Let’s pretend you’re given an opportunity to meet one famous person who is alive today. Take a minute to think of who you would pick. {Pause.}

How excited would you be as you anticipate the meeting? Would you count down the days? Would you tell other people about the upcoming encounter?

Now . . . let’s pretend someone hands you a Bible. How excited would you be to open it and meet the Person who wrote those pages—pages written by not just any author, but by the Author of Life? The One who made the universe. The One whose power runs the universe. The One who knows everything that’s happening every second, yet still intensely cares about you.

With that in mind, can you say you are personally excited about the Bible, and do you convey that excitement to the kids when you teach from it? Excitement is contagious, after all! If you want the children under your care to grow to love the Bible and the God of the Bible, it starts with you. Your enthusiasm about the Lord and His Word will be contagious!

So whenever you’re teaching—whether it be at VBS, Sunday mornings or evenings, or during the week, keep these ten tips in mind.

1. Kids need to see you holding a Bible.
Sounds obvious, right? But sometimes the lessons you’re teaching are written out word-for-word in a manual, including the Bible passages. Still, make sure you do have a Bible with you the kids can see. And treat that Bible with respect. You may want to pull it out of a treasure chest and talk about the treasure that it is. Show by your words and actions that this book isn’t like any other book. It’s uniquely special and should be talked about and handled respectfully.

2. Kids need to see you using a Bible.
If you find yourself teaching through a whole lesson and never cracking open the Bible, take time to think about how to incorporate it in. For instance, when it’s time to dig into your passage, physically point out where it comes from. Have the verses marked ahead of time, and read the actual words of all or snippets of passages, depending on the length of the account and the age of the kids you’re teaching. After all, God wrote those words, and they’re living and active.

3. Kids need to see you loving your Bible.
Do your eyes, mannerisms, voice, and words show you love the Word of God? Do you read it with enthusiasm and expression? Do you tell personal stories of how it’s touched your heart? Maybe you’ve been thinking on a verse this week. Tell the kids how God used it to encourage you. Is there a psalm you love? Are you reading something in your quiet time that excites you, or are you learning something new in the passage you’re teaching? Share it! The Bible shouldn’t come across just as head knowledge, but from the heart, too.

4. Kids need to hear gospel conversations.
Any curriculum—Sunday morning, VBS, or mid-week—needs to be gospel saturated. Make sure your curriculum clearly presents the gospel, plus includes ways to weave gospel conversations into every lesson. Are there opportunities to naturally hear about the plan of salvation, along with people’s testimonies? The gospel is the central message of the Bible, so be ready to share it!

5. Kids need to see how Jesus is not just in the four gospels.
As mentioned above, kids need to hear the gospel message of Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection—all because we are sinners. But often, Jesus isn’t mentioned unless the lesson is an account from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. The whole Bible, however, points to Jesus. The Old Testament points to His coming, the gospels share His life on earth, and the rest of the New Testament points to His second coming. Show your kids how Jesus and the message of His saving work are woven throughout every book of the Bible, whether it’s through the sacrificial system outlined in the Old Testament (a beautiful picture of Christ our Passover Lamb), the foreshadowing of Jesus seen through people such as Joseph and Moses, or through objects like bread or light, reminders that Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Light of the World. Make much of Jesus!

6. Kids need to see how all parts of your lesson tie in to God’s Word.
Whether you’re buying a curriculum or writing your own, make sure all parts of the lessons tie in to the Bible. If there’s a game, does it have a biblical point to it? Games are fun, but games with a purpose are even better! The same goes for snacks, crafts, science experiments, opening and closing assemblies, or whatever else you’re doing. Use all these times to connect the Bible to life, fun, and memorable experiences, while sharing those important teaching tie-ins. Remember, every part of your day should go back to God and His Word.

7. Kids need to see how the Bible has real answers to their real questions.
What happened to the dinosaurs? What’s heaven going to be like? When did God start? What happens when people die? Why are there so many different religions, and which one is right? There are lots of questions out there, and our job is to point kids to biblical answers.

8. Kids need to see, hear, and experience the Scriptures.
Because we’re talking about the most important book in the world here, let’s use every imaginable, interesting way to help our kids connect to its pages.

Sing it. Does your curriculum have memory verse songs set to music? God’s Word does not return empty. The Scriptures that are placed in their hearts and minds now will stick with them, so sing away and learn God’s Word!

Pray it. Pray before you start the lesson. Also, use Scripture to inspire your prayers. Thank the Lord that this is the day He has made (Psalm 118:24). Ask Him to help you not be anxious in anything (Philippians 4:6). His Word is a beautiful place to go to as you pray.

See it. Visuals are important, whether they be pictures, videos, or objects. For instance, to bring your lesson to life about manna in the desert, show a picture or video of maggots when you get to the part of the manna turning rotten. Or, if you’re brave, bring in real ones! It really is true a picture (or real visual) is worth a thousand words.

Taste it, smell it, touch it, and hear it. Kids need hands-on, memorable experiences. Are you talking about John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey? Buy a bag of edible locusts online and see who’s brave enough to try one! Smell incense when talking about the altar of incense in the tabernacle. Touch slime as you learn about Jonah in the belly of the fish. Listen to roaring lions when talking about Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Bring each account alive by involving kid’s senses.

Act it out. This is a favorite with kids. Try it and see if they don’t just love it!

Memorize it. Make up motions to the verse, try a memory verse game, or sing it, but include time to memorize the Scriptures.

9. Kids need to see you believing in the infallibility of the Bible.
We’re banking our lives on this book, and the kids need to know it’s trustworthy. With voices from our culture sending so many opposing and conflicting messages, teach kids that God’s Word is the ultimate authority. Try saying this together often: If God’s Word says it, that settles it! Then, as you teach, make sure to sprinkle in evidences of its trustworthiness when you can. Here are just a couple examples.

History—The Bible is full of historical details, so give quick references to its historical accuracy as you teach. For instance, if you’re talking about Jonah, say, “What you’re about to hear really happened to a guy named Jonah who lived about 2,800 years ago.” Or, when talking about Jericho, remind them that ancient Jericho was a real place and guess what? Modern day archaeologists have found the walls tumbled down! In fact, they’ve never found one historical detail that’s disproved anything mentioned in the Bible!

Science—The Bible also speaks about numerous scientific topics, so give quick references to areas of science as they come up. The Bible talked about the earth being round, ocean currents, constellations, chewing the cud, mountains in the ocean, the human body, quarantine, and many more matters of science long before scientists knew anything about them. Wow!

Prophecy—The Bible shares numerous prophecies, many of which have been fulfilled. There is virtually no probability of all these predictions of the future coming true. If you’re teaching that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, for example, share the prophecy from Micah 5:2 that foretold his birth hundreds of years before it happened, and marvel together at how amazing the Bible is to have predicted that ahead of time.

10. Kids need to get into the Bible for themselves.
Does your curriculum allow time during the lessons or when kids are home to explore the Bible for themselves? Perhaps it’s during small group time, with take home student pages, or with suggested Bible readings for the week. With younger kids who can’t read yet, are there opportunities for adults at church or home to read to them from the Word?

As we take on the great responsibility of sharing God’s Word, let’s pray often for both ourselves and our kids that God will help us love Him and His Word more today than we did yesterday. Then let’s go out and enthusiastically learn it, love it, live it, and teach it!

Barb Witt is a developer and writer of Answers VBS, along with her husband Randy. She also serves as the children's ministry director at Northwest Bible Church in Columbus, Ohio. She and Randy are the parents of three beautiful daughters and one brand new grandbaby.