Bible
Your Bible lessons for this year, term by term.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”
Term 1 · The big story
The plot: what happens, from Creation to New Creation
One book, one story: how the Bible fits togetherThe Bible is a library of 66 books, but it tells one big true story from Creation to New Creation, with Jesus at the centre.2 downloadsCreation: God makes a good worldThe Bible's story begins with God making a good world and making people in his image to know him and care for his world.2 downloadsThe Fall: everything breaksAdam and Eve turn away from God and every good relationship breaks, but straight away God promises a rescuer.2 downloadsPromise and rescue: Abraham to MosesGod starts fixing the broken world by making a promise to Abraham's family and rescuing them from slavery in Egypt.2 downloadsKings, prophets and exileIsrael's kings and people keep failing, but God promises King David a forever King, and the prophets keep that hope alive even in exile.2 downloadsJesus: the promised KingAfter centuries of waiting, Jesus arrives as the promised King, and he wins his kingdom by dying on a cross and rising again.2 downloadsThe good news spreadsJesus sends the Holy Spirit so that ordinary people can tell the whole world about him, and the story is still spreading today.2 downloadsAll things new, and the whole timeline from memoryThe Bible's story ends with Jesus making all things new, and we put the whole story together by drawing the timeline from memory.2 downloads
Term 2 · The Old Testament
Genesis: beginnings and the patriarchs
In the beginning: God the CreatorGenesis 1 is mainly about God: who he is, how he made everything, and why that makes him different from every other god people have imagined.2 downloadsMade in God's imageBeing made in God's image gives every person a worth no one can take away and a purpose: to work, rest and love in a way that shows what God is like.2 downloadsThe first sin and the first promiseWe slow down on Genesis 3 to see how temptation works, how God mixes judgement with grace, and how Jesus wins where Adam lost.2 downloadsCain, Abel and the spread of sinSin doesn't stay small: in Genesis 4 it grows from anger to murder and spreads through a family, but God still warns, protects and keeps hope alive.2 downloadsNoah: judgement and graceThe flood shows that God takes evil seriously and judges it, but also that he provides a way to be saved, as a gift of grace that points to Jesus.2 downloadsBabel and the call of AbrahamAt Babel people tried to make a name for themselves and reach heaven, but God came down, called Abram and promised to bless the whole world through him.2 downloadsAbraham's faith testedAbraham waited 25 years for God's promised son and then faced his hardest test, learning that God keeps his promises and provides what he asks for.2 downloadsJoseph: God meant it for goodJoseph's brothers sold him as a slave, but God was at work through all of it to save many lives and keep his promise, just as he did through Jesus.2 downloads
Term 3 · Jesus
His life and teaching (Mark)
The beginning of the good newsMark's very first sentence tells us who Jesus is, and the opening scenes of his Gospel back it up.2 downloadsJesus calls his disciplesJesus calls ordinary and unlikely people to follow him, because he came for people who know they need him.2 downloadsAuthority to heal and forgiveJesus forgives a paralysed man's sins and then heals him, showing he has the authority only God has.2 downloadsParables of the kingdomJesus tells stories about seeds to show how God's kingdom grows, and to ask what kind of listener we are.2 downloadsEven the wind and waves obey himJesus calms a deadly storm with a word, and his terrified friends ask the big question: "Who is this?"2 downloads"Who do you say I am?"Peter finally says who Jesus is, and then Jesus shows what kind of King he will be and what it means to follow him.2 downloadsNot to be served, but to serveWhen two disciples ask for the best seats, Jesus turns greatness upside down and shows he came to serve and give his life.2 downloadsThe cross and the empty tombAt the cross a Roman soldier finally answers Mark's big question, and the empty tomb shows the answer is true.2 downloads
Term 4 · Living it out
Identity and prayer
Who am I? Made by GodBefore anyone else had an opinion about you, God made you on purpose, and Psalm 139 shows how personally he did it.2 downloadsTalking with the Father Who Knows YouYou don't pray to impress God. You pray to a Father who already knows you, made you and calls you his own.2 downloadsAdopted into God's familyChristians aren't just God's guests or servants. Through Jesus, God adopts them as his own children, with a full place in his family.2 downloadsAsk, seek, knockIf God already knows what we need, why ask? Jesus says keep asking, because your Father in heaven loves to give good gifts.2 downloadsPraying honestly with the PsalmsGod doesn't only want our happy prayers. The Psalms give us words to bring him our sadness, fear and questions, and to keep trusting him.2 downloadsReading the Bible for yourselfGod speaks through the Bible, and you don't need to be an expert to read it. Learn a simple way to start reading it for yourself.2 downloadsBelonging to God's peopleFollowing Jesus was never meant to be done alone. God gives his children a family, the church, where they belong and are needed.2 downloadsReview: who God says I amWe look back over the year and the term to see the whole story of who God says we are: made, rescued by grace, and shaped for good works.2 downloads