WHAT ARE THE LETTERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT? Romans; First and Second Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; First and Second Thessalonians; First and Second Timothy; Titus; Philemon; Hebrews; James; First and Second Peter; First, Second, and Third John; Jude.
MEMORY WORK: Review all 27 books of the New Testament.
PRAYER: Thank God for the opportunity of learning how to read, so we can also read the books of the Bible whenever we choose.
SPECIAL SONG: The Books Of The New Testament (see March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Bible; Large Activity (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- For many weeks, we have studied from the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about how Jesus came to this earth, died on the cross, and rose from the grave. We learned that the reason that these four books were written was so that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and have life through His name (John 20:30, 31).
- From the book of Acts, we studied about the history of the early church and how people were baptized into Christ, becoming members of the Lord's church. We discovered how many Christians were persecuted, suffering beatings, time in prison, and sometimes even death in order to spread the Gospel of Christ (Acts 7:57-60).
- Now, we find ourselves beginning the letters of the New Testament and will soon begin learning how Christians should live their godly lives after they are converted to Christ.. Studying the letters that inspired men wrote, we learn many things, such as how to please God, the biblical definition of sin, if there is a commandment for children to obey their parents, what kind of thoughts should be filling our minds, and how to defend ourselves against the devil.
- We will begin with Paul's letter to the Romans and continue through the New Testament to the book of Jude. Following the book of Acts in God's Word, we find that there are twenty-one letters which address the manner in which Christians should live. These letters were written by inspired men like: Paul, Peter, Jude, and James. God told these men what to write and they wrote. We now have the opportunity of reading these short letters in book form from our Bibles and learning "How To Live The Christian Life." May we learn, remember, and apply what we read.
ACTIVITY: The Books Of The New Testament Puzzle
Materials needed: Four red 3" x 5" construction papers, one blue 3" x 5" construction papers, twenty-one white 3" x 5" construction papers, and one green 3" x 5" construction paper, one rubber band, markers, a Bible or list of the books of the New Testament. (Multicolored index cards may also be used for convenience. They are a bit more expensive and are found in school supply stores.)
- Using their Bibles, students should be able to find the list of the books of the New Testament in the front of their Bibles. The Bible is used for reference and spelling.
- Hand out four red cards.
- Write "Matthew," "Mark," "Luke," and "John" on the four red cards. These are the Gospels or books of Biography.
- Hand out one blue card.
- Write "Acts" on the blue card. This is the book of History.
- Hand out twenty-one white cards. (May hand out a few at a time, if desired.)
- Write "Romans," "First Corinthians," "Second Corinthians," "Galatians," " Ephesians," "Philippians," "Colossians," "First Thessalonians," "Second Thessalonians," "First Timothy," "Second Timothy," "Titus," "Philemon," "Hebrews," "James," "First Peter," "Second Peter," "First John," "Second John," "Third John," and "Jude" on each white card. These are the letters that were written by four men and inspired by God. Some may say that writing all 27 book titles is time-consuming, but students learn by writing. By writing the names, they become familiar with spelling the names of the books.
- Hand out one green card.
- Write "Revelation" on the green card. There is no 's" in the title of the book "Revelation." (Some adults do not know this.)
- The "Puzzle" part: When finished writing, shuffle the cards and see if the student is able to put their cards back in order.
- At the end of class, hand out rubber bands to secure their 27 cards.
