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This thread is for posting Bible Skills and Games Workshop lessons, ideas and resources for teaching "About" the Bible.


We have decided to spend the summer teaching the children how to use their Bibles and have them memorize the New and Old Testament books. We will use songs to teach the books, as well as a game using a set of blocks that has the Old Testament names attached. Any other ideas for games, art, drama, etc. that focus on the Bible or Bible use? Thanks!!!




Please post your games lessons and ideas below on teaching "About" the Bible...

Last edited by Luanne Payne
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More "game" ideas...

Posted by Diana Oppedal Russell

BOOKS OF BIBLE BRAIN TIME (for Grades 2-6)
From Diana Oppedal Russell, St. Luke United Methodist Church, Montgomery, AL

List of Books of Bible:
On projector or on large posterboard or even on chalk/dry erase board (list of 5 or 6 books at a time)

  • Point to name of each book and pronounce it (Power point can bring names in one at a time)
  • Have kids pronounce the book together
  • If it is a difficult one, have each one then pronounce it separately
  • Repeat the list together several times
  • Cover up the last book, then have them say them all (supplying the now blank last one themselves)
    (Power point can have one “fly off")
  • Cover up the next to last book and have them say them all (supplying the vacant ones themselves)
  • Continue until they are saying all the books without seeing them.


Books of Bible Unscramble
(Our kids love this): Make a “scrambled” list of the books you are working on. Show the first 2 and ask the kids which one is first and which one is second. Then show the next 3 and ask them which is first, which is second, etc.

Around the Table:
One says the first book, then each one in turn says the next book (if they don’t know it, they say “pass” and the next one supplies it). Or you can have them pass an item (ball or cardboard sword), and the child who receives it says the next book.

New Testament/Old Testament Game:
You can do as individuals or as teams. Hold up card showing a book of Bible (to one person or 2 at a time). Contestant getting it right gets the card (whoever or whichever team has most cards wins). They have to go with their first answer.

Before-After Game
(our more advanced kids love this): Same basic way as NT/OT above, except each card has a line either on top or on bottom. If the line is on top, then the contestant is to say the name of the Book that comes BEFORE. If the line is on the bottom, then the contestant is to say the name of the Book that comes AFTER. Person getting it right keeps card. Person or team with most cards wins.

Books of the Bible Game
(for teams or individuals): Less advanced may need to use list, but advanced should not need a list. Books of the Bible are printed on cards (we use “Business cards” (10 cards per sheet—available from office supply stores). Simply put the books in order. Whoever (or whatever team) finishes first wins. There is a great set of cards you can print on card stock and cut at www.kidssundayschool.com

Note that https://www.kidssundayschool.com/ requires a subscription. There are some free resources, but this one is not.
Last edited by Luanne Payne

Puzzles

Teaching with Puzzles:

We had two of the same puzzle (#1 below) – had kids break into 2 teams – to see who could put their puzzle together first. Either have a poster of the books for the kids to look at or a written list, for reference. Tell the kids to work in sections – it may be faster – and add their completed sections as they go. Once completed have children read off the bible names in order. Next have children follow names along and stop at each picture then discuss what the bible story it represents and which book it belongs to.

Unfortunately both of the below puzzles are out of print, try an on-line search.

#1 Books of the Bible Puzzle, Cook (Faithkidz), 2001, ISBN 9834502761. (OUT OF PRINT)
This 66-piece puzzle illustrates every book of the Bible while its background mural reveals Bible Stories.

To teach with the #2 puzzle I suggest – after putting it together I’d have the children read out loud the names (they can learn proper pronunciation), then discuss how the books are ordered and the groupings and what that means. Law – means…, Gospels – means…., etc.

#2 Books of the Bible Floor Puzzle, Lifeway, 2005, ISBN 1415820694. (OUT OF PRINT)
Designed for older preschoolers through middle children, the Books of the Bible Floor Puzzle contains 48 pieces and measures 24 inches by 36 inches. Bibles are stacked in groupings.

Make your own Books of the Bible puzzles as Jaymie did here https://www.rotation.org/topic...4#551452917265790704.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

How to Use Your Bible


Supplies:

  • Bibles, concordance,
  • Bible dictionary,
  • a bulletin from a past Sunday showing the responsive reading/Psalm,
    (Make sure your emphasis is on the concordance, dictionary, and how to look up Bible verses when you don’t know where they are at.)

