"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house."
Deuteronomy 6:7 · King James Bible
Why bother
A family that reads the Bible and prays together for ten minutes a day has more spiritual formation in a year than most churches provide in a decade. It does not need to be elaborate. It does not need to be perfect. It needs to be regular.
The shape of ten minutes
1. Light a candle (30 seconds). A small physical signal that this time is different from the rest of the day.
2. Read one short passage aloud (2 minutes). One psalm, one Gospel scene, one paragraph of an epistle. That is enough.
3. Ask one question (3 minutes). Not a lecture. Not a curriculum. One question. See the list below.
4. Pray a short prayer (2 minutes). One thanksgiving. One sorry. One request. That is all it needs to be.
5. Blow out the candle (30 seconds). Amen.
A month of readings — one week per Gospel
Week 1 — Matthew 5 (the beatitudes) · Matthew 6 (the Lord's Prayer) · Matthew 8 (the storm) · Matthew 13 (parables) · Matthew 25 (the sheep and the goats).
Week 2 — Mark 1 (the beginning) · Mark 4 (the seed) · Mark 5 (the daughter of Jairus) · Mark 10 (let the children come) · Mark 16 (he is risen).
Week 3 — Luke 2 (the nativity) · Luke 10 (the good Samaritan) · Luke 15 (the lost sheep, coin, son) · Luke 19 (Zacchaeus) · Luke 24 (the Emmaus road).
Week 4 — John 1 (the Word) · John 3 (Nicodemus) · John 6 (the bread) · John 11 (Lazarus) · John 20 (the empty tomb).
The one question — twelve you can rotate
1. What did God do in this passage?
2. What did people do?
3. Who is speaking, and to whom?
4. What word or phrase stood out to you?
5. What does this teach us about Jesus?
6. What does it teach us about ourselves?
7. Is there anything hard about it?
8. Is there anything to obey today?
9. Is there anything to be thankful for?
10. Who does this passage remind you of?
11. If you could ask God one thing about it, what would it be?
12. What will you carry from this into tomorrow?
For small children
Skip the one-question step; ask them to draw the story. Their drawing is their answer.
The one-line rule
Ten minutes. One passage. One question. One prayer. If you do this five nights a week for a year, your children will not remember the exact readings. They will remember: we read the Bible together, every evening, in the light of one candle. That memory will hold them their whole lives.