Lesson 1

Welcome to your first day of school! I wanted to give you one important reminder before you begin. Many of your lessons below have an internet link for you to click on. When you go to the different internet pages for your lessons, please DO NOT click on anything else on that page except what the directions tell you to. DO NOT click on any advertisements or games. DO NOT click on anything that takes you to a different website. Just stay focused on your lesson and then close that window and you should be right back here for the next lesson. Okay?

Level 1-4

1. If you didn’t get here through My EP Assignments, I suggest you go there and create an account.
2. This course has an offline version. You can click here for our offline books.
3. PARENTS: We’re going to start the year by reading one of the Gospels. We’ll do this every year. This year, we will start with John and then move on to the Prophets.
4. Read John 1:35-51 (audio) Yes, this is the correct reading for today.
   
5. What are some of the names they call Jesus? (Answers: Messiah, Son of God, King of Israel, Rabbi)
6. Rabbi means teacher. Messiah, here, means the deliverer, or savior, that God promised Israel.
7. This is the end of your work for this course for your first day. You are allowed to move at your own pace (this is homeschooling), but it’s intended you complete one lesson a day.

Level 5-8

1. If you didn’t get here through My EP Assignments, I suggest you go there and create an account.
2. This course has an offline version. You can click here for our offline books.
3. PARENTS: We’re going to start the year by reading one of the Gospels. We’ll do this every year. This year, we will start with John and then move on to the Prophets.
4. Read John 1.
5. Who is the Word that existed in the beginning and was God?
6. Jesus is the Living Word. He was in the beginning and Jesus is God.
7. Tell at least two other things about Jesus from John 1. (Some answers: He is the light. Everything was created through him. He gave life to everything that was created. The darkness cannot overcome Him. He became a human and lived among humans. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.)
8. This is the end of your work for this course for your first day. You are allowed to move at your own pace (this is homeschooling), but it’s intended you complete one lesson a day.

Lesson 2

Level 1-4

1. Read John 2:1-16 (audio)
2. What did Jesus use to make the wine?
3. What was the water usually used for?
4. Why would Jesus use dirty water instead of just creating wine out of nothing?
5. I find that an interesting question. Jesus will later equate wine with His blood. It His blood, we are told, that washes us clean from our sins. In this story we have a picture of the blood cleansing what is filthy and making it not just new, but the best!

Level 5-8

1. Read John 2.
2. It says Jesus revealed His glory. What did He reveal? What did He show?
3. He showed His power, but I think He also showed His goodness. His mother wasn’t asking Him to put on a show, and Jesus acts discretely. He’s not trying to show off His power. His mother wants Him to help. Jesus showed His goodness, His compassion. Someone needed help and He gave it.

Lesson 3

Level 1-4/5-8

1. Read John 3 (audio)
2. What is everlasting life contrasted with? (answer: perishing, meaning death or destruction)

Lesson 4

Level 1-4

1. Read John 4:43-54 (audio)
2. How did the man know that his son got better because of Jesus? (answer: He got better at the time Jesus said he would live.)
3. The man’s whole household believed in Jesus. Why? (answer: because they saw a sign)
4. Look at verse 48. Does Jesus want us to believe because we see miracles?
5. Jesus will later say how we’re blessed when we believe without seeing (John 20:29).

Level 5-8

1. Read John 4.
2. What was so special, so surprising about Jesus even talking to the Samaritan woman? (answer: because Jews typically had nothing to do with the Samaritans)
3. Jesus points out that anyone drinking water gets thirsty again, but that He has an eternal gift to offer her that will keep giving every day, forever!
4. Do you ask God for things that will last forever or for things that will just get used up or waste away?

Lesson 5

Level 1-4

1. Read John 5:16-30 (audio)
2. Why were the Pharisees upset with Jesus? (answer: He broke the Sabbath rules and made Himself equal with God.)
3. How can Jesus say that He can do nothing by Himself?
4. In Philippians it talks about Jesus emptying Himself and taking on the form of a servant. Jesus submitted to the Father in everything. He didn’t come to do His own thing, but His Father’s will. He did nothing apart from what the Father gave Him to do.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 5.
2. What was Jesus’ warning to the man He healed? (answer: Stop sinning or something worse may happen. However, Jesus didn’t require repentance before healing the man.)
3. Jesus said to the Jewish leaders that they were searching the Scriptures trying to find eternal life. They weren’t finding it there. Why?
4. The Scriptures point to Jesus. He is our Life. He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father, but through Jesus. The Bible, the words, don’t hold salvation for us. Jesus, the Living Word, does.

Lesson 6

Level 1-4

1. Read John 6:1-23 (audio)
2. Jesus was testing Philip. What do you think that means?
3. Jesus was showing Philip what was in his heart. He didn’t have the understanding yet that what we see has nothing to do with what God sees and what we think is possible has nothing to do with what all is possible with God.
4. Did you notice what happened after Jesus got into the boat? What happened immediately? (answer: They arrived at the other side of the lake.)
5. They had been struggling to row against the strong winds. It was hard. God didn’t need them to do all that work. God could just make them appear where they needed to be. God let them go through the struggle. He had His reasons. He wants what is best for us.
6. Jesus also could have just filled everyone’s bellies, but He chose for the disciples to pass out the food. He lets us participate in His work. He doesn’t do it for us. This life is training for the next. There is work to be done. Don’t desire things to be easy so you can be lazy. Know that God is testing and training you. He has a job for you in His kingdom and He’s getting you ready for it.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 6.
2. What is the one work God desires of you? (Hint: verse 29)
3. What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
4. It doesn’t just mean believing that Jesus lived on earth and died on the cross and rose again. Those are historical facts. There are proofs of those things.
5. It means believing that Jesus was God’s son, lived a perfect life, and in obedience to the Father, took on all the sins of the world and received the wrath of God that sin deserved and was killed. He trusted His Father to raise Him back to life. In His death and resurrection, Jesus bought us for Himself. It’s called redemption. Jesus bought our lives. We are slaves of sin, and sin deserves death. He bought us out of our slavery to sin. He bought us to own us, that we would be slaves of righteousness, slaves to doing the right thing. We give our lives to Jesus because He loved us and gave His life for us first. We can ask Him for forgiveness and because He took the punishment for our sins, He can forgive ours. Then we can ask for His Holy Spirit to live in us. God’s life in us by the Holy Spirit gives us the power to walk free from sin, to choose to do what is right. That’s the power of believing in Jesus!

Lesson 7

Level 1-4

1. Read John 7:25-44 (audio).
2. The Jewish leaders knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but they didn’t know that’s where Jesus had been born! Their knowledge of God’s word kept them from recognizing Jesus was their savior! They said Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. They thought they knew so much, but they were missing what was right in front them!
3. Ask God to help you see Him and what He wants you to know about Him.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 7.
2. Jesus said that anyone who was thirsty could come to Him and drink. What does that mean?
3. God says the same thing as recorded in Isaiah 55:1. “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink.” Jesus was repeatedly revealing Himself as God.
4. John points out that the living waters were the Holy Spirit. How can we be thirsty for the Holy Spirit? 
5. People aren’t satisfied without God. People are always looking for ways to feel love, to feel peace, to feel joy/happiness, to feel not guilty, etc. They can’t find it apart from God. They are longing for something. What they are missing is God in their lives.
6. Who can you help satisfy their thirst?
7. If you feel thirsty even though you believe in Jesus, then ask God if there are things you are using to satisfy your needs instead of letting God be everything to you.

Lesson 8

Level 1-4

1. Read John 8:31-41 (audio).
2. Who are Jesus’ disciples really? (Look in verse 31.)
3. Now ask one of your parents to explain verses 34 and 35.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 8.
2. Who are Jesus’ disciples really? (Look in verse 31.)
3. Write an explanation of verses 34 and 35.

Lesson 9

Level 1-4

1. Jesus just healed a man who had been born blind and the Pharisees are questioning him about what happened. Read John 9:13-34 (audio).
2. Whose prayers does God hear? (Hint: verse 31)
3. Ask God to help you live in a way that honors and pleases Him. Having the God of the universe listen to your prayers when you ask for help is an amazing gift to have.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 9.
2. Why was the man born blind? (hint: verse 3)
3. We certainly see in the Bible that sickness and other troubles can be the result of sin. But it doesn’t mean it has to be. Jesus said this man was born blind because God was going to get the glory for healing him. I offer my life for God to get the glory from, whatever that means. There can’t be a healing without some hurt. There can’t be a miracle without some problem first! If you want to see miracles, you have to be okay with seeing problems.
4. What do you think the last verse of John 9 means? “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”
5. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t hold people accountable for doing things wrong that they didn’t know were wrong. In the Old Testament there were sacrifices for unintentional sins. Those sins were covered. When you realize you did something wrong, then you were required to do something about it to make it right. If the Pharisees were ignorant of what was right, then they wouldn’t have sin. Since, they claim to know right from wrong, then they were guilty of what they knew what was the right thing but not doing it.

Lesson 10

Level 1-4

1. Read John 10:1-21. (audio)
2. What is the job of the thief? (answer: steal, kill, and destroy)
3. Do you know who is the thief who wants to do that to God’s sheep, God’s people?
4. Satan is the thief who is after the sheep. Why can we not fear even though there is someone who wants to steal, kill, and destroy us?
5. We have a good Shepherd. He knows all and has power over all. He also loved us enough to die for us. We can trust someone who has proved their enormous love for us.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 10.
2. Looking at verse 27, what do God’s sheep do? (answer: They listen to God and follow Him.)
3. Do you listen to Jesus and follow Him? How? What does that mean?
4. We can listen to Jesus and follow Him by learning what the Bible says and obeying. The simplest way to know what Jesus wants you to do is by thinking about this one commandment, love your neighbor as yourself.
5. What does that mean? What does Jesus want us to do as His followers?
6. It means we treat those we are with like we would want them to treat us, with a lot of love. Love looks like kindness, patience, etc.
7. One last question: why were the Pharisees so mad at Jesus that they wanted to kill Him? (Hint: verse 33)
8. They thought it was evil that a man was talking like He was God. It would be unless it were true!

Lesson 11

Level 1-4

1. Read John 11:32-44 (audio)
2. What did Mary believe and not believe? (answer: She believed Jesus could have healed Lazarus, but she didn’t have any belief about Jesus raising him from the dead.)
3. Jesus said God always heard His prayers. Do you know what the Bible says about who God always hears when they pray?
4. 1 John 5:14 says that God hears if we pray according to His will, if we are asking for the things God wants to do. 1 John 3:22 says we have whatever we ask for if we obey God and do what pleases Him.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 11.
2. Here are verses five and six in the New King James Version, a different version than what you just read. Why did Jesus stay two more days?
   • Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
3. He waited two more days BECAUSE He loved them. He was going to show them something greater about His Father than they were wanting/expecting.
4. God is always good and loving. God’s motivation is always love. Even when God is pouring our wrath and destroying people, it’s a move of love for His children. God’s heart is love. When horrible things happen, know God’s love is there. He can’t stop loving because He’d stop existing. God is love.

Lesson 12

Level 1-4

1. Read John 12:12-19. (audio)
2. Why did so many people come out to see Jesus? (answer: They had heard about Lazarus coming back to life.)
3. What were the Pharisees thinking when they saw the crowds? (answer: Jesus is unstoppable. Everyone was already following Him.)

Level 5-8

1. Read John 12.
2. Mary was just desiring to show love and honor to Jesus, but she was really being used by God to fulfill a purpose. What was it? (answer: To prepare Jesus for His burial)
3. Jesus is going to die. In verse 24, Jesus talks about how a kernel of wheat has to die to produce more. What does that mean and how does that relate to Jesus and His disciples?
4. God created the world so that life comes out of death. A plant dies and its seeds fall to the ground. A seed gets buried. Then life sprouts when the sun lights and warms it. Jesus had to die for us to have life. Our sin had to be buried. He had to be buried for Him to be resurrected to new life that would never die. Because He died, many can now have life in Christ. Believers have to die in order to live. In baptism our old lives are buried and resurrected to new life in Christ. When we die to self and live as Christ, we can bring His life to others. What does that look like in your life?

Lesson 13

Level 1-4

1. Read John 13:31-38. (audio)
2. What proves you are a disciple of Christ?

Level 5-8

1. Read John 13.
2. Why was it significant that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet?

Lesson 14

Level 1-4

1. Read John 14:1-13. (audio)
2. What is the way to God? (answer: Jesus is the way.)
3. How can we know what God is like? (answer: We see God when we see Jesus. We know how God acts by seeing how Jesus acts. We know what God says by hearing what Jesus says.)

