MEMORY VERSE: Titus 1:9 "Holding fast the faithful word..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Colossians. Write "Colossians" on small strips of paper and hand out to the students to take home and memorize that particular book. We should all strive to hide God's Word in our hearts, meditating on it throughout the day. What will help us? Knowing where the books of the Bible are located inside the book. By encouraging students to memorize the order of the books of the Bible, it can only help knowing where to find God's precious commandments and words of comfort so we can read it for ourselves.
PRAYER: May the Lord's church be filled with Christians who are strong in the faith and are able to hold fast to God's Word.
SPECIAL SONG: Read, Read Every Day (see February 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog. If you click on the orange icon by the song, you will hear the tune.)
VISUAL AID: Draw a picture of a hand holding on tightly to a rope. Write "Holding Fast" on the board and "Titus 1:9."
LESSON POINTS:
- When we find something of great value, we want to keep it forever and never let it go. Even if that something is not valuable, but it is something that we treasure and it means something to only us, we still want to keep it for a long, long time. That same feeling should be how we feel about the Bible. The Bible, which is God's Word, should be our most precious possession. Not our car, or home, or trophy, Grandma's quilt, a diamond ring, or all the money in the bank is more valuable than the words that are written in the Bible. The Bible contains words from the most high God, the one who created the world and all that is in it. The Bible tells us what pleases God and how we should live our life in order to please Him. The Bible gives us example after example of how others in the Bible lived their lives and if they pleased God or not. The Bible, God's Word was and is the standard for living the right way.
- God tells us that we should "hold fast" to His Word. An example of holding fast to something is like you are drowning in the ocean in the middle of a raging storm and somehow someone throws you a rope! How tightly would you hold on to that rope? If you let go, you would drown, but if you held on as tightly as you could all the way to the end where you could be saved from the ocean and the storm, you would live! How long would you try to hold on to that rope? For as long as you possibly could! That's what holding fast means. Holding on with all of your might for as long as possible! That is what we should do with the Bible, knowing that it is through God's Word we are saved if we hold on long enough.
- Did you know that we should desire or want the Bible more than anything in the whole world? God says in the book of Psalms, in the 19th chapter and in verse 10 that the words of God should be desired more than very fine gold! It also says in that same verse that God's words are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb! Who likes something sweet? We all do, don't we? A little honey is so good and sweet! That's how God's Word is--it makes life better!
- Read 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. Ask "What is God's Word good for?" Read this verse again, writing the answers on the board. (Profitable means "good for.") Doctrine, reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness. "Why?" So that the man following God should be perfect.
- Owning the Bible is not all that is required of God's people. They must read (Isaiah 34:16) , study (2 Timothy 2:15) and obey (Acts 5:29).
Materials Needed: 9" x 12" light blue paper, 3" x 9" dark blue paper, 4" x 6" brown paper, 1" x 7" white paper, glue, scissors, pencil, crayons.
- Hand out brown paper.
- Each student clenches his/her own fist and places thumb-side down on paper.
- With pencil, trace fist onto brown paper with the other hand (or if Bible teacher chooses, students may pair up to help each other).
- Cut out fist.
- Draw lines for fingers.
- Cut a small line between thumb and index finger.
- Set aside.
- Hand out dark blue paper.
- Slightly tear one long edge of dark blue paper.This will look like waves in the ocean.
- Set aside.
- Hand out white paper.
- Draw a long rope, using most of the white paper.
- Cut out rope. (May cut one end like the end of a rope, if desired. See picture above.)
- Write "Faithful Word" on the top of the rope.
- Set aside.
- Hand out light blue paper.
- Glue "rope" in the middle of the paper, only putting glue on the top of the rope..
- Towards the bottom middle of the light blue paper, glue hand, touching the rope like it is holding on to the rope with end of the white rope between the thumb and the index finger.
- Glue dark blue paper to the bottom of the light blue paper.
- Add "waves" in water with crayon.
- At the top of the light blue paper, write "Holding Fast the Faithful Word" and "Titus 1:9."