God's Word and Me!

A Vacation Bible School Curriculum by Barry McWilliams
an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America
Using the New International Bible

Introduction to Study Manual

For the next few weeks, you will be learning about the Word of God - both what it is and also how it is to be used. You will be teaching children the importance of using that written word as well.This manual is intended to guide you in learning what the Bible teaches about itself and how it is to be used in your life.

While the God-given nature of the Scriptures is not the chief focus of your lessons, you will begin your study with a brief summary of basic suppositions concerning the Bible - as the Revelation of God, Inspired and Inerrant in its written form.

You will then want to hear what the Bible says about itself and its purpose from Psalm 19 and other texts. You will especially want to know by heart the memory passage: Psalm 19:7-11. This Commentary on Psalm 19: 7 - 11 will help you in understanding it's meaning. These meanings will be further visualized for the children in the daily Object Lessons done by the Pastor or Director.

Then you will study the particular passages and stories you will be sharing with the children during their Bible lessons. Our stories come largely from the Old Testament - from the Pentateuch written by Moses 1400 years before Christ, from the history of the kings of Judah, and the Prophet Jeremiah. God's word was revealed in a progressive manner and given in historical contexts.

Don't limit your preparation to the material contained in this study guide. Read and study the Bible passages on your own till you are very familiar with them. You may find Bible encyclopedia's, Atlases, or Handbooks helpful in getting to know the background, historical setting and culture. Ask yourself questions about anything you don't understand, and share these questions and insights with the rest of your V.B.S team.

The Lessons and Stories:

Each Lesson should be studied and the Scriptures looked up and read. It would be good it the teams could discuss them together as well. Each lesson also has some practical study questions and a couple of addtional passages for added study at the end.

Storytelling guides are also provided in this material. Suggestions for telling the stories and visual aids which are needed for the stories are given and a written "text" of the story is also provided, though it is much better if the teachers tell it in their own words. The use of a variety of methods will give the teachers opportunity to try different ways of teaching Bible lessons. Suggestions for why particular methods are chosen and more on different methods of teaching are also on this Web page.