Level 5-8

1. Read John 14.
2. How can you “see” God? (answer: We can look at Jesus and see God, what He’s like, what He’s saying, and what He’s doing.)
3. Who does Jesus reveal Himself to? (hint: verse 21) (answer: To those who obey His commandments)
4. What’s the lesson of verses 1 and 27? (answer: Let God give you peace and don’t be troubled by things in the world. Trust God.)

Lesson 15

Level 1-4

1. Read John 15:7-17. (audio)
2. To “bear fruit” can mean to become more like Jesus–having love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. It can also be used to talk about God using you to accomplish His work.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 15.
2. What is verse 2 talking about? What’s the difference between cutting and pruning? Pruning, in terms of gardening, is cutting back branches to make them shorter. It encourages growth. (answer: Pruning is cutting. They can look and feel the same. But the pruning is for better growth. The cutting and tossing away is the death of the branch. We want what is not good cut away, so the good that remains can grow even more!)
3. Can you think of anything in your life that could use a cutting away? Jealousy, anger, lying, etc. Ask God to take it away and help you grow in the fruit of the Spirit, things like love, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control.

Lesson 16

Level 1-4

1. Read John 16:22-33. (audio)
2. Jesus said, “I am not alone because the Father is with me.”
3. Is Jesus with you? How do you know?

Level 5-8

1. Read John 16.
2. How were the disciples feeling knowing that Jesus was going to leave them and return to the Father?
3. Who is the Advocate that was going to come after Jesus left? (answer: Holy Spirit)
4. Why is it best that Jesus left? (answer: He had to leave for the Holy Spirit to come. Jesus was one person who could only be in one place, but the Holy Spirit is with all believers everywhere all the time.)

Lesson 17

Level 1-4

1. Read John 17:20-25. (audio)
2. Who is Jesus praying for? (answer: You!)
3. What does He want for us? (answer: He wants us to be one with Him and one with each other. We are meant to all be one body together.)

Level 5-8

1. Read John 17.
2. What is in us as believers? (hint: verse 26) (answer: God’s love and Jesus, through the Holy Spirit given us)
3. Also from verse 26, what has Jesus shown us and continue to show us? (answer: God the Father)

Lesson 18

Level 1-4

1. Read John 18:15-27. (audio)
2. Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Was he right?
3. What was Peter saying that was denying Jesus?
4. Why was he saying that do you think?

Level 5-8

1. Read John 18.
2. Peter thought he would be brave. What happened when he was really faced with a situation that was scary to him?
3. Why did the Jews bring Jesus to the Roman leadership? (hint: verse 31) (answer: The Jews didn’t have the authority to punish someone by death. They wanted Jesus killed.)
4. Why didn’t the Jewish leaders go inside with Pilate and Jesus? (answer: They thought they were being all holy and didn’t want to defile themselves going into a place with Gentiles. They didn’t want to miss Passover, but they did! Jesus was the Passover Lamb!)

Lesson 19

Level 1-4

1. Read John 19:1-16. (audio)
2. What made Pilate afraid? (answer: They said that Jesus made Himself out to be the Son of God.)
3. Pilate had fear of God, but not enough. He feared Caesar more.
4. Do you know what is striking about the Pharisees saying they have no king by Caesar? (answer: They are rejecting God as their king. It’s just like their ancestors rejecting God as their king and asking for a human king when God gives them Saul as their king.)

Level 5-8

1. Read John 19.
2. Did you all notice that the women at the cross were all named Mary? Do you know what that was a popular name? Their name wasn’t Mary. It was Mariam, which was their language’s version of the Hebrew name Miriam. Do you know who that is? The prophet of God, Moses’ sister.
3. Do you understand what it means when it says something fulfilled Scripture? (answer: It was something one of the prophets said would happen, and then it did.)
4. How is Jesus the King of the Jews? (answer: God has always been the authority over the Jews. They were always to look to Him for their provision and protection and leadership. Jesus will come back and reign as king on earth. He will restore the kingdom of Israel and make it how it had meant to be, with God as their king.)
5. Jesus said, it is finished. What was finished? (answer: Jesus had finished His work on earth. He had done all the Father had asked, and in that moment, had completed the suffering needed to deal with all of our sin and brokenness.)

Lesson 20

Level 1-4

1. Read John 19:17-36. (audio)
2. Do you know what it’s talking about when it mentions Scripture being fulfilled? It means that prophets had said hundreds of years before that it would happen, and it did.
3. When Jesus tells John and Mary that they will be son and mother to each other, Jesus was making sure His mother was taken care of. In the cultures my family lived in overseas, the oldest son was responsible for living with the parents and caring for the family.

Level 5-8

1. Read Psalm 22.
2. What phrases in here can you find that point to Jesus’ crucifixion?

Lesson 21

Level 1-4

1. Read John 20:1-9. (audio)
2. John says he finally believed that Jesus was rise from the dead. When did he believe? (answer: when Jesus’ body wasn’t there anymore)
3. I think one evidence that the body wasn’t stolen away as some will say is that the cloths He was wrapped in were still there. They would have left Him wrapped up! And the face cloth was folded up. Thieves wouldn’t take the time to fold the cloth! Some have said that the folded cloth is a sign that He is coming back, that He isn’t finished.

Level 5-8

1. Read John 20.
2. Why are you blessed? (hint: verse 29) (answer: You may think it would be great to see Jesus, but you are blessed for believing without needing to see.)
3. Why did John write this gospel? (answer: It’s in verse 31. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.)
4. What do you think it means to have life by the power of His name?
5. The name of Jesus isn’t just a bunch of sounds put together into a word. It’s His identity, His character, nature, authority. That has power. That gives life to the one who believes because He gives us His life when we come to faith. By faith we exchange our life for His!

Lesson 22

Level 1-4

1. Read John 21:1-14, 25. (audio)
2. Why do you think Peter suggested going fishing?
   • They were at a loss. They had been following Jesus. Now what? They went back to what they knew. As soon as Jesus showed up, Peter abandoned the fish and the fishing boat. Jesus was what mattered. We didn’t read it, but Jesus was say again to Peter, “Follow Me.” Peter won’t go back to fishing again.
3. How many miracles did Jesus do in His few years of public ministry before He ascended to heaven? (answer: More than we’ll ever know. The world couldn’t even contain the list if we wrote them all down!)

Level 5-8

1. Read John 21.
2. Why do you think Jesus was doing when He was asking Peter if He loved Him and telling Him to feed His sheep?
   • The sheep are God’s people. To feed God’s people, we give them God’s word. God had chosen Peter to be the head of His church. Jesus was restoring Peter to his position after his sin of denying Jesus.
   • Peter had wept and repented. His heart broke over his sin. He had seen Jesus, but we don’t have any record of Jesus and Peter having any personal encounter until this moment.
   • Jesus affirms Peter that he does truly love Jesus and wouldn’t deny and forsake Him again. He commissions Peter to his position of first preacher of the church of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 23

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 1:11-19 (audio).
2. What is God saying to His people? What does He really want?
3. God’s not after our prayers and our church attendance and our tithe money. He wants us to obey and love God and love others. Part of that will be gathering with other believers and giving and praying, but we do it from a heart of love for God, not out of trying to earn something.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 1 (note verses 11-19).
2. What is God upset about?
3. What does He tell His people to do? Look at verses 16 and 17.
4. What’s the promise of verse 18? (answer: We can have our sins and our guilt washed away. We have that gift because Jesus took the punishment for our sins.)
5. What does God want you to do?

Lesson 24

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 2:1-5 (audio).
2. This is talking about Jesus ruling from Jerusalem. What will it be like? (answer: For one, no more war and also everyone wanting to be taught the Lord’s ways.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 2.
2. What are some of the wonderful things that will be established in the “last days”?

Lesson 25

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 3:16-24 (audio).
2. God is talking about His people. They were proud, showing off, thinking they were great. God is near the humble. He is far from the proud.
3. When you feel proud about something, remember to thank God for it. It was a gift from Him. Our lives are a gift from Him.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 3.
2. What is God in control of? What is He capable of doing? (note especially the first verse)

Lesson 26

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 4:2-6 (audio).
2. Jesus is the Branch of the Lord. He’s the King of Israel.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 4.
2. This is talking about when Jesus will reign in Israel as king.

Lesson 27

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 5:1-7 (audio).
2. Who is the song talking about? Who is “He”? (highlight answer: God)
3. Who is the vineyard? (highlight answer: Israel)
4. What do you think it means that the vineyard had bad grapes (verse 4)?
5. What did God do to the vineyard (to Israel) because they weren’t obeying His law and loving Him and their neighbors (verses 5 and 6)?
6. Does God love Israel? (highlight answer: yes; verse 6 “he takes delight” in them)

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 5.
2. Write a summary of what this chapter is saying about Israel, the vineyard.

Lesson 28

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 6:1-8 (audio).
2. Isaiah has a vision of God on His throne. What else does he see there? What does he hear there?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 6.
2. Why is Isaiah afraid? (This is similar to the time Peter was afraid when he first realized that Jesus was a holy man.) Why is this a proper reaction? What makes it so we can be in God’s presence and not die?

Lesson 29

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 7:10-16 (audio).
2. This is Isaiah talking to King Ahaz. In verse 14, who is Isaiah talking about? Whose name will be Immanuel? (highlight answer: Jesus)
3. This verse is a prophecy about Jesus’ miraculous birth.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 7.
2. Which verse contains the prophecy about Jesus’ miraculous birth?

Lesson 30

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 11 (audio)
2. These verses describe Jesus. Write down some of the things it says about Him.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 11.
2. Jesus is the branch in the first verse. In verse two, what are the different words used to describe the Holy Spirit? List them.
3. I know this is talking about the Holy Spirit because that is the one Spirit that fills Jesus. In verses 3 and 4, what does it say about how Jesus judges? What doesn’t He do? What does He do?
4. Just a note: verse 6 in people’s minds says “and the lion will lie down with the lamb.” That’s not what it actually says, does it? There are lots of pictures of lions and lambs together because of this verse that people “remember” incorrectly.

Lesson 31

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 12 (audio).
2. What does this chapter say that we are supposed to tell the world (“nations” means countries)?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 12.
2. List all the commands in this chapter. What are all the things you are commanded to do?

Lesson 32

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 39 (audio).
2. This is Isaiah talking to King Hezekiah. What does he tell him? How does King Hezekiah respond? What do you think of what King Hezekiah says?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 39. This is Isaiah talking to King Hezekiah.
2. What does he tell him? How does King Hezekiah respond? What do you think of what King Hezekiah says?

Lesson 33

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 40:12-26 (audio).
2. What is the point of all of the questions in the beginning of this part of the chapter? What do they say about God?
3. When you know that about God, how silly does it seem that someone takes a piece of wood, pays someone to make a statue out of it, and then calls it a god and asks for its help?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 40.
2. What contrast is shown here between God and idols?

Lesson 34

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 41:4-7 (audio). This is similar to Isaiah 40.
2. The people are afraid, but instead of turning to God they make their own god. Why would they think something they made with their own hands could help them? Do people do that today? Do people trust what was made with human hands to protect them? They do! In what ways? (There are lots of ways.) Do you trust God or man to protect you? The end of the last verse of this  passage is funny. They have to nail down their “god” to keep it from falling over! How silly to think this statue that can’t even stand up could protect them!

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 41. Look at verses 4-7.
2. Do you see the irony of God making the people who then make their god? I think it’s funny that they are making an idol to protect them, but it can’t even stand on its own. They have to nail it down!

Lesson 35

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 42:5-9 (audio)

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 42.
2. What does this chapter tell us about Jesus?

Lesson 36

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 43:1-2 (audio).
2. In Romans 11, God tells us that people who are not Jewish become part of “Israel” when we believe and are saved. So, we can read God’s promises to Israel as God speaking to us. His promises were for physical Israel, the land He gave to His chosen people, but also His promises have spiritual meaning to those who believe! Write down one promise God makes in these verses.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 43.
2. In Romans 11, God tells us that people who are not Jewish become part of “Israel” when we believe and are saved. So, we can read God’s promises to Israel as God speaking to us. His promises were for physical Israel, but also His promises have spiritual meaning to those who believe! Write down some things this chapter teaches about who God is. Write down some of the promises He makes to his people.

