I love the idea of making a Bible story accessible to kids, helping them to see themselves in the characters. Reality check: More often than we'd like to admit, kids tune out when the Bible story starts. We sometimes train them like Pavlov's dog to figure that the Bible part of the lesson is the boring part of the lesson. We say, "Today we've got a great Bible story for you… ", and then it winds up being a big snore-bore. Or worse, totally irrelevant.

Help kids see that these stories aren't just about a bunch of dead dudes. These stories are about them.

A pain-free way to get a little blip on the attention-o-meter is to look for strategic places you can contemporize the language. In other words, add some modern lingo, even pop culture references, to tug them in.

Take a look at this technique in action with a couple excerpts from a lesson on David and Goliath…with a little commentary from me along the way…

How about when Jesse sends David to the battlefield with the food? ...