The Biblical Path of Life

Author: mjross

  • Lesson 4: The 39 Old Testament Books: 5 Divisions

    Key Verse:

    “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein …” Joshua 1:8 

    Lesson Summary:  Understand that meditate in the verse means:  To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind.  For the next few lessons, we will “meditate” on how the Bible fits together.  Understand that by learning how God’s Word fits together, it will make it much easier for us to “observe to do according to all that is written therein”.

    In this lesson, we are going to begin learning how the Old Testament is divided into sections.  These divisions will help us understand how the Bible fits together.  It will make it easier for us to find our favorite Bible stories, verses, and help us grow to become better Christians.  Begin to understand how simply the Bible is laid out for us to understand how it fits together.  This cannot be learned in one lesson.  This is just an overview of what we will be learning in the lessons to come.  Become familiar with the basic divisions of the Bible by using your Bible.  It will help to begin to memorize the books of the Old Testament.

     

    Ideas for crafts or activities for children:

    Display the poster of the books of the Old Testament and One Page Old Testament Overview. Files may be downloaded:

    Old Testament Bookshelf

    One Page Old Testament Overview

    Optional worksheets that can be downloaded:

    Lesson 4 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet 1

    Lesson 4 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

    One could also make a set of 3 x 5 cards – a different color for each division – with the names of each Old Testament book.  These could be used to practice putting the books in the correct order, or even help with memorization of the 39 Old Testament books.

    Younger children:  try teaching them the five divisions of the Old Testament by using their hands.  Have them trace their hand on a piece of paper.  Carefully write the 5 divisions of the Old Testament, one on each finger.  Use the thumb to begin with and end with the pinky finger.  After you finish, help them cut out their “hand” and glue it to a piece of construction paper.  Make one to keep in the room to hang on the wall by your Old Testament Bookshelf.

    As you teach the lesson, use your fingers (and encourage them to hold up their hands to reinforce it with them.)  Point to your thumb and mention “Law.”  As you do, point to the Old Testament Bookshelf to help them understand you are talking about these books in their Bibles.  You can help them remember each division by briefly telling them (or having them tell you) a particular story they will be familiar with that is within that division:  i.e.

    1. “Law” – tell them God created the world, Noah’s ark, and Moses and the 10 commandments are all found here.
    2. “History” – tell them David and Goliath happens here
    3. “Personal” – tell them many of the Jews songs were recorded here, tell of the 23rd Psalm, or about Job.
    4. “Major Prophets” – tell them of Daniel and/or his three friends: Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego.
    5. “Minor Prophets” – tell them of Jonah

    Mural suggestion for today: 

    For this lesson, have them decorate a large puzzle piece with some pertinent facts about themselves it would be important for others to know, i.e.:  their favorite color, how many siblings they have, who their parents are, their favorite book, when they were saved, anything that tells all about them. Or, have them share how they would divide their personal life into divisions (write them on their puzzle piece).   Just as the books of the Bible are pieces of the Bible that tells us who Jesus is, let these puzzle pieces tell others who they are.  Encourage everyone to participate.

    5 Division Hand Prints
    39 OT Books Cards

  • Lesson 3: Why is the History Important?

    Key Verse:

    “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”  1 Corinthians 10:11

    Lesson Summary:  After reading this verse, focus on the fact that God’s Word was written for us to show us a picture of His plan.  We are to learn from what is written in His Word.  Each Bible “story” we have learned through the years is just a piece of the “puzzle” to complete the picture of God’s Plan.  History may appear boring, but we are going to show how fascinating, and especially important, it is in our lives.

    Because the history is so important, we should desire to know the history – just like Peter, Stephen, and Paul knew it.  We are to understand that the history found in God’s Word is there to help us better understand and know Jesus.  As we look at this lesson, we begin to understand that God had a plan.  In the Old Testament, men didn’t fully understand what that plan was, but through faith they believed.  In the New Testament, God’s plan was revealed through His Son, Jesus.  Men still didn’t understand until Jesus died, resurrected and ascended into heaven.  But once they understood, they could not keep silent.  They shared what they learned with others so they could know of God’s wonderful plan as well.

