What do you think?
Rate this book
Telling God's Story: A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible
A new religion curriculum from the team that brought you The Story of the World . In this accessible and engaging book, Peter Enns (author of the controversial and best-selling Inspiration and Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament ) provides parents and teachers with a straightforward and intelligent twelve-year plan for teaching the Bible. Written for lay readers but incorporating the best scholarly insights, Telling God’s Story avoids sectarian agendas. Instead, Enns suggests beginning with the parables of the Gospels for the youngest students; continuing on with the more complex stories of the Old and New Testaments for middle grade students; and guiding high school students into an understanding of the history and culture of biblical times.
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
51 people are currently reading
773 people want to read
About the author
Peter Enns
76 books736 followersPeter Enns is Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias and is the author of several books, including Inspiration and Incarnation, The Evolution of Adam, and The Bible Tells Me So.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 19, 2015
I grew up in the church learning all the old Bible stories. I fondly recall hearing, over and over again, Jonah and the whale, Daniel and the Lions Den and so many more. I am forever grateful for what I learned as a child. Yet as I’ve moved into an adult faith, I see some of the problems in this sort of traditional Christian education.
First, the stories are sanitized. Since you are teaching children you cannot go into all the gruesome details. Second, any sort of understanding of the Bible as a grand narrative, a complete story, was missing. Along with this, how all those Bible stories relate to Jesus as the central figure is often absent. So we learn to see David as an example of faithfulness and trusting in God as he fights Goliath as Israel’s representative but do not go into how David points to his greater ancestor who fights the greater battle as humanity’s representative.
The question of how to teach the Bible to children has become more important to me as I now have my own kids. What is the best way to teach them the Bible?
Peter Enns has worked to answer this question. His book Telling God’s Story: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching the Bible serves as an introduction to a new type of curriculum. Basically, Enns argues that we focus solely on Jesus from grades 1-4. Then we get into the rest of the Bible in grades 5-8. Finally, in grades 9-12 we get into some of the problems and issues with the Bible story, the sort of thing scholars argue about.
I’ve long been a fan of Enns and his books have been greatly helpful to me. Last fall I read and enjoyed his book The Bible Tells Me So. In it he makes accessible much scholarly work on the Old Testament, just the sort of things that are not taught in Sunday school. One nagging thought I had as I read was how we teach this to children? My daughter has a bunch of story books about Noah – do we just teach them the story of Noah as kids and then hope when they are older they can accept that maybe the story did not happen exactly as the Bible said? Do we teach that Israel conquered the land and then later hope that when they learn a bit of what archaeologists say they do not just reject faith altogether, but instead just learn to read the story in a new way?
Obviously that book was not written to answer such questions. This book and curriculum, is. Enns’ answer seems to be that such questions will be discussed in high school, when kids have a foundation on what matters, Jesus.
I like it. I hope more churches adopt it.
First, the stories are sanitized. Since you are teaching children you cannot go into all the gruesome details. Second, any sort of understanding of the Bible as a grand narrative, a complete story, was missing. Along with this, how all those Bible stories relate to Jesus as the central figure is often absent. So we learn to see David as an example of faithfulness and trusting in God as he fights Goliath as Israel’s representative but do not go into how David points to his greater ancestor who fights the greater battle as humanity’s representative.
The question of how to teach the Bible to children has become more important to me as I now have my own kids. What is the best way to teach them the Bible?
Peter Enns has worked to answer this question. His book Telling God’s Story: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching the Bible serves as an introduction to a new type of curriculum. Basically, Enns argues that we focus solely on Jesus from grades 1-4. Then we get into the rest of the Bible in grades 5-8. Finally, in grades 9-12 we get into some of the problems and issues with the Bible story, the sort of thing scholars argue about.
I’ve long been a fan of Enns and his books have been greatly helpful to me. Last fall I read and enjoyed his book The Bible Tells Me So. In it he makes accessible much scholarly work on the Old Testament, just the sort of things that are not taught in Sunday school. One nagging thought I had as I read was how we teach this to children? My daughter has a bunch of story books about Noah – do we just teach them the story of Noah as kids and then hope when they are older they can accept that maybe the story did not happen exactly as the Bible said? Do we teach that Israel conquered the land and then later hope that when they learn a bit of what archaeologists say they do not just reject faith altogether, but instead just learn to read the story in a new way?
Obviously that book was not written to answer such questions. This book and curriculum, is. Enns’ answer seems to be that such questions will be discussed in high school, when kids have a foundation on what matters, Jesus.
I like it. I hope more churches adopt it.
