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This web-site is for everyone interested in learning more about the Bible.
This section helps Sunday school teachers find new ways of teaching familiar materials. Our goal is to augment lessons you may already have in your Sunday school curriculum.
In September, we will discuss forgiveness.
The entire Activities section is divided into Memory Work, Activities, and Discussion Questions. You can go to any of these sections and select what best works for your pupils.
You can now download all three sections for ease in using these materials for teaching. |
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MEMORY WORK |
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Teachers and Parents
It is so important to encourage our little ones as well as ourselves to memorize Bible verses and stories – to become so familiar with the passage or story that its timeless relevance appears to us more and more clearly with every retelling. A major difference was evident between Sunday school pupils required to tell the story versus those who gave nodding recognition to the same story. Three years ago, our pupils were asked to tell Bible stories to the preschool children. Now they ask all the time when it’s their turn to tell a story. The children in the preschool class can’t wait for a story and are quite vocal in asking the older children to come and tell them a story. There are some preschoolers who are anxious to try their hand at telling the stories as well. On a recent class visit of 4th graders with 3 and 4 year olds, the preschoolers didn’t hesitate to add details to the story of the three Hebrew boys.
We cannot overlook the significance of memorizing a verse or story.
Consider sharing with your Sunday school pupils and parents ways to help little ones learn the verse and understand the impact of the message on their lives.
- Write out or type this week’s Bible verse on a card and place it on a mirror the child uses each day.
- Place the verse for the week in his/her lunch box.
- Ask the child to recite the verse before or after grace at the dinner meal.
- Practice as a family at dinner, going around the table with each one saying a word until the verse is complete.
- Put the verse to music. Create your own tune for each Bible verse. Create pictures to help remember the verse.
- Write it in a Bible verse notebook as many times as you can.
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Bible Verses
Work with your child and your students to learn each verse. Then, discuss the meaning of the verse and how it can be applied to everyday lives. On Sundays during class, riding in the car, or at dinner, it's fun to share stories of how the children have used the verse in their lives that week.
We provide memorization verses for each week. You can add your own.
September 2
(TEV) 1 John 5:21
My children, keep yourselves safe from false gods!
- What are “false gods”?
- How do we keep ourselves safe from false gods?
- What do “false gods” try to do to our lives?
September 9
(CEV) 2 John 1:2
We love you because the truth is now in our hearts, and it will be there forever.
- Who are we to love?
- What is the truth in our hearts?
- Why is the truth permanent?
September 16
(TEV) 2 John 1:6
This love I speak of means that we must live in obedience to God's commands. The command, as you have all heard from the beginning, is that you must all live in love.
- How will love help us to live in obedience to God’s commands?
- List directions on how to “live in love.”
September 23
(NLT) 2 John 1:10
If someone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite him into your house or encourage him in any way.
- Why is it important to teach the truth about Christ?
- Why shouldn’t we invite those who don’t believe in the Christ into our congregation or home?
- Does this verse suggest a “closed door” to the newcomer?
- What do you think John meant?
September 30
(CJB) 2 John 1:8
Watch yourselves, so that you won't lose what you have worked for, but will receive your full reward.
- What should we watch?
- What have we worked for?
- What is our full reward?
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Bible Stories
This month we are reviewing the order of the books of the Bible and lessons on forgiveness. There are many more stories about forgiveness beyond those listed below. See how many you can remember or find on your own.
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ACTIVITIES |
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Bible Characters examines the disciple John.
Bible Overview looks at 2 John.
This month’s Hot Topic discusses Open Doors.
Picking Persimmons and making a difference.
Kids Korner offers puzzles, games, and stories dealing with learning books of the Bible and the importance of forgiveness in every aspect of life.
Parenting with the Bible looks at Biblical morning messages. |
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This month, we are reviewing books of the Bible and how to forgive in the midst of sibling rivalry, disobedience, and how people treat us.
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Exercise:
Take the rap of the Old Testament books and practice saying it. Create your own sound to help memorize the books of the OT.
Now write your own rap for the New Testament books. Don’t hesitate to send your results to BibleWise to post. |
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Exercise: Bible Drills
Ask the students to close their Bibles and prepare for a Bible drill. The first one who finds the verse you announced and can read it to the class wins a point. Use a non-indexed Bible.