Today we are going to study how the Bible works.
What do you know about the Bible? Get a feel from the kids what they already know.

  • Divided into 2 parts
    o Old Testament
    o New Testament

  • Divided into different books.
    o Each book divided into chapters.
    o Each chapter into verses.

  • If you are quoting only part of the verse, it is written as the verse number followed by a ‘small’ letter – like ‘a’ for the first part, ‘b’ for the second part, or ‘c’ for the third part. Example: “Now the earth was formless and empty…” Genesis 1: 2a

  • How many books does the total Bible have? 66

  • How many books does the Old Testament have? 39

  • How many books does the New Testament have? 27

Jesus promises us that He will guide us to understand what is true. Be sure to ask God to help you every time you study God’s Word!

Let us pray: Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us the Bible so that we may read and understand what You want us to do. Help us to find time to study it and find answers to our problems. Help us to learn all we can about the Bible and about You. Amen.

Bible Dictionary• A dictionary contains definitions of words or phrases found in the Bible.

  • Could be located in the back of your Bible or could be a separate book. “The Illustrated Bible Dictionary” by George W. Knight is a good reference.

  • Look up…. in the dictionary
    o Petition
    o Passover
    o Lord’s Prayer
    o Foot washing

Concordance

  • Is a special index – contains a list of words in alphabetical order that is used in the Bible.

  • By looking up key words, you can look up verses when you only remember a word or two, but not their location.

  • If you look up a word (Like baptized), the concordance will give you the reference (Like Mk 1:9 – meaning Mark 1:9), then site part of the verse using a ‘letter’ to signify the word you are looking up (Like ‘and was b by John in the Jordan’)

  • Look up
    o Say your friend has been upset and afraid. You want to have some Bible verses to help calm their fears. Look up “afraid” in the concordance. Are there any verses that might fit?
    o ‘Needle’ – Mt 19:24 – ‘go through the eye of a n’
    o ‘Methuselah’ – Ge 5: 27 – ‘altogether, M lived 969 years’
    o Isn’t there a verse that talks about ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’? What would you look up? ‘Neighbor’, ‘love’
    o Lev 19:18 – ‘but love your n as yourself’

Internet

  • Is a special way to look up a Bible verse.

  • Make sure you have your parent’s permission and they approve of the site you are using.

  • There are many choices you could use for verse look up.
    o http://www.christnotes.org
    o http://www.bible.com
    o http://www.biblegateway.com
  • Many of the internet sites also have a ‘daily Bible verse’ or a ‘daily devotion.
    o What is your ‘home page’ that is set up to come on when you turn on your computer to the internet?
    o If you are on the internet at home, what better way to start your day or start your time on the computer, than to first go to an approved site and read a verse before you move on to a game or chatting with your friends.
    o See if you could set one of these sites up as your ‘home page.’
    o What a great way to bring more of God into your life.

  • Look up
    o ‘Needle’ – It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Mark 10:25
    o ‘Methuselah’ - And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. Genesis 5:27
    o ‘Neighbor’ – lots of choices, narrow the search by adding ‘love’ - And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matthew 22:39


The Old Testament
The Old Testament is divided into 4 main parts.

  1. Pentateuch – it was called the Torah or the Law of Moses by the Hebrew people
    a. The first 5 books of the OT (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
    b. Written by Moses
    c. Tells of the creation of the world and how a family grew into a nation – Israel. Tells how God freed Israel from slavery, their wonderings for 40 years, and the laws given by God.

  2. Books of History
    a. Next 12 books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther)
    b. Contain the history of the Israelites as they moved into the Promised Land/Canaan and established a kingdom that lasted almost 500 years. When Israel obeyed God, He defeated their enemies. But lots of times, people disobeyed and got into serious trouble.

