The Fundamentals

What are some of the most fundamental ideas outlined in the Bible? How about concepts like: 

Who is God?

Why do people exist?

What is the Bible?

Why do bad things happen?

What happens when we die?

Children are well-known for asking questions. Wouldn’t it be great to have some answers ready in advance?

At the end of studying the series, your children will have their own reference book for review.

This series of memory verses will focus on helping your children learn and understand fundamental biblical concepts, such as those above. These are taken directly from Scripture. For each “Fundamental,” we’ll suggest one or two scriptures for your children to memorize, along with ideas for corresponding activities to help them develop a deeper understanding of the concept and connect it to their own lives. By the end of this series, your child can have a firm foundation in the Word of God!

Before you begin, help your child get excited about this Bible study series by having him or her pick out a new notebook (and maybe even some fun new pens!) to be used as a special “Fundamentals Bible Study Journal.” At the end of studying the series, your children will have their own reference book for review.

Each “Fundamental” in our series will include a sample teaching plan accompanying a memory verse or verses. A brief overview of a general teaching plan is included here to help you organize your thoughts and approach as you prepare for this series with your children. 

 

Sample Teaching Plan 

Begin your study

Read the Fundamental summary statement with your child or children. Then introduce the Memory Scripture. 

Have your children write the scripture in their “Fundamentals Bible Study Journal” (depending on the age of your children, you could also have them cut and paste the summary statement in their journal). Invest some time in helping your children memorize the scripture. Perhaps introduce the scripture on a Monday, reviewing it daily or doing the interactions, and wrap up the study on a Friday. 

At the end of your study, have your children create and display a small “Scripture Poster” to put up somewhere in the house so that they will be able to read it every day. (At the end of this study series, you could have a memory scripture scavenger hunt around the house!)

Digging deeper interactions

Each Fundamental will include options for activities to complete with your child. These interactions are intended to help your child understand and retain each Fundamental being covered. Choose one or more of the suggested activities to bring out the deeper meaning of the memory scripture and Fundamental. 

Bible story

For some of the Fundamentals, a Bible story or character will be highlighted that connects with the Fundamental and Memory Scripture. Use the story and suggested corresponding lesson to discuss how the Memory Scripture and Fundamental are brought out in the story.

Bonus ideas

We include a bonus idea with each Fundamental in the series. Here are some others you and your children might enjoy:

• Sing a song! Create your own musical tune to go along with the Memory Scripture. Music is a great memorizing tool and can be a lot of fun. (For specific ideas, see Methods #9 and #10 from our Memorizing Scripture source “Methods for Learning and Remembering Scriptures.”) If applicable, you could also sing a hymn that connects to the scripture. 
• Write it out! Find fun ways to write out the scripture, such as using mirror markers to write it on the bathroom mirror, or chalk for writing outside on the sidewalk. 
• Get moving! Associating movement with our words is another great tool to help strengthen memorization. A couple of examples include jumping rope while saying the scripture or creating a “Scripture Hopscotch.” To do this, draw hopscotch boxes with chalk and write words or phrases from the scripture in each box. Roll a small stone, and for each hop have your child say the words of the scripture.
• Take a class! For older children and teens, have a Friday night Bible study as a family, listening to and discussing the “Fundamental Beliefs” class from Foundation Institute, available through foundationinstitute.org/online. Alternatively, you could listen to a sermon on the Fundamental.

Of course, these are only suggestions so please feel free to choose the methods that work best for you and your child. Before you begin any study with your children, remember to pray with them to ask for God’s guidance on the study. 

May you be inspired and more firmly rooted in Scripture as you teach your children the fundamentals.