September 8, 2014
"There is a big gap between what children tend to learn about the Bible in the early years, and how scripture is studied in later years, as children mature into adults."
Peter Enns and I are on the same page, here. Fifth grade was the point where my daughter began coming to me, expressing dissatisfaction with Bible class (which she had always before enjoyed). She had outgrown "Bible stories" as taught to children -- as she put it, "Mom. God told Noah to build the ark and Noah built the ark and put the animals on it and it rained for forty days and nights. I got it. But what's the POINT?" The focus was still on the basic events and a basic moral lesson ("Obey God") that she had already been taught. That's why I wrote Revealed in the New: Genesis -- to put those "Bible stories" in their larger context for her.
Then she hit teenage years, and oh my goodness. For some reason, we stop teaching our teens the Bible altogether. Right now, when our time is growing so short, it seems (if the available curriculum materials at the Bible bookstore are to be believed) that all we can think to give our teens is a list of rules: "Don't drink! Don't smoke! Don't dance! Don't hang out with badly behaved 'friends!' Don't use drugs! Don't have sex!" But the Bible is not a list of rules -- and teaching it that way doesn't ground our children in the Word in the way that they so desperately need, before they go into the world. As Enns says:
"The Bible tells the story of how God's people are delivered from death to life, and as a result are now called upon to live a life in harmony with that high calling....for us today, when we read the New Testament, what we see is a *portrait being painted for us of what a life in Christ looks like.* We are being given the vision of what a Christian life looks like.
"What is *not* addressed in the Bible are specifically modern situations. There is no Bible verse that will, either directly or indirectly, answer many of the questions that confront Christian families today: when do you begin dating? Is it okay to watch an R-rated movie? What kinds of books should your children read? What sort of education should they receive?"
It has been a long time since I have felt like a book deserved such a strong recommendation. This one does. Enns has a lot of important things to say about how we teach the Bible to our children, and how we could do it better. He puts into words a lot of what I have been trying to do in my own Bible studies, especially for young adults, where our area of greatest failing lies.
I say: ALL CHRISTIAN PARENTS SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
Peter Enns and I are on the same page, here. Fifth grade was the point where my daughter began coming to me, expressing dissatisfaction with Bible class (which she had always before enjoyed). She had outgrown "Bible stories" as taught to children -- as she put it, "Mom. God told Noah to build the ark and Noah built the ark and put the animals on it and it rained for forty days and nights. I got it. But what's the POINT?" The focus was still on the basic events and a basic moral lesson ("Obey God") that she had already been taught. That's why I wrote Revealed in the New: Genesis -- to put those "Bible stories" in their larger context for her.
Then she hit teenage years, and oh my goodness. For some reason, we stop teaching our teens the Bible altogether. Right now, when our time is growing so short, it seems (if the available curriculum materials at the Bible bookstore are to be believed) that all we can think to give our teens is a list of rules: "Don't drink! Don't smoke! Don't dance! Don't hang out with badly behaved 'friends!' Don't use drugs! Don't have sex!" But the Bible is not a list of rules -- and teaching it that way doesn't ground our children in the Word in the way that they so desperately need, before they go into the world. As Enns says:
"The Bible tells the story of how God's people are delivered from death to life, and as a result are now called upon to live a life in harmony with that high calling....for us today, when we read the New Testament, what we see is a *portrait being painted for us of what a life in Christ looks like.* We are being given the vision of what a Christian life looks like.
"What is *not* addressed in the Bible are specifically modern situations. There is no Bible verse that will, either directly or indirectly, answer many of the questions that confront Christian families today: when do you begin dating? Is it okay to watch an R-rated movie? What kinds of books should your children read? What sort of education should they receive?"
It has been a long time since I have felt like a book deserved such a strong recommendation. This one does. Enns has a lot of important things to say about how we teach the Bible to our children, and how we could do it better. He puts into words a lot of what I have been trying to do in my own Bible studies, especially for young adults, where our area of greatest failing lies.
I say: ALL CHRISTIAN PARENTS SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
August 2, 2014
This book is less a parents' guide to teaching the Bible (its subtitle) and more an explanation of what the Bible is - "a story of who God is and what he does to restore his world." Apparently there is a curriculum that goes with this book that gets more into the details of actual lessons and activities to do with kids, but I haven't read that yet.
I rated this three stars, but I wish I could rate parts of it a five and other parts of it a one. I agree with the author wholeheartedly when he reminds us that we should be careful about tossing out complex and intricate stories to our children and sanitizing them or reducing them to an application ("be like Daniel!"). He encourages parents to teach the Bible as one overarching story, explain about the different types of literature found in the Bible, affirm that there are gaps in the narrative and that it is ok to ask questions, and give historical context for the stories. Great. Five stars!
