Equip Grandparents to Pass on a Heritage of Faith: Help Them Talk About God's Word with Their Grandchildren

As we continue to look at how we can help the grandparent's in our ministry know their job

is not "finished" just because their children are grown, today I want to look at what Deuteronomy 6 is talking about when it says they are to, "talk about God and His Word in their day-in-day-out lives". We need to remind grandparents they are part of God's plan to pass on a heritage of faith to their grandchildren, and we need to encourage, equip and engage them in focusing on doing so. 

Deuteronomy is not talking about just the occasional word to their grandchildren about going to church or praying, but a living of their lives in a way which reflects how important God's Word is because they live it every day. Deuteronomy 6 says to - 

• Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

This is not talking about a casual, once-in-awhile, once a week focus on God and His Word. No. This is about a day-in-day-out life. God and His Word applies to and impacts every aspect of their lives, so if they are serious about passing on a heritage of faith to their grandchildren, they need to live like this is true; because it is!

This is all about connecting God and His Word with their everyday lives and we can encourage and equip them to do this in the following ways . . . 

• Do what God's Word says - talk about it. We can have our adult ministries focused on challenging and reminding grandparents to do this.
• Tell our grandchildren how God has worked in our lives in the past and how He continues to do so today. Again, we can focus on reminding grandparents the power of doing this with their grandchildren.
• Tell our grandchildren what we are learning from God's Word. Whether we provide specific curriculum for grandparents to use or encourage them to share from their own studies, this is something we can be talking about with them so they will do the same with their grandchildren.
• Ask our grandchildren what they are learning from God's Word. We want grandparents to engage with their grandchildren and asking what they are learning is a big part of it.
• Encourage them to look for ways to connect what they are doing with God and His Word - for example; when they are enjoying the outside, talk about God's creation. When they enjoy a piece of fruit, talk about God's creation again and thank God for His blessings. 
• Encourage them to pay attention to what is happening in their grandchildren's lives - pray with them about school, friends and anything bothering them.

These are just a few ideas of how we can help engage grandparents so they will talk about God and His Word with their grandchildren, because when we do this, we are helping them pass on a heritage of faith!

What do you do talk about God and His Word with your grandchildren?