  3. Books of Poetry and Wisdom

    a. Open your Bible to the middle. What is the book are you looking at? Usually Psalms. What do you know about Psalms?
    i. They are prayers, songs, and poetry.
    ii. It is in the ‘Poetry and Wisdom’ portion of the Bible. (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)
    iii. Many Psalms were used for worship services. Thousands of people gathered together from all of Israel. The leader would sing (or read) one part and the people would respond with the other part. We read from the book of Psalms every Sunday during our responsive reading. (Show them a bulletin from a past Sunday.)
    iv. King David is connected to 73 of the 150 Psalms – either as a writer or a recipient.

    b. What is one of the most well known Psalms? Psalms 23 –see if they can say it without looking at the words.

    c. What is the center verse in the Bible? “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Psalms 118:8 – Put God in the center of your life!

    d. What is the book before Psalms? Job

    e. What is the book after Psalms? Proverbs

  4. The Books of the Prophets – the last section of the Old Testament.

    a. God sent many messengers, called prophets. God spoke through the prophets to His people. Some prophets predicted future events, but their primary job was to call God’s people back to him.
    i. Major prophets – The first five books – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
    ii. Minor prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

    b. Which prophets predicted that the messiah was coming? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Malachi – Malachi 3:1 , Micah 5:2 , Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9: 6-7, Isaiah 11: 1-5, Jeremiah 31: 15, Isaiah 35: 4-6


The New Testament
The New Testament is divided into 2 main parts.

  1. The Books of History

    a. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
    i. Gospel means ‘good news.’
    ii. On the life of Jesus and the good news he brought to man.

    b. Acts of the Apostles
    i. Continues the history into the time after Jesus left earth.

  2. The Letters
    a. Paul’s Letters
    i. To Churches – Romans, I&II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I&II Thessalonians,
    ii. To Others – I&II Timothy, Titus, Philemon

    b. Other Letters
    i. Hebrews, James, I&II Peter, I, II, &III John, Jude
    ii. Revelation – a Prophecy – an Apocalypse writing, a Greek word that refers to an unveiling of the hidden things known only to God.

  3. The Book of Revelation reveals the end of what we know now and the coming of God’s future kingdom through symbols, visions and numbers. It’s hard to understand, but the big promise is clear – Jesus is coming back to Earth and everyone will know He is King!


Key points to emphasize:

  • Concordance
  • Bible Dictionary
  • Internet to look up Bible verses
  • Four main parts of the Old Testament
  • Two main parts of the New Testament
  • Gospels – ‘good news’



Written by Rachel Haugland

Reference: The Quest Study Bible/NIV by Zondervan, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary by George Knight, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

The Bible Games


“Put the Books in Order”
You can choose any of the activities you want to help the kids learn the order of the books of the Bible – Old Testament and New Testament.

‘Bible Dominos’ (See 52 Games that Teach the Bible – Rainbow Publishers 2007)

o It’s just a game for fun, there is no ‘winner’ – we are all winners in Christ.

Books of the Bible ‘Balloon Pop’
Supplies: Balloons, tape/sticky tack hooks, markers, Bible, push pin to pop the balloons

  • Fill one wall with 39 blown up balloons taped to the wall or on stick tack hooks.
  • Fill another wall with 27 blown up balloons taped to the wall
  • Carefully write the Books of the Old Testament on one wall and New Testament on the other with a sharpie marker – not in order.
  • Have the first child pop the balloon that has the first book of the Old Testament on it. (Pop ‘Genesis’)
  • The second child finds the next book and pops that balloon (Pop ‘Exodus’)
  • Continue until all Old Testament balloons are popped.
  • Pick up the pieces and tape/sticky tack hooks
    o Go to the New Testament wall of balloons and repeat.
  • Be careful that the marker doesn’t get on clothing, hands or the floor.


Flash Cards

  • Put the flash cards of the Old Testament in order. Form 2 teams, with 2 sets of flash cards.
  • Use the table, floor, or sticky tack on the wall.
  • Then do the same with the New Testament.


Bible Book Bounce (Adapted from 52 Games that Teach the Bible – Rainbow Publishers 2007 page 41 and 59)

Books of the Bible Flash Cards

Use the following list to make two sets of “flash cards” for the Books of the Bible. Write ‘OT’ on the back of one set of the Old Testament cards, ‘OT-2’ on the back of the second, then ‘NT or NT-2’ for the New Testament for easier sorting after class. Best if they are laminated.
Use different colors to coordinate the different sections. Such as…

  • Old Testament
    o (Green) Pentateuch/Torah
    • Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

    o (Orange) History
    • Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther

    o (Blue) Poetry & Wisdom
    • Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon

    o (Red) Prophets
    • Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
    • Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

  • New Testament
    o History
    o (Red) Gospels
    • Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

    o (Orange) Acts

    o (Yellow) The Letters
    • Romans, I&II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I&II Thessalonians, I&II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, I&II Peter, I, II, &III John, Jude

    o (Green) Revelations – an Apocalypse


Put a ‘color’ border around those books that have been written by the same person. (Authors taken from the “Quest Study Bible - NIV” from Zondervan) – Example: The main, inside color for John is red (Gospel) and I John is yellow (The Letters) with a blue border signifying John wrote both.

