Note to Parents: When we consistently use a “God-sized” lens to share God’s Word with our family, it broadens our children’s understanding of who God is and how He acts in our world. It also changes how our children view themselves, their blessings, and their purpose.

Sharing the Bible with our children through a “God-sized” lens does not have to be difficult. It just requires that we consistently frame every story with these truths:

• God is the main character of every story.
• God is always at work to make Himself known.
• God blesses His people for a greater purpose that includes others.

Bible Time Tip:

As your family explores God’s Word together, use visuals to reinforce the idea that the Bible is one continuous story. For older children, use a Bible timeline to locate where the events you are discussing fit into the overall scope of God’s story. For young children, hang a long string on a wall or lay it on the floor during your family Bible time. Use tape, paper clips, or clothespins to attach simple pictures of Bible characters as you discuss them. Keep characters from past stories on the string and attach new ones in the order they appear in God’s story. Your children may enjoy drawing their own characters!

Family Bible Activity:

Bible Story:

Trapped between Pharaoh’s approaching army and the Red Sea, the Israelites cried out in terror. Through Moses, God performed a miracle that allowed His people to cross over on dry land. The parting of the Red Sea not only demonstrated God’s mighty power to the Egyptians, but also to Canaanites who would still be telling the story of Israel’s God 40 years later when Joshua sent spies into Jericho.

Grab your Bible, timeline or string, and gather your family. Say, “In this part of God’s story, the Israelites are in Egypt.” Use earlier Bible characters on the timeline or string, like Jacob and Joseph, to explain how the Israelites ended up in Egypt. Say, “About 400 years after Joseph, God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.” Locate Moses on the timeline or attach a picture of him to your string. Read Exodus 14:10-18, 21-31 together. Then do the following related activity.

Family Activity:

You will need: bucket, tub, sink, or small pool

Fill your container with water. Challenge your children to part the water. Be creative–use hands, tools, containers, or toys. Discuss what kind of power it would take to part the Red Sea. Ask your children how God blessed the Israelites. 

Use a “God-sized” lens to identify God’s greater purpose for this miracle. Re-read Exodus 14:18 and talk about what the Egyptians learned about God. Explain that news of this miracle spread thousands of miles to Canaan. Read Joshua 2:10-11. Discuss what the Canaanite people in Jericho learned about Israel’s God. Then pray that God would demonstrate His power in your family in a way that draws unbelievers to Himself.

(This Bible story activity is framed with a “God-sized” lens. For more stories and activities shared through a “God-sized” lens, download One Big Story for free!)