What Should We Read Tonight? Family Bible Readings
Read together · Modern Burlap
Open the Bible together, tonight.
Eight readings for your family. A passage, a question, and a prayer—ready when you are.
Preview the book + table cards
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Read. Notice. Talk. Pray.
Open the passage in your Bible first. For a short reading, share the first question and pray. When you have more time, read the reflection and explore the second question.
A child can listen, draw, point, or speak. Use one reading at a time, in any order.
The passage links open the NIV at Bible Gateway. The reflections, questions, and prayers below are original devotional writing, not Scripture quotations.
Choose a reading
01 · Begin with Jesus
Jesus welcomes children
Read Mark 10:13-16 · Gospel account
People brought children to Jesus, but His disciples tried to turn them away. Jesus was displeased. He told the disciples not to keep the children from Him, spoke about receiving God's kingdom like a child, and welcomed and blessed them. Notice who needs correcting: not the children, but the people keeping them away. Jesus gives children His attention. His kingdom is received, not won by being the most impressive person in the room.
Talk together
What did Jesus do when the children came to Him?
Go a little deeper
What does Jesus' response teach the grown-ups in this account?
Pray
Jesus, thank You for welcoming children. Help our family receive Your kingdom and make room for others. Amen.
Name or draw one thing Jesus does in this passage.
A note for parents and caregivers
Let a child listen, point, or answer in their own words. This is an encounter with Jesus, not a test of reading skill.
02 · Creation and dignity
Made in the image of God
Read Genesis 1:26-31 · Creation account
Genesis begins with God making a world He calls good. In this passage He creates human beings in His image, blesses them, and gives them responsibility within His creation. Being made in God's image is not a prize for the strongest, cleverest, or most useful person. Before we compare what people can do, we are invited to recognize whose creation they are. Our response is gratitude to God and care for the people and world He has made.
Talk together
What does this passage tell us about how God made people?
Go a little deeper
How should being made in God's image shape the way we treat someone who is different from us?
Pray
Creator God, thank You for making people in Your image. Teach us to honor others and care for Your creation. Amen.
Thank God for one person and one part of creation.
A note for parents and caregivers
Read this selection within Genesis 1. Keep the conversation focused on what the passage says rather than turning it into a test of achievement or ability.
03 · When we are afraid
Jesus and the storm
Read Mark 4:35-41 · Gospel account
Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake by boat. A fierce storm came, waves filled the boat, and the disciples woke Jesus, who had been sleeping. He spoke to the wind and water, and the storm became calm. He questioned the disciples about fear and faith. The account ends with their amazement at His authority. Keep their final question in view: what does this event reveal about who Jesus is? The disciples are learning that He is far more than an ordinary teacher.
Talk together
What happened after Jesus spoke to the wind and water?
Go a little deeper
Why do you think the disciples were amazed even after the storm became calm?
Pray
Jesus, You know what frightens us. Help us know You more deeply, trust You, and ask for the help we need. Amen.
Tell God one thing that feels frightening today, aloud or silently.
A note for parents and caregivers
This account reveals Jesus' authority; it does not promise every danger will end immediately. Do not use it to blame a frightened or ill child for lacking faith.
04 · Rest and trust
The Lord is our shepherd
Read Psalm 23 · Psalm / poetry
Psalm 23 describes the Lord's care through the picture of a shepherd: guiding, providing, restoring, and staying near. The psalm includes green pastures, but it also includes a dark valley and enemies. Its comfort is not that life contains nothing frightening. Its comfort is God's presence in the middle of it. As you read, notice how the psalm moves from speaking about God to speaking directly to Him. These words invite us to bring both gratitude and fear into prayer.
Talk together
What does the shepherd do for the one He cares for?
Go a little deeper
What changes in the way the writer speaks to God in verse 4?
Pray
Lord, our shepherd, guide our family. Restore us when we are weary and help us trust Your presence in difficult places. Amen.
Draw or name one picture you noticed in the psalm.
A note for parents and caregivers
A psalm is poetry and prayer, not a scene-by-scene story. Explain unfamiliar images without promising a life free from trouble.
05 · Learning to pray
Jesus teaches us to pray
Read Matthew 6:5-13 · Jesus' teaching
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His followers not to turn prayer into a performance. The Father already knows their needs. Jesus then gives them a prayer centered on God's name, kingdom, and will, followed by requests for daily provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil. Prayer turns our attention toward God and brings our real needs before Him. We do not have to impress an audience. As you read, notice the words that include other people, not only ourselves.
Talk together
What is one thing Jesus teaches His followers to ask for?