    In this lesson, we will learn as Peter preached the Old Testament history, and the response he received.  Then we will remember Stephen as he preached the same history, and the very different response to his message.  Finally, we will see Saul (later called Paul) who was transformed (believed in Jesus) after Stephen’s preaching, and how he became a mighty preacher, and teacher, of the history revealing Jesus.

    Ideas for crafts or activities to do with children:

    For an activity to prepare to discuss the lesson, have children begin working on the puzzle (ideally of a Bible Story) you have prepared for them to put together.  (Preparation:  Have a puzzle with chunks of it put together, yet with many loose pieces.  Have reserved (in an envelope set aside) 7 important pieces – to leave the puzzle obviously incomplete.  Focus on the fact that God’s Word was written for us to show us a picture of His plan.  We are to learn from what is written in His Word.  Each Bible “story” we have learned through the years is just a piece of the “puzzle” to complete the picture of God’s Plan.  History may appear boring, but we are going to show how fascinating, and especially important, it is in our lives.  Wait until after the lesson is discussed to do the following:

    Have the students reconsider the puzzle they worked on at the beginning of your time.  Ask them if they enjoy doing a puzzle that doesn’t have all of the pieces.  Why not?  Take out the missing pieces – 7 of them.  As you do, tell them that the puzzle could not be completed without the pieces.  They could guess what the picture was, but wouldn’t completely know without the final pieces.  Throughout history, people could try to understand what God was showing them.  They trusted that He held all of the pieces, and would fit them in place, in His timing.  As you begin fitting in the final 7 pieces of the puzzle, explain that it wasn’t until:

    1. Jesus’ birth
    2. the life he lived pleasing to God
    3. His obedience
    4. death on the cross
    5. burial
    6. resurrection
    7. ascension into heaven

    Then the picture became clear.

    Mural suggestion for today: 

    Have them share something that happened that they may not have understood at the time, but later understood why it happened.  Have paper or a puzzle shape for them to write or draw their experience.

    Optional worksheets that can be downloaded:

    Lesson 3 – Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet

    Lesson 3 – Volume 1 Children’s Reinforcement Worksheet

    Puzzle Shape to write or draw on for mural.

    Another idea is to make a collage on a bulletin board of many Old Testament pictures that are very familiar.

  • Lesson 2: God Made Me

    For this week, I have included a sample lesson.  Hopefully this will give you a glimpse into the simplicity of the beginning lessons.  By beginning with an overview of the Bible (in Lesson 1), we can better understand where The Biblical Path of Life study is going – completely through the Bible from beginning to end.  In Lesson 2, we acknowledge that God created all, but his greatest creation is man.  So few people in the world today truly understand their worth in God’s eyes.  By remembering the importance of each person, and the great love God has for them in the sending of His only Son, Jesus, to bring them back to Him, we can once again understand the importance on our part to receive the great gift God has made available to us.

    God created the world and everything in it.  In this lesson, we focus on the fact that the greatest thing God created was mankind.  We will emphasize that man is God’s greatest creation – for God created man in His image.  And God created man to have fellowship with Him. But the first man disobeyed God, which caused separation. This meant that man could no longer fellowship with God as before because of this separation.  But God promised One would come to bridge the gap between sinful man and God.

    God made each and every one of us.  One of the most important things that each person should understand is that God created me.  He made me a unique individual.  And God created me to have fellowship with Him. God has a plan for me.  But because of sin that separated man from God, each person must trust Jesus to reconcile us, restoring that relationship.

    Key Verse

    “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”   John 1:3

    The Biblical Path of Life Volume 1 sample chapter

    Ideas for crafts or activities for children:

    There is a memory verse fill in the blank worksheet you may want to download.

    Lesson 2 Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet

    • Have each child draw a picture of themselves. Emphasize their uniqueness, while also showing them their remarkable similarities, as they consider that God made them.
    • Younger children could have someone trace their outline on butcher paper.  Then each child could then color it to look like him/her.
    • Older children or youth:  Some of the classes designated a wall in their classroom to become a huge mural.  For this week, have them each bring a picture of themselves.  You may even take a group picture to put in the center of your mural.  Emphasize that they are each different, yet special in God’s eyes.  Each week hereafter, there will be ideas or suggestions as to what to add to the mural weekly.  They may bring a picture, a news article, a poem they have written, a picture they have drawn, etc. of something that is relevant to each of the following lessons.  Watch as it grows weekly, as they express what God is revealing to them through our study of how the Bible fits into His plan to help us become more like Him.  Encourage everyone to participate.  I have posted a few pictures of murals that different classes made.

