We have a great bedtime routine in our family, although I’m not sure where it came from. After dinner, we clean up the toys. The kids use the potty and hear a story. They brush their teeth and put on their pajamas. There’s usually a few minutes of sprinting up and down the hallway, and then we sit down for a devotion before laying everyone down.
Devotions Help Teach the Faith
That devotion before bed is the main place right now where we teach the faith to our children, so it needs a plan. If we decide every night in the moment what to read, what to pray for, and what to sing, then it never has the opportunity to grow into something more. Then the kids learn to pray every day, but not really what to pray for. They learn to read the Bible every day, but not so well what the Bible teaches. They learn to sing the faith, but they don’t make the songs of the faith their own. You can see I have some goals here:
- I want my children to learn to pray for all their needs, to commit all their concerns to God (1 Timothy 2:1–2; 1 Peter 5:7).
- I want my children to know the truth of Jesus Christ, who came to forgive their sins, and that the whole Bible is filled with this message (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).
- I want my children to learn the hymns of the faith well enough that they’re the hymns of their faith (Ephesians 5:19).
A while back, I put the needed plan together, using Lutheran Service Book and The Story Bible. It works really well, but I still stumbled once in a while until I realize the missing piece: the Ribbon Bookmark for Lutheran Service Book. Sometimes it’s the simplest things.
Using Lutheran Service Book with Families
So here’s my plan, but note that your family might need something different, especially if your kids are older than mine and The Story Bible isn’t the right thing anymore.
First, make sure you have at least two Lutheran Service Book hymnals. Mom and Dad need to each have one. For kids who can read, it’s a great gift too. Any edition works, but if you get the Pew Edition, then make sure you get the Lutheran Service Book: Ribbon Bookmark. Those ribbons will help you hang onto the plan.
Where to Put Your Ribbon Bookmarks
Gold ribbon
Page 321 is the first page of the Small Catechism, the original Lutheran book for teaching the faith to children. Start your devotion by saying, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Then recite a passage from the Small Catechism. Say the same thing for about a week, then go to the next thing. Your kids will pick it up. You will pick it up. Make no mistake—the gold ribbon is where you teach the basics of the Christian faith to your children. It takes my family about a year to cycle through the catechism.
After you read the catechism piece, you need to read from the Scriptures. The easiest plan, especially if your kids are small, is one story a night out of a children’s Bible like The Story Bible. If you’ve outgrown this book, reading plans abound in Lutheran Service Book, The Lutheran Study Bible, and Treasury of Daily Prayer. Or pick a book of the Bible and read through it. The Story Bible has 130 stories in it, so even with a lot of misses, you will get through all of this easily twice a year.
White ribbon
Hymn 596 or another hymn. After reading from the Scriptures, sing a hymn. Pick one where you know the tune. Sing two or three or four stanzas. Stick to them for a week. You want to memorize this thing, because you want your kids to memorize it. Nothing will warm your heart like your children singing along in church, I promise. If this week you sing stanzas 1–3, sing stanzas 2–4 next week, and 3–5 the week after that. There’s no rush on any of this, ever. When you finish the hymn, or maybe when the season changes, move to a new hymn. Remember, though—the key is not just that you sing, but that your family sings one hymn long enough to learn it.
Burgundy ribbon
Page 294 has a list of things to pray for each day of the week. When you get to your actual fold-your-hands prayers at night, follow this. Feel free to just grab a piece of a day. Using this page will benefit all of us, because you’ll find yourself praying for things like the salvation of your neighbors (Monday), the church and her pastors (Thursday), and the preaching of the cross of Christ around the world (Friday). These cycle week for week.
Gray ribbon
Hymn 880 or another hymn. Your family isn’t my family, so do this or not, as it works for you. But we put the kids to bed and then sing just a little longer in the dark. I think this helps them. Start with the evening hymns (877–891), which are naturally pretty calming. After a while, you’ll branch out. Your children will have their requests. Abide with Me (LSB 878) and I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb (LSB 740) are ever popular at our house.
Incorporating the Ribbons into a Devotional Routine
Here’s the order for the ribbon devotion:
- Dad (or mom) say: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
- Everyone say: “Amen.”
- Gold ribbon: Recite this week’s short piece from the Small Catechism.
- Read today’s reading from the Bible or a Bible story book.
- White ribbon: Sing this week’s few stanzas of your current hymn. (I’ve made a few hymn suggestions above. If you need more, just ask your pastor.)
- Burgundy ribbon: Pray today’s prayer suggestions and for other things in your lives, and also pray Luther’s Evening Prayer (close to the burgundy ribbon, bottom of page 298).
- Dad (or mom) say: “Let us bless the Lord.”
- Everyone say: “Thanks be to God.”
Raising your family in the faith is probably the most important thing you’ll ever do. It’s what God calls us to when He blesses us with children. And He has certainly not left us without tools. In the Bible, you have His own words to you; and in the hymnal, you have hundreds of faith treasures that have been used for generations to pass on the faith. And since passing on the faith isn’t just teaching, but is also living, the hymnal has those prayer guides.
With your Bible, your hymnal, and a few bookmark ribbons, you can be up and running. You don’t need formal training to do this well—just these few tools and a plan.
Start your family devotional time today by ordering a pack of Lutheran Service Book: Ribbon Bookmarks.
