Scripture: for teacher background: Mat 4:4; 2 Tim 3:16
Making contact:
When you buy an appliance, a car, a fancy
toy, a cell phone or a computer, there is usually a book of instructions.
These
explain how to get the most out of your purchase.
It’s amazing how many things
we don’t know about our machines and appliances.
When things go wrong, we can
follow instructions carefully and sometimes sort things out ourselves. Of
course it would be better to have the manufacturer standing next to us all the
time, guiding us every step of the way.
God not only gave us a book of
instructions, the Bible, but He also comes by His Spirit to help us understand.
As we read it, He helps us to understand and to “hear” His voice.
Play Sword drill. Encourage all the
children to always bring their Bibles. It is a good habit and they can also
join in the game to get to know their Bibles better.
To begin, they all draw their swords – The
hold their Bible on its spine up in the air. They don’t move until you say so.
Give the book you want them to find or even a specific verse, but just a book
is a good place to begin. They then look for it as quickly as possible.
When they have the place they must stand up
and if it is a verse the person who found it first must read it.
Let the slower
children find the place and help them. If you rush on they will never catch up.
Encourage them that they will be good soldiers for Jesus and they need to
practice using their weapon.
Exploration:
God not only gave us a book of
instructions, the Bible, but He also comes by His Spirit to help us understand.
As we read it, He helps us to understand and to “hear” His voice.
How do we begin?
Here are some suggestions to help you.
Use a Bible that is a little easier for
children. There is the Good News version and the CEV. – The Contemporary
English Version. Use a proper Bible with verses marked out. Very young children
can begin with Children’s Bibles but as soon as they are reading quiet well –
by 7 or 8 years, let them begin trying a proper Bible.
First pray that God will speak to
you through today’s reading. Then read slowly.
You could begin with a Gospel – like Mark’s
Gospel and read a paragraph every day.
Read through it twice.
Question Method
Ask these questions:
- What do I learn about God/Jesus or the Holy Spirit in this passage?
- Is there a warning or command to follow?
- Is there a good example or bad example?
- What truth am I learning about life?
- Is there a promise for me here?
- Is there a message for me – something that God is telling me?
Colour Coding
When you read a portion of Scripture, have
with you a set of pencil crayons and lightly shade in some of the verses in a
specific colour. Work out what the verse is about.
The Bible Study Butterfly
Red
–Jesus died
for you and saved you and forgave your sins
Yellow—The light of heaven and the glory
of when Jesus is coming again
Green—God tells you how to live
Blue—God gives you wonderful
promises
Purple—God warns you of wrong ways
The Notebook Method
In a little notebook, write the date and
where the Bible reading is – the reference and then write down what God is
saying. Write it like a letter or diary.
Dear ……..
I want you to love your
neighbour…………..etc.
You could then put a prayer after that-e.g.
Dear Lord, I know you want me to love my neighbour but Tommy is so unkind.
Please help me to see the good in him and not answer back.
There are wonderful Bible reading notes. These little books give you the
passage to read and have an explanation and activity.
Begin today. Start a journey of getting to
know your Bible. Learn where all the books are.
Here are 2 songs to help learn them.
Teachers, give the children rewards when they know these. If they learn them
when they are young they will always remember where all the books are and be
more versatile with their Bibles.
Books of the New Testament (to the tune – Here we go
round the Mulberry Bush)
G
Matthew, Mark and Luke
and John
D
Acts and then there`s Romans
G
First and second Corinthians
D G
Galatians and Ephesians
G
Philippians, Colossians
D
First and second Thessalonians
G
First and second Timothy
D G
Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
G
James and first and second Peter
D
First and second and third John
G
Jude and then the very last book
D
G
Is the Revelation
Books of the Old Testament (Tune – Did you ever see a Lassie?)
Let us sing the books of Moses,
of Moses, of Moses
Let us sing the books of Moses
For He wrote the Law:
First Genesis,
Second Exodus,
Third Leviticus,
Fourth
Numbers
And the fifth is Deuteronomy,
the last of them all.
Let us sing the books of History,
of History, of History
Let us sing the books of History,
Which tell of the Jews
There`s Joshua
and
Judges
and the
story of Ruth
Then
1st and 2nd Samuel
and 1st and
2nd Kings
Then 1st and 2nd Chronicles
which give
us the records,
Then Ezra,
Nehemiah and
Esther, the Queen.
Let us sing the books of poetry,
of poetry, of
poetry,
Let us sing the books of poetry,
The songs the Jews sang:
Job,
the patient,
Psalms
of David,
the Proverbs of a wise one
and then Ecclesiastes
and the Song
of Solomon
Let us sing the major prophets
major prophets,
major prophets,
Let us sing the major prophets,
Who told forth God`s Word:
Isaiah,Jeremiah,
who wrote Lamentations,
Then
Ezekiel and Daniel who were true to their God
Let us sing the minor prophets,
Minor prophets, minor prophets,
Let us sing the minor prophets
There are 12 of them all:
Hosea,
Joel,Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk,
Zephaniah,
Haggai,
Zechariah,
Malachi
Application
Your commitment and
dedication of reading your Bible yourself will show.
Use the Bible in your
lessons. If you often read a verse or show them where something is, they will
catch your excitement.
This lesson needs to
be caught more than taught and will be on going through all other lessons.
If there is time look
up the memory verse each week. That could be the sword drill each week.
You can often play
Sword Drill to find books of the Bible in spare time.
Challenge to Mission
Find out about Bible
Society and the work it is doing in getting the Bible to every country. If
possible get someone from there to come and speak. Find out how far they are in
translating the Bible into all the languages in the world.
They have produced a
little booklet about a little girl, called Mary Jones who badly wanted her own
Bible. It is an inspiring story. This could be used as a holiday lesson for the
children.
Do some fundraising for Bible Society.
Consolidation
There is a worksheet
with the methods of studying the Bible for the children to try.
Memory Verse
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