On your mark, get set, open to:
| Psalms 91:1 |
Daniel 1:15 |
| Genesis 1:31 |
Isaiah 66:13 |
| Exodus 20:3 |
John 3:5 |
| Hosea 14:9 |
Romans 12:2 |
| Matthew 5:16 |
I Kings 17:4 |
| Jude 1:2 |
Proverbs 3:5 |
| Ecclesiastes 3:1 |
Job 23:13 |
| Luke 4:14 |
Galatians 3:28 |
| Titus 3:15 |
Philippians 4:13 |
| I Samuel 17:45 |
Revelation 22:21 |
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Exercise: Role Play
There are some great lessons on forgiveness this month. On different Sundays, you might want to role play different scenes that lead to forgiveness.
Learning to forgive in light of all that is going on in the world is important. Let’s help our pupils love more for every hate, forgive for every intended or unintended hurt or put down, and let the mind of the Christ be active in our lives.
Role Play:
JACOB
Esau and Jacob as young boys, men, grown men with children
Rebekah asking Jacob to deceive Isaac
Jacob deceiving Isaac
Esau’s reaction to Isaac and Jacob
Laban telling Rachel that she has to let Jacob marry Leah
Leah and Rachel talking to each other about the wedding [Did Rachel ever forgive Laban or Leah?]
Jacob talking to God about his fears of seeing Esau again
Jacob’s conversation with Esau when they meet for the first time in 21 years
JONAH
Jonah’s conversation with the men on the deck of the boat
Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the great fish
Jonah's and God’s conversation after getting out of the great fish
ZACCHAEUS
The conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus
STEPHEN
Stephen talking to the crowds before and during the stoning
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Exercise:
Read and practice learning the books of the Bible from Poem of the Old Testament
 Print/Download Poem of the Old Testament
Name and Order of the Books of the Old
Testament
The books are printed in red.
The Great Jehovah speaks to us,
In Genesis and Exodus,
Leviticus and Numbers see,
Followed by Deuteronomy.
Joshua and Judges sway the land,
Ruth gleans a sheaf with trembling
hand,
Samuel (I and II) and numerous Kings
(I and II) appear,
Whose Chronicles (I and II) we wonderingly
hear.
Ezra and Nehemiah face building woes;
Esther defeats her bigoted foes.
Job speaks in signs, David in Psalms,
The Proverbs teach to scatter alms.
Ecclesiastes then comes on,
Along with the Song of Solomon.
Isaiah, Jeremiah then
With Lamentations takes his pen.
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea's lyres
Swell Joel, Amos,
and Obadiah's fires.
Next Jonah, Micah, Nahum come,
And lofty Habakkuk finds room,
Rapt Zephaniah, Haggai calls,
While Zechariah builds the walls;
And Malachi, with garments rent,
Concludes the ancient Testament.
Author unknown |
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Exercise: Find the Hidden Message.
Follow the path and find the message of forgiveness.
Print/Download Find the Hidden Message
Print/Download Find the Hidden Message Answer Sheet
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Exercise:
Create a forgiving tree for your class. In order to help SS pupils realize the importance of forgiveness, have them list on a leaf who they forgive, why, what they have learned, and the date. See how many leaves they can add to the tree in a year’s time. |
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |
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Books of the Bible
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What is the Bible?
- What is the purpose of the Bible?
- Why do you read or study the Bible?
- What is so important about the Bible?
- How many books are in the Bible?
- How many testaments are in the Holy Bible?
- Why do we have two testaments?
- What does “testament” mean?
- How many books are in the Old Testament?
- How many books are in the New Testament?
- Can you recite the books in order?
- Why is it important to learn the names of the books?
- What pneumonic devices can you employ to help you remember them? We have an OT rap and an OT poem to help learn each book of the OT.
- Which stories are your favorites? Why?
- Who are your favorite Bible characters? Why?
- Which verses bring you comfort?
- How many verses of the Bible have you memorized?
- Why is it helpful to memorize Bible verses?
- Which translation of the Bible do you enjoy reading?
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Jesus’ Message on Forgiveness Read Matt 18:21-22
- What did Peter ask Jesus?
- Do you ever want a finite number to know when you are finished forgiving?
- Does 70 x 7 seem like a lot of times to forgive?
- Actually, if you used two “sevens” together in the Bible, it meant infinity. It wasn’t 490 times before you didn’t have to forgive -- you had to forgive forever.