  • (Orange) Moses, - wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
  • David, king, is connected to 73 of the psalms – other writers Asaph, Sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses and others
  • (Green) Solomon, wise king – wrote Proverbs (along with Agur & Lemuel), probably Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,
  • Isaiah, prophet – wrote Isaiah,
  • (Yellow) Jeremiah, priest & prophet – wrote Jeremiah, Lamentations,
  • Ezekiel, a priest, taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon – wrote Ezekiel,
  • Daniel, was taken captive to Babylon - wrote Daniel
  • Hosea, a prophet – wrote Hosea,
  • Joel, a prophet – wrote Joel,
  • Amos, a shepherd – wrote Amos,
  • Obadiah, a prophet – wrote Obadiah,
  • Jonah, a prophet – wrote Jonah
  • Micah, a prophet – wrote Micah
  • Nahum, a prophet – wrote Nahum
  • Habakkuk, a prophet – wrote Habakkuk
  • Zephaniah, a prophet – wrote Zephaniah
  • Haggai, - wrote Haggai
  • Zechariah, a prophet & priest, born in exile – wrote Zechariah
  • Matthew, tax collector, one of twelve disciple – wrote Matthew,
  • John Mark, son of a Jerusalem widow whose home was a meeting place for early believers, most likely recorded the events heard firsthand from the disciple Peter – wrote Mark,
  • (Green) Luke, companion of Paul the apostle, probably a Gentile and medical doctor – wrote Luke, Acts,
  • (Blue) John, the apostle, one of the twelve disciples – wrote John, I, II & III John, probably Revelations
  • (Red) Paul, an apostle – wrote Romans, I&II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I&II Thessalonians, I&II Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
  • (Orange) Peter, the apostle – wrote I&II Peter
  • Jude, Half brother of Jesus – wrote Jude
  • Unknown
    o Joshua (? Joshua, Eleazar & Phinehas), Judges (? Samuel), Ruth (? Samuel), I&II Samuel, I&II Kings (? Jeremiah), I&II Chronicles (? Ezra), Ezra (? Ezra), Nehemiah (? Ezra), Esther (? Ezra, Nehemiah, Mordecai), Malachi (? Malachi or another prophet)
    o Hebrews (? Paul, Barnabas, Luke or Apollos), James (? James, Jesus’ half brother)
  • Philippians – written while under house arrest, Paul wrote to believers in the city of Philippi, in northeastern Greece
  • Colossians – written while under house arrest, Paul wrote to believers in the town of Colosse, in southwest interior of Turkey.
  • I&II Thessalonians – Paul wrote to the believers in the church at Thessalonica.
  • I&II Timothy – Paul wrote to Timothy with advice on how to better lead the church at Ephesus.
  • Titus – Paul wrote to Titus, a close friend, after his first release from a Roman prison.
  • Philemon – While in prison, Paul wrote to Philemon, a wealthy Christian in the church at Colosse

A lesson written by Rachel Haugland

Reference: Big Book of Bible Facts and Fun – 2005 Gospel Light, 52 Games that Teach the Bible – Rainbow Publishers 2007

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Younger Children Bible Game Activities:

  • “Can You Find?” – Have kids find 4 or 5 Old Testament books, then 4 or 5 New Testament books.
  • “Old or New?” - Use the set of books of Bible cards. Turn over card and call out name. Kids respond with Old or New, depending on whether the book is from the Old Testament or New Testament.
  • “Musical Bible” – Play music while kids pass Bible around circle. When music stops child quickly names any book of the Bible. If correct, child stays in game. If incorrect child is out. Continue until one child left. Make the game more challenging by determining just Old Testament books, or just New Testament books.
  • "Beanbag Toss" – Write the books of the Bible on a large piece of posterboard. Color code the books and make up cards to match the poster. For example, if Genesis is on a red square, make a red card with Genesis on it. Make a set of cards for each team. Teams take turns throwing a beanbag onto the posterboard, which has been laid on the ground. If the bag lands on a square with a book of the Bible that the team doesn’t already have, the child who tossed the beanbag gets to pick the matching card for the team. First team to get a complete set of cards wins. Make the game more challenging by requiring the teams to put the cards in the correct order that the books appear in the Bible in order to win.


