My family has a yearly tradition of reading a chapter a day of the book of Luke, leading up to Christmas. It has been such an enriching experience that helps center our holiday season on what is most important to us. If you’d like to join us in these readings, I’m providing questions to talk through with your kids to help spark conversations and meaningful engagement with what you read. I hope it’s helpful!
(Here is where you can find background information or to start this project at Chapter 1.)
Before you start each night, think about the environment you’re creating for this experience. Check your heart. Lower your expectations. Here is where you can find more ideas on how to set yourself up for success.
Questions before you read Luke 8:
Who was healed in the last chapter?
Who was forgiven?
What proof did Jesus offer the disciples of John that he was the messiah?
Is there anything in particular you learned from Chapter 7?
I ask my kids to listen for this information while we’re reading and I’ll ask about it after we’re done:
What women are listed as followers of Jesus in the beginning of this chapter?
In the parable Jesus tells, what does the seed represent?
What was Jesus doing in the boat?
What was the demon possessed man wearing when Jesus met him?
Who all was healed in this chapter?
(Asking them to look for the information before you start reading is super helpful in keeping little learners engaged. They tend to listen pretty hard when they’re listening for something specific. I might even write the questions out so they can hold them and look for the information while we read. I will assign these questions to my youngest kids and target the longer discussion questions to my older kids. If my younger kids need to go to bed while we’re deep in discussion, they still had a chance to participate.)
Questions after you’ve read Luke 8:
How important were women to the ministry of Jesus?
Is just hearing God’s Word enough to produce a “good crop”?
How did Jesus define his family? Do you have a spiritual family you are connected to?
The disciples saw Jesus do amazing things all the time, but they still seemed surprised by his command over the water and weather. Why do you think that situation tested their faith?
Jesus had a physical body like ours and he slept in the boat (we’ve also read in previous chapters about the meals he ate and how he took time to be alone). What can we learn from his example about rest and caring for our bodies?
Why do you think the people were afraid when they saw the demon-possessed man in his right mind?
Through most of Luke Jesus has been telling people he healed not to tell anyone, but here he tells the man to tell everyone. Why do you think that is?
If a woman was bleeding constantly, how isolated would she have been in that society? How desperate for healing?
This chapter from beginning to end references a lot of women. What have you learned about how Jesus treated women from this chapter?
Was there anything else that stuck out to you or surprised you?
(We might get through all of these questions, or just focus on one or two, depending on how deep the discussion is getting. And some nights, we might listen to the chapter in the car and not have a chance for a great discussion at all. Be flexible.)