Preparing for company always provides plenty of opportunity for sanctification! As I looked forward to our Easter feast with all the family together, I so enjoyed this post by Nancy Wilson on hosting family meals and celebrations with joy. She and her husband host a meal each week that brings their grandchildren and adult children around their table. In this post, Nancy is preparing for their special Easter meal, and she offers wise counsel on preparing for and hosting family meals and other celebrations with joy and grace.
She also describes a catechism that they review each week before the meal, an idea I find quite exciting! She shares a series of simple questions that help cement foundational truths into the hearts of their grandchildren.
Catechizing simply means “to instruct orally by means of questions and answers.” It is a proven teaching method that has been used for centuries, both in the classroom and the church. Memorizing answers to questions is such an effective way for children to learn, and this method is especially useful in teaching the basics of the faith. Even though young children may not completely understand the answers they are reciting, as they mature, those truths will already be in their hearts, ready to be more fully applied in their lives! (And it’s pretty amazing how much little ones do understand as we help them memorize.)
Nancy and her husband obviously formed their own catechism — one that the children can readily relate to. (I love the, “Kill the dragon! Get the girl” image of Christ defeating Satan and winning His Bride, the Church. Boys would certainly understand that image!) If you like the idea, but aren’t ready to write your own informal questions or use theirs, check out A Catechism for Boys and Girls, or a child-friendly, illustrated, pocket-sized version of the same catechism, The Catechism for Young Children with Cartoons. These questions are based on the historic Westminster Catechism, and will ground your children in the fundamental doctrines of the faith.
Take advantage of those early, they-love-to-memorize-and-recite years to saturate those little sponges with the Word and its truth!
(Image from Shutterstock.com)
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