However, I give one star to this recommendation about teaching elementary-aged children: "What should not be emphasized is the child's miserable state of sin and the need for a savior." Children know they sin. They know they need a savior. I think helping them connect those two in the person of Jesus is the most important thing we can do as parents, and that following the lead of the Holy Spirit in that is a much better idea than following the recommendation of this author. I am genuinely curious as to why he does not think that is an age-appropriate topic.
The author tells parents to start with Jesus, not Genesis. Reading this book affirmed the reasons why I think "The Jesus Storybook Bible" is so wonderfully suited for teaching children: every story points to Jesus, the stories are explained in a way understandable to children, the stories are not reduced to an application, the people are not regarded as heroes, and God's plan to bring us back to him shines through on every page.
I rated this three stars, but I wish I could rate parts of it a five and other parts of it a one. I agree with the author wholeheartedly when he reminds us that we should be careful about tossing out complex and intricate stories to our children and sanitizing them or reducing them to an application ("be like Daniel!"). He encourages parents to teach the Bible as one overarching story, explain about the different types of literature found in the Bible, affirm that there are gaps in the narrative and that it is ok to ask questions, and give historical context for the stories. Great. Five stars!
However, I give one star to this recommendation about teaching elementary-aged children: "What should not be emphasized is the child's miserable state of sin and the need for a savior." Children know they sin. They know they need a savior. I think helping them connect those two in the person of Jesus is the most important thing we can do as parents, and that following the lead of the Holy Spirit in that is a much better idea than following the recommendation of this author. I am genuinely curious as to why he does not think that is an age-appropriate topic.
The author tells parents to start with Jesus, not Genesis. Reading this book affirmed the reasons why I think "The Jesus Storybook Bible" is so wonderfully suited for teaching children: every story points to Jesus, the stories are explained in a way understandable to children, the stories are not reduced to an application, the people are not regarded as heroes, and God's plan to bring us back to him shines through on every page.
July 9, 2019
I wanted to like this more than I actually did. The basic premise was decent, and I like that Enns has an approach that encourages an increasing level of nuance and understanding of what the Bible is (and isn't), but the whole thing is designed to start with 1st graders. Since this is a book for parents, and Enns himself has several children, I'm a little confused. Did his children all manifest at six years of age? Because I may be a liberal arts major, but I'm pretty sure that ages 0-6 are about a third of the time that parents have with their kids before they leave home at 18, and I'd like to have at least a few conversations with my child about our faith and how it intersects with the Bible in that time frame...
On the other hand, he didn't turn what was a longish pamphlet's worth of information into a bloated non-fiction book, which is a rare virtue these days, so kudos on that.
In summary, I think I'm just going to read one of his books for adults instead, because it felt like he had worthwhile things to say, but maybe wasn't entirely ready to talk about how to have these conversations with young children.
On the other hand, he didn't turn what was a longish pamphlet's worth of information into a bloated non-fiction book, which is a rare virtue these days, so kudos on that.
In summary, I think I'm just going to read one of his books for adults instead, because it felt like he had worthwhile things to say, but maybe wasn't entirely ready to talk about how to have these conversations with young children.
October 9, 2018
Excellent book. Honestly, it's a wonderful guide for adults in general, but Pete particularly breaks down the text for parents to teach kids. This is how the Bible should be taught. He gets caught up in no problems of authorship or dating, offers a great confessional reading with none of the BS of contemporary Christianity. Recommended to everyone!
February 2, 2019
Thought provoking read for parents who want to learn a way to teach their children about the Bible with a Christ-centered approach rather than chronological.
February 6, 2018
If you're a Christian parent and feel a little bit helpless or struggled what comes to passing the Christian tradition to your children, this book is an essential starting point to change the course.
Peter Enns challenges the usual approaches teaching the Bible to the children. In short, the traditional approaches that of (1) the Bible Story-approach, (2) the Character Study-approach, and/or (3) the Apologetic-approach simply fall down to picking up the Biblical stories more or less randomly depending of the approach (above), which then results in losing the sight of the big picture (metanarrative, if you will).
