In Jesus Name, Amen: The Most Powerful Words You Can Say

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A gospel shaped parent or grandparent is a praying person because there is the recognition that we are powerless to change a heart and are completely dependent upon God. I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 1:2, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.”

The most powerful words you can ever say on behalf of your family are the words, “In Jesus name, Amen.” Share on X

The most powerful words you can ever say on behalf of your family are the words, “In Jesus name, Amen.” There are plenty of excuses not to pray such as busyness, short attention span, or lack of desire. If you are not praying daily for your children, grandchildren and future generations, then may these voices from the past encourage you to make prayer a priority:

  • “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” John Wesley
  • “No duty is more earnestly impressed upon us in Scripture than the duty of continual communion with Him.” David McIntyre
  • “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” Oswald Chambers
  • “Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarecely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication.” Charles Spurgeon
  • “Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.”  D.L. Moody
  • “The greatest tragedy in life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” F.B. Meyer
  • “The devil is aware that one hour of close fellowship, hearty converse with God in prayer, is able to pull down what he hath been contriving and building many a year.” John Flavel
  • “There is no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of Christ as by prayer.” Jonathan Edwards
  • “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes, and the business of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray!” Martin Luther
  • “Search for a person who claims to have found Christ apart from someone else’s prayer, and your search may go on forever.” E. Bauman

Blessed is the child or grandchild that has a praying parent and grandparent. What families need today are not new and novel methods, but people who are mighty in prayer. God is able to do immeasurable more than we imagine. Through prayer God can transform the hardest heart or restore the most challenging relationship.

Teaching Children to Read the Bible

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One of the priorities every parent should have early in the life of their child is to see their child treasure the Bible and read it daily. The Bible is unlike any other book in three ways.

First, it informs. The Bible reveals who God is and answers all of life’s questions. The Bible provides everything we need for life and faithfulness to God.

Second, it transforms. The Bible changes people from idol-worshipping, self-indulgent, evil-intoxicated sinners to Jesus-worshipping, others-centered, righteous-imputed saints. Of course, this happens through faith in Christ, but it is the Bible that is alive and active and brings us into contact with Jesus.

Third, it conforms. We are not free to live however we choose. The Bible demands holiness, tells us how to live, and determines what is true and right. The Bible is our measuring stick. We want our children to read the Bible because we want our children to know God, be changed by him, and follow his ways. We want our children to read the Bible because we want our children to know God, be changed by him, and follow his ways. Share on X

If that were not enough to convince you, Psalm 119 provides plenty of reasons to read the Bible:

  • To receive blessings (119:1)
  • To know God’s laws (119:1)
  • To walk rightly before the Lord (119:3)
  • To fix their eyes on God and his commandments rather than the fleeting idols of our day (119:6)
  • To learn God’s righteous rules (119:7)
  • To live a life of purity (119:9)
  • To avoid wandering from God (119:10)
  • To memorize God’s word so as not to sin against him (119:11)
  • To meditate on God’s precepts (119:15)
  • To delight in God and his statutes (119:16)

What parent would not want these ten things for their child? We are responsible to read and explain the Bible to our children and to direct our children to its pages. Paul tells us that children should be acquainted with the Bible from their earliest possible days (2 Tim. 3:15).

Here are three books to help you teach a child to read the Bible:

How to Study Your Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur and Janna Arndt. We’ve used this book with our children and have found it helpful. Children will be introduced to inductive Bible study by becoming a detective and solving the mystery of how to study the Bible. The book introduces basic concepts such as observation, interpretation, and application and is designed as a workbook. Children learn to apply the principles as they work through a study of the book of Titus.

Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids by David Murray. Our kids have enjoyed this book. It’s designed for grade school aged children and leads them through the Bible one day at a time over the course of a year. It’s designed as a workbook and will help children understand God’s story.

100 Days of Bible Reading by David Murray. A Bible reading plan for kids that is simple, systematic, and short. Options include the book of Genesis or Matthew, which are broken down into two or three part series. Each book has a simple layout which includes a reading for each day of the week, a short reading of three to five verses, one question, and a space to write a note.

Gospel-Centered, Bible-Based Children’s Ministry Curriculum

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The Gospel Story for Kids

The Gospel Story for Kids is written by Marty Machowski and published by New Growth Press.

Because children need help understanding that the Bible is one story with Jesus as the hero, the Gospel Story Curriculum Old and New Testaments focuses on Christ and his gospel as it teaches preschool through sixth-grade children 156 key stories from Genesis to Revelation that highlight God’s plan of redemption. This unique three-year curriculum grows with children by exploring the same Bible stories at three different learning levels, presenting the material in a fresh way each time to help children grow in their understanding of the Bible.

I used this curriculum as a pastor and I give it my highest endorsement. In addition, there are companion books called The Long Story Short and The Old Story New that are excellent tools for family devotionals. We have used these resources with our family and essentially they are a Bible reading plan with discussion questions.

Rooted Kids

I wrote Rooted Kids Curriculum while I was a pastor at Grace Church of Eden Prairie.

Rooted Kids curriculum is a gospel-centered curriculum based on core truths of the Bible for kindergarten through sixth grade. The core-truths curriculum presents the world’s big lie and the Bible’s big truth for each lesson. Excellent for Wednesday evening programming as it is broken up into small teaching units that last from four to fifteen weeks. Numerous curriculum series have matching music by Rooted Kids Worship, which integrates music, message, and memorization to teach the core truths of God’s word.

Treasuring Christ

Treasuring Christ was developed by Steve Wright and members of his ministry team at Providence Baptist Church.

Treasuring Christ is a comprehensive curriculum delivered online for preschool through high school that strengthens children and families by teaching them the gospel from Genesis to Revelation. The gospel-centered curriculum allows every child, birth through high school, to study the same Scripture passage each week and equip parents to thrive in their God-given roles as their child’s primary disciple, thereby, connecting the church and the home. We provide a weekly take home resource that encourages parents to help their children prepare for the upcoming week’s lesson.

The Gospel Project for Kids

The Gospel Project is published by Lifeway.

The Gospel Project for Kids immerses kids and preschoolers in the gospel through every story, theological concept, and call to mission from Genesis to Revelation. Ultimately, the gospel message changes everything; heart transformation can only take place when a child experiences the gospel. Through The Gospel Project for Kids, kids and preschoolers will understand the Bible is not just a collection of stories, but one unified story—God’s story of redemption.

The curriculum is based around big truths that children will learn, is three years long, and can coordinate with a similar curriculum for students and adults so that the entire church is learning the same thing. Comes with excellent videos that I use the overview video in the link above to train staff, teachers, and parents. Excellent curriculum.

Abby, Would You Talk To My Kid For Me?!

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My name is Abby and I’ve been speaking to young people on Biblical sexuality for over 15 years. When I came on staff with The Navigators in 2011, my target audience was kids 12-18 years old. I spoke at schools, churches, retreats, camps – you name it, I would speak there! About a year later, I started receiving requests to speak to parents….I thought to myself, “I’m not a parent. What do I have to share with them?” Then God told me: I have a powerful testimony, a talent to communicate tough stuff in a tactful yet honest way, the time to research/read everything I could get my hands on regarding Biblical sexuality and I loved creating tools parents could use at home to talk with their kids about sexuality. So I courageously stepped up and began speaking to parents. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my primary audience needed to shift from young people to their parents. Why?! As much as youth were engaged when I spoke and soaked in much of what I taught, they needed these critical messages drip-fed over the course of their entire upbringing; they needed their parents to be their primary influence! Unfortunately, even after hearing me present, parents would come up to me and ask (with hope in their eyes) if I would come home and talk to their kid for them. This was something I obviously couldn’t do but something they were called by God to do.

The question was and still remains, are parents ready to step in and train their children on Biblical sexuality? Unfortunately, when it comes to shaping their children’s view on sexuality, most (not all!) parents don’t feel equipped to fulfill their God-given role as shepherd and teacher. This reality birthed a vision in my heart – to create a “hub” parents could turn to for everything related to teaching their kids about Biblical sexuality. In 2015, my film series Sex by Design: Unpacking the Purpose and Practice of Purity was published and endorsed by four national leaders, including Josh McDowell. It is a 7-part teaching series (I’m going home with you in a sense!) that is accompanied by a parent guidebook and teen guidebook to foster consistent and ongoing conversations. You see, my mission is not to replace you but rather assist you as you assist your kids in building a Biblical worldview on sexuality. If I do my job right, my film series, blog posts and speaking events will serve as a springboard for personal reflection, rich conversation with your kids or a combination of the two. So, let’s dive in and see what God has planned!

Reflect and Respond:

  • Read and reflect on Deuteronomy 6. What is God’s instruction to parents about bringing up their children?
  • Read and reflect on Psalm 78:1-7. What do you take away from this passage?
  • Is there something in particular that holds you back from fulfilling your God- given role as parent and shepherd of your children? Ask the Lord to reveal a lie you might believe, a stronghold that may have been planted in your heart or a past experience in your life that could be the key to unleashing you to fulfill your purpose as a parent.