Written by Linda Norem

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

Game Ideas

I have a number of games I use to teach the Books of the Bible. Feel free to use them.

Before and After
Make a card for every book in the Bible. Shuffle them thoroughly. Divide the kids into 2 or 3 teams. Hold up a card and say "Before," "After," or "Before AND After." The teams compete to name the book coming before, after, or before AND after the book shown on the card. The winning team is the one with the most cards.

Divisions of the Bible Memory
Make a set of cards for a memory (concentration) game. One card will have the Bible division (Law, History, etc.). The matching card will have a list of books in that division. (Example: the card that goes with "Law" would list Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.)

Tic-Tac-Toe
Divide the kids into 2 teams and play tic-tac-toe, using the following questions or ones you make up yourself:

  1. Name the 5 books of the law.
    Answer: Gen., Ex., Lev., Num., Deut.
  2. Name 2 books of OT history.
    Answer: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Sam., 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chron., Ezra, Neh. Est.
  3. Name 2 books of poetry.
    Answer: Job, Ps., Prov., Eccl., Song of Songs
  4. Name 2 major prophets.
    Answer: Isa., Jer., Ez., Dan.
  5. Name 2 minor prophets.
    Answer: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Oba., Jonah, Micah, Nah., Hab., Zeph., Hag., Zech., Mal.
  6. Name the 4 gospels.
    Answer: Matt., Mark, Luke, John
  7. Name the only book of history in the New Testament.
    Answer: Acts
  8. Name 2 books written by the Apostle Paul.
    Answer: Rom., 1 & 2 Cor., Gal., Eph., Phil., Col., 1 & 2 Thess., 1 & 2 Tim., Tit., Phil.
  9. Name 2 books written by people other than Paul.
    Answer: Heb., James, 1 & 2 Pet., 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude
  10. Name the only book of prophecy in the Bible.
    Answer: Revelation
  11. How many books are there in the Old Testament?
    Answer: 39
  12. How many books are there in the New Testament?
    Answer: 27
  13. How many books are there in the Old Testament and New Testament combined?
    Answer: 66


Books of the Bible Bingo
Make a set of bingo cards, and a set of call cards. This game will give the kids familiarity with the Books of the Bible.

Books of the Bible Scramble
Make one or more sets of cards, one for each book of the Bible. Shuffle them and lay them face down on the table. The object is to see how fast the kids can put the cards in order. If your class is small, use one set. If your class is larger, use 2 or 3 sets.

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

Games Station

Story: The Bible


Workshop-specific Goals

  • Become familiar with the names and locations of the books of the Bible
  • Know that God gave us His Word in the Bible to point the way to Jesus
  • Understand that the Bible also shows His love for us and His plan for us

Preparation

  • Review Background notes.
  • Gather the materials.
  • Refer to schedule and decide how you will make adjustments for the different ages.
  • This class will require two rooms—one for the introduction and a separate one for the obstacle course (the students can’t enter this room until you are ready for this activity). 
  • Prepare a special bag for the introduction by cutting the side of one paper grocery sack and taping it to the inside of a second grocery sack to make a secret pocket. Put the following into the pocket: ribbon, recipe on a card, cross necklace, small birthday candle.
  • Cover the windows of the classroom with dark paper so that it is pitch-black when the lights are turned off. Set up a simple obstacle course with chairs, tables, boxes, etc (consider student safety as you are doing this—their first trip through this will be in the dark). At 3 different locations in the course, you should have 3 boxes decorated to look like Bible, with a label that says “Look inside”. There should be a stamp and stamp pad in each box.


Materials List:

  • Bibles (supplied in teaching box)
  • Introduction: 2 paper grocery sacks, ribbon, recipe on a card, cross necklace, small birthday candle
  • Obstacle Course: Flashlights, 4 boxes decorated to look like Bibles, stamp pad and stamp for each of the 4 boxes (see lesson for suggestions on stamps), slip of paper for each student (see end of lesson)
  • Bible Knowledge Games: Bible Book coloring sheets (one for each student), large sheet of paper (or dry erase board) and marker to keep score, Bible Book cards (66—one for each book) and Bible Category Cards (see end of lesson)
  • Bible Story Book (Arch book or Children’s Bible)


Lesson Plan


Opening:

Make sure you have your nametag on. Introduce yourself to the students.