     

     

     

     

  • Lesson 1 of The Biblical Path of Life Volume 1

    For each lesson, I will post ideas or suggestions of activities we have tried to help in the teaching or reinforcing each lesson.  Each idea will begin with a summary of that lesson.

    In this first lesson, we will begin by understanding that that we were created by God for a purpose.  While God dealt with man in different ways through the ages, He created us to have a relationship with Him.  As we begin this study of the Bible from beginning to end, we will first take time to see how it is laid out in certain timeframes – dispensations.  Dispensation basically means God’s method of dealing with mankind in respect of sin and man’s responsibility. Each of the dispensations may be regarded as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgment, marking his utter failure in every dispensation.  It is with that thought that we will look at the scriptures as a whole.

    God created the world perfect, but man sinned, bringing the judgment of death into the world.  Throughout the ages, God gave man many opportunities to have a relationship with Him, but each time man failed.  Man had to understand that the only way that relationship could ever be restored would be by the atoning death of His Son, Jesus.  We will try to see how God dealt with man throughout the ages, and how God was working, revealing the way to bring man back to Himself – through Jesus.

    Key Verse

    “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”    Colossians 1:16

    Ideas for activities or crafts for children:

    There is a memory verse worksheet that can be downloaded.

    My very talented sister drew pictures of a timeline in five different coloring sheets for children to color, making their own timeline.  It includes a line that begins after man sinned in the garden and when God gave the promise of Jesus.  Our class colored this line red to follow the promise of Jesus to the fulfillment of that promise. We then glued them to a roll of brown paper cut down to fit so we could post them on our classroom wall.  I have posted these coloring sheets of that timeline. You may download them to make a timeline for each student.  A simple way would be to copy the coloring sheets (on legal sized paper) and have them color them throughout the first few lessons.  They could be glued to a roll of brown craft paper cut to size as they are completed.  Our classes made them and added to them weekly, leaving them hung on the wall for viewing as we learned some of the Bible lessons that were pictured on them.

    To open the links below, right click and choose “open link in new tab”.

    Lesson 1 Volume 1 Children’s Worksheet

  • Why Teach This to Children?

    This study was developed to teach children that the Bible is not just a bunch of random stories. The idea was to help them understand that the events in the Bible are interconnected, all with a purpose.  When man sinned in the garden and broke the relationship between God and man, God revealed a promise to restore that relationship.  He promised to send One, His Son, Jesus.  Through our lessons, we learn that God kept His promise and sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross to take away mankind’s sin – for anyone who would believe.  This allowed for the relationship to be once again restored between God and man.

    I taught The Biblical Path of Life three year program to a 6-8 year old Sunday School class two times (although I am now teaching this Bible study to an adult class).  During this time, the children became more familiar with their Bibles.  They would read verses aloud in class.  Even the children who only knew a few words would read a verse with help, eventually being able to read verses on their own. We made timelines that we would refer to often, to help us see how the Bible events we were learning about related to each other.  I always tried to have some kind of coloring sheet or other type of worksheet to help them remember what was learned in class.  Bible coloring books can be a good place to find pictures to color. The internet can be a great place to find free coloring sheets. But because this study covers Bible events not usually learned in an average Bible study, there weren’t always reinforcement worksheets to help them remember.  I developed a few to help the children remember what they had learned in class.  In spite of my inadequacies, I will make them available in my future blogs for anyone who may want to use them.  You may choose to use them or find better ones that can be used.

    Because the children were learning so much, the parents wanted to learn the same lessons.  This allowed them to prepare for the lesson ahead of class together.  This also gave them the opportunity to discuss what they had learned in their separate classes.  Although the learning was on very different levels, the same Bible truths were taught.