Many of the most thrilling stories are found in the Old Testament; however, as these 'small stories' are taken out of their larger narrative context, they easily turn to convey another message than originally planned. Some of these stories may accidentally be morphed (by the teacher) into neat kids-version narratives which lose their purpose not only in the context of the larger Biblical narration but the lives of children when they grow older. Now, by no means, it is suggested that the OT is not of importance, but quite on the contrary: A Christian should respect the fact that the Old Testament is theologically demanding narrative and not everyone is familiar with the nuances of it - and certainly important for growing in faith. However, considering how much effort it requires from an adult to grasp this all, it is important to ask the question: how much more demanding it would be for a child? Similar troubles affect the Character Study-approach too. Not many of the characters in the Old Testament are smooth examples of what it means to live according to God's will. Moreover, and to stress the point, their character is not the primary reason for why they are involved in the Biblical narrative anyway. Finally, neither should the Old Testament be turned into problem passages that need defending. That is not to say that there is no place for apologetics.
What are the essentials telling the God's story to our children, then? According Enns:
"The point of the Scripture is ultimately to introduce Jesus people to Jesus. He is what makes the Christian faith unique: not moral teaching, not Bible stories, but a man who was also God, who did and said amazing and challenging things, and who was dead but is no longer so. We hope for our children to know this Jesus- not to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible." (31)
After that, Enns gives his rather short depiction of the curriculum of teaching the Bible as God's Story for three different age groups of children (elementary, middle grades and high school).
The rest of the book aims to introduce and educate the parents of what is the Bible as God's story. It should be viewed as the basis and foundational idea from which both the parent and their children begin the journey with the new curriculum.
Finally, one should note Telling God's Story: A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible is first and foremost an introduction to the matter and a compelling one. More importantly, however, having bought and also used the Telling God's Story instructor text & teaching guides I can only recommend every Christian parent (and also Sunday school teachers) to continue on the way which Peter Enns has in this book described. It is worth it.
Peter Enns challenges the usual approaches teaching the Bible to the children. In short, the traditional approaches that of (1) the Bible Story-approach, (2) the Character Study-approach, and/or (3) the Apologetic-approach simply fall down to picking up the Biblical stories more or less randomly depending of the approach (above), which then results in losing the sight of the big picture (metanarrative, if you will).
Many of the most thrilling stories are found in the Old Testament; however, as these 'small stories' are taken out of their larger narrative context, they easily turn to convey another message than originally planned. Some of these stories may accidentally be morphed (by the teacher) into neat kids-version narratives which lose their purpose not only in the context of the larger Biblical narration but the lives of children when they grow older. Now, by no means, it is suggested that the OT is not of importance, but quite on the contrary: A Christian should respect the fact that the Old Testament is theologically demanding narrative and not everyone is familiar with the nuances of it - and certainly important for growing in faith. However, considering how much effort it requires from an adult to grasp this all, it is important to ask the question: how much more demanding it would be for a child? Similar troubles affect the Character Study-approach too. Not many of the characters in the Old Testament are smooth examples of what it means to live according to God's will. Moreover, and to stress the point, their character is not the primary reason for why they are involved in the Biblical narrative anyway. Finally, neither should the Old Testament be turned into problem passages that need defending. That is not to say that there is no place for apologetics.
What are the essentials telling the God's story to our children, then? According Enns:
"The point of the Scripture is ultimately to introduce Jesus people to Jesus. He is what makes the Christian faith unique: not moral teaching, not Bible stories, but a man who was also God, who did and said amazing and challenging things, and who was dead but is no longer so. We hope for our children to know this Jesus- not to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible." (31)
After that, Enns gives his rather short depiction of the curriculum of teaching the Bible as God's Story for three different age groups of children (elementary, middle grades and high school).
The rest of the book aims to introduce and educate the parents of what is the Bible as God's story. It should be viewed as the basis and foundational idea from which both the parent and their children begin the journey with the new curriculum.
Finally, one should note Telling God's Story: A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible is first and foremost an introduction to the matter and a compelling one. More importantly, however, having bought and also used the Telling God's Story instructor text & teaching guides I can only recommend every Christian parent (and also Sunday school teachers) to continue on the way which Peter Enns has in this book described. It is worth it.
May 21, 2017
Peter Enns rethinks how to teach the Bible to children. I think it is interesting that he would delay teaching stories like Noah's Ark until children are older and will grasp and grapple with the shocking implications of the story. With hindsight, it is rather peculiar the things we teach young children in a cartoony, happy clappy kind of way.
February 11, 2019
It's a nice short one evening read. I hesitated a bit between a 3 star and a 4 star. I really appreciate Enns' insistence that we read Scripture with "God's Big Picture" in mind. He repeats himself throughout the book driving home a few basic tenants of reading God's Word. He's all about cultural context. "What is this passage saying in the context of the book I am reading, and how would it have been heard in the ancient world?" He's also all about seeing the Bible as both a very divine and very human book. "In the same way that Jesus is both completely divine and human, the Bible also has divine and human dimensions; Jesus was fully divine and human. The Bible is ultimately from God, but every last word of it was written by human beings in certain places and historical settings." I also like his repeated emphasis that, "The whole point of Scripture is ultimately to introduce people to Jesus." How is this passage related to Jesus and why does this matter?
His main thrust is fairly reactionary to what he would see as an improper way of teaching children the Bible. I had a pretty hard time buying into all that he said on this front, but there were definitely some nuggets in there. He takes major issue with making the Old Testament narrative into nothing more than "Biblical character studies". He also takes issue with presenting the gospel to kids at a really early age and is very sensitive to the cultural/familial pressures of "accepting Jesus" or "becoming a Christian" before children have a grasp on basic foundational theology. His thoughts in this area I struggled with the most. Being a father of 4 young kids it has been a joy to get to explain, live out the basic gospel message to my kids in a variety of contexts. I don't feel any pressure to "Save" my kids. This is the work of God. Sure on one level redemption, salvation is so deep and profound but on another level it is simple enough for a child. God fashioned us. God cares about us more than we can imagine. He knows us. He sees us. He loves us. Let me tell you we are in trouble without Him. We are lost. We need him for LIFE. We need some heart surgery. We need an exchange. The great exchange. Jesus extends his GRACE to us when we need it most. It's not a one time deal. It's a relationship. As we believe in him, walk with him he invades our hearts and through us our communities. He brings his kingdom, his light to earth through all the little walking and talking temples of his children. After all he has tabernacled in us. He lives in us to bring his kingdom to earth. "Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven".
My main criticism of the Enns' book is that I think he has too low of a view of how intuitive kids really are. Even they can understand the most basic of truths in this world. We ought naught to underestimate them.
His main thrust is fairly reactionary to what he would see as an improper way of teaching children the Bible. I had a pretty hard time buying into all that he said on this front, but there were definitely some nuggets in there. He takes major issue with making the Old Testament narrative into nothing more than "Biblical character studies". He also takes issue with presenting the gospel to kids at a really early age and is very sensitive to the cultural/familial pressures of "accepting Jesus" or "becoming a Christian" before children have a grasp on basic foundational theology. His thoughts in this area I struggled with the most. Being a father of 4 young kids it has been a joy to get to explain, live out the basic gospel message to my kids in a variety of contexts. I don't feel any pressure to "Save" my kids. This is the work of God. Sure on one level redemption, salvation is so deep and profound but on another level it is simple enough for a child. God fashioned us. God cares about us more than we can imagine. He knows us. He sees us. He loves us. Let me tell you we are in trouble without Him. We are lost. We need him for LIFE. We need some heart surgery. We need an exchange. The great exchange. Jesus extends his GRACE to us when we need it most. It's not a one time deal. It's a relationship. As we believe in him, walk with him he invades our hearts and through us our communities. He brings his kingdom, his light to earth through all the little walking and talking temples of his children. After all he has tabernacled in us. He lives in us to bring his kingdom to earth. "Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven".
My main criticism of the Enns' book is that I think he has too low of a view of how intuitive kids really are. Even they can understand the most basic of truths in this world. We ought naught to underestimate them.
November 16, 2019
I love this book. It's very short, especially considering only half of the book is dedicated to the actual retelling of the "story" of the Bible. The first half, actually, details his approach to the Bible, and specifically, his approach to teaching the Bible developmentally to kids: beginning with an early focus on the gospels and life of Jesus, and then gradually introducing them to the larger story. And he really focuses on the need to see scripture as a story of God's effort to redeem mankind. He points out flaws in the "Defending the Bible," "Bible as a character study," and "Bible as a handbook" approaches (the latter which he famously details in The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It).
It's the second part that really made me love this book. He actually tells you the story, by his account, breaking it up into three acts (Creation, Fall, Redemption), the last act consisting of five scenes, and showing you how the books of the Bible relate to these. And while no telling of the story is perhaps "correct," this telling of the story made me excited–for perhaps the first time ever–to read the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. And almost two years later, I have come to love the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, because I see the larger picture of how it all relates and leads to Christ. That's the gift this book gives. I've met other great storytellers along the way (a prominent name among them being N.T. Wright, who also loves the "scripture as story" approach), but this little book is a great and quick version. I highly recommend it.
