A Wonderful Online Bible Resource

I recently stumbled upon a really awesome family devotion resource at http://www.hometooling.org/. Written by Mark Allen, a church planter and pastor and currently a doctoral student in Hebrew Bible, Hometooling provides learning guides that Christian families can use for Bible study. His desire is to bring children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, equip parents with the tools they need to fulfill their responsibility in leading their children, strengthen family bonds by encouraging family devotions, and help Christian parents build their own understanding of Scripture.

These learning guides look really fun. Designed for elementary-aged children, they require little prep time and are geared for a 10-20 minute time slot. You can go at your own pace, and either use the guides as an outline for your own discussion, or follow the scripted words until you feel comfortable using your own approach.

So far there are six learning guides: the first five books of the Bible (known as the Pentateuch), and the Gospel of Mark. Each book’s study guide has a synopsis of the message contained in it, a listing of overriding themes, a very short outline (two or three phrases) to tell you what to expect, key verses for memorization, how to connect Jesus with what you’re reading (in the case of the Old Testament guides), and two or three life lessons for application.

If you’re wondering how to make family devotions stimulating and enriching, check these learning guides out. The one on Numbers alone is worth the price of admission (FREE by the way!). Known for its long lists of census counts and family genealogy, it can be a little dry to get through.

With questions to guide your interaction with your child, ways of prompting memorization, and activities to bring the message home, Numbers will seem like a breeze. Your child will have such an amazing knowledge of the tribes of Israel and such a deep understanding of God’s intentions for His people, that you’ll be blown away by it. And just think what others will say when your child starts quoting Numbers!

Family devotions and Bible reading are meant to be fun, engaging and enriching. Mark Allen’s Hometooling learning guides hit all three marks. See if I’m wrong!

Update 6/21/08 - family devotion guide on Book of Matthew slated for completion end of summer 2008 (Mark Allen says, "It'll be the longest and, I believe, the best study.")