GKidz Barnabas Club Spiritual Discipline: Studying the Bible Lesson 1 - The Bible is the Inspired Word of God

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1 GKidz Barnabas Club Spiritual Discipline: Studying the Bible Lesson 1 - The Bible is the Inspired Word of God Date: 3 & 4 January 2015 Key Verse: 16 God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. 17 By using Scripture, a man of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIRV) Lesson Objective: Children will learn that the Bible 1. consists of the written Word of God. 2. is inspired by the Holy Spirit. 3. is inspired to reveal who Jesus is. Terminology: 1. Bible It is the book that contains the Holy Scriptures. 2. Holy Scriptures It is the written Word of God. In this lesson, the terms Word of God and Scriptures are used interchangeably. Materials Needed: 1. Old and New Testament Books of the Bible worksheet GKidz will provide SMALL GROUP TIME (50 MINUTES) A. CONNECT: Old Time Telephone (10 mins) Instructions 1. Have the children sit in a circle or line up and play the old telephone game. 2. One person at the starting end of the line will whisper a word or phrase into the ear of the person sitting or standing next to them (e.g. they say, "banana"). Leaders, you can use the following phrases or make up your own. Samples: - My mother loves to eat steamed fish and fried broccoli. - My dream is to become (fill in the blanks). GKidz Barnabas Club

2 3. The next person will then whisper what they have heard to the next person, and so on, until the person at the other end of the line receives the given word or phrase. 3. Keep it going. Now, here's where the fun begins! Say the second person thinks they hear the word "bandana" instead of "banana", so they whisper that to the next person, who may hear "Band Anna" or something similar, and so on. 4. Have the last person say out loud the word or phrase. The fun part is when the last person to hear the word says it out loud, and the first person says the original word out loud. Everyone usually gets a good laugh out of it, since most of the time the 2 words that are spoken sound nothing alike. Link to INTO THE WORD: If it is difficult to pass a simple phrase down a short row of people, imagine how difficult it would be for the people who wrote the different books of the Bible to do so from memory with such accuracy. It would be impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Bible was put together by the Holy Spirit who relied on people to write it out. B. INTO THE WORD ( 20 mins) The Bible contains the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures is also known as the written Word of God. Do you believe the Word of God written in the Bible? Why? Has anyone ever told you that they don't believe the Bible? Many people unfortunately think the Bible is just another long boring book. But of course the Bible is not just another book, it was given to man from God to reveal Jesus Christ as our Savior. From Genesis, the very first book, to Revelation, the last book, the purpose of the Bible is to tell us about Jesus. In John 5:39 Jesus himself says, "These are the Scriptures that testify about me." But what can we say to people who just don't believe the Bible is the word of God? Let's look up some verses that may help us understand the significance and truth about the Bible. Help the children to find the following verses and have someone read each one. Then discuss each verse. GKidz Barnabas Club

3 Verses and Discussion Questions: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIRV) 1. Where does all Scripture come from? (From God) 2. What is the Scripture good for? (Teaching, rebuking, correcting, training and equipping) 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIRV) 20 Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet s own understanding of things. 21 Prophecy never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So, although prophets are human, prophecy comes from God. 1. Does prophecy come from man s understanding of things? (No) 2. Who "guided" men to write the prophecies in the Bible? (The Holy Spirit) Psalm 12:6 (NIRV) The words of the Lord are perfect.they are like silver made pure in a clay furnace. They are like gold made pure seven times over. 1. Does the Bible contain any mistakes? (No, it is perfect) 2. What does "pure" gold or silver mean? (Without any impurities) Psalm 119:160 (NIRV) All your words are true. All your laws are right. They last forever. 1. How can you respond to someone who says the Bible isn't true? (All of God's words are true, so the Bible is also true because it is the Word of God) 2. Does God ever need to come up with new rules or laws? (No, His laws are eternal) 1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit doesn t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. These things are foolish to them. They can t understand them. In fact, such things can t be understood without the Spirit s help. 1. Why is it difficult for some people to understand the Bible? (Because they do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them) 2. How does God reveal the Bible to us? (By the Holy Spirit) Conclusion: We know with certainty that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. The prophet Isaiah said that the earth was round (Isaiah 40:22) long before man believed it to be true. Man thought the world was flat! And not too long ago, GKidz Barnabas Club

4 someone found scrolls that were over 2,000 years old. What was written on the scrolls was almost exactly like what we find today in the book of Isaiah. Moreover, numerous archaeological discoveries are proving from a historical perspective the Bible is accurate. But, the Bible is more than just facts and history. The Bible brings us to a saving faith in God through His Son Jesus Christ. And we know this is true because the Holy Spirit makes us feel good about it. Link to APPLICATION: Just like it is important for us to know our textbooks well, we have to know the Bible well because it guides us in our lives. The good thing is, we do not just have one year to study it, we have a lifetime to master it. Start this year by deciding to get to the Word of God better. Start with getting to know all the names of the books in the Bible. C. APPLICATION ( 20 mins) During this series about the Word of God, we will begin to memorize the books of the Bible. Each person will be given one month to memorize all of the books (Leaders included!) Give each child a copy of the "Old and New Testament Books of the Bible worksheet to help them memorize the books of the Bible. Today, start by having the children look in their Bibles and write down the names of all the books of the Bible. Then, have them memorise first five books of the Old Testament on their worksheets and the first five books of the New Testament. Encourage the children to continue memorizing the other books of the Bible at home. Reference: GKidz Barnabas Club

5 Name: The Old Testament Books of the Bible From your Bible, write the names of each book from the Old Testament by category in the spaces provided below Books of Law: Old Testament Books of History: Books of Poetry: Books of Prophecy: (Major prophets) Books of Prophecy: (Minor prophets)

6 Name: The New Testament Books of the Bible From your Bible, write the names of each book from the New Testament by category in the spaces provided below New Testament The Gospels: Book of History: The Letters: Book Of Prophecy: