BIG IDEA: We learn about God’s plan by reading The Bible.
This free Bible lesson, Why Should We Study The Bible?, will teach preschool and elementary students about the reasons we should study and read The Bible.
FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Deuteronomy 8:2-6; Psalm 119:105; Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16
All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.
Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.
PREP & SUPPLIES
- printed “WHY SHOULD WE STUDY THE BIBLE?” lesson notes for each student
- pencils/pens
LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY
Last week we learned about:
how The Bible is the only Book that will last forever and God gave it to us to guide us in every part of our lives.
(SLIDE) how every Word in The Bible is from God and The Bible is one story about God’s plan to bring us into a relationship with Him after sin separated us from Him.
(SLIDE) how there are 66 total Books written by over 40 human authors over 1,500-2,000 years.
(SLIDE) how The Bible is organized into 2 major parts.
The Old Testament has 39 Books and teaches about the time before Jesus came to earth to live as a human being.
The New Testament has 27 Books and teaches about Jesus’s birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and after He went back to heaven.
The Old Testament points to The New Testament, and The New Testament explains The Old Testament.
how there are no errors in the entire Bible and the whole Book fits together perfectly.
(SLIDE) how Psalm 119:105 teaches us that life is a “path”, our feet are walking the path of life, and the Truths found in The Bible are a “lamp” that lights the path of life for us.
how God revealed everything He wanted mankind to know through prophets.
how the Words found in The Bible are God’s very words because He wanted to make Himself known to mankind.
(SLIDE) how the Canon of Scripture (complete Word of God) has been closed since the last Apostle died and we are commanded not to add to or take away from the Scriptures.
BIBLE LESSON
All mankind is born into sin because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, causing separation from God.
(SLIDE) Sin separates us from God. The punishment for sin is death. The good news is that God made a plan to bring humanity back to Him and offers us life forever.
His plan is through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.
(SLIDE) Big Idea: We learn about God’s plan by reading His Word, The Bible.
(SLIDE) This verse from the Book of 2 Timothy can be found in The New Testament. It was written by the Apostle Paul as an instruction of the purposes of The Bible.
[God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. – 2 Timothy 3:16 NIrV]
We talked last week about how God has breathed life into all Scripture.
What is “Scripture”? (allow responses)
“Scripture” means “holy writings” or “sacred writings”.
What does it mean that God “breathed life into” the Scripture? (allow responses)
This means that the Words found in The Bible are God’s very words! God is the Author of the whole Bible!
God gave the words to human authors and the human authors wrote them down for us to read.
Reading the words found in The Bible is just like reading words that God actually spoke and continues to speak to us today.
God revealed (showed) what He wanted the human authors to write through His Holy Spirit, and the human authors wrote the words.
This verse (2 Timothy 3:16) also gives us 4 ways that The Bible is useful and important for our lives.
(SLIDE) The first one says “It is useful for teaching us what is true”. What does that mean? (allow responses)
The Bible teaches us what is true and right. When we read The Bible, The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us what is right.
(SLIDE) The second one says “It is useful for correcting our mistakes”. What does that mean? (allow responses)
We make mistakes, and we sin every day. The Bible teaches us how to live in the right way, and how to change our actions if we are headed in the wrong direction.
(SLIDE) The third one says “It is useful for making our lives whole again”. What does that mean? (allow responses)
Being “whole” means being complete, having all of ourselves, and not missing anything.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin was brought into the world, all of Creation fell under a curse from God. Since God is perfect, He cannot be in the presence of sin. So, sin separates us from God.
Without God, we are not whole. That is what this part of the verse means.
God wants to have a relationship with us. The Bible gives us the opportunity to learn how to have a relationship with God through Jesus! When we have a relationship with God, we are whole!
SLIDE) The last part of the verse says “It is useful for training us to do what is right”. What does that mean? (allow responses)
The Bible teaches us how to live in this world when living in this world isn’t easy. The Holy Spirit guides us to understand the lessons in The Bible so that we know how to live in the right way.
