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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.
o The Old Testament describes God's relationship with man before Christ
came to earth.
o 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.
o 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)
o 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.
o 1 Peter 1: 25 "But the word of the Lord endures forever. That word is the
good news that was announced to you."
o 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."
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
Activities
• Memory Work
o Work on memorizing the books of the Bible.
• Activity: Name That Object
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
application questions
fact questions
review questions
1. Does God continue to make sure that translations of the Bible remain true?
2. Are there translations that man has altered?