BEGINNER
Bible Teacher
March, April, May 2015
SPRING QUARTER
Vol. LXXXIV
No. 2
Beginner
Bible Teacher
SPRING QUARTER
March, April, May 2015
Teaching Aids ........................................................................................................
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The Spirit Comes
UNIT I: The Pledge of God’s Presence
Mar. 1—The Lamb of God—John 1:29-34......................................................................... 5
Mar. 8—The Promise of a Helper—John 14:15-26 ........................................................... 9
Mar. 15—The Holy Spirit Will Be with You—John 16:4-15................................................. 13
Mar. 22—Receive the Holy Spirit—John 20:19-23 ............................................................. 16
Mar. 29—Welcoming the King—Mark 11:1-11.................................................................... 19
UNIT II: The Community of Beloved Disciples
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
May
5—Christ Is Alive (Easter)—I Cor. 15:1-11, 20-22 ....................................................
12—Love One Another—I John 3:11-24 .....................................................................
19—Believe God’s Love—I John 4:13—5:5.................................................................
26—Believe in Jesus Christ Alone—II John 1:1-13 ...................................................
3—Helpers in the Truth—III John 1:1-14...................................................................
May
May
May
May
10—Gifts of the Spirit—I Cor. 12:1-11.........................................................................
17—Many Members in One Body—I Cor. 12:14-31 ...................................................
24—Gift of Languages—Acts 2:1-7, 12; I Cor. 14:13-19 ............................................
31—The Greatest Gift Is Love—I Cor. 13:1-13 ...........................................................
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UNIT III: Woven Together in Love
Editor in Chief: Grace M. Todd
Writer: Valerie Wilson
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Edited and published quarterly by
THE INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF THE
GOSPEL WORKER SOCIETY
UNION GOSPEL PRESS DIVISION
Rev. W. B. Musselman, Founder
Price: $1.80 per quarter*
$7.20 per year*
*shipping and handling extra
ISBN 978-1-59843-266-4
Lessons based on International Sunday School Lessons; the International Bible Lessons
for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2011 by the Committee on the Uniform Series and used
with permission. Edited and published quarterly by The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel
Worker Society, Union Gospel Press Division, 2000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio
44109-5812. Mailing address: P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101-1059. www.union
gospelpress.com
Dear Beginner Teacher,
How often do you think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life? If you
are like me, you probably do not think of it as often as you should. Several of this
quarter’s lessons are about the Holy Spirit, and you will find you need His help to
“guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) as you teach. I have certainly needed His
help in writing these lessons!
The first five lessons of the quarter make up the unit “The Pledge of God’s Presence.” Two lessons focus on Jesus—first as the Lamb of God and then as the
King entering Jerusalem. The other three lessons are about the Holy Spirit. You
want your students to grasp the truth that God the Holy Spirit helps us learn and
obey God’s Word. Ask God for wisdom as you teach. He has promised to give it
(cf. Jas. 1:5)!
The second unit is “The Community of Beloved Disciples.” The first lesson
deals with the resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 15:1-11, 20-22). The remaining four
lessons are taken from John’s epistles. These lessons present truths about the
church. Lesson 8 provides a good opportunity to explain God’s plan of salvation.
Not all little children are ready to make this decision, so be sensitive to the needs
in your class.
The final unit, “Woven Together in Love,” continues with church truth—this time
from the book of I Corinthians. These lessons contain some figurative language—
for example, the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit and the church as a “body.” I have tried
to provide concrete examples to aid understanding, but you may want to ask
questions following each lesson to make sure your students understand. Do not
assume they do. You can also use informal conversation during the handwork
time. You may need to correct some wrong thinking.
Lesson 7 and lesson 14 are especially practical. You will be able to help your
students think of specific ways to show love to other people.
It is always a joy to teach God’s Word—even when it is challenging. Pray for
yourself as you study and prepare. Pray for your students by name during the
week. Pray about all the elements of the class session. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he
heareth us” (I John 5:14).
May God bless you as you teach the children He has entrusted to you!
A fellow teacher,
Valerie Wilson
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TEACHING AIDS
Visualize Your Teaching
We live in a visual society. No matter
where you turn, people are looking at
something: their phones, their tablets,
their e-readers. Even billboards are no
longer static; they often change before
you drive by them! Toddlers are being
exposed to early-learning programming on tablets, and computer training
begins as early as first grade.
When these children come to Sunday
school, what do they see? Often they see
the same thing week after week, even
month after month. If we want to hold the
attention—and attendance—of today’s
children, we need to commit to stepping
up our visual efforts.
First, consider your classroom itself.
An early-childhood classroom could
easily have two bulletin boards—one
for the current season or holiday and
one for the quarter’s Bible lessons.
Consider the possibilities for bulletinboard backing. You can purchase backing paper in a wide variety of colors at an
educational store, but you can also use
brown craft paper, fabric, burlap, or dry
wallpaper, depending on what you are
putting on the board. Bulletin-board borders are also available at educational
stores. A border helps define your board.
