Have you ever been in a group Bible study setting with a wide range of people? If you have, you've probably noticed that we come from all different types of backgrounds. While some people can easily find any book and give you a short summary, others struggle to find books or grasp a basic understanding of its themes because they are new in their faith, or have never studied the Bible outside of a Sunday morning church service. This is where a resource like Books of the Bible At-a-Glance from Teach Sunday School can be extremely helpful!
The first time I remember being challenged to read through the Bible on my own was when I was in high school. Our youth group leader told us to not take his word for it, but to read the Scriptures ourselves to make sure what he taught was true. Even though I had grown up attending church every Sunday morning, I was not comfortable finding lesser-read books in my Bible by myself. I often had to look in the table of contents.
In a group setting it can be intimidating when it seems like everyone knows more than you. Especially if you teach or mentor high schoolers, you want to give everyone a basic knowledge of the book you are going to study before you begin. These one page overview sheets are a great way to give everyone a solid foundation to build upon as you study your Bibles together. Books of the Bible At-a-Glance is a downloadable PDF that includes a page for each of the 66 books of the Bible. Each page shows where in the Biblical timeline the book falls, and short summaries about the main points of each book. There is a section with most famous verses in the book, and another section that lists some of the famous stories included in the book. In the New Testament Epistles this section changes to cover the problem or issue that the writer is addressing.
In our home I have been looking these over as I move to the next book in my daily Bible reading. Arlene and I have also been talking about various ways other people might use them. The license you receive when purchasing this PDF allows you to print as many copies as you need for your personal, family, or single church/ single school use. That is really awesome! I can see a church purchasing this resource and then making the at-a-glance pages a bulletin insert whenever the pastor starts teaching from the next book of the Bible. They could also be used in your youth group as a way to get everyone started with a basic understanding of the Epistle you will be studying this month, perhaps 1 Corinthians or James.
My Mom taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School for decades. I showed her a few of the pages and asked her if she had any additional ideas about how these reference sheets could be utilized. She suggested handing them out in an adult Sunday School class and then having the class members add in the chapter and verse next to the famous stories as you get that far in the book. For the Gospels you could write the cross-references to the other tellings of the same stories - something that would be especially helpful when studying the synoptic Gospels for the first time!
Some other ideas we had for using these Books of the Bible At-a-Glance sheets were for Awana or Bible Bowl teams so they kids get a better idea of the chronological order of the books and verses they are working to memorize. They could also be used for weekend events with campus groups like InterVarsity or Campus Crusade. The normal price on this PDF resource is $19 - super reasonable! Right now they are offering the first 250 purchasers the discounted rate of $9, and they always come with a 60 day money back guarantee.
I encourage you to check out Books of the Bible At-a-Glance from Teach Sunday School. Then purchase a set for your family or your church!
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