    In the following blogs you will find a brief summary of each lesson along with some downloads to help if needed. My hope is that this Bible study, The Biblical Path of Life, will help people – even children – understand the Bible a little easier!

  • Why This Study?

    From a friend and Sunday School teacher about The Biblical Path of Life:

    I was searching for a church home. Day 1 at Rehoboth Baptist Church the Sunday School teacher was teaching Isaiah, overview style. I fell in love with the Sunday school Bible study (The Biblical Path of Life). For the first time in my entire life I was looking at the Bible as a whole and learning how it all fit together. So simple, so incredible to realize these prophets were speaking to the Kings of their day, some prophecies would come to pass before their eyes and others would come to pass hundreds of years later. All of God’s Word through the prophets would come to pass and we could study the history in the Bible and see fulfillment!

    I love learning the books of Moses in Sunday School.  The Sunday School curriculum mentions over and over “These are familiar stories so let your class tell you what they remember”. Sometimes the children don’t remember near as much as I thought they would, and it’s a wonderful springboard to delve into what the Bible says and meet them exactly where they are. Other times, I’m exhilarated with details they remember so clearly and can explain correctly. It lets us spend more time on a “deeper path”. I love the “Deeper Path”, there are always connections with the OT to NT and vice versa. We see the Lord Jesus everywhere in the Bible!

    Just last week studying II Kings, I was delighted to realize that Elisha cried out “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” when Elijah was carried up to heaven;  King Joash of Israel cried the same thing when Elisha was dying. The Sunday School lesson brought that out so clearly because it always makes it easy to see the big picture. And yep, I’m sorry to say it wasn’t on my mind at all when I read it in the Bible. And when I saw it in the Sunday School lesson I was so taken by it. It made a huge impact on me, my study, and teaching the lesson.

    After worshiping on Sunday morning, my family talks about the Sunday School lesson. Each of us have had an encounter with the Lord in His Word. The classes teach the same chapters of the Bible and yet each class has a take-home message individually tailored to their level of understanding. Only the Lord could give us written communication easy enough for a child to understand, hard enough to challenge an educated adult all the days of their lives, and impossible for the unbelieving. This 3 year Bible Study for children and adults has blessed my family! We all grasp the difference between OT and NT. Young and adult all have been taught and understand how the Bible fits together.

    I love the easy-to-read formatting in the Sunday School guide. It’s clear and concise… Each lesson is organized into a few main points with key verses explained. These lessons are Holy Spirit led. There is just no other way a book of the Bible could be summarized so simply and yet so completely… The memory verse each week really summarizes the heart lesson of the Bible study.

    This 3-Year Bible Study program (The Biblical Path of Life) is a breath of fresh air amidst the typical swirl of bible stories lacking connection to God’s word as a whole. My own daughters ages 14 and 12 have gone through the Bible from cover to cover three times. It has helped them to be discerning when they hear someone talk “Bible” out of context. They get a very fast sense that something is not right – because they’ve been studying the Bible and receiving sound teaching. Movies are the worst! There is always some character misrepresenting God with their words – a person who has studied the Bible can spot it.

    I love the question books that accompany the children’s Sunday School. The questions are easy to answer because the verses to read for the answer are printed with the question; but the questions help them to go back to the Bible and meditate on these verses. It prepares them for Sunday School class. Every class member has had a full week to be just as prepared as the teacher – that makes for a wonderful Bible study and fellowship!

    … I love having the Dispensational chart on wall while going through our Bible study. It makes it so easy for everyone to see God’s timeline; to see man’s constant failures to live up to God’s standard. It’s almost jovial to consider that mankind is still trying to prove they can get better and better … and we just fail over and over anytime we try to do it apart from Jesus Christ. The red line showing the human family tree up to Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, takes preeminence on the chart. That’s a theme taught by the Bible lessons all the way through. The Dispensational chart is just a fantastic visual aid. I especially love to see how the Day of the Lord does begin in darkness but there’s joy seeing the saints being drawn up in the clouds to be with our Lord. I use the chart every single week while studying Genesis. Children find the pictures helpful. I’m a forty-something and I find the pictures immensely helpful! The overview in the lessons of Dispensational Truth sets the stage for “getting it” – how the Bible fits together and what the Lord is doing.