Lesson 37

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 44:15-17 (audio).
2. Here again God is showing how silly it is to make your own god. Do people still do this? How?
3. Ask people what they think about God and they say, “Well, to me, God is…” They are creating their own God. There are people who decide that God doesn’t send people to hell. There are people who decide that God doesn’t hate sin. They are creating their own god.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 44.
2. Here again God is showing how silly it is to make your own god. Do people still do this? How?
3. Ask people what they think about God and they say, “Well, to me, God is…” They are creating their own God. There are people who decide that God doesn’t send people to hell. There are people who decide that God doesn’t hate sin. They are creating their own god. Are there any ways you are making your own image of God that doesn’t match what the Bible teaches us about God? Or are there other things you are making into a god by saying, “Save me” to someone or something that isn’t God? Think about it.

Lesson 38

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 45:5-7 (audio).
2. What is something the Lord says He does? In verse 7, do any of those things that the Lord does surprise you?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 45.
2. What is something this chapter teaches us about God? What does this chapter teach you about what you should do?

Lesson 39

Level 1-4 

1. Read Isaiah 46:3-5 (audio).
2. What is a promise God makes? What’s the answer to the questions in verse 5? Nothing, no one!

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 46.
2. What is something you learn about God from this chapter? What is a promise He makes in this chapter? Zion is Jerusalem or heaven. In the news you may sometimes hear about Zionism, which is the belief that the Jewish people have the right to the land of Israel. Zionists are those that hold that belief. Of course, God is ruling over all of this. Israel’s whole history is that of being taken from their land, being attacked by enemies, etc., because of their stubbornness and sinful ways. Praise God one day Jesus will come back and restore all things! Here are a couple of places where God makes the promise. What the Bible describes here includes not only Israel and Palestine (which, by the way, translates to “Philistine”), but also all of modern-day Jordan and parts of Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Lesson 40

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 47:8-11 (audio).
2. This is a warning from God. Who is being warned?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 47.
2. Who is this a warning to? What is the warning?

Lesson 41

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 48:17-22 (audio).
2. What does God want from us? (verse 18)

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 48.
2. What is something you learn about God in this chapter? What is something God says He wants from us?

Lesson 42

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 49:6-7 (audio).
2. Who does God want to be saved?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 49.
2. Verse 6 is talking about Jesus. What were the two parts of His job? (Gentiles are non-Jews — meaning everyone who isn’t a Jew)

Lesson 43

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 50:7-10 (audio).
2. What’s something we learn about God from this section of Isaiah 50?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 50.
2. Look at verse 4. You could pray that you would receive the same.

Lesson 44

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 51 :5-8 (audio).
2. What does this say is going to happen? Why do we not have to be afraid? What does God tell us?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 51.
2. Notice verse 12. God is saying, “Why would you be afraid?” What reasons does God give to not be afraid?

Lesson 45

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 52:7-10 (audio).
2. This section talks about “good news.” What’s the good news?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 52.
2. What’s something you learn about God from this chapter? What’s something you are told you should (or shouldn’t) do?

Lesson 46

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 53:2-8 (audio).
2. This is about Jesus dying for us to save us. It was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. It is a prophesy. What is something it says He did for us?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 53.
2. This is a prophecy about Jesus. What are some things it says that Jesus did for us?

Lesson 47

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 55:1-2 (audio).
2. In the New Testament we learn that Jesus is the “bread” of life and the Holy Spirit is living “water.” These verses invite the reader to come to God. It’s free! Read Isaiah 55:6-8 (audio).

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 55.
2. What’s something you learn about God from this chapter?

Lesson 48

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 56:6-8 (audio).
2. For your verse you can write “My house will be called a house of prayer.” This is what Jesus says when he drives the money changers out of the temple. Only Jews could enter the temple. The outer court was for Gentiles (people who weren’t Jews) to come and pray, but they had made it into a marketplace so there was no place for foreigners to pray and seek God. Jesus didn’t like that! He was quoting from this chapter of Isaiah.

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 56.
2. Jesus was quoting from this chapter of Isaiah, verse 7, when he drives the money changers out of the temple. Only Jews could enter the temple. The outer court was for Gentiles (people who weren’t Jews) to come and pray, but they had made it into a marketplace so there was no place for foreigners to pray and seek God. Jesus didn’t like that!

Lesson 49

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 58:4-8 (audio).
2. This chapter is God telling the Jewish leaders He’s not happy with their fasting. They think they are doing a great thing by fasting, but God hates how they act while they are fasting and is not happy or impressed. Then He tells them what He really wants them to be doing: freeing people, feeding people, clothing people, helping the homeless…

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 58.
2. I was healed once reading this chapter. Read verses 7-8. I told the Lord I was doing all those things and so my healing should come quickly. I was healed right that second. I had had bad back pain for almost a month. And I had been delivering food and clothing to the homeless and we actually had an adult orphan who didn’t have a place to stay living with us at the time. God’s word is true! Use verse 7 to list some of the things God wants us to do.

Lesson 50

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 59:15-21 (audio).
2. A time may come when it feels like everyone is telling lies about Christians and everyone is against us. But God can save us from any situation. What is one thing God says He will do for us?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 59.
2. A time may come when it feels like everyone is telling lies about Christians and everyone is against us. But God can save us from any situation. What are some promises God makes to us when that happens?

Lesson 51

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 60:18-22 (audio).
2. This prophesy hasn’t come true yet, and it won’t until the world as we know it ends. People look at the end of the world as a bad thing, but it is a good thing since Jesus will reign as King and promises a new earth to us. What’s one thing that God promises in this part of the Bible?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 60.
2. This prophesy hasn’t come true yet, and it won’t until the world as we know it ends. People look at the end of the world as a bad thing, but it is a good thing since Jesus will reign as King and promises a new earth to us. List the promises of things to come in verses 18-22.

Lesson 52

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 61:1-2 (audio).
2. These are the verses Jesus read when He first started His ministry. He left out the very end though. He announced the year when God will set His people free (by sending Jesus), but He didn’t announce the year when He will pay back His enemies. That is still to come. What is one thing verse one says Jesus came to do?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 61.
2. What promise in this chapter is most meaningful to you?

Lesson 53

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 63:1-6 (audio).
2. What does God say He has done? Why?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 63.
2. Verse 7 through to the end is basically the story of Israel. Time and time again she has gone through this cycle. What is the story she keeps repeating?

Lesson 54

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 64:3-9 (audio).
2. What does it mean that God is the potter and we are the clay?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 64.
2. What does it mean that God is the potter and we are the clay? How does God work with us as clay?

Lesson 55

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 65:11-14 (audio).
2. Who is promised good things? Who is promised bad things?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 65.
2. What is promised those who serve God?
3. What is promised those who do evil?

Lesson 56

Level 1-4

1. Read Isaiah 66:12-16 (audio).
2. What is one thing promised to those who serve Him?
3. What is one thing promised to those who don’t?

Level 5-8

1. Read Isaiah 66.
2. In verse 2 it says that God esteems the humble and contrite in spirit. What does that mean?

Lesson 57

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 1:4-9 (audio).
2. What is Jeremiah’s protest?
3. How does God encourage him?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 1.
2. What is God’s promise to Jeremiah (and all those He calls and sends)?

Lesson 58

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 2:1-5 (audio).
2. What happened to those who hurt (destroyed) Israel? What happened to those that worshiped worthless things?
3. One definition of worship is being devoted to something.
4. Have you ever worshiped something other than God (been devoted to something so that you could hardly stand to go without)?
5. Have you ever made something into an idol?
6. Do you have an idol now you need to confess and get rid of?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 2. Reread verse 5.
2. What happened to those that worshiped worthless things?
3. One definition of worship is being devoted to something.
4. Have you ever worshiped something other than God (been devoted to something so that you could hardly stand to go without)?
5. Have you ever made something into an idol? Do you have an idol now that you need to confess and get rid of?

Lesson 59

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 4:1-4 (audio).
2. If Israel turns to God, then what does He promise?
3. If they are stubborn against God, what does He promise?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 4.
2. Name one promise and one warning in this chapter.

Lesson 60

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 5:21-25 (audio).
2. What happened because of their sin?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 5. What does verse 25 mean?
2. Do you think you’ve ever lost a blessing because of disobedience?
3. What should you do about what this verse says?

Lesson 61

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 6:16-19 (audio).
2. If we walk in the “good” way, what do we get?
3. If we don’t follow God, what do we get?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 6. Look at verse 16.
2. What is God’s promise if we walk in His way? What does that mean?

Lesson 62

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 7:1-10 (audio).
2. What keeps us safe?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 7.
2. What keeps us safe (verse 10)?

Lesson 63

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 9:5-13 (audio).
2. God is talking in this passage. Think about what the Garden of Eden must have been like. Beautiful, fruitful, etc. Now look at this picture from an area some people believe was part of the Garden of Eden based on the rivers mentioned in the Bible. What happened to get from the Garden of Eden to desert? I’m not asking about geography; I’m asking about people’s hearts.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 9.
2. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Verses 25 and 26 talk of being uncircumcised in their heart. This is alluding to the New Testament. This is giving a hint that God’s people will be more than just those born Jewish and who are circumcised at 8 days old to show it. What does it mean to be “uncircumcised in heart?”
3. Here is a NT verse about being circumcised in heart.

Lesson 64

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 10:1-16 (audio).
2. Who made the whole earth? Who made the wooden and gold and silver idols?
3. What can God do? What can the idols do?
4. I think it’s funny how it says they had to nail down their idols to keep them from falling over, yet they treated them like they had power to save them.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 10. Look especially at verses 21 and 23.
2. What do these verses teach you about what you need to be doing?

Lesson 65

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 11:6-11 (audio).
2. This is what your parents are trying to teach you when they discipline you. Yes, they want you to learn certain things are wrong, but bigger than that, they want you to learn that obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings wrath. This is the lesson of the Bible. And of course we all sin, so we are in trouble! That’s why Jesus came. He forgave us our sins and gave us His Spirit so we have the power to choose to obey. He makes it possible for us to receive the blessing, all the good stuff!

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 11. What’s the lesson of verses 6 – 11?
2. Look at verse 16.
3. Read these verses from Romans.
4. He’s talking about Israel being an olive tree and non-Jews being made part of that tree. What does it say about some of the Jews/branches?
5. How does this relate to what you read in Jeremiah?

Lesson 66

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 12:12-17 (audio).
2. What is the story God is telling here? Retell it to a parent.
3. What is God saying here?
4. Enemy armies are going to destroy Israel, but whose sword are they really (verse 12)?
5. But what do verses 15 and 16 say?
6. Does God still love Israel and those who follow His ways?
7. Do your parents still love you when they discipline you?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 12.
2. Retell this chapter to a parent.

Lesson 67

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 13:1-10 (audio).
2. How is Israel like the belt God told Jeremiah to wear and then to hide?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 13.
2. Do you think you could obey God without questioning like Jeremiah does when it seems to make no sense (put on a belt, take it off, hide it, get it)?

Lesson 68

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 14:19-22 (audio).
2. God has sent punishment to Israel (Judah) because of their sin. They ask if God will change His mind. Then they do what they need to do in order for God to heal them and take away the punishment. They repent. They confess their sin and decide to follow the one true God again.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 14.
2. Verses 14 and 15 show that sometimes there are people who prophesy in God’s name, but they aren’t His prophets. They are speaking lies and can’t be trusted.
3. Any ideas on how you can tell a true prophet from a fake one?

Lesson 69

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 17:5-8 (audio).
2. Why is it better to trust God to take care of us?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 17.
2. What’s one important lesson you can learn from this chapter?

Lesson 70

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 18:1-8 (audio).
2. Tell your parents why God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house. What did He want to explain by using the potter as an example?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 18:1-8 (audio) and Romans 9:14-21 (audio).
2. What do these passages teach you about God? How do you feel about God, knowing this is true?

Lesson 71

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 20:7-13 (audio).
2. This is Jeremiah talking to God about how hard it is to be a prophet. No one liked hearing his messages. All he did was say bad things were going to happen because the people were bad. People didn’t like hearing that. Jeremiah didn’t like hearing all the things that were going to happen to his country, his people. Do you know what verse 9 is talking about? (Answer: God gives him a message to speak. He doesn’t want to say it, but then it “burns” within him. He feels it so strongly inside that he can’t hold it in. He has to speak it and release what he’s feeling inside.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 20:7-13 (audio).
2. This is Jeremiah talking to God about how hard it is to be a prophet. How does he feel about it? What does verse 9 mean?