For holiday or seasonal boards, use
pictures from magazines. For biblical
themes, use verse visuals, Bible story
pictures, and even flannelgraph figures. If you want to put simple captions
on your boards, use precut letters from
educational stores, or make your own
on a paper-cutting machine.
To maintain interest, change your
bulletin board(s) regularly. That means
at least once a quarter.
Next, consider how you will visualize
the Bible lesson. A well-illustrated children’s Bible storybook will be a valuBeginner Bible Teacher
able resource for you. You may also be
able to find Bible story pictures and
flannelgraph figures to illustrate main
characters in the lessons.
Some lessons include references to
specific objects—for example, a scroll,
a rod, a staff, or a crown. Once you obtain these objects, you can use them
over and over.
A good way to visualize the story
that is part of each week’s lesson is
with figures from catalogs or advertisements. Cut out the figures, and
mount them on poster board to make
them more durable. Do not use the
same figure for different characters
within the same quarter. Your students
will remember the first use. Make sure
the figures you use are the correct age
and appropriately dressed.
You can visualize many of the golden texts. While it is true that young children cannot read all the words, they do
begin to recognize biblical words as
they see them over and over. The suggested shapes are also an aid to memory.
Finally, you may want to visualize
some of the songs you repeatedly use.
Red heart shapes can be used to print
words for songs about love. (Most children readily associate a heart with
love.) Song words about the Bible can
be printed on open-book shapes. Use
church shapes for songs about church.
When you print verse visuals or song
visuals, use capital and lowercase letters. This is the style that children will
see in school.
While we may never be able to compete with the latest electronic gadgets,
we can take steps to appeal to our students’ visual world. Commit to the time
it takes to visualize your teaching!
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LESSON 1
MARCH 1, 2015
The Lamb
of God
LESSON: John 1:29-34
John the Baptist directed his followers to Jesus, the sinless Lamb of
God.
GOLDEN TEXT—“Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Scripture Lesson Text
JOHN 1:29 The next day John seeth
Je⬘sus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me
cometh a man which is preferred before
me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should
be made manifest to Is⬘ra-el, therefore am I
come baptizing with water.
Beginner Bible Teacher
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw
the Spir⬘it descending from heaven like a
dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me
to baptize with water, the same said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the Spir⬘it descending, and remaining on him, the same is
he which baptizeth with the Ho⬘ly Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this
is the Son of God.
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THOUGHTS FOR TEACHERS
AIM: to understand what John meant
when he called Jesus the Lamb of
God.
The “lamb” theme permeates Scripture. Perhaps God killed a lamb to
make the coverings for Adam and Eve
(Gen. 3:21). “Abel was a keeper of
sheep,” and he “brought of the
firstlings of his flock” as his offering to
God. “And the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his offering” (4:2-4).
Every Israelite family in Egypt had to
kill a lamb and put its blood on their
door in order to escape the tenth
plague. When the Lord went through
the land on the designated night, He
passed over the homes with the blood
of the lamb (Exod. 12:1-13).
The Law given at Sinai (recorded in
Leviticus) described the various sacrifices God wanted from His chosen
people, the Israelites.
For all those centuries the people offered their sacrifices in obedience to
God. But all that blood served only to
cover their sin; it could not take away
sin. “For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins” (Heb. 10:4). “Not all the
blood of beasts / On Jewish altars
slain, / Could give the guilty conscience
peace, / Or wash away the stain”
(Watts, Not All the Blood of Beasts).
No wonder John’s announcement
was so astounding. “The Lamb of God”
had come, and He would take “away the
sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Lord
Jesus Himself was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “He is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not
his mouth” (Isa. 53:7).
In a day yet future, those of us who
have trusted the Lamb of God to take
away our sins will gather in heaven. We
will say with the saints of all ages and
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all tongues, “Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power, and riches,
and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev.
5:12). What a day that will be!
Your young students will not grasp
all of these great truths, but you can
teach with an overflowing heart as you
introduce them to the Lamb of God.
Getting Ready
For Telling the Lesson, obtain a children’s Bible storybook with an illustration of John the Baptist preaching or
baptizing people.
For Showing How to Live, make a
cross template, filling an entire 9-by12-inch sheet. Use the template to cut
six crosses from red construction paper. Print the verse on the crosses as
indicated: (1) “Behold” (2) “the Lamb of
God,” (3) “which taketh away” (4) “the
sin” (5) “of the world” (6) “(John 1:29).”
For Handwork, use the cross template from Showing How to Live to
trace a cross on white construction paper for each child. Print this week’s
golden text on self-stick labels. You will
also need a sheet of red construction
paper for each child, glue sticks, and
children’s scissors.
Beginning Worship
Good morning, boys and girls! How
happy I am to see each of you in Sunday
school today. This morning I want to talk
to you about names. All of you call me
(insert the name the students use). But
that is not the only name I have. (Adapt
the following illustrations to your situation.) My children call me “Mom.” Sometimes my husband calls me “honey” or
“dear.” I have some nieces and
nephews, and they call me “aunt.”
Now let us talk about your names.
First, let me say each one of your names.
(Call each child by his or her first name.)
Now I want you to think of some other
names your parents or other people