Week 1
In the beginning
Read together: Genesis 1
How to read it: Read the chapter slowly, stopping at the end of each day. Let someone name what God made before you go on.
Memory verse: Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Talk:
- What does “In the beginning God” tell us before we know anything else?
- Why does the chapter keep saying, “and God saw that it was good”?
- How should a family talk about the world if God made it?
Pray: Give thanks that we live in a world God made and called good. Ask for hearts that worship the Maker, not the work.
Children’s lesson: God Made the World (Genesis 1)
Week 2
The first man and woman
Read together: Genesis 2:7–25; 3:1–15, 21
How to read it: Read the making of Adam and Eve first, then the temptation. Do not rush past God’s question, “Where are you?”
Memory verse: Genesis 1:27 — So God created man in his own image… male and female he created them.
Talk:
- What did God give Adam and Eve, and what one thing did He withhold?
- How did the serpent treat God’s word?
- What hope is hidden in Genesis 3:15?
Pray: Confess that we have sinned. Thank God for seeking sinners and for the promised Seed.
Children’s lesson: Adam and Eve (Genesis 2–3)
Week 3
Grace in a violent world
Read together: Genesis 6:5–22; 7:1–7; 8:20–22; 9:8–17
How to read it: Read the reason for the flood, then Noah’s obedience, then the altar and the bow. Keep both judgment and grace in view.
Memory verse: Genesis 6:8 — But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Talk:
- What was in man’s heart, and what was in God’s eyes toward Noah?
- What does Noah’s careful obedience (“Noah did this”) teach a household about faith?
- What is the bow in the cloud meant to remind us of?
Pray: Ask for grace to walk with God when the world is loud. Thank Him that He keeps covenant.
Children’s lesson: Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6–9)
Week 4
A man who believed God
Read together: Genesis 12:1–7; 15:1–6; 22:1–14
How to read it: Read the call, the stars, and the mount in three sittings if need be. Let Romans 4 wait until the children know the story.
Memory verse: Genesis 15:6 — And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Talk:
- What did Abram leave, and what had he not yet seen?
- Why does Scripture stop to say that he believed God?
- What did Abraham learn about the LORD on the mount?
Pray: Ask for a believing heart when God’s promise is clearer than the path.
Children’s lesson: Abraham Believes God (Genesis 12, 15, 22)
Week 5
Forgiveness in a family
Read together: Genesis 37:3–28; 39:1–6, 20–23; 45:1–8; 50:15–21
How to read it: You will not finish every chapter in one night. Tell the thread: hated, sold, faithful, raised, and forgiving.
Memory verse: Genesis 50:20 — As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…
Talk:
- Where was the LORD when Joseph was in the pit and in the prison?
- What is the difference between what the brothers meant and what God meant?
- Whom do we still treat as if we sat in the place of God?
Pray: Ask for courage to do right when unseen, and for grace to forgive those who meant harm.
Children’s lesson: Joseph Forgives His Brothers (Genesis 37–50)
Week 6
The LORD brings His people out
Read together: Exodus 3:1–14; 12:21–27; 14:10–31
How to read it: Read the bush, then the passover mark if you have time, then the sea. Let the children hear “I AM THAT I AM.”
Memory verse: Exodus 14:14 — The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
Talk:
- What name did God give Moses at the bush?
- What stood in front of Israel, and what came behind?
- Who gets the glory when the waters part?
Pray: Praise the LORD who still saves. Ask for faith to go forward when He says go.
Children’s lesson: Moses and the Red Sea (Exodus 2–14)
Week 7
Trust and obey at Jericho
Read together: Joshua 1:1–9; 6:1–20
How to read it: Read the charge to Joshua first—“be strong and of a good courage”—then the strange march.
Memory verse: Joshua 6:16 — Shout, for the LORD has given you the city.
Talk:
- Whose word made the plan, and whose strength took the city?
- Why might six silent days have been hard?
- What command of God looks ordinary—or odd—to us right now?
Pray: Ask for courage that comes from God’s presence, not from our own noise.
Children’s lesson: Joshua and Jericho (Joshua 6)
Week 8
Your God my God
Read together: Ruth 1; 2:1–12; 4:13–17
How to read it: Read chapter 1 in full. Ruth’s vow should be heard slowly. Then a taste of the field and the genealogy.
Memory verse: Ruth 1:16 — Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Talk:
- What losses had Naomi already borne?
- What did Ruth choose besides a road and a mother in law?
- How does kindness in a barley field fit the work of God?
Pray: Thank God for ordinary faithfulness. Ask to choose Him when going back would be easier.