Open with a prayer.

Dig:


Introduction & Bible Story:
Please make sure that the students hear and “get” the Bible story as well as the application of that story to their lives. The Bible story is the MOST important part of the lesson—it is much more important than the activity associated with this station!

Hold up the paper bag that has the hidden pocket with items (be sure to hold the top of the secret pocket closed to the items don’t escape). Show the kids the inside and outside of the bag and say: This looks like an ordinary, empty bag, doesn’t it? But there are some useful things inside—let’s see. Pull out the items and ask how each of these items is useful.

Hold up Bible and say: Some people might think this is an ordinary book, but it has lots of wonderful surprises in it—just like our paper bag. There may be some wonderful things you didn’t even know about.

A ribbon can be used to tie things together—the Bible helps us to stay close to God, who loves us so much. A recipe tells us how to make something—the Bible helps us know what God’s plan is for us—it tells us lots of things we need to know about God and living a godly life. The cross reminds us of Jesus and everything that He did for us. What do you think the candle has to do with our memory verse from Psalm 119: 105 which says “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. (God’s word helps us know where to go and what to do—without it we are in darkness and don’t know)

One of the Psalms—Psalm 119—is devoted to the word of God. We won’t read the whole Psalm because it has 176 verses! Read Psalm 119: 9-16. What does this tell us about God’s Word? (tells us how to live, need to think about God’s Word—meditate on it—so that we know it and it is hidden in our heart). Now read Psalm 119: 41-46. What does this tell us about God’s Word? (talks about God’s love and promises and salvation, word is truth, will speak about God’s word to others).

Activities:

Obstacle Course
We’ll be going into another room for our first game. Before you open the door to the room, have the students close their eyes. Lead them into the room and then hand them a piece of paper. When everyone is in, tell them they can open their eyes. Tell them they need to go through the obstacle course, but do not give any more information. Station yourself and the guide near anything that might be hazardous. Give them just a minute or two to bump around in the dark because there are a lot more activities to come. Then give each student (or group of students) a flashlight which they should first use to read their slip of paper. SAY: Here is a light for your path! (See end of lesson for description of papers) They should go through the course again with their flashlights and follow the directions at the 4 stations to find the stamps & stamp pads. They should stamp in with each stamp in the section of their paper that applies. The stamp for “know how to lead Godly life” could be 2 stone tablets of 10 commandments; stamp for God’s love for us could be a heart; stamp for knowing Jesus as our Savior could be a cross; stamp for heaven could be a crown.

When everyone is done stamping in, say: Were you able to make your way through the course and fill in your papers in the dark? What helped you get this done? (the light) How is this like the Bible in your life? What does each of the stamps tell you about the Bible?

Bible Book Games Intro
Hand out the coloring sheet with the books of the Bible in the bookcase. The Bible is one big book divided into 66 smaller books. These books were recorded by a number of different people, but God is the author of the Bible—the Holy Spirit guided people to write what they did. The Old Testament has 39 books—it came first. It is the Bible that Jesus used. Go over the different categories of books in the OT : law (Genesis to Deuteronomy), history (Joshua to Esther), wisdom literature/poetry (Job to Song of Songs), major prophets (Isaiah to Daniel) and minor prophets (Hosea to Malachi).

The New Testament has 27 books. It starts with the birth of Jesus and tells about the life and ministry of Jesus, His death & resurrection, and how the Christian church began and grew. Go over the different categories in the NT: Gospels (Matthew to John), history (Acts), Paul’s letters/epistles (Romans to Philemon), letters by others (Hebrews to Jude), and prophecy (Revelation). Have them repeat the names of the books with you. Now we are going to play some games to test you on this knowledge.

Old Testament/New Testament (younger students)
Divide the group into teams of 2-4 players. Say the name of a book in the Bible and the teams say if it is OT or NT. Teams getting it right get a point. You could either go around the room and give each team a turn with a book of the Bible or have teams raise hands if they know the answer.

