Category: Bible Basics

Educational Designs focused on particular scripture passages

Stepping Stones in Faith

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One Church’s Process to Identify the Basic Milestones on the Journey of Faith…

Over twenty years ago in my early days as Minister of Education at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA we began to talk together about what were the most important concepts to teach our children, youth and adults. We needed a plan and a goal. So we formed a committee! But what a gift this committee became to me and our ministry together. For as we met over more than a year and a half we began to solidify what became the foundational book of our Christian Education at Peachtree – Stepping Stones on the Journey of Faith. I don’t remember the term milestones at that point in time but our work does seem to relate to the emphasis that is now found in many churches in providing milestones for the journey of faith.

As we got started I did some research to see if there was a document in existence that listed what the important concepts of our faith were and at what age they should be taught. I remember having a conversation with Liz McWhorter at the PC(USA) national offices who told me they had always talked about creating something like this but never had that she knew of. She challenged me to create it. So we began our work together at ground zero and it was well worth it.

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Selecting Children’s Bibles

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At a recent gathering of the East region the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators, Elizabeth “Lib” Caldwell, retired professor of Christian Education at McCormick Seminary, led a discussion of things to consider when choosing a children’s Bible.

She offered a variety of criteria, or lenses, through which to examine children’s Bibles. Continue reading →

Biblical Storytelling

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Here is something new that isn’t really all that new to “try” – biblical storytelling.

I am part of a liturgical biblical storytelling troupe, whose members “tell” the gospel story (or another of the lectionary text) each week during worship.

Biblical Storytelling is reclaiming the ancient practice- when most of the world was illiterate- of telling the stories of the bible. Biblical Storytelling is the rediscovered ancient art of oral performance of the scriptural text. It’s the way the stories of the bible were always intended to be heard — the way they always were heard before they were written down, and even for centuries after that. Continue reading →

Living as Clay Jars

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Kira Hader shares with us a lesson plan (in Word or PDF) that she used with middle school students this Fall based on 2 Corinthians 4:6-9. It fits well with the discussion we are having in the Facebook group today around spiritual nourishment and transformation.

 

The middle school students at the church I have been serving have been going through a curriculum called “Becoming a Woman of God” and “Becoming a Man of God”. Based off of these lessons I wanted to figure out a way to bring all the middle school students together and do a combined lesson that would be similar to their lessons, but presented in a new way. The clay jars passage in 2 Corinthians is one of my favorite passages and a great lesson for the youth to know and learn about. This lesson helps us look at those around us in a different light. Are you bullying people that don’t deserve it? Are we ourselves being bullied by others? How do we change our actions to reflect God’s love for us? Continue reading →