Lesson 72

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 23:16-25 (audio).
2. God is talking about the false prophets. They lie and say God told them something or showed them something in a dream. You don’t have to believe someone just because they say God said something. Just because someone says they are a Christian doesn’t mean they are necessarily speaking the truth. Ask God to help you know what is true and false. Can anyone hide what they are doing from God?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 23:16-29 (audio).
2. God is talking about the false prophets. They lie and say God told them something or showed them something in a dream. You don’t have to believe someone just because they say God said something. Just because someone says they are a Christian doesn’t mean they are necessarily speaking the truth. Ask God to help you know what is true and false. What does verse 29 mean?

Lesson 73

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 24 (audio).
2. This is called an object lesson, when an object is used to make a point, to teach a lesson.
3. What object did God use? (answer: good and bad figs)
4. What was the lesson? (answer: the leaders were bad and would be destroyed, the others God would take care of and bless)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 24.
2. God uses an object lesson to make a point. Can you think of an object lesson to teach a lesson about God or the Bible?
3. Jesus used object lessons. He used parables, a coin, a fig tree… any other examples?
4. I could show you an apple and talk about how good it looks and tastes. I could explain that God doesn’t want to keep us from good things. He wants to keep us from bad things. If the fruit in the garden had been an apple, it wouldn’t have been sinful to eat something good; it was sinful to disobey God.
5. What object could you use to talk about God’s love? salvation? forgiveness? Share at the dinner table.

Lesson 74

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 25:1-14 (audio).
2. The seventy years when Babylon ruled were from 609 BC to 539 BC. It is estimated that Jeremiah died about 50 years before the Babylonian rule ended. Iraq (where Babylon was located) today has many geographical features but is mostly desert.
3. What did God say He would do to Babylon? (answer: make it a desert)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 25:1-14 (audio).
2. The seventy years when Babylon rules were from 609 BC to 539 BC. It is estimated that Jeremiah died about 50 years before the Babylonian rule ended.
3. How did God use the Babylonians against the Israelites?
4. What did God do to the Babylonians for what they did to the Israelites?
5. Did God act with justice?

Lesson 75

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 27:1-11 (audio).
2. What types of people does it say you should not listen to?
3. What are some of these things called today? (answer: Horoscopes and psychics)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 27.
2. What types of people are we to not listen to?
3. That means stay away from horoscopes and psychics, people and things that pretend to be able to tell you your future.

Lesson 76

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 28:10-17 (audio).
2. Here is a picture of a yoke. Here is how it is used. This is a story of a false prophet and a true prophet of God. Who was the false prophet and what did he say? Who was the true prophet and what did he say? (answer: Hananiah said that Israel was going to be free from Babylon, who was ruling them; Jeremiah said that they will serve the king of Babylon and that Hananiah would die.) Extra credit: Who was the king of Babylon? (Nebuchadnezzar)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 28.
2. Here is a picture of a yoke. Here is how it is used.
3. What does it mean that Israel has a yoke on them? (answer: They are bound to serve Nebuchadnezzar.)
4. What one criteria does Jeremiah give for knowing a prophet is from God? (answer: When he predicts peace, it happens.)

Lesson 77

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 29:10-14 (audio).
2. What does verse 11 say?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 29:10-23 (audio).
2. Memorize verse 11. Rewrite what the verse says in your own words.

Lesson 78

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 30:18-24 (audio).
2. What does verse 24 mean?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 30.
2. God says basically the same thing over and over again. Why do you think He does that? Does the end of verse 24 give a hint to the answer?

Lesson 79

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 31:7:14 (audio).
2. After World War II, the nation of Israel was reestablished and there were tears and dancing in the street.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 31:1-20. (audio)
2. After World War II, the nation of Israel was reestablished. You can see a bit of what is described in these verses in this video of Jews celebrating when their nation was reborn, May 14, 1948.

Lesson 80

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 31:35-40 (audio).
2. Remember Zionism? A Zionist is someone who is for the establishment of Israel as a nation. Is God a Zionist? Some people think God’s not interested in the land of Israel any more, that He’s just interested in Christians. But these verses sure sound like Israel will always be important to Him. He tells Christians that we’ve become part of Israel. Israel is defined by those who follow Christ. And some day Jesus will be King and Jerusalem will be the capital. Israel will always be God’s chosen land. It’s never been fully returned to the nation of Israel. This prophecy isn’t fulfilled yet.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 31:21-40 (audio).
2. Remember Zionism? A Zionist is someone who is for the establishment of Israel as a nation. Is God a Zionist? Some people think God’s not interested in the land of Israel any more, that He’s just interested in Christians. But these verses sure sound like Israel will always be important to Him. He tells Christians that we’ve become part of Israel. Israel is defined by those who follow Christ. And some day Jesus will be King and Jerusalem will be the capital. Israel will always be God’s chosen land. It’s never been fully returned to the nation of Israel. This prophecy isn’t fulfilled yet.

1. Read Jeremiah 32:30-34 (audio).
2. What does verse 33 mean? How did God teach them again and again? (answer: by sending prophets and problems)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 32:30-44 (audio).
2. Rewrite what God is saying here in your own words or explain it to a parent.

Lesson 82

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 33:1-3 (audio).
2. What has happened to Jeremiah? (answer: He’s a prisoner.)
3. In verse 2 and 3 who is “I”?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 33:14-26 (audio).
2. Jesus is of the line of David and He is the king who is now on the throne and will remain there forever as king. What does verse 20 mean?

Lesson 83

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 34:12-17 (audio).
2. Do you ever think, “Why do they keep ignoring God?” Do you do the same? Do you always obey God’s command to honor and obey your parents? God still makes promises as to what will happen if we obey or disobey.
3. I just want to say, you aren’t losing God’s love when you disobey. He died for us when we were all sinners!

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 34:12-19 (audio).
2. Do you ever think, “Why do they keep ignoring God? They know what’s going to happen.” Do you do the same?
3. What about these verses?
4. Do you obey this all the time even though you know you are really choosing between blessing and curse?
5. I just want to also say, you aren’t losing God’s love when you disobey. He died for us when we were all sinners!

Lesson 84

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 36:1-26 (audio). Tell the story to someone. What happened?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 36:1-26 (audio).
2. Who/what are they afraid of in verse 16? Who/what should they be afraid of?

Lesson 85

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 37:11-21 (audio).
2. Tell a parent or older sibling what happened in today’s reading.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 37.
2. What do you think about this chapter? It is similar in some ways to what happens to Jesus. He is falsely accused and beaten.
3. Read these New Testament verses. Jesus is speaking to His disciples.
4. How do you feel as His disciple that it is to be expected that you will be hated?
5. Have you ever been hated for Christ’s sake? Why or why not?

Lesson 86

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 38:4-13 (audio).
2. Tell the story to a parent or older sibling.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 38.
2. What did God use to deliver Jeremiah? (answer: dirty rags, a slave- among other things)
3. When you have a problem, do you want God to fix it in a fancy, spectacular way? Or do you watch for “dirty rags?”
4. Do you see a “dirty rag deliverance” as just as much a provision from God as a more “miraculous” deliverance?

Lesson 87

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 39:1,8-14 (audio).
2. The Israelites living in Jerusalem are taken as slaves to Babylon. But Jeremiah and the poor are allowed to stay home and are given land so that they can survive. In fact they are richer now than they had ever been in their life.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 39:1, 8-14 (audio).
2. Make sure you scroll down to read the second part. This is one of those parts of Scripture that make me smile. It’s one of those nice touches like when Moses not only lives but his own mother gets to nurse him. Here those in Jerusalem are taken as slaves to Babylon, except the Babylonians leave the poor in the city. Picture the poor in the city. The worst part of being poor is lack of ownership. You don’t own your own home, and you work all day to make someone else money who then just gives you a small portion of what you earned. But here God sees to it that not only do they live, they get to live well; they are given vineyards and fields so that they can work for themselves and keep what they earn.

Lesson 88

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 42:9-17 (audio).
2. God tells them it will be good for them if they stay, but they want to go to Egypt. They think they will be safe there. It looks safe. It looks better than staying where the Babylonians have just taken over, but they will be wrong. God can make the most dangerous situation safe and the calmest situation dangerous. Everything is in His control. If you want to stay safe, obedience is the key!

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 42:1-17 (audio).
2. Egypt looks safer to them, but is it? Why or why not?

Lesson 89

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 43:7-13 (audio).
2. This is yesterday’s story continued. God told them through Jeremiah to stay, but they didn’t listen. This is also an example of how God is in complete control. He can send an army where he wants to. How does verse 11 show that God is in control of every detail?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 43.
2. This is a continuation of yesterday’s story. How does verse 11 show that God is in control of everything, specifically? Does that give you comfort?

Lesson 90

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 44:8-10 (audio).
2. Edmund Burke said this famous line, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” What does that quote mean? How does it relate to the verses?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 44:8-10 (audio).
2. Edmund Burke said this famous line, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” What does that quote mean? How does it relate to the verses?
3. What advice do we receive in the Bible about remembering?
4. List the commands in that Psalm (e.g., give thanks).
5. How would obeying all the commands in that song help us remember and keep us from forgetting and sinning against God? What are you going to do about it?

Lesson 91

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 46:27-28 (audio).
2. Retell what these verses are saying in your own words.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 46:27-28 (audio).
2. Retell what these verses are saying in your own words.

Lesson 92

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 50:4-9 (audio).
2. God says His people were like sheep and should be like the lead goats. What’s the difference? (answer: sheep follow without thinking, the lead goat is making the choice where to go and goes there purposefully)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 50:1-9 (audio).
2. What does verse 6 compare God’s people to?
3. Who led them astray?
4. Who are the “shepherds” of Christians?
5. Why is it important to get our truth from the Bible?

Lesson 93

Level 1-4

1. Read Jeremiah 52:1-9 (audio).
2. Describe how the battle was won.

Level 5-8

1. Read Jeremiah 52:1-9 (audio).
2. How would knowing God and living by faith help you if you were in Jerusalem during this siege?

Lesson 94

Level 1-4

1. Read Lamentations 3:19-26 (audio).
2. Lamentations was written by Jeremiah as well. He’s known as the”weeping prophet.” Some of his weeping is shown in this short book. We’re skipping to the end, past a lot of the weeping. How is he feeling in verse 19? Then what does he remember? Then what does he feel?

Level 5-8

1. Read Lamentations 3.
2. Memorize verse 57.
3. What turns around how Jeremiah is feeling?
4. What does this chapter teach us about who God is?
5. What verses or messages in this passage give you encouragement?

Lesson 95

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 1 (audio).
2. Draw a picture of one of the creatures. Does this chapter make you feel like there are things about God you don’t know about and can’t understand?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 1.
2. When we think of God, we often think of the Jesus who blessed the little children. But we need to remember the holy, thundering part of God as well. God is love and that will never change. God is holy and that will never change.
3. What does it mean that God is love?
4. What does it mean that God is holy?

Lesson 96

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 2:1-7. (audio)
2. What two titles does God call Himself in verse 4? (answer: Lord and King)

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 2:1-7 (audio).
2. Why do think God keeps sending prophets to them even though they keep disobeying? Why do the prophets keep going and telling them what God says when the Israelites aren’t going to listen? (answer: love, faithfulness, compassion…obedience)

Lesson 97

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 3:1-15 (audio).
2. What are a few of the remarkable things that happen in this part?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 3:1-15 (audio).
2. What is your reaction to this part?

Lesson 98

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 3:24-27 (audio).
2. God tells Ezekiel he’s going to be tied up by bad guys. God knows it is going to happen and He lets it happen. That doesn’t mean He can’t stop bad things from happening; it means that He had a purpose in it happening.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 3:16-27 (audio).
2. God calls Ezekiel a watchman. He may get to have many supernatural experiences, but he has a heavy burden. How does God say Ezekiel will be held accountable? (vs. 16-21)

Lesson 99

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 4:1-3 (audio).
2. What did God ask Ezekiel to do? Why? (answer: make a model of an attack on Israel, to show them what was going to happen)

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 4.
2. What are some of the things God asks Ezekiel to do? It shows us how God likes to show people what He’s talking about, like Jesus’ parables, like how we can now look back at the New Testament and see lessons. The amount of food God gives him is about 3 times what they received in the worst conditions in the concentration camps. It is also half of what is said to be needed by an adult. Of course, Ezekiel is told to just lie there. He’s not using up a lot of energy, which food is needed for.

Lesson 100

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 5:1-9 (audio).
2. What “picture” did God use this time? What is God going to do?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 5:1-9 (audio).
2. What “picture” did God use this time? What is God going to do?

