible. The questions can be answered from the passage, and there aren’t any interpretation questions included. Everything has a concrete answer from the passage. Our kids are learning to listen carefully to the passage so they can answer the questions afterward.

Window on the World is a great prayer atlas for kids. We have been using the older version of the same book for many years. This book will help your kids learn about people in other countries, and guide them with prayer requests.

We like to study the catechism with our kids, too. The catechism is a way for children to be able to learn the basic tenets of theology. Too many in the church do not understand even the basics of the Christian faith. Teaching the catechism is one way to ratify this. We have used Teaching Hearts, Training Minds with our oldest child and Big Truths for Little Kids with our younger ones. We don’t always do catechism devotionals. Sometimes we just memorize portions of the catechism and talk about them, using the Westminster Shorter Catechism for our oldest and The First Catechism for Children for our children ages 2-8. Both the Shorter Catechism and the First Catechism for Children can be bought from Great Commission Publications for about $1 apiece.

Another book I like for teaching theology to young children is Leading Little Ones to God by Schooland. This book has several units covering topics such as Creation, God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Each unit has a several two-page chapters.

We have read Helen Taylor’s Little Pilgrim’s Progress twice through for devotions, and I have no doubt that we will read it again one day. It is a family favorite. Each chapter is just 2 or 3 pages long, so it is easily implemented. The children always beg for more, but there is enough application in this story, which is based on John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, to encouarge mom and dad, too!

For our Scripture memory we are using the Foundation Verses and the Fighter Verses from Desiring God Ministries. They sell small metal knights to give out when children meet memory goals and our boys love earning these.