Go a little deeper
What is the difference between praying to God and praying to impress people?
Pray
Father, may Your name be honored in our home. Give us what we need today, forgive us, and teach us to follow Your will. Amen.
Choose one request from the passage and pray about it together.
A note for parents and caregivers
The prayer printed here is an original response, not the text of the Lord's Prayer. Read Jesus' words in your Bible; the surrounding teaching addresses sincerity, not impressive length.
06 · Loving our neighbor
The neighbor who showed mercy
Read Luke 10:25-37 · Parable told by Jesus
A teacher of the law asked Jesus about eternal life and then asked who counted as his neighbor. Jesus answered with a story. A man was attacked on the road. A priest and a Levite passed him by, but a Samaritan stopped, tended his wounds, and arranged further care. Jesus ended by asking who had acted as a neighbor. The answer pointed to the person who showed mercy. Jesus turns the question from deciding whom we must love toward becoming a neighbor who acts with compassion.
Talk together
What did the Samaritan do to help the injured man?
Go a little deeper
How is Jesus' final question different from the question He was asked?
Pray
Jesus, open our eyes to the people around us. Teach us to show mercy through practical, wise, and faithful care. Amen.
Choose one safe, specific way your family can help someone.
A note for parents and caregivers
This is a parable, not a report of a named historical traveler. It includes an attack and injury. Preview it for younger children; helping someone can mean finding a trusted adult.
07 · Mercy and making things right
Jesus meets Zacchaeus
Read Luke 19:1-10 · Gospel account
Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief tax collector, climbed a tree to see Jesus. Jesus called him down and said He would stay at his house. The crowd complained that Jesus was visiting a sinner. Zacchaeus spoke about giving to people in need and repaying anyone he had cheated. Jesus announced salvation and described His mission to seek and save the lost. Keep both parts together: the welcome of Jesus and a response that takes other people's harm seriously. His mercy is more than being polite about wrongdoing.
Talk together
How did Zacchaeus respond when Jesus called him?
Go a little deeper
What would making things right involve when we have hurt someone?
Pray
Jesus, thank You for seeking the lost. Help us tell the truth, turn from wrongdoing, and repair harm where we can. Amen.
An adult can model a simple apology and one concrete act of repair.
A note for parents and caregivers
Do not present giving money or repaying a debt as buying salvation. Do not pressure a child to disclose private wrongdoing to a group.
08 · Resurrection hope
Mary meets the risen Jesus
Read John 20:1-18 · Resurrection account
Mary Magdalene found the stone moved from Jesus' tomb and told the disciples. Peter and another disciple came and saw the burial cloths. Later, Mary stood crying outside the tomb. She saw Jesus but did not recognize Him at first. When He called her by name, she recognized her teacher. Jesus sent her to tell His brothers, and she went to the disciples with news of seeing Him. This is not simply a story about feeling better after sadness. The one who had died was alive.
Talk together
Whom did Mary meet outside the tomb?
Go a little deeper
Why is Jesus being alive different from simply remembering someone we love?
Pray
Risen Jesus, thank You that death did not hold You. Help our family receive Your good news and live in the hope of Your resurrection. Amen.
Retell the news Mary brought to the disciples in your own words.
A note for parents and caregivers
Explain that Jesus had truly died and was raised. Avoid describing death as ordinary sleep when speaking with young children. Read John 19 with an adult for the preceding account.
A little book. Eight table cards.
Keep the full readings on your phone, or put a card on the table when your family gathers.
The reading book
11 pages · 6 × 8 inches · PDF
All eight readings, a linked contents page, and PDF bookmarks.
The table cards
8 cards · 4 printable sheets · PDF
A passage, something to notice, a question, and a prayer on each card.
Saving and printing
On your phone: open a PDF, then use your browser's Share or Save command to keep it in Files or your preferred PDF reader. The reading book includes bookmarks for its sections.
The book: print selected pages on Letter or A4 paper using Fit. To keep the original 6 × 8-inch page size, choose Actual size or 100%.
The cards: print on US Letter paper in landscape orientation at Actual size or 100%. Cut along the outlines. Each card is 5 × 7 inches. For A4 paper, choose Fit; the finished card size will differ.
If a preview link opens at the cover, enter page 5 in the book or page 4 in the card PDF. Some phone browsers do not follow PDF page-jump links.
Free for your family and personal gifting. Share this resource page and keep the files free.
Keep reading together.
After these selections, follow one Gospel in order. Our seven-day plan in Mark offers another beginning.
Print or save these readings
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