Lesson 101

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 6 (audio).
2. Doesn’t the Holocaust during World War II sound like another time the Lord was punishing Israel’s unfaithfulness and trying to get them to repent and turn back to Him?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 6.
2. Do you think the Holocaust during World War II may be another time the Lord was punishing Israel’s unfaithfulness and trying to get them to repent and turn back to Him?

Lesson 102

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 7:23-27 (audio).
2. You can’t escape God’s wrath. Did you know that Jesus saves us from the wrath of God? We don’t have to fear this type of punishment if we fear God and obey Him, which we can do with the help of His Holy Spirit.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 7:23-27 (audio).
2. Where’s the similarity in what you just read to Matthew 7:1-2? (hint: verse 27)

Lesson 103

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 8:12-18 (audio).
2. Notice how God says He won’t listen to them. If you want your prayers heard, you need to follow God. You can’t seek salvation somewhere else. You need to seek it from Him.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 8.
2. There are people who seek supernatural experiences like Ezekiel had, but they don’t want the responsibility of obedience that Ezekiel had. Supernatural minus obedience/holiness is demonic. Seek God, not experiences, or you could be easily deceived.

Lesson 104

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 9:1-6 (audio).
2. Who was safe? Those who hated sin, those were the ones who were sad over what they saw going on.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 9:1-6 (audio). Who was safe? (answer: those who hated sin)

Lesson 105

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 10 (audio).
2. Ezekiel is seeing a vision. If we had been there, we wouldn’t have seen what he was seeing. God has to show you a vision. But you should never seek to see something like this. Satan may try and use your desire to see something supernatural and show you something demonic. Ezekiel was given these visions because he was very faithful in obeying God. Others who are faithful are given other jobs and gifts. Ezekiel had a very hard job as a prophet. Your job is to seek God, to know and love Him. God will choose for you the best gifts and jobs for you to do for Him and His kingdom.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 10.
2. The Lord has moved from His spot to the doorway. What are you doing when you get up and walk to the door? (answer: leaving) Now God’s temple, dwelling place, is in us, believers. Before He lived among His people by living in the temple. What would it mean for them if He left? Where would God be if He left the temple? Where is God now? Have a discussion with your parents about this.

Lesson 106

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 11:16-21 (audio).
2. Retell what God says in these verses.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 11.
2. Read verse 19 in the younger kids’ translation. Pray that the Lord would do those things for you.

Lesson 107

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 12:1-7 (audio).
2. Ezekiel knew to obey every little thing the Lord asked of him. The Lord then had him prophesy about how God was going to do these things to Israel.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 12:17-28 (audio).
2. When did God say He would fulfill the prophecy? (hint: verse 25)
3. What did the people say about when God would fulfill the prophecy? (hint: verse 27)
4. In these verses God is called Sovereign Lord over and over again. What does sovereign mean? (It’s being used as an adjective.)
5. What does it mean to your life that God is a Sovereign Lord?

Lesson 108

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 13:1-8 (audio).
2. There are different kinds of false prophets. One kind are those in the Church who say they are God’s prophet but are just saying their own thoughts and what they imagine. Then there are psychics who are just fakes and scam people by telling them things they want to hear, telling them they will be getting more money soon or a new friend. They say very general things that people can say came true. They can’t say anything specific like when or what or who, because they don’t know anything. They are making it up. Then there is a third kind. There are psychics who use demons to trick people. We invite Jesus to live in us by the Holy Spirit. Others invite Satan to live in them by his demons. It’s a dangerous thing. They seem to know things, even things about the future. But it’s a trick. The demons can see things and travel and learn things and tell those things to the psychics. Satan doesn’t know the future, but he can see things about the present. He may know that this person is planning on visiting this other person or that it is planned that this person is going to be fired from their job. When the psychic tells someone one of these specific things, and then it happens, the person believes the psychic knows the future. It was a trick, though. Only God knows the future. Now Satan can lie to this person about the future, giving advice about what he or she should do. The person believes in the psychic and follows the advice, but of course, Satan’s only goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Horoscopes and all psychic things should be avoided!

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 13.
2. There are different kinds of false prophets. One kind are those in the church who say they are God’s prophet but are just saying their own thoughts and what they imagine. Then there are psychics who are just fakes and scam people by telling them things they want to hear, telling them they will be getting more money soon or a new friend. They say very general things that people can say came true. They can’t say anything specific like when or what or who because they don’t know anything. They are making it up. Then there is a third kind. There are psychics who use demons to trick people. We invite Jesus to live in us by the Holy Spirit. Others invite Satan to live in them by his demons. It’s a dangerous thing. They seem to know things, even things about the future. But it’s a trick. The demons can see things and travel and learn things and tell those things to the psychics. Satan doesn’t know the future, but he can see things about the present. He may know that this person is planning on visiting this other person or that it is planned that this person is going to be fired from their job. When the psychic tells someone one of these specific things, and then it happens, the person believes the psychic knows the future. It was a trick though. Only God knows the future. Now Satan can lie to this person about the future, giving advice about what he or she should do. The person believes in the psychic and follows the advice, but of course, Satan’s only goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Horoscopes and all psychic things should be avoided!
3. God uses a wall as a metaphor in this chapter. What does it mean? (answer: It’s a false sense of peace and security.)
4. Where does true peace and security come from? (answer: True peace and security come from knowing God, trusting God and obeying God.)

Lesson 109

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 14:1-8 (audio).
2. Some people think that anyone can pray to God anytime and He will listen to them. What do these first eight verses say about that? (answer: God acts like they don’t have a right to come and ask a question of Him while they are worshiping other gods. He wants them to repent first. You can always ask for help repenting!)

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 14.
2. Some people think that anyone can pray to God anytime and He will listen to them. What do these first eight verses say about that? What about the second half the chapter? Who is safe when God punishes the sinner?

Lesson 110

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 15 (audio).
2. What does God compare the Israelites to?
3. Notice in verse 7 God says that they could have escaped the punishment. God always gives us many, many chances. He is very patient. He’s not an unjust King who says, “Off with his head” at the first mistake.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 15.
2. God is using another metaphor. What does He compare the Israelites to?

Lesson 111

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 20:6-21 (audio).
2. What story is God telling? Why weren’t all the Israelites destroyed in the desert?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 20:1-26 (audio).
2. What is the story God is telling?
3. Why weren’t all the Israelites destroyed in the desert?
4. What things are important to God as shown in this chapter?
5. How do you treat God’s name?
6. Not only how you speak God’s name but how you act reflects God’s name because if you are His child, He’s put His name on you. You are an ambassador for Him, His representative. How are the “nations” viewing God by what they see in you?

Lesson 112

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 22:1-9 (audio).
2. God says that people will make fun of them. And they do. God is upset at their sins. He lists some of those things, such as not honoring their parents, mistreating foreigners, and not taking care of orphans and widows. Do you do those things?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 22:1-9 (audio). God tells them that they will be an object of scorn to the nations. What does that mean? (help) That has definitely true. Many people all over the world hate Israel and blame them for world problems. I know people who call someone a “Jew” when they want to call them a bad name to put them down.
2. In verse seven God is holding what sins against them? (not honoring parents, mistreating orphans, and widows and foreigners) How can you do the right thing towards those groups of people?

Lesson 113

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 24:15-27 (audio).
2. Why is God doing these things? What does He want? (hint: look at the last verse)

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 24.
2. What object lessons does God use in this chapter? (answer: meat and cooking pot, Ezekiel’s wife dying) How do you feel about Ezekiel’s wife dying as a lesson for Israel? Always remember that God is love; God is just; God is holy. He wouldn’t have let Ezekiel’s wife die for no reason. He is just. He loved her. When God kills everyone in a city, for instance, He is punishing the city, the people group, but He also knows each person in that city. He knows what they deserve. He knows what they are being spared. Children who were killed in all of these Old Testament battles went to heaven instead of growing up to worship false gods and being sent to hell for it. God is love. God is just. God is holy. He’s the only one who really knows everything that is going on. He’s the only one who can see people’s hearts and all of them and can know the future outcome of what He does. Everything He does has a purpose and probably many, many purposes. He knows how to work everything together for your good.
3. I wanted to point out some punctuation in verses 20 and 21. There are quotation marks. That’s Ezekiel talking. Then he is saying what God said. What God is saying is also in quotation marks, but if they used regular quotation marks that would close what Ezekiel is saying and he’s still talking, so they use a single quote. That’s a quote inside a quote.

Lesson 114

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 25:1-11 (audio).
2. God punishes the people who are against Israel as well.
3. You can see the Ammonites and Moabites on this map of Israel. (Look for the Kingdom of Ammon and Kingdom of Moab.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 25:1-11 (audio).
2. God will say that He will use an army to destroy Israel and take its people captive and then He will punish that army and nation for doing that to Israel. God is ultimately in control of everything, but He can justly punish the army and nation He used for His redemptive purposes against Israel, because He could only use those whose hearts were willing to murder and to do whatever they did. If we didn’t have a choice, He wouldn’t be just in punishing us. We have a choice and He knows our hearts.  He knows what choices they will make because He can see the end from the beginning. It’s more than we can even really imagine.
3. Geography lesson? Here is a map where you can see where the Moabites and Ammonites were.

Lesson 115

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 26:1-4 (audio).
2. It may seem sometimes like the “bad guy” is winning, but God’s justice will win out in the end. Here the “bad guys” are laughing, thinking they can do anything they want. They think they will succeed and be able to take over lots of nations because of what they see happening. But they don’t see God and what He is doing. They won’t succeed because God has said so.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 26.
2. What is Tyre’s attitude in the first two verses? They are predicting the future based on what they see. But God is really in control and the only one who knows what’s going to happen.
3. What happens to Tyre?

Lesson 116

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 33:1-20 (audio).
2. What is the point God is making?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 33:1-20 (audio).
2. What is God saying?

Lesson 117

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 34 (audio).
2. Jesus is the one shepherd God is going to send to be over His flock and to care for them. The chapter is rebuking the leaders/pastors who are looking out for themselves and not for their “flock.” They are not looking out for those they are supposed to be leading. They are using the congregations just to get money for themselves. God says He will judge them and stop them. In the New Testament, we are taught that believers in Christ become part of Israel. And Israel has yet to have all of the land promised to them in the Bible. There is a nation of Israel now on part of the land of Israel, but there is much more land that belongs to them according to the Bible. The Bible prophecies about them regaining their land have not all the way come true yet.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 34.
2. What is God saying to religious leaders?
3. What is God saying to His people?
4. How does this passage relate to the meaning of Psalm 23 and Matthew 25. (not just that they talk about sheep)?

Lesson 118

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 35:10-15 (audio).
2. God heard what they said and will punish them. Do you believe that God is watching you and listening to you?
3. How should you speak and act if God is always watching you and listening to you?

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 35.
2. Do you live like God is watching and listening all the time?

Lesson 119

Level 1-4

1. Read Ezekiel 47:13-23 (audio).
2. See if you can find all of those places on a map. Here’s a map if you need it. Compare it to what the nation Israel is today.

Level 5-8

1. Read Ezekiel 47.
2. See if you can find on a map all of those places from the second part of the chapter. Here’s a map if you need it. Compare it to what the nation Israel is today.

Lesson 120

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 1 (audio).
2. What do we learn about Daniel from this chapter?

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 1.
2. Here’s an interesting study on the name change that happens in this chapter.

Lesson 121

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 2:1-23 (audio).
2. Tell someone what’s happening in the story.

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 2:1-23 (audio).
2. What is true about verses 10 and 11? (answer: There is no man who could tell the king. It can only be revealed by God.)

Lesson 122

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 2: 24-49 (audio).
2. Tell someone what happened in the story.

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 2:24-49 (audio).
2. What does Nebuchadnezzar say about God (verse 47)?
3. You’ll see that the Israelites aren’t the only ones who are quick to forget.

Lesson 123

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 3:1-18 (audio).
2. What are they willing to do? (Answer: die) Why? (Answer: They won’t worship anyone but God.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 3:1-18 (audio).
2. Verse 18 bugs me in this translation. They changed the meaning. It doesn’t say, “But even if He doesn’t.” If you were reading this in a Bible in actual book form, the extra words added in would be written in italics. It says, “But if not.” Verse 17 and 18 are parallel. 17 says, “If you throw us in…But if not…” They KNEW that if they were thrown in the fire they would be saved. They knew it. God gave them the faith to face it. But they told the king, “Even if you don’t and save us from the fire, we still won’t worship you in gratitude because our God could have saved us too.”