- Why do you think Jesus wanted us to just keep forgiving?
- Why is forgiveness essential to healing?
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Jacob and Esau Read Genesis 25:20-34; 27:1-46; 28-29; 32-33; Esau and Jacob; Jacob Gets the Blessing; Jacob’s Dream; Jacob Gets Married; A Big Family; How Jacob Stole His Brother’s Blessing; and A Midnight Wrestling Match.
- Is this just a story about forgiveness?
- Who needs to be forgiven? [look deep]
- Why didn’t Esau and Jacob get along?
- What is a “blessing”?
- What is a “birthright”?
- How do you think Esau felt when he didn't get the blessing? (Gen 27:38,41)
- What did Esau promise to do to Jacob? (Gen 27:41)
- Has anyone ever taken away something very important to you? What did you do?
- Who should have healed the rivalry between the two boys?
- Why should siblings get along with one another?
- If you can’t get along with a brother or sister, how are you to get along with friends?
- When should we start to get along with our brothers or sisters?
- Whose responsibility is it to make sure siblings get along?
- What happened to Jacob and Esau?
- Why were they contentious?
- Who told Jacob to deceive Esau?
- What did Jacob have to do?
- Who was hurt by this deception?
- If you had been Esau, how would you have handled the situation?
- Do we ever benefit from deceiving someone?
- How does deception apply to our world today? Big business? Stock traders? Foreign affairs?
- What have you learned from this experience?
- What does the expression “what goes around comes around” mean in terms of Jacob’s experience? [He deceived his dad and brother, and then his uncle deceived him on his wedding night and then again in the distribution of livestock.]
- What might Laban's conversation with Leah and Rachel before the wedding begins sound like?
- How do you think Leah and Rachel felt about the situation?
- How are Esau and Leah’s situations similar? Rachel and Esau’s situations?
- When does Jacob get his relationship with Esau straightened out? [After he got his relationship with God right]
- Why is it important to have a good relationship with God?
- Who needed to be forgiven? [There are a lot of people in these stories who need forgiveness]
- Who forgave?
- Who should have forgiven but didn’t?
- Can you think of a time when you needed forgiveness or forgave someone?
- How did you feel when you were forgiven?
- How would you instruct someone in how to forgive?
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God Forgives Jonah Read Jonah 1 and 2; Inside a fish; The Prophet Who Tried to Run Away From God.
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Why did Jonah need to be forgiven?
- Who forgave him?
- What did Jonah do wrong?
- Why did he jeopardize so many other lives?
- Why didn’t Jonah want to do what God wanted him to do?
- Do you ever interfere in God’s plan because you think you know more than God?
- What kind of person was Jonah?
- What lessons had God prepared for Jonah?
- How do we know God forgave Jonah?
- What was God teaching Jonah?
- What does this story teach us?
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Jesus Forgives Zacchaeus Read Luke 19:2-10; A Very Short Man; and Little Zacchaeus.
- What did Zacchaeus do wrong?
- Why didn’t people like him?
- Why was Zacchaeus so interested in Jesus?
- Who forgave Zacchaeus?
- What did Zacchaeus promise to do?
- Who are some of the people in society that are looked down on because of their skin color, occupation, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or what they’ve done right or wrong?
- How do you feel about forgiveness?
- Are there some people we just don’t forgive?
- What do we do about not being able to forgive? You might read last month’s Guest of the Month Immacculee Ilibagiza. She had to forgive big time. Her mom and dad, grandparents, two brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends were murdered by Hutus who thought they were better Tutsis. That’s almost like getting rid of all brown-eyed people because they don’t have blue eyes.
- How can we stop hatred?
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Stephen is Stoned Read Acts 7; Stephen with the Shining Face; and The Preacher Who Was Stoned to Death.
- What is Stephen doing in the crowd?
- Why is he so impassioned?
- Are you that enthusiastic about Jesus?
- Would you be willing to give up your life for your beliefs about Jesus?
- Why was Stephen persecuted?
- What did he do wrong?
- What happened to him?
- What did Stephen say about what the people did to him?
- Are you able to forgive that deeply?
- How do we stop people from feeling they are better than we are?
- How do we stop from feeling we are better than other people?
- How does this all relate to the problems of terrorism in the world today?
- How do we stop terrorism?
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