It's the second part that really made me love this book. He actually tells you the story, by his account, breaking it up into three acts (Creation, Fall, Redemption), the last act consisting of five scenes, and showing you how the books of the Bible relate to these. And while no telling of the story is perhaps "correct," this telling of the story made me excited–for perhaps the first time ever–to read the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. And almost two years later, I have come to love the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, because I see the larger picture of how it all relates and leads to Christ. That's the gift this book gives. I've met other great storytellers along the way (a prominent name among them being N.T. Wright, who also loves the "scripture as story" approach), but this little book is a great and quick version. I highly recommend it.
May 6, 2021
Pete does a great job giving a very high level and accessible framework of the whole Bible in a 100 pages, admittedly not an easy task. He also spends time talking about how we should/shouldn't think of the bible and how we should/shouldn't be teaching the bible especially to our kids (a very helpful discussion especially in present day America).
For example, doing character studies with younger kids of old testament biblical characters misses the point because it is too narrowly focused. However, if you can give kids (or anybody for that matter) a high level overview of the overarching biblical narrative and how it centers around the person of Jesus, they can be equipped to really understand the message of the Bible of what God is/has been doing since Abraham. This message is so much bigger than just a question of salvation and instructions on how to be a good person. The approach also leaves kids with a much more realistic view of what the Bible is that won't leave their faith vulnerable to questions as they get older.
I'd recommend this book to parents but also to anybody who has a fuzzy idea of what the whole Bible is all about and how it all works together (so pretty much everybody). Again, it's very high level, so if you want more content definitely check out the Bema podcast.
For example, doing character studies with younger kids of old testament biblical characters misses the point because it is too narrowly focused. However, if you can give kids (or anybody for that matter) a high level overview of the overarching biblical narrative and how it centers around the person of Jesus, they can be equipped to really understand the message of the Bible of what God is/has been doing since Abraham. This message is so much bigger than just a question of salvation and instructions on how to be a good person. The approach also leaves kids with a much more realistic view of what the Bible is that won't leave their faith vulnerable to questions as they get older.
I'd recommend this book to parents but also to anybody who has a fuzzy idea of what the whole Bible is all about and how it all works together (so pretty much everybody). Again, it's very high level, so if you want more content definitely check out the Bema podcast.
March 18, 2019
The message of the New Testament is this: You are ‘in Christ’ people, and that means you already have one foot in the future. You have a high calling. The power of the Spirit of Christ is at work in you, teaching you, loving you, rebuking you, carrying you if need be, so that in every area of your life you can be more like Jesus. You are called from darkness into light to be true image-bearers of God. Therefore, by God’s mercy, stop living in such a way that is opposite to that high calling. God has made you brothers and sisters with Christ; he is pleased with you, now go and live it.
A short primer on teaching the Bible to kids through grades 1-12. I really appreciated his approach which starts with Jesus and the gospels for grades 1-4, the grand narrative for 5-8 and historical context and apologetics for 9-12. This seems like a very practical approach and well suited to the world our kids are growing up in.
A short primer on teaching the Bible to kids through grades 1-12. I really appreciated his approach which starts with Jesus and the gospels for grades 1-4, the grand narrative for 5-8 and historical context and apologetics for 9-12. This seems like a very practical approach and well suited to the world our kids are growing up in.
June 28, 2020
I really like this book. As a progressive Christian, I was looking for an option to add the Spiritual Formation component to my future homeschooling curriculum. I prefer to teach other subjects secularly, separate from our faith element. This book explains the thought process and outline for teaching the Bible to children with the Telling God's Story curriculum. The curriculum is sold separately and it is intended to start at a 1st grade level. I am very happy with the Jesus first method of introducing the Bible. As a progressive Christian, I think I might find this still a bit conservative-leaning but nothing I can't work with. Reading this book early helped me form the best mindset to approach Christianity and Bible stories, etc., before we ever get to digging into the meat of it. I will reread to refresh myself when it is time to start the curriculum. It seems like it will be a great way to teach my child when the time comes.
August 12, 2025
Wow! Phenomenal book with clarity and simplicity on how to teach the Bible as a whole story instead of isolating it into “Bible stories”, character studies, or a moral rulebook.
“The Bible exists to reveal who God is, what he has done, and who we are as a result. The absolute center of all this is Jesus, who he was, what he did, and what he said.“
“The point of scripture is ultimately to introduce people to Jesus. We hope for our children to know this Jesus- not to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible.”
I love his intentionality and design for the curriculum that he presents in this book and I’m so excited to start it for our homeschool Bible curriculum. This book gave me a lot of confidence and clarity. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend to anyone teaching children in any capacity.
