Grades 5-6 Lesson 1
Year 1
Quarter 1
WHAT IS THE BIBLE? - 1
Lesson Aim
To help students know that the Bible is God's Word and to understand its basic structure.
Memory Verse
This quarter, Psalm 119:1-16; this week, Psalm 119:1 - "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord."
Lesson Background
What is the Bible? For many of your students, the Bible is a quite familiar object. They hear it read in church and in family devotions and probably have a copy of their own. Yet there is much for them to learn about in this wonderful book that will be the specific focus of the next several lessons, as well as, of course, the focus and foundation of the entire curriculum.
The Bible is God's inerrant Word, communicating to people what He wants them to know about who He is, the nature of the world He made, and our responsibilities toward Him and each other. The Lord could have imparted this information in a shorter format of didactic narrative and regulations, but instead He has given us a rich montage of story, poetry, and history from which to learn, along with teaching and commandments. However, the Bible is not merely beautiful literature penned by insightful men. It is the very Word of God. Try to communicate this to your students today as well as explaining to them the structure of the Bible. Next week you will examine the message of the Bible and how we got the books of the Bible we have today. The third lesson of this quarter is devoted to the inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures.
Lesson Procedure
You may wish to being the first lesson by having the students fill out the surveys ("About Me") included at the front of the material. This will give you the opportunity to get to know your students if you have not taught them before, and also give them the chance to express themselves, not only about what is important in their lives, but also about where they think they stand spiritually. When the surveys have been completed, have your students think about the following question: "Suppose you were to be sent to a desert island to live for six months. You would be provided with sufficient food, clothes, and water and a small house (complete with electricity) would await your arrival. However, you could only take three things with you. What would they be?"
After your students have considered this, written down their answers, and shared their thoughts, tell them that, while there were no right and wrong answers, some responses were wiser than others. Did anyone bring a Bible on their imaginary trip? (Presumably you did, even if your students did not.) Use this to point out how valuable the Bible is. Explain how in some places people will gladly pay more than a month's salary for a copy of this book. Ask why the Bible is so important.
Follow this with a brainstorming
session. Have your students, working together, tell
you all they can about the Bible. What is the Bible? Why is it important? Who
wrote it? What is its structure? How did we get the Bible? Organize your
students' ideas on the board, add additional information from the materials
below, and have them copy important parts into their notebooks.
1. What is the Bible?
The Bible is God's Word (briefly discuss inspiration and inerrancy). The word "Bible" does not actually occur in the Bible, although the Greek word biblion, meaning book, from which we get the word Bible, does. The terms Scripture and Word of God also refer to the book we call the Bible. The Bible is really many books and letters written by different authors put together to form one book.
2. What Are the Parts of the Bible?
The parts of the Bible are the Old
Testament and the New Testament. The word testament means covenant, an
agreement, a treaty between God and man, the terms of which are dictated by
God. The Old Testament deals with God's special relationship with the nation of
Old Testament
The Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy)
History (Joshua - Esther)
Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon)
The Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel)
The Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi).
New Testament
The Gospels (Matthew - John)
History (Acts)
Paul's Epistles (I Corinthians - Hebrews; Hebrews may or may not be Pauline)
General Epistles (James - Jude)
Prophecy (Revelation).
Have your students look at the table of contents in a Bible to find the different parts. Be as detailed as you wish in explaining the contents of the different parts of the Bible. Explain how the chapter and verse indications were added later to help people find things (chapters by Stephen Langton in the thirteenth century; verses first in the Geneva Bible printed in 1560).
Games
Sword Drill - If desired, have an old-fashioned "sword drill" in which the teacher calls out a Bible reference (e.g., Genesis 1:1) and the students compete to see who can be the first to find the verse, stand, and read it.
Name That Book - Draw and cut out paper to look like a book spine or book and write the name of a different book of the Bible on each paper book. You may just use books of the Old or New Testaments or write sections of the Bible (e.g., Pentateuch, books of poetry) on each book instead. Plastic tac (blue stickum), tape, or paper clip these to a wall, board, or poster board. You may wish to cut slots or make pockets on poster board and slip the books in these. The class, divided into teams, should stand at the end of the room opposite from the books display. The teacher calls out an event (e.g., Jesus' birth, creation, the Ten Commandments) or verse from the Bible and, after discussion with his teammates, a designated runner dashes to retrieve the appropriate book and return to his team. A correct book earns a point for the team. You can vary the difficulty of this game as desired depending on the biblical background of your students. You probably should limit the scope of the game to sections of the Bible unless you have a class of very knowledgeable students. For some children you may even wish to narrow the choice to the Old or New Testament. In this case, teams are not necessary but individuals, when the event is indicated, should run to either side of the room, one side being designated Old Testament and the other New Testament.
Here is a sample list of verses (quote the verse; do not give the reference) and events or people you might use: Jesus' birth; Genesis 1:1; a lion's den; Ten Commandments; Saul; Psalm 23:1; John 3:16; Pentecost; Abraham; Jesus' death; Romans 3:23; Adam and Eve; David and Goliath; Naomi and Boaz; a ship with animals inside; a slave who stole from his master; Jericho; Isaiah 53:6; a large fish swallows a prophet; Jacob and Esau; a golden calf; Samson; Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego); Paul's journeys; Elijah; Satan challenges God about a godly man who then suffers greatly; Proverbs 1:7; a man says life is meaningless.