Lesson 124

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 3:19-30 (audio).
2. Read the rest of their story. Reread verse 28. Hopefully from all you have read this year, you see how serious it is to worship other gods. He must be first in your life. And you have His promise that He will be with you and will never abandon you, even when you’re getting thrown in a furnace!

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 3:19-30 (audio).
2. Read the rest of their story. Reread verse 28. Is it worth giving up your life for God? Hopefully you have seen this year how important it is to worship God alone. Don’t seek after money, relationships, power, fun, whatever. Seek Him and He will reward you. He will never leave or abandon you, even when things look impossible.

Lesson 125

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 4:1-18 (audio).
2. What was the king’s dream? God warned him that he would lose his mind and his kingdom for a time if he continued in his pride, forgetting that God was the one who was in control and who gave the kingdom to him. He did not humble himself and continued to think how great he was, that he had made for himself a great kingdom, and he was punished.

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 4.
2. What do you think of what happened?

Lesson 126

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 5:1-24 (audio).
2. After this scene which you just read, Daniel explains what the words say, and then it comes true. The king dies that night and his kingdom is given to another. He forgot the lesson taught to his father over and over again. Do you forget too? Or do you remember what God can do? Do you believe everything God says in the Bible?

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 5.
2. Here’s another story of forgetfulness. It pays to remember. There are many places in the Bible where we are told to remember. Can you see how forgetful people are? You could be one of them if you don’t keep remembering who God is and what He has done. It is not always obvious what God is doing, so we need to remember the times when He obviously answered prayer, and healed, and changed our situation, and saved us, so that we don’t forget Him in the times when His work is hidden from us.

Lesson 127

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 6:1-23 (audio).
2. Why was he okay? What does it say in verse 23?

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 6.
2. What does it say in verse 23? Why was he safe?
3. You trust God to save you. What else do you trust Him for?

Lesson 128

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 7:1-13 (audio).
2. Daniel’s dream is a prophecy about what will happen in the future. An evil leader will fight against God’s people for three and a half years. Then Jesus will come and defeat him, and Jesus will rule forever along with His people.

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 7.
2. Daniel’s dream is a prophecy about what will happen in the future. The Antichrist, an evil leader, will fight against God’s people for three and a half years. Then Jesus will come and defeat him, and Jesus will rule forever along with His people. It will be a hard time on the earth when Christians are being killed for their faith, but we can know from the beginning when it will all be over and that Jesus wins in the end!

Lesson 129

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 9:1-19 (audio).
2. Daniel is confessing the sins of his country. Do you ever pray for your country and confess its sins? Abraham Lincoln created a day of fasting and prayer to confess America’s sins. It eventually became what we know as the “prayer breakfast” today, just a tool of politicians. It’s so sad and dangerous that America stopped this important practice. The Bible tells us (1 John 1:9) that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. What if our sins are never confessed? What sins does your country need to confess?

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 9.
2. There are two parts to this chapter. In the first part Daniel is praying and confessing the sins of His nation. What sins does your country need to confess? Pray for your country now.

Lesson 130

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 10 (audio).
2. Daniel gets a message from God about a great war coming. He fasts (“goes without food”) and prays about it, and God sends an angel to him to explain to him what is going to happen. The angel, Gabriel, is delayed 21 days in coming because he has to fight a demon (“the prince of Persia”). The angel Michael comes and helps Gabriel win the battle so Gabriel can deliver the message. Did you know there were battles going on between angels and demons?

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 10.
2. Daniel gets a vision from God about a great war coming. He fasts and prays about it in order to understand it, and God sends an angel to him to explain to him what is going to happen. The angel, Gabriel, is delayed 21 days in coming because he has to fight a bad angel, a demon (“the prince of Persia”). The angel Michael comes and helps Gabriel win the battle so Gabriel can deliver the message. Did you know there were battles going on between angels and demons? How does knowing that make you feel? Remember that God is still in control. He was in control of Daniel having to wait three weeks for his answer instead of getting it right away. What do you think would have happened if Daniel didn’t keep seeking understanding after the first day?

Lesson 131

Level 1-4

1. Read Daniel 12:1-4 (audio).
2. It talks about the end of the world when the dead rise and are judged. This is who you want to be (verse 3): “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the sky. Those who lead many others to do what is right will be like the stars for ever and ever.” Be a wise guy! You become a wise guy by learning God’s word and obeying it.

Level 5-8

1. Read Daniel 12.
2. Here is a prophecy about the end. The dead rise and are judged, like in the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. Those numbers at the end are 3 1/2 years, the second half of the Tribulation, a seven-year period of great suffering and trouble covering the whole earth in the End Times. Some think the 1,335 days refers to the rapture–when believers are taken to be with Jesus without dying, like Elijah.

Lesson 132

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 4:1-9 (audio).
2. Here is another prophet. Starting with Daniel, we call this part of the Bible the “minor prophets.” Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were the “major prophets.” We’ll just read this one part of Hosea. You’ll see that the theme is still the same.

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 4:1-9 (audio).
2. Here is another prophet. Starting with Daniel, we call this part of the Bible the “minor prophets.” Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were the “major prophets.” We’ll just read this one part of Hosea. You’ll see that the theme is still the same.

Lesson 133

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 6:1-6 (audio).
2. What are some of the things we learn about God from this section?
3. What does verse 6 mean?

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 6:1-6 (audio).
2. What does verse 6 mean?
3. In this passage in Matthew, Jesus quotes this Scripture. Read the Matthew passage.
4. What does it mean that God desires mercy, not sacrifice?

Lesson 134

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 7:10-13 (audio).
2. The beginning of the next verse says, “They do not cry out to me. Instead they lie in their beds and sob.” What is Israel doing wrong?
3. Troubles will come to God’s people. What are you supposed to do when they come? Where should you go to get help?

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 7:10-16 (audio).
2. What is Israel not doing? (answer: They aren’t turning to God for help.)

Lesson 135

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 8:1-3 (audio).
2. Do you see that Israel is still calling God their God? It’s not enough to believe God exists. Satan believes God exists. If you really believe all that the Bible says, then you obey God and serve Him with your whole heart.

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 8.
2. Look at verses 2 and 3. Do you know people who say they believe in God but don’t live as the Bible teaches us to? Do you? It’s not enough to believe God exists. Satan believes God exists. If you really believe all that the Bible says, then you obey God and serve Him with your whole heart.

Lesson 136

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 11 (audio).
2. What does God compare His people to? (answer: a child He is caring for )
3. From these verses how can you know that He loves His people?

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 11.
2. Compare and contrast God and His people. How does this scripture show God’s love for His people?

Lesson 137

Level 1-4

1. Read Hosea 14 (audio).
2. What is the story of this chapter? (answer: Israel repents. God forgives.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Hosea 14.
2. What is the story of this chapter? (answer: Israel repents. God forgives.)

Lesson 138

Level 1-4

1. Read Joel 3:11-16 (audio).
2. This is a prophecy of a time when God will gather the nations to judge them and will destroy his enemies. But God will keep His people safe and He will fight for them with His heavenly soldiers.

Level 5-8

1. Read Joel 3:11-16 (audio).
2. This is a prophecy of a time when God will gather the nations to judge them and will destroy his enemies. God will keep His people safe, and He will fight for them with His heavenly soldiers.

Lesson 139

Level 1-4

1. Read Amos 4:13 (audio).
2. What does this verse say about who God is and what He does and can do? (answer: Nothing is beyond God’s control.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Amos 4.
2. This is being written by another prophet, Amos. He was a shepherd. These are God’s words that Amos spoke and recorded. In verses 4 and 5 God is being sarcastic.
3. What’s the theme of this chapter? (answer: God’s doing everything He can to cause them to repent and turn back to following Him.)
4. What’s the message of the last verse? (answer: God is in control.)

Lesson 140

Level 1-4

1. Read Amos 5:8-14 (audio).
2. Pleiades and Orion are constellations.
3. What are some of things we can know about God from these verses?

Level 5-8

1. Read Amos 5.
2. Pleiades and Orion are constellations.
3. What are some of things we can know about God from these verses?
4. What is God doing in verse 5? (answer: warning)
5. What is the answer for keeping safe in verse 6? (answer: seek the LORD)

Lesson 141

Level 1-4

1. Read Amos 7:1-9 (audio).
2. There are several stories in the Bible like this, where God seems to change His mind based on someone crying out to Him on behalf of those in danger.
3. Do you ever pray to protect something larger than yourself? Do you believe it makes a difference?
4. By the way, here is a plumb line. The weight pulls the string straight down. It shows if something vertical is straight.

Level 5-8

1. Read Amos 7:1-9 (audio).
2. There are several stories in the Bible like this, where God seems to change His mind based on someone crying out to Him on behalf of those in danger.
3. Do you ever pray to protect something larger than yourself? Do you believe it makes a difference?
4. By the way, here is a plumb line. It shows if something vertical is straight.

Lesson 142

Level 1-4

1. Read Amos 8:1-6 (audio).
2. One of the things God is upset about is how they turn poor people into slaves. It still happens today in some parts of the world. People are bought. Their families sell them for money.
3. What else does it say they are doing wrong?
4. I lived in a place where your fruits and vegetables are sometimes weighed on a balance instead of a digital scale like you are probably used to. There are two types of sellers: those who tip the scale in your favor, and those who tip the scale in theirs.
5. He doesn’t like their lies, but He is also mad that the rich are cheating the poor. He cares about the poor. There is a lot in the Bible that shows how He cares for the poor.
6. In Islam it often seems easier to win Allah’s favor if you are rich. (Of course, it doesn’t help them at all because it’s all false.) In Christianity, it is easier to please God if you are poor! It says it is impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom, and that the poor are rich in faith because they learn to trust God and not money. Of course, that doesn’t mean all poor people go to heaven and all wealthy people to hell! They still need to die to self and live for Christ.

Level 5-8

1. Read Amos 8:1-6 (audio).
2. The Hebrews in the Bible sometimes own slaves. Some people say that God is bad because He allowed slavery. God never led a crusade to end slavery. He has always been more interested in individuals than institutions. In what you just read, God is angry because they “trample” on the poor and buy them as slaves. Read these other verses and see how He feels about slaves.
3. Deuteronomy 23:15-16 sounds like an abolitionist; in Philemon 1:8-20 Paul is urging that Philemon set his slave, Onesimus, free.

Lesson 143

Level 1-4

1. Read Obadiah 1:15 below. Obadiah was another prophet. He only has one chapter in the Bible.

¹⁵ “The day of the Lord is near
for all of the nations.
Others will do to you
what you have done to them.
You will be paid back
for what you have done.

1. Read Jonah 1 (audio).
2. Does this story sound familiar? Jonah was another one of God’s prophets.

Level 5-8

1. Read Obadiah 1:15 below. Obadiah was another prophet. He only has one chapter in the Bible.

¹⁵ “The day of the Lord is near
for all of the nations.
Others will do to you
what you have done to them.
You will be paid back
for what you have done.

1. The Day of the Lord is a good day for Christians and the worst day for non-believers. It’s the day God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth, and Jesus will save His people from it.
2. Read Jonah 1.
3. Does this story sound familiar? Jonah was another one of God’s prophets.

Lesson 144

Level 1-4

1. Read Jonah 2 (audio).
2. Tell someone what happened in this part of the story.
3. Why did God send the fish?
4. Why did God have the fish spit out Jonah?
5. Realize that it was God’s intent to have the fish spit out Jonah onto dry land. What would have happened if the fish hadn’t swallowed Jonah?
6. So why did God send the fish to swallow him? (answer: to give him another chance to repent, to save him)

Level 5-8

1. Read Jonah 2.
2. Why did God send the fish?
3. Why did God have the fish spit out Jonah?
4. Realize that it was God’s intent to have the fish spit out Jonah onto dry land.
5. What would have happened if the fish hadn’t swallowed Jonah?
6. So why did God send the fish to swallow him? (answer: to give him another chance to repent)

Lesson 145

Level 1-4

1. Read Jonah 3 (audio).
2. What did Jonah do?
3. What did he say?
4. What was the King’s reaction?
5. What was God’s reaction?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jonah 3.
2. What did Jonah do?
3. What did he say?
4. What was the King’s reaction?
5. What was God’s reaction?
6. What do you think, did God do the right thing?
7. Are you glad God “changes His mind” and has compassion and doesn’t carry out punishments He planned?