“The Bible exists to reveal who God is, what he has done, and who we are as a result. The absolute center of all this is Jesus, who he was, what he did, and what he said.“
“The point of scripture is ultimately to introduce people to Jesus. We hope for our children to know this Jesus- not to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible.”
I love his intentionality and design for the curriculum that he presents in this book and I’m so excited to start it for our homeschool Bible curriculum. This book gave me a lot of confidence and clarity. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend to anyone teaching children in any capacity.
March 15, 2021
A short, but excellent read (a solid 4.5). Enns tells a brief overview of the narrative of scripture, painting a beautiful picture of God's redemptive work in drawing us to Himself through Jesus. The first half describes an approach to sharing the Bible with our children, practically by content and age-range, and the second half tells this overarching narrative, stringing the redemption plan together through the different phases of the Bible. The beauty of this book is redirecting us as adults to the whole focus and point of scripture, the hope of the gospel through Jesus. This is the message and the hope we want to pass along to future generations, and Enns does a good job describing how to go about doing just that.
February 11, 2022
As a pastor with roughly 20 years of experience, I can tell you the brutal truth: most Christians don’t really read the Bible, don’t really understand the arc of the story it tells, and are terrified of helping their children wrestle with it.
I cannot recommend this small book highly enough. It suggests what I believe is a thoughtful and helpful philosophy for how to share the Bible with your kids at different ages AND gives one of the most thorough overviews of the whole Bible I have ever found in such a small and easy-to-digest volume.
Even for someone without children, this book would help them to gain a really great 30,000 foot view of the story that’s being told in the Scriptures and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. Highly, highly recommend.
I cannot recommend this small book highly enough. It suggests what I believe is a thoughtful and helpful philosophy for how to share the Bible with your kids at different ages AND gives one of the most thorough overviews of the whole Bible I have ever found in such a small and easy-to-digest volume.
Even for someone without children, this book would help them to gain a really great 30,000 foot view of the story that’s being told in the Scriptures and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. Highly, highly recommend.
December 3, 2025
It’s not every day one of your favorite theologians puts out a parenting book! This book went a long way in helping me with how to approach the Bible with my daughter. It’s very short and easy to comprehend. Here is a favorite quote.
“The Bible is not a book primarily devoted to what we should do. Instead, it is devoted to telling us who we are and how our behaviors should reflect that reality. If the Bible is primary a book of moral and principles, it comes much smaller — and much less applicable to the situations in which kids will find themselves as their lives become progressively more complicated. the Bible does not tell us about a religion that we practice; it points us to rebirth, a transformation, a whole new way of being.”
“The Bible is not a book primarily devoted to what we should do. Instead, it is devoted to telling us who we are and how our behaviors should reflect that reality. If the Bible is primary a book of moral and principles, it comes much smaller — and much less applicable to the situations in which kids will find themselves as their lives become progressively more complicated. the Bible does not tell us about a religion that we practice; it points us to rebirth, a transformation, a whole new way of being.”
August 7, 2020
I really like his method of introducing kids to the Bible. It's more focused on teaching young kids about Jesus first rather than starting in the Old Testament. His reasoning is that Jesus is foundational and more understandable to young children than some of the rest of the Bible, which has a lot of cultural and background knowledge to really understand. I'm interested in buying the curriculum (at least for elementary age) for more info. This book was really just a basic introduction.
April 23, 2024
Every parent should read this book. Wow. It’s so simple but so important. I really appreciate the focus on what parts of God’s story are appropriate for each age, and why. I really have been questioning how to approach Bible truths in a way that feels genuine to me but also doesn’t add confusion and potential cognitive dissonance for my child. This right here puts me at ease.
I’m definitely going to buy the curriculum that goes with it.
I’m definitely going to buy the curriculum that goes with it.
January 13, 2023
An easily accessible introduction to teaching the Bible to kids. I appreciated that it steers away from a heavy-handed, legalistic, overly-literal (and frankly, often brittle) approach, and also warns against the issues of emphasizing Bible stories and character studies at the expense of the actual story of Jesus and His Kingdom breaking into the world.
December 7, 2023
This is a great resource to simply explain to your children the message of the Bible. It's also a simple way of explaining the overarching message of the Bible for adults. The Bible is not a "Christian owners manual" but "God's story" .. so what does it tell us about who HE is? I found it a very refreshing way to look at scripture.
January 21, 2020
The idea of this book is wonderful, but it doesn’t deliver on what it promises. There are very few practical strategies or approaches; it’s mostly a critique of other ways of reading the Bible.
January 22, 2020
An Excellent, paradigm shifting primer about how to teach scripture to children geared for parents.
