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 5:
How long was Jesus in the wilderness?
What miracles did Jesus do in chapter 4?
Is there anything in particular you learned from Chapter 4?
I ask my kids to listen for this information while we’re reading and I’ll ask about it after we’re done:
What were the names of the fishermen Jesus called to follow him?
What illnesses did Jesus heal in this chapter?
What’s the name of the tax collector who follows Jesus?
Where in this chapter do you hear Jesus foreshadowing his own death?
(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 5:
Why did Simon react so strongly to the enormous catch of fish? What kind of authority was Jesus showing he had?
What does it mean to fish for men?
What do you know about leprosy? How isolated would this man have been because of his disease?
Did Jesus spend all of his time healing and helping people? How important was prayer and time alone to him? Do you prioritize spending time that way? Do you feel guilty when you do? Should you feel guilty?
How important were the paralyzed man’s friends in his opportunity to be healed?
Why does it matter that Jesus has the authority to both forgive sins and heal physical bodies? Why did he do both in this story?
This chapter says that Simon, James, John and Levi left everything to follow Jesus. What would it look like in your life to “leave everything” to follow Jesus? Who do you know or what stories do you know of people who have done this?
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.)