    …  I never spent the hard study time on law and prophets until this SS program. Going through the entire Bible has helped me get out of reading my favorite passages over and over. And now I understand my favorite passages so much better because I understand more how it all connects. By the way, now, my favorite passages are whatever I’m studying at present. Every passage is always alive and I’m learning and he deals with me so I’m not stuck in my sin.  Going through the Bible never gets old! Before this program I thought I knew the Bible. I’m delighted to say my weak points were exposed when I was encouraged to study all the way through instead of just reading. What a mighty God we serve!

    ~Jody

  • Why Understand the Bible?

    Growing up in a Christian home is no guarantee that one understands the Bible or how to live a Christian life. Being saved as a young child, I learned many Bible stories but it wasn’t until later that I began to understand how all of these stories fit together.  My parents had a book called The New “Panorama” Bible Study Course by Alfred Thompson Eade (it can be found online at www.oakknollpublishing.com). It is a book of pictures revealing a timeline throughout Bible history.  It helped me begin to see that Jesus was planned from the beginning of time to redeem mankind because of their sin. It also helped me begin to understand how all of those “stories” were connected together.

    According to most statistics, young people are growing up and leaving the church and faith in God by the droves.  The main reason can be found in the lack of knowledge and understanding of what one believes about God and why. There is a mighty gulf between the level of spiritual training in children, youth and even adults and the level one needs to live in today’s world.  Many people don’t really understand that the Bible is not just a compilation of popular Bible stories or favorite Bible passages.  Children , as well as adults, need to learn the importance of how all of the events in the Bible connect with a purpose – to reveal Jesus. And what better way to learn than to have a study simple enough for children to understand yet comprehensive enough to challenge adults. The Biblical Path of Life is meant to be that kind of a study. One thing our church did to help people as we studied the Bible using The Biblical Path of Life was to post the pictures from The New Panorama Bible Study Course Book 1 on our walls as a timeline to refer to as we traveled through the pages of Bible history.

    All, especially children, are capable of learning so much more. The Biblical Path of Life is a study meant to simplify the understanding making the Bible relevant to a Christian’s life – young or old.

  • Why another Bible Study?

    After attending a children’s Sunday School Leaders conference with my pastor (who is also my dad) many years ago, we were both very disappointed and discouraged by the substance of the materials that would be available to teach our children in Sunday school. We saw that the importance was no longer on learning the Bible but playing games and having fun activities.  The most important thing about Sunday School should be to learn the basics of the Bible and what it should mean to our lives.  Because of this, we decided it would be better to write our own Sunday School literature for our children.

    A Sunday School program needed to be more than a compilation of stories, but a simple study revealing that each of these events all fit together as part of a bigger picture – much like pieces of a puzzle. Not only do the stories interlock, but they have a purpose: to reveal Jesus and why He came.  Although it began as a study for children, it quickly became a viable study for adults as well. This study was incorporated in my local church as a Bible Study program for Sunday School.  We used it in our children’s Sunday School time, but soon the adults requested the study in their classes.  It not only provided the opportunity for them to know what their children were learning, but they could discuss the same Bible lesson that they had learned in their individual classes. Most were encouraged by the understanding of the history. Some marveled at the Lord who fulfills His Word with complete precision and who knows our future and works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are the called to His purpose.

    Because of the encouragement of many who have been through this Bible study more than once, it is now available through Lighthouse Gospel Beacon making it available to any who could use this Bible study to understand the simplicity of the Gospel message. Lighthouse Gospel Beacon has done a fantastic job of making it not only easy to use with the spiral binding, but have added beautiful pictures and graphics. The first two quarters are available now. The next two quarters are at the printers now, and they will be available soon.

  • Welcome to my blog

    Welcome. My name is M. J. Ross, author of The Biblical Path of Life. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about The Biblical Path of Life. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here.

    I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about The Biblical Path of Life, expanding on some of the topics in it and posting on some of the ideas related to my book. This is a great place for you to get to know me, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you, too. What did you think of The Biblical Path of Life? What questions do you have for me? How do you relate to my book?

    I’ll be returning here frequently with new posts and responses to feedback from you. Until next time, tell me a little bit about yourself.