Sharing Biblical Concepts with Children

I mentioned in my last post that I'm reading Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd & Margie Tripp. I just finished reading Chapter 4 "Three Principles for Communicating Formative Instruction" and thought I'd post a couple of helpful quotes and then some bullet points:

"We give our children big truths they will grow into rather than light explanations they will grow out of."

"Children grow in their perception of the gospel as they move from a naive, tactile, and sensory grasp of the world to a more abstract ability to interact with concepts. This is a process...We need to teach these spiritual concepts in gentle, compelling ways."

Don't Mix Imaginary Stories with True Bible Stories
- Illustrate spiritual concepts for children by other means than popular entertainment characters.
Sidenote: This reminds me of the Santa Clause in his red and white outfit bowing to baby Jesus in a manger at Christmastime-just a little confusing for little ones ;)

Don't Trivialize the Gospel to be "Relevant"
- When we "bring the Bible down to their level," children quickly outgrow their love and wonder at biblical narratives. Children will grow into their understanding as they realize that God's Word is different from all other literature. It is truth. It is life.

Help Young Children Relate to Bible Stories in Tactile and Physical Ways
-Giving real examples of sizes, lengths and heights from stories (i.e. Spear from David and Goliath, weight of Goliath's armor-so they could imagine themselves in David's sandals)
-Putting yourself in similar situations as people from the OT (i.e. Setting out on a trek like Abraham and Sarah saying that "We will never return. I don't know where we are going or what will happen but God will give guidance and provision.")

*examples taken from book