February 6, 2021
This was simple and clear, an excellent and refreshing look at why we teach the Gospel to our children.
March 24, 2021
Short little how-to on Pete Enns's method for teaching Scripture to kids. First half is the how, second half is the what. Does exactly what it sets out to do.
July 30, 2015
"Growing in faith is not a contest or part of a daily to-do list," writes Peter Enns. "It is a journey that all Christians are on. Your children have the privilege of beginning that journey under your care and love. Yes, that is a serious responsibility for parents (hence, the anxiety involved). But it is also a joy and a calling that can be heard echoing through the pages of Scripture. As far back as Exodus, when Moses is giving the instructions for the celebration of Passover, he adds “And when your children ask you ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them...” (Exodus 12:26).
This small volume (99 pages) aids parents in this task. After acknowledging the challenges and explaining what the Bible is and is not, Enns lays out a plan for introducing biblical content at levels appropriate for different age groups. At the elementary level, he begins not with Genesis but with Jesus; and not with emphasis on Jesus's death and our salvation but on who he was and what he did and said. In the intermediate years, children are shown the bigger picture; and in high school, they explore in greater depth the Bible in its ancient settings.
Enns devotes a chapter to three traditional approaches: the "Bible story," "character study," and "defending the Bible" approaches. While he does not totally discredit these approaches, he points out drawbacks and potential pitfalls of each that could lead a child to discard the faith entirely upon reaching an age when he must wrestle with the inevitable questions that arise in today's world.
Part Two provides an overview of God's story for parents who may be familiar with Biblical content but lack clear sense of its unifying purpose. For some it may just be a review, but it is still useful for its clarity and brevity.
Enns writes: "I hope that the pattern laid out here will help you develop a real sense of purpose and excitement at the prospect of teaching your children the Christian faith to which our Scripture bears witness." Although my own window of opportunity has come and gone, I recommend this book to young Christian parents as one that delivers what it promises in an enjoyable, highly readable form. While it stands on its own, it also serves as an introductory volume for a fully developed "Telling God's Story" curriculum available from Olive Branch Books.
This small volume (99 pages) aids parents in this task. After acknowledging the challenges and explaining what the Bible is and is not, Enns lays out a plan for introducing biblical content at levels appropriate for different age groups. At the elementary level, he begins not with Genesis but with Jesus; and not with emphasis on Jesus's death and our salvation but on who he was and what he did and said. In the intermediate years, children are shown the bigger picture; and in high school, they explore in greater depth the Bible in its ancient settings.
Enns devotes a chapter to three traditional approaches: the "Bible story," "character study," and "defending the Bible" approaches. While he does not totally discredit these approaches, he points out drawbacks and potential pitfalls of each that could lead a child to discard the faith entirely upon reaching an age when he must wrestle with the inevitable questions that arise in today's world.
Part Two provides an overview of God's story for parents who may be familiar with Biblical content but lack clear sense of its unifying purpose. For some it may just be a review, but it is still useful for its clarity and brevity.
Enns writes: "I hope that the pattern laid out here will help you develop a real sense of purpose and excitement at the prospect of teaching your children the Christian faith to which our Scripture bears witness." Although my own window of opportunity has come and gone, I recommend this book to young Christian parents as one that delivers what it promises in an enjoyable, highly readable form. While it stands on its own, it also serves as an introductory volume for a fully developed "Telling God's Story" curriculum available from Olive Branch Books.
June 30, 2014
Very interesting approach to teaching scripture to young people. I like the idea of avoiding the flat and thin character studies and well worn-and often misleading-children's stories that come from trying to teach the adult content of the Old Testament to kids. Enns argues that we need to start with Jesus first and work back from that as kids grow more mature. The final part where Enns outlines in broad terms the story of the Bible is also interesting and challenging even if it ends up being a rather straightforward orthodox understanding of the Gospel (not that that is a bad thing); albeit one based on a foundation of narrative based on the story of God's interaction with His people.
September 1, 2015
Easy read finished in a few days, really great birds eye view of the bible to prep you for this curriculum which we have just started and so far were loving it :) it is different from the majority of kids biblical studies curriculum in that he focuses on Christ for the first 4 years , explaining that Jesus is the point of our faith and we will build a firm foundation with what is the central message (and age appropriate) and then build off of that in later years with more complex history that led up to our need for redemption.
April 11, 2012
Read because I was curious what Peace Hill Press offered in terms of religious education. Enns makes some good points thoroughly adaptable to LDS faith -- more so than I was expecting. Worth a look for homeschool parents seeking to add a religious component to their curriculum.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews