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The Holy Bible

To Remember: The Bible is the word of God, every word is true.

Lesson
What is the Bible? Why do we study it? The Bible is:
  • A collection of books written by different men over a long period of time about God's relationship with man.
  • Divided into two main sections.
    • The Old Testament describes God's relationship with man before Christ came to earth.
    • The New Testament describes Christ's work here and it's consequences.
    [Make matchbox sized boxes, labeling each one as a book of the Bible. Use different colors to group by type (history, prophecy, poetry, gospels, etc.). Group in order to show that the Bible is like a library. You can use these later for memory exercises.]
  • True: The Bible is inspired, the very words came from God's mouth. That means the men who wrote it were guided by God's Holy Spirit to write the truth.
    • 2 Timothy 3:16 " All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (NRSV)
    • Hebrews 4:12 "Indeed the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
  • Accurate: God ensured that the Bible would be accurate for us today.
    • 1 Peter 1: 25 "But the word of the Lord endures forever. That word is the good news that was announced to you."
    • The people who copied the Bible were careful to make no mistakes
      • Revelation 22:18-19 "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person's share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
  • SING: Oh the BIBLE
     
Activity:
  • The Bible was not originally written in book form. Paper was not developed yet. At first, people wrote in clay, in rock or on fibers like papyrus. Then they began making long strips of papyrus or parchment, rolling them up as scrolls. Make your own scroll by winding up paper on two dowel rods. [Have students choose a verse to copy, and roll it up on dowel rods like a scroll, tying with a ribbon].
  • Illuminate a Bible page. Medieval Bibles were hand-painted and decorated with beautiful art. Copy a Bible verse and decorate the edge of the page as if you were a medieval "illuminator" or artist. [Print out Psalm 23 in a fancy font with wide margins for students to decorate.]
True or False
  1. The Bible is the best-selling book in the world.   T
  2. The Bible is God's way of speaking to us today.   T
  3. We cannot understand the Bible.    F
  4. The Bible was written by one man.   F
  5. The Bible is completely true.  T
Activities Questions for Review or use with gameboard

 linguistic questions
  1. What is a testament?
  2. Name one book of the Bible and what it is about.
  activity questions
  1. Draw a picture of the Bible as it would have looked written on clay, rock, or scrolls.
  2. Take the boxes (or slips of paper) with a section of books of the bible and have the student put them in order.
  emotion questions
  1. How would you feel if you got a letter from God?
  2. If you got a letter from God, would you want others to know about it?
application questions
  1. If the Bible is God speaking to us, how do we talk to him?
  2. How important is it for us to know what's in the Bible?
fact questions
  1. Is the Bible one book or a collection of books?
  2. Name three different types of writing in the Bible.
review questions
  1. Does God continue to make sure that translations of the Bible remain true?
  2. Are there translations that man has altered?