Lesson 146

Level 1-4

1. Read Jonah 4 (audio).
2. Why is Jonah upset? (answer: God was compassionate.)
3. What point does God make? (answer: You care about what affects you but not about what happens to thousands of people.)
4. What do you think about Jonah?

Level 5-8

1. Read Jonah 4.
2. What’s odd about why Jonah is upset? (answer: He’s mad that God is love and acted accordingly.)
3. I find it interesting that God points out that there are many cattle in Nineveh which would be destroyed.
4. What is Jonah’s problem? (answer: He cares only about himself.)
5. Do you ever act like Jonah? like the only person worth caring about is you?

Lesson 147

Level 1-4

1. Read Micah 4:1-5 (audio).
2. Micah is another prophet. This section is about the end of the world when Jesus will come and rule as king.
3. What does verse three say about what it will be like then? (answer: no more war)

Level 5-8

1. Read Micah 4.
2. Micah is another prophet. This section is about the end of the world when Jesus will come and rule as king.
3. What does it mean that they will beat their weapons into farming tools (verse 3)? (answer: They won’t need weapons anymore because there will be no more war.)

Lesson 148

Level 1-4

1. Read Micah 5:2-4 (audio).
2. This is a prophecy about Jesus. Where was Jesus born? (hint: verse 2)

Level 5-8

1. Read Micah 5.
2. What does it mean to have Jesus as your shepherd? (answer: Jesus guides you, cares for you, protects you.)
3. Why is it a good idea to have Jesus as your shepherd (verse 4)? (answer: You will be secure/safe.)

Lesson 149

Level 1-4

1. Read Micah 6:6-8 (audio).
2. Here is a list of things that people think gods want from them, but the last verse tells what God wants from them. What does He want? See if you can memorize this verse.
3. Here is an older version of it: Micah 6:8 “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Level 5-8

1. Read Micah 6:1-8 (audio).
2. What does the Lord require?
3. Is it sacrifices that He wants?

Lesson 150

Level 1-4

1. Read Micah 7:15-20 (audio).
2. What does the Lord delight in? (hint: verse 18)

Level 5-8

1. Read Micah 7:15-20 (audio).
2. What does the Lord delight in? (hint: verse 18)
3. What does it mean for God to show mercy? (answer: God shows us mercy when he doesn’t punish us the way we deserve.)

Lesson 151

Level 1-4

1. Read Nahum 1:1-8 (audio).
2. Nahum was another of God’s prophets. Who is going to be destroyed? (answer: Nineveh)
3. Who is safe? (answer: those who trust in Him)

Level 5-8

1. Read Nahum 1:1-8 (audio).
2. Nahum is another one of what we call the “minor prophets.” There are only three chapters in Nahum. Look at verse 7.
3. Who is safe? (answer: those who trust in Him)
4. Look at verse 8. Who is being destroyed? (answer: Nineveh)
5. We just read about how Nineveh was saved. Nahum might have been written 100 years after Jonah. In between, the city forgot the Lord and went back to its evil ways. It’s not enough to turn to God once in repentance. We have to follow Him and choose His ways every day.

Lesson 152

Level 1-4

1. Read Habakkuk 1:12-17 (audio).
2. This is the beginning of a conversation between God and Habakkuk, another prophet. Who is coming to fight Israel this time? (answer: the Babylonians)

Level 5-8

1. Read Habakkuk 1:12-17 (audio).
2. Read Habakkuk 2:1-7 (audio).
3. Here is a conversation between God and Habakkuk, another prophet. God is sending the Babylonians this time to punish Israel, but then the Babylonians are going to get it for their evil actions. God says it might take awhile, but it will happen. That’s the hard part. Waiting. We have to wait in faith for God’s promises to come true. If you believe God is real and the Bible is true, then you can know all of His promises will happen, and we can wait in faith for them.
4. In verse 4 who is the one who lives by faith? (answer: the righteous).
5. What does that mean? (answer: someone who obeys God’s law, which we can only do when God’s righteousness is in us by the Spirit)
6. Click on the reading from chapter one and find the simile in verse 14 and the metaphor in verse 15. (answer: like fish/sea creatures, being caught with hooks)

Lesson 153

Level 1-4

1. Read Zephaniah 1:14 and Zephaniah 1:18.
2. What is going to happen on “the Day of the Lord?” (answer: the Lord will destroy the ungodly)
3. It says everyone on earth will die. Matthew 24 compares the Day of the Lord to Noah’s day. People will suddenly be destroyed. We can be safe because we will not be caught unprepared as it talks about in Matthew 24. Jesus will be our ark to keep us safe.

Level 5-8

1. Read Habakkuk 3:17-19 (audio).
2. Read Zephaniah 1:14 and Zephaniah 1:18.
3. What is going to happen on “the Day of the Lord?” (answer: destruction of the ungodly)
4. What is our reaction to calamity brought on by the Lord? (answer: we still praise Him)
5. Matthew 24 compares the Day of the Lord to Noah’s day. People will suddenly be destroyed. We can be safe because we will not be caught unprepared, as it talks about in Matthew 24. Jesus will be our ark to keep us safe.

Lesson 154

Level 1-4

1. Read Haggai 2:10-23 (audio).
2. Haggai is another one of God’s prophets. This talks about God’s laws about things being holy (set apart for God’s purposes) and unclean (unacceptable to God). These laws are “ritual” laws that pointed to Jesus coming and making us holy. Now we are holy, not because we are clean and have followed the rituals, but because our hearts are clean. Jesus made our hearts clean by dying for us to take our punishment so that we can be forgiven. That’s why you sometimes hear about Jesus’ blood washing us. At the end of this part, it talks about God choosing a leader for Israel. The Bible teaches us that God chooses leaders. That doesn’t mean all leaders are godly! But God uses even evil leaders for His purposes.

Level 5-8

1. Read Haggai 2:10-23 (audio).
2. Haggai is another one of God’s prophets. This talks about God’s laws about things being holy (set apart for God’s purposes) and unclean (unacceptable to God). These laws are “ritual” laws that pointed to Jesus coming and making us holy. Now we are holy, not because we are clean and have followed the rituals, but because our hearts are clean. Jesus made our hearts clean by dying for us to take our punishment so that we can be forgiven. That’s why you sometimes hear about Jesus’ blood washing us. At the end of this part, it talks about God choosing a leader for Israel. The Bible teaches us that God chooses leaders. That doesn’t mean all leaders are godly! But God uses even evil leaders for His purposes. What are verses 15-19 talking about? (answer: Before they worked to build God’s temple, God was disciplining them; everything was bad. Now that they are doing what is right, everything will be blessed.)

Lesson 155

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 1:14-20 (audio).
2. Zechariah is another of God’s prophets. God loves Israel. He was angry that they worshiped other gods and they were punished, but He still loves them, and God is upset with those countries who fought against Israel and tried to wipe them out. This is still happening today. There are countries that want to wipe Israel out. If they try, God is allowing it and sees it, and He will pay them back and they will be destroyed themselves.

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 1.
2. Zechariah is another of God’s prophets. God loves Israel. He was angry that they worshiped other gods and they were punished, but He still loves them, and God is upset with those countries who fought against Israel and tried to wipe them out. This is still happening today. There are countries that want to wipe Israel out. If they try, God is allowing it and sees it, and He will pay them back and they will be destroyed themselves.

Lesson 156

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 2 (audio).
2. This is a prophecy about the end of the world when Jesus will come and live in Jerusalem. I’m not going to try and explain what’s going to happen. I’m sure I don’t know! But you can read here how “many nations” will be part of Israel. In the New Testament, in Romans, it talks about Christians becoming part of Israel. We are God’s chosen people and will live with Him forever.
3. What do you think it means that the Lord will be a “wall of fire” around Jerusalem? (answer: He will be their protection.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 2.
2. This is a prophecy about the end of the world when Jesus will come and live in Jerusalem. I’m not going to try and explain what’s going to happen. I’m sure I don’t know! But you can read here how “many nations” will be part of Israel. In the New Testament, in Romans, it talks about Christians becoming part of Israel. We are God’s chosen people and will live with Him forever. What do you think is the coolest part of this prophecy?

Lesson 157

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 3:1-9 (audio).
2. Who is standing before God? (answer: Satan and Jeshua the high priest)
3. What was Satan there to do? (answer: accuse Jeshua of wrong)
4. What does God do? (answer: He takes away Jeshua’s sin. They show this by taking off his dirty clothes and putting on clean clothes.)
5. This is what God does for us. He forgives us, cleans us of all unrighteousness and makes it so Satan cannot bring charges against us. We become innocent because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. “The Branch” is Jesus.

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 3.
2. What takes place in this scene? Satan wants to condemn us, but because of Jesus’ sacrifice we become innocent.
3. Here’s a verse to copy and memorize. Romans 8:1

Lesson 158

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 4:6-10 (audio).
2. An angel is speaking to Zechariah, who is seeing a vision. It is a prophecy about the temple being rebuilt. The second part of verse 6 is famous. Memorize part of it. It is a short way of saying one of the big lessons in the Bible, that we are to trust God to save us in all kinds of situations. We don’t need to rely on ourselves, our strength, our money, our smarts…we can rely on God. When you have it memorized, go and tell it to a parent.

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD almighty. Zech. 4:6b (that means the second part of the verse)

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 4.
2. An angel is speaking to Zechariah, who is seeing a vision. It is a prophecy about the temple being rebuilt. The second part of verse 6 is famous. Memorize part of it. It is a short way of saying one of the big lessons in the Bible, that we are to trust God to save us in all kinds of situations. We don’t need to rely on ourselves, our strength, our money, our smarts…we can rely on God. When you have it memorized, go and tell it to a parent.

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD almighty. Zech. 4:6b (that means the second part of the verse)

Lesson 159

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 7:8-13 (audio).
2. We’ve heard some of these things before. What are some of the things God wants His people to do? (answer: show love and concern)
3. What groups of people does God want His people to protect and care for? (answer: orphans, widows, refugees-strangers-people who aren’t in their own country)
4. What reason does God give for not listening to them when they called to Him? (answer: They didn’t listen to Him.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 7. We’ve heard some of these things before. What are some of the things God wants His people to do? (answer: show mercy and compassion) What groups of people does God want His people to protect and care for? (answer: orphans, widows, refugees, the poor) What are some of the results of their not listening to God? (answer: He didn’t listen to them; He sent them to other countries where they would be the foreigner, Their land was made a desert wasteland.)

Lesson 160

Level 1-4

1. Read this prophecy from Zechariah 9:9.
2. Do you know when this prophecy was fulfilled? (answer: Matthew 21:1-7)

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 9.
2. Do you recognize anything that’s being prophesied in this chapter?
3. God will come against nations who came against Israel. There is a prophecy concerning Jesus as King and riding on a donkey; sound familiar? (Matthew 21:1-7)
4. There is a prophecy of Jesus appearing in the sky and with the sound of trumpet; sound familiar? (Matthew 24:30-31)

Lesson 161

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 10:1-4 (audio).
2. When it talks about the “most important stone” coming from Judah, it is talking about Jesus. His family was from the tribe of Judah. Read here (Acts 4:10-12) where Peter is preaching about Jesus being the most important stone. I also wanted to point out where it says that “those who practice magic see visions that aren’t true.” Remember that there are supernatural things that happen sometimes that aren’t from God. Just because something couldn’t have happened on its own, doesn’t mean it is from God. Satan can use demons to give people visions and dreams. You don’t have to trust someone just because they say they saw a vision. Visions from God will always stay true to what the Bible teaches. That’s true for all other supernatural things. If it’s not what the Bible teaches, it’s not from God.

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 10.
2. When it talks about the “most important stone” coming from Judah, it is talking about Jesus. His family was from the tribe of Judah. Read here (Acts 4:10-12) where Peter is preaching about Jesus being the most important stone. I also wanted to point out where it says that “those who practice magic see visions that aren’t true.” Remember that there are supernatural things that happen sometimes that aren’t from God. Just because something couldn’t have happened on its own, doesn’t mean it is from God. Satan can use demons to give people visions and dreams. You don’t have to trust someone just because they say they saw a vision. Visions from God will always stay true to what the Bible teaches. That’s true for all other supernatural things. If it’s not what the Bible teaches, it’s not from God.

Lesson 162

Level 1-4

1. Read Zechariah 14:4-19 (audio).
2. Skip verse 12 if you don’t want to read something gross. This chapter is about “the Day of the Lord,” when Jesus is coming back. We read that there will be a huge earthquake that will split in half the Mount of Olives, it will go dark, the land will change, the nations that attacked Israel will be attacked and many destroyed, and those who live will worship God and celebrate the Jewish festivals. We are not required by God to celebrate the Jewish holidays of the Old Testament, but it does seem like when Jesus rules the earth, the Jewish holidays will be the world’s holidays.