(SLIDE) We should study The Bible because The Bible teaches us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right.
(SLIDE) This verse (Matthew 4:4) is found in the Book of Matthew. What part of The Bible can we find the Book of Matthew? (The New Testament)
[Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 NIrV]
The Book of Matthew is one of the Gospels that teach about the time when Jesus was here on earth as a human being.
At the very beginning of Jesus’s ministry on earth, The Holy Spirit led Him out into the desert to prepare His heart for what He was going to do while He was living on the earth.
Jesus went for 40 days and 40 nights without eating. Does anyone know what it is called when you go without food to spend time getting close to God? (fasting)
Jesus had been fasting, which means He hadn’t eaten for a long period of time so that He could prepare His heart for His ministry.
In this verse, Jesus is answering Satan, who is tempting Him in the desert with food. Remember Jesus would have been feeling very hungry.
Satan said: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” [Matthew 4:3 NIrV]
What do you think Jesus meant when He said “It is written”? (allow responses)
(SLIDE) We find this many times in The New Testament where the writer or the speaker will say “It is written…”.
When we see this phrase in Scripture, we know that the writer or the speaker is referring back (pointing to/talking about) to a Truth that can be found somewhere else in The Bible.
Jesus was pointing back to an event and lesson that was taught to the Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy after Moses had led them out of Egyptian slavery.
The Bible Story and Large Group Activity are combined for the remainder of this lesson.
I am going to challenge you today to read the passage that Jesus was pointing to and see if you can understand the lesson and Truth that He was speaking.
Before you begin, I want to tell you one thing to help you better understand the passage. You will see the word “manna” in the passage. Manna was a form of bread that God provided to the Israelite people every day while they were in the desert waiting to enter the Promised Land. It would appear every morning and they would gather enough for that day’s meals.
(SLIDE) With a partner, look up and read Deuteronomy 8:2-6
Then, discuss with your partner what Truth you think Jesus was speaking about from the passage when He said “Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.
LEADER NOTES: Allow time for students to read and discuss keeping in mind that some students may need help finding the passage, reading, and comprehending.
Discussion for after students have had time to read and discuss. Read the passage aloud and allow some students to share their thoughts:
(SLIDE)
[Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way. He guided you in the desert for these 40 years. He wanted to take your pride away. He wanted to test you to know what was in your hearts. He wanted to see whether you would obey his commands. Deuteronomy 8:2]
(SLIDE)
[He took your pride away. He let you go hungry. Then he gave you manna to eat. You and your parents had never even known anything about manna before. He tested you to teach you that man doesn’t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3]
(SLIDE)
[…The LORD your God guides you, just as parents guide their children. Obey the commands of the LORD your God. Live as he wants you to live. Have respect for him. Deuteronomy 8:5-6]
Jesus said that we need God’s Word, The Bible, like we need food.
He reminds us in Matthew 4:4 that we cannot live on bread (food) alone. We must also live by the Word of God, which is The Bible.
The Bible is necessary for our survival!
In the passage from Deuteronomy, God was teaching the Israelites to trust Him to provide for them. He allowed them to hunger physically for a while so that He could provide manna for them.
When we are hungry physically, food can help us feel better temporarily, but the hunger will continue to come back.
The way The Bible “feeds” us is spiritual. God’s Word nurtures us spiritually in a way that food cannot do physically.
This is why it is so important that we spend time studying the Bible every day so that we can learn what The Holy Spirit wants to teach us and so that we can grow closer to Jesus through His Word.
Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve when they chose to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. Since then, mankind has been living under a curse of death and separation from God. The Bible is 100% true and flows together in every word. The Bible is a beautiful story about God’s plan to redeem humanity through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.
What did Jesus do for us on the cross? (allow responses)
We all have sin in our hearts. Sin separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins.
The whole Bible teaches us about God’s plan to give us Jesus’s free gift of salvation so we don’t have to be separated from Him anymore.
The Bible is the only Book that will last forever and God gave it to us to guide us in every part of our lives. The Bible teaches us about God’s plan to give us Jesus’s free gift of salvation. It is important that we spend time reading and studying God’s Word, The Bible.
Dear God,
Thank You for Your Word, The Bible, and all of the lessons and Truths that we can learn about by reading It. Please guide us as we learn about The Bible. Please help us to understand everything that You want us to learn and please help us to be bold enough to ask questions if there is something that we don’t understand. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins to save us and bring us into a friendship with You.
We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
Guide students through their “WHY SHOULD WE STUDY THE BIBLE” lesson notes page as you discuss the lesson using the prompts below.
BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.
Discussion Prompts for Leaders:
- All mankind is born into sin because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, causing separation from God.
- Sin separates us from God. The punishment for sin is death. The good news is that God made a plan to bring humanity back to Him and offers us life forever.
- His plan is through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.
- We learn about God’s plan by reading His Word, The Bible. Our Bible is one story about God’s plan to bring humanity back to Him after sin was brought into the world by Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
- God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16 NIrV)
- “Scripture” = “holy writings” or “sacred writings”
- The Words found in The Bible are God’s very words! God is the Author of the whole Bible! God gave the words to human authors and the human authors wrote them down for us to read. Reading the words found in The Bible is just like reading words that God actually spoke and continues to speak to us today. God revealed (showed) what He wanted the human authors to write through His Holy Spirit, and the human authors wrote the words.
- (1) The Bible teaches us what is true and right. When we read The Bible, The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us what is right.
- (2) We make mistakes, and we sin every day. The Bible teaches us how to live in the right way, and how to change our actions if we are headed in the wrong direction.
- (3) Being “whole” means being complete, having all of ourselves, and not missing anything. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin was brought into the world, all of Creation fell under a curse from God. Since God is perfect, He cannot be in the presence of sin. So, sin separates us from God. Without God, we are not whole. That is what this part of the verse means. God wants to have a relationship with us. The Bible gives us the opportunity to learn how to have a relationship with God through Jesus! When we have a relationship with God, we are whole!
- (4) The Bible teaches us how to live in this world when living in this world isn’t easy. The Holy Spirit guides us to understand the lessons in The Bible so that we know how to live in the right way.
- We should study The Bible because The Bible teaches us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right.
- Jesus pointed back to a lesson from the Book of Deuteronomy that God taught the Israelites through Moses.
- He tested you to teach you that man doesn’t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3 NIrV)
- When Satan was trying to tempt Jesus while Jesus was hungry from fasting in the desert, Satan told Jesus to turn the stones into bread. (see Matthew 4:3)
- Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 NIrV)
- Jesus said that we need God’s Word, The Bible, like we need food.
- The Bible is necessary for our survival!
- In the passage from Deuteronomy, God was teaching the Israelites to trust Him to provide for them. He allowed them to hunger physically for a while so that He could provide manna for them.
- When we are hungry physically, food can help us feel better temporarily, but the hunger will continue to come back.
- The way The Bible “feeds” us is spiritual. God’s Word nurtures us spiritually in a way that food cannot do physically.
- This is why it is so important that we spend time studying the Bible every day so that we can learn what The Holy Spirit wants to teach us and so that we can grow closer to Jesus through His Word.
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
CLOSING REFLECTION
We learned that all mankind is born into sin because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, causing separation from God. The good news is that God made a plan to bring humanity back to Him and offers us life forever. His plan is through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. We learn about God’s plan by reading His Word, The Bible. Jesus said that we need God’s Word, The Bible, like we need food. He reminds us in Matthew 4:4 that we cannot live on bread (food) alone. We must also live by the Word of God, which is The Bible. We should study The Bible because The Bible teaches us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right.
Reflection Questions:
- What are the 4 reasons we should study The Bible according to 2 Timothy 3:16? (It teaches us what is true and right; It teaches us how to live in the right way; It makes us whole; It teaches us how to live in a world that isn’t easy to live in)
- What plan do we learn about by reading The Bible? (God’s plan to save us and have a relationship with us through Jesus’s free gift of salvation)
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
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