Children’s lesson: Ruth Chooses God (Ruth)
Week 9
Hannah prays; Samuel listens
Read together: 1 Samuel 1:9–28; 3:1–21
How to read it: Read Hannah’s prayer and the lending of the child, then the night the LORD called Samuel.
Memory verse: 1 Samuel 3:10 — Speak, for your servant hears.
Talk:
- What did Hannah want, and what did she do when God answered?
- Why did Samuel keep running to Eli?
- How can our house practice “Speak, for your servant hears” this week?
Pray: Pray with Hannah’s earnestness and Samuel’s hearing heart. Ask that the word of the LORD not be rare in this house.
Children’s lesson: Hannah Prays and Samuel Listens (1 Samuel 1–3)
Week 10
The battle is the LORD’s
Read together: 1 Samuel 17:20–50
How to read it: Do not skip David’s words to Goliath. The point is the name of the LORD of hosts, not the size of the stone.
Memory verse: 1 Samuel 17:47 — …the battle is the LORD’s.
Talk:
- What were Saul and Israel doing while the giant spoke?
- Why did David refuse the king’s armour?
- What did David want all the earth to know?
Pray: Confess fear. Ask to trust the living God rather than the tools in our hands.
Children’s lesson: David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
Week 11
If the LORD be God, follow Him
Read together: 1 Kings 18:17–39
How to read it: Read the question to the people, the silence of Baal, and Elijah’s short prayer. Stop at the confession.
Memory verse: 1 Kings 18:21 — How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him.
Talk:
- What does it mean to halt between two opinions?
- Why did Elijah soak the offering?
- What did the people cry when the fire fell?
Pray: Ask for an undivided heart. Name any “other god” that competes for this family’s trust.
Children’s lesson: Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18)
Week 12
For such a time as this
Read together: Esther 4; 5:1–8; 7:1–10
How to read it: Read Mordecai’s charge and Esther’s fast before the banquet. God’s name is not printed here; His care still is.
Memory verse: Esther 4:14 — And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Talk:
- What risk did Esther take, and why?
- What did she ask the Jews to do first?
- Where has God placed you to do good you would rather avoid?
Pray: Ask for courage joined to fasting and to care for others, not for a private bravery.
Children’s lesson: Esther Speaks for Her People (Esther)
Week 13
As he had done previously
Read together: Daniel 6
How to read it: Read the whole chapter. Linger on 6:10—the windows, the knees, the thanks, “as he had done previously.”
Memory verse: Daniel 6:23 — …and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Talk:
- Why could they find no fault except concerning the law of his God?
- What habit was already in place before the decree?
- What would “as he had done previously” look like at our table?
Pray: Ask for a prayed life that does not wait for a crisis to begin.
Children’s lesson: Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6)
Week 14
A Saviour, Christ the Lord
Read together: Luke 2:1–20
How to read it: Read it as history, not as a pageant. Let the angel’s sentence stand: a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Memory verse: Luke 2:11 — For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Talk:
- Why were they in Bethlehem?
- To whom did God first announce the birth, and what does that show?
- What did Mary do with these things?
Pray: Worship the child who is Savior, Christ, and Lord. Ask for a pondering heart like Mary’s.
Children’s lesson: Jesus Is Born (Luke 2)
Week 15
Peace, be still — and an empty tomb
Read together: Mark 4:35–41; Luke 24:1–12, 36–48
How to read it: One night the storm; another night the resurrection, or both if the children can bear a longer sitting. Jesus is Lord of sea and of death.
Memory verse: Luke 24:6 — He is not here, but has risen.
Talk:
- What did the disciples assume about Jesus in the boat?
- What did the women find, and what were they told not to seek among the dead?
- If He is risen, what must we preach, beginning at Jerusalem? (Luke 24:47)
Pray: Thank God that the same Lord who stills the sea has risen. Ask for faith instead of fear.
Children’s lesson: The Cross and the Empty Tomb (Luke 23–24)
Week 16
What shall we do?
Read together: Acts 2:22–42; 9:1–20; 16:11–15
How to read it: Read Peter’s answer, then Saul’s baptism, then Lydia’s opened heart and opened house. This is how people came to Christ.
Memory verse: Acts 2:38 — Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…
Talk:
- What did the hearers ask, and what did Peter tell them to do?
- What did Saul do when he received his sight?
- How did Lydia use her home after she was baptized?
Pray: Pray for souls in Grand Junction to be pricked in heart, and for this house to pay attention to the word.
Children’s lesson: Peter Preaches in Jerusalem (Acts 2)