Book of the Bible in Order (Older students)
Cut pieces of card stock and put one Bible book name on each card. Have one group put the OT books in order and the other team put the NT books in order. If needed, they can refer to the coloring sheet. If there is time, you could scramble them up again, and have the 2 teams put the other testament books in order

Which Category (all students)
Use the cards from the books of the Bible game. Mix them up and give each student several cards (until all cards are handed out). Set out Bible Category cards on the table/floor: Law, OT history, wisdom literature/poetry, major prophets, minor prophets, Gospels, NT history, Paul’s letters, other letters, prophecy. Go around the room and have each child put one of their cards into the right category. (For example, they would put the card “Galatians” into the “Paul’s Letters category or “Jonah” in the “Minor Prophets” category). Keep going around the room until all cards are used. Older students could also put the cards into the right order into each category.

Reflection:

We’ve learned a lot about the Bible today. What is the most important thing about God’s word for you.

Close with a prayer.


Adaptation

We made the following adaptation for the PreK/Kindergarten class (we didn't want to scare them by putting them into an entirely dark room). The helper took the kids out into the hall while I hid the boxes in the room. I put paper arrows on the floor to lead them to the boxes. Then we really dimmed the room and gave the kids flashlights to follow the arrows to the boxes. We put the kids in groups of 4--that way each child had a turn with the flashlilght to find one box. As we found each stamp, we talked about its meaning and then stamped in on our sheets.

You could use this adaptation with the older kids if you didn't want to create an entire obstacle course--or if you need to shorten this part of the lesson.


Resources/Bibliography

  • Rainbow Crew Lesson Plan (Science—The Bible) from First United Methodist Church
  • “Books of the Bible Brain Time” lesson by Diana Russell (on rotation.org)

A lesson from St. John Lutheran Church (2006)

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

 

Obstacle Course Chart

In the Obstacle Course activity, the students had a chart/table to place stamps in the 4 boxes of the table. Here are the 4 statements that went into the boxes:The Bible ………….

helps us know how to live a Godly life

tells us about God and His love for us!

helps lead us to our Savior, Jesus Christ

shows God’s plan for us—everyone who believes in Jesus will be in heaven with Him one day

Variation

Another variation for putting the Books of the Bible in Order. I made cards (one for each book of the Bible) out of 4 X 6"index cards, cut in half, and punched a hole in the center of the top of each card. I wrote one book of the Bible on each card. Then using two large foam poster boards (one white and one yellow) I wrote "Old Testament" on one and "New Testament" on the other. Then I put sticky hooks (the picture hanging hooks that are on white sticky canvas material) spaced out on the board in neat rows...one for each book of the testament (27 for New Testament and 39 for the Old Testament). When we were working on the Old Testament books in order, I would mix up the cards and deal them out to the children. We would sit in a semi-circle around the Old Testament Board, and I would time them on how quickly they could get the cards put in the board in order. I would say Genesis, then whomever had Genesis would come up and place that card on the first hook; then Exodus would place their card on the second hook, etc. I had a poster on the wall that would help them know what book was coming up next. I kept their fastest time on the chalkboard, and the next time we played the game, that was the time to beat. It got the children motivated to learn the books in order...they even got to the point where they would order the books that they had in their hand so that they didn't have to keep looking through all their cards. We still occasionally play with these even though we are no longer on the topic of the Books of the Bible.

Compiled posts from Misc.


Bible Tic Tac Toe, put the books of the bible in order using laminated strips we made, divide into groups and find a verse in the bible first.




Games -- We played lots of games to reinforce Bible skills like Bible concentration, Bible Jeopardy, and Who Wants to be a Christian-aire.

I also spray painted old puzzles and created New and Old Testament Books puzzles using paint markers. We also went on a Bible scavenger hunt which took the kids all over the church and all over their Bibles!

We culminated the whole event with a presentation to the congregation. The older kids read a sentence or two about each character in the "One Big Story" and then we unrolled that huge scroll. All the kids sang "Thy Word." It was pretty neat. (to hear more about this

Blessings,
Jaymie


Scavenger Hunt

I got a private message about a Bible Scavenger Hunt that we have done for many years as an introductory activity for our Confirmation classes. We divide up into teams and give each team the list and a sack to collect the items, plus a Bible. They work together to find the scripture, go to the site noted and try to figure out what the scavenger hunt item is. It's always a LOT of fun and it helps us figure out what their Bible skills are. Once time is up, or once a team finishes, we come back together and review the items and the scriptures.

Attached is the hunt list. (of course it's specific to our church and our rooms, but you'll get the idea).

Blessings,
Jaymie

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Last edited by Luanne Payne

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