Meeting Jesus at the dinner table
We were so encouraged to receive this story from Dan, a busy father of four who has discovered the joy of using The Word One to One for family devotionals around the dinner table.
During a conversation with an old friend, he asked me what we were doing as a family for our devotions together.
I had to confess to him that we weren’t doing anything at the time. Even though I had spent years training in Word ministry, I had neglected the wonderful task of taking my children through God’s Word.
Convicted of this, I knew that I needed to do something.
A simple plan for family devotions
What made it tricky is that my wife and I are both in full-time ministry. We’re a busy family of six. There’s only so much time, on top of all the other responsibilities, that can be spent putting together a Bible study that can speak to an 8 year-old, 15 year-old, and any age in-between.
I decided to take the family through The Word One to One because I had used it in group settings before. I knew the commentary and questions were helpful and accessible. I also knew that it was written with the conviction that God’s Word really is God’s Word.
Our plan was simple: after dinner, everyone grab a Bible and we’ll work through an episode together. So while the dishes were still on the table, we opened up John’s Gospel, and I led us through each episode.
Persevering with family devotions
The experience of taking a family through a Bible book is a bit of a mixed bag. There were evenings when it was easy and everyone understood what John was saying. There were difficult evenings where everyone was frustrated or tired because our conversation got derailed, or we got stuck on tricky passages. Then there were evenings where everyone understood, but the weight of the message of Jesus moved the children to tears.
But we persevered by God’s grace—and persevering paid off.
We made it all the way through John’s Gospel last year and finished Acts as a family earlier this year. Our children now have an understanding of the book that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. They can remember John’s message and understand it when someone references it in a sermon.
Most importantly, though, they responded to John’s message.
John wrote this book so that his readers would believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that they would have life in his name. And that’s what happened to my children. They believed and then were baptised in May 2025!
The fruit of family devotions
Family devotions are hard but they’re worth it. Those tear-filled evenings were not easy, but they were tears that fell over trying to understand who Jesus is and what He said.
The Word One to One is a great option if you’re unsure what to do for family devotions because it puts the Bible in front of young eyes. It allows God’s Word to do the work. It stretches parents as they try to answer questions that might not be addressed by the notes. It helped my wife and me to clearly present the gospel to my children. And it helped us all to learn together and to be reminded of just how good the gospel is.
“Using The Word One to One allows God’s Word to do the work.”
I didn’t know that God would use these devotions to save my children, but I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to set them on the path that leads to Jesus.
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