Level 5-8

1. Read Zechariah 14.
2. Skip verse 12 if you don’t want to read something gross. This chapter is about “the day of the Lord,” when Jesus is coming back. We read that there will be a huge earthquake that will split in half the Mount of Olives, it will go dark, the land will change, the nations that attacked Israel will be attacked and many destroyed, and those who live will worship God and celebrate the Jewish festivals. We are not required by God to celebrate the Jewish holidays of the Old Testament, but it does seem like when Jesus rules the earth, the Jewish holidays will be the world’s holidays.

Lesson 163

Level 1-4

1. Read Malachi 1:8-9 (audio). Remember God’s law requires a perfect sacrifice. Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. One more time we are shown the need for Jesus, the perfect sacrifice to come and take away our sins once and for all.
2. Read Malachi 2:13-16 (audio). What does God hate? (answer: divorce)

Level 5-8

1. Read Malachi 1 and Malachi 2.
2. Remember God’s law requires holiness, and if there is sin, His law requires a perfect sacrifice to cover it. Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. One more time we are shown the need for Jesus, the perfect sacrifice to come and take away our sins once and for all.
3. What sin of the Israelites was pointed out in the second chapter? (answer: marrying those who worshiped other gods and divorcing)

Lesson 164

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 1:1-9 (audio).
2. Who wrote this book? (answer: John)
3. This is the same man who wrote the first book of the Bible we read this year. He was on the island of Patmos as a prisoner for sharing the gospel. Memorize verse 8 and tell it to a parent when you’ve got it. Alpha and Omega are Greek letter names, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It’s saying that Jesus is the first and the last. He was there in the beginning, and He will be there at the end.

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 1.
2. Who wrote this book? (answer: John)
3. This is the same man who wrote the first book of the Bible we read this year. He was on the island of Patmos as a prisoner for sharing the gospel. Memorize verse eight and tell it to a parent when you got it. Alpha and Omega are Greek letter names, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It’s saying that Jesus is the first and the last. He was there in the beginning, and He will be there at the end. What are some of the ways He described Jesus?

Lesson 165

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 2:1-7 (audio).
2. This is the first of seven letters written to the Church. What are some of the good things these people are doing? (answer: good deeds, persevere through hard times, don’t put up with evil or those who pretend to serve God but who really don’t)
3. What were they doing wrong? (answer: They had forgotten their first love.)
4. Some people say their first love is Jesus, that they weren’t passionate about Him like they had been before. Others say their first love was each other, and that they had lost the unity and devotion to one another that they had in the beginning. Jesus taught us that the most important commandment is to love God and love each other. He said if we do those things, we are doing everything else He wants us to do. How are you doing at loving God and loving others? What have you done today to show God that you love Him? What have you done today to show others you love them?

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 2:1-7 (audio). This is the first of seven letters written to the Church.
2. What are some of the good things these people are doing? (answer: good deeds, persevere through hard times, don’t put up with evil or those who pretend to serve God but who really don’t)
3. There are a lot of different ideas about who the Nicolaitans were, but the warning is clear here and in other Scriptures that we are to test teachings to see if they agree with what the Bible says. What were they doing wrong? (answer: They had forgotten their first love.) Some people say their first love is Jesus, that they weren’t passionate about Him like they had been before. Others say their first love was each other, and that they had lost the unity and devotion to one another that they had in the beginning. Jesus taught us that the most important commandment is to love God and love each other. He said if we do those things we are doing everything else He wants us to do. How are you doing at loving God and loving others? What have you done today to show God that you love Him? What have you done today to show others you love them?

Lesson 166

Level 1-4

1. A revelation means something that has been revealed. God is revealing to John what is going to happen at the end of the world. The book begins with seven letters to the Church (with a capital letter, meaning all the believers in the world). The specific churches listed are all places in one part of modern-day Turkey. (Move the map around and find Israel too.) Some people believe that these seven churches represent seven types of believers today. Whether the letter was written to you or not, it’s God’s word to His people and the truth it teaches is true for you and everyone else.
2. Read Revelation 2:8-11 (audio). How can a poor person be rich? (answer: The Bible says the poor are rich in faith. They have had to learn to trust God because they couldn’t trust in money to take care of them.)
3. What are they told to do? (answer: Be faithful even if they must die.)

1. Read Revelation 2:12-29 (audio).
2. Here are two more letters to the churches. They are praised for their perseverance, love, and faith. But in each case there are some that are living in sin. God is upset that it is tolerated. All of the bad things that are going to happen are for this purpose, to get sin out of the Church. Only a perfect Church can be with God. The big C in Church is for the whole Church, all of God’s people. Little c church is for what you think of as church, a local group of believers meeting together.
3. How does each letter end? (answer: To him who has ears let him hear along with a promise of eternal life–each time it’s written a different way)
4. Everyone has ears. What does God mean? (answer: God will give understanding and power to obey to anyone whose heart desires to live according to His words)

1. Read Revelation 2:12-29 (audio).
2. Here are two more letters to the churches. They are praised for their perseverance, love, and faith. But in each case there are some that are living in sin. God is upset that it is tolerated. All of the bad things that are going to happen are for this purpose, to get sin out of the Church. Only a perfect Church can be with God. The big C in Church is the body of Christ, all of those who are united in Christ by His Spirit. Little c church is for what you think of as church, a local group of believers meeting together.
3. How does each letter end? (answer: To him who has ears let him hear along with a promise of eternal life–each time it’s written a different way)
4. Everyone has ears. What does God mean? (answer: God will give understanding and power to obey to anyone whose heart desires to live according to His words)

Lesson 168

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 3:1-6 (audio).
2. There are several warnings in the Bible of Jesus coming as a thief. There is also the warning to not be caught off guard. We are supposed to be “awake” so the thief can’t steal from us. What does it mean to be “awake?”
3. What does it say in verse 3? (answer: It means to pay attention, listen to God’s Word and obey it.) To be asleep would mean to act like it doesn’t matter or that there’s time to change your ways later. In Noah’s day, Noah was awake and stayed alive. The others were asleep and the thief came and took them away (Matt. 24:39).
4. What do you think it means to have kept your clothes clean or to be dressed in white? (answer: It means to be holy, without sin. It’s what we can only accomplish by Jesus’ death for us and His life in us by His Holy Spirit.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 3:1-6 (audio).
2. There are several warnings in the Bible of Jesus coming as a thief. There is also the warning to not be caught off guard. We are supposed to “be awake” so the thief can’t steal from us.
3. What does it mean to be “awake?”
4. What does it say in verse 3? (answer: It means to pay attention, listen to God’s word and obey it.)
5. To be asleep would mean to act like it doesn’t matter or that there’s time to change your ways later. In Noah’s day, Noah was awake and stayed alive. The others were asleep and the thief came and took them away (Matt. 24:39).
6. What do you think it means to have kept your clothes clean or to be dressed in white? (answer: It means to be holy, without sin. It’s what we can only accomplish by Jesus’ death for us and His life in us by His Holy Spirit.)
7. Are your clothes clean? What can you do to make sure you are awake?

Lesson 169

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 3:7-13 (audio).
2. What church is this letter written to? (answer: Philadelphia)
3. This is the only letter that has only good things to say. What good thing have they done? (answer: They have obeyed God.)
4. What will they be spared from because they have already shown they will always obey no matter what? (answer: the test, the hard times coming to the church)

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 3:7-13 (audio).
2. What church is this letter written to? (answer: Philadelphia, which means the city of brotherly love)
3. This is the only letter that has only good things to say. What good thing have they done? (answer: They have obeyed God, never said no to Him, and put up with anything that was caused by that obedience.)
4. What will they be spared from because they have already shown they will always obey no matter what? (answer: the test, the hard times coming to the church)

Lesson 170

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 3:14-22 (audio).
2. Remember that these letters are written to the Church. He is asking those in the Church if they want to eat with him. Welcoming someone into your home to eat is like welcoming them into your family. Why is Jesus outside knocking? Make sure you are spending time with Jesus and not keeping him outside! This letter also talks about people in the church feeling like they are rich and don’t need anything. This is foolish thinking. That’s the same as the armies in the Old Testament relying on their chariots to win a battle. The Philistines relied on Goliath to win their battles. David relied on the Lord. Who won? God can make our money, our home, all of the things we think we can rely on, disappear in an instant. But God is always there, always faithful. We need to trust him to take care of us in every way.

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 3:14-22 (audio).
2. Remember that these letters are written to the Church. He is asking those in the Church if they want to eat with him. Welcoming someone into your home to eat is like welcoming them into your family. Why is Jesus outside knocking? Have you invited Jesus in? Is He part of your life every day? This letter also talks about people in the church feeling like they are rich and don’t need anything. This is foolish thinking. That’s the same as the armies in the Old Testament relying on their chariots to win a battle. The Philistines relied on Goliath to win their battles. David relied on the Lord. Who won? God can make our money, our home, all of the things we think we can rely on, disappear in an instant. But God is always there, always faithful. We need to trust him to take care of us in every way.

Lesson 171

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 4. (audio)
2. Emeralds are precious stones.
3. John is sent to Patmos as a prisoner. He is supposed to be separated from everyone. But no one can separate you from God! Jesus comes and shows him a remarkable vision that we know as the book of Revelation. He sees these strange creatures.
4. What do they constantly say? (answer: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God who rules over all. He was, and He is, and He will come.”)
5. They could say, “God is love” or “Praise God.” But they constantly, without stopping, declare God’s holiness — how He is set apart. God’s holiness is why Jesus needed to die, to close the gap created by our sin. By the blood of Jesus we are made holy, set apart for God.
6. Praise God by reading verse 11 out loud. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 4. Jasper, Carnelian and Emerald are precious stones.
2. The seven-fold Spirit is referring to the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:2 lists seven ways to describe the Holy Spirit.
3. John is sent to the island of Patmos as a prisoner. He is supposed to be separated from everyone. But no one can separate you from God! Jesus comes and shows him a remarkable vision that we know as the book of Revelation. He sees these strange creatures.
4. What do they constantly say? (answer: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”)
5. They could say, “God is love” or “Praise God.” But they constantly, without stopping declare God’s holiness — how He is set apart. God’s holiness is why Jesus needed to die, to close the gap created by our sin. By the blood of Jesus we are made holy, set apart for God.
6. Praise God by reading verse 11 out loud. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Lesson 172

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 5:9-14 (audio).
2. This is another scene in God’s throne room. Who is being worshiped?
3. Who is the one who bought God’s people with His blood? (answer: Jesus)
4. What do you think it would be like to hear millions and millions of angels worshiping God? Do you think it would make you fall down and worship too?

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 5.
2. Who is worthy to open the scroll? (answer: Jesus)
3. Why is He worthy? (answer: He has won the victory. He was victorious over sin and death when He died on the cross.)
4. I want you to realize that our prayers are in God’s throne room. Our prayers reach the command center 🙂 What do you think it would be like to hear “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’?” Think about every creature on earth and then every other creature too all praising God. Do you think you would be like those in the next verse and fall down and worship too?

Lesson 173

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 6 (audio).
2. This chapter is a summary of what is known as the end times, or what’s going to happen at the end of the world. Jesus is opening seals. Here is a picture of a seal on a scroll. There are seven. In this chapter six are opened. Some people think the first seal releases the Antichrist, the man who will lead the fight against God and His people in the end. Personally, I believe the first seal releases revival among God’s true Church. The second through fourth seals release war, famine and sickness. That is the time period known as the first half of the Tribulation. It will last three and a half years. Tribulation means trial or suffering. The fifth seal releases martyrdom, and a certain number of believers will die for their faith. None of this is something to be afraid of. It is here in the Bible. God has always known that this would happen. None of these things will catch Him by surprise. He has had it planned out. He is allowing it all to happen for you! This is all preparing His People to be holy so they can be with Him because He is a holy God. The sixth seal marks the end of the Tribulation, the end of seven years. It describes an earthquake and the sun going dark and the moon turning the color of blood and the stars falling from the sky. Compare that to this verse: “Right after the terrible suffering of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine. The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be shaken.'” The same, right? Read the rest of that Scripture. What does it describe? Jesus coming back and gathering all of His people to Himself.

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 6.
2. This chapter is a summary of what is known as the end times, or what’s going to happen at the end of the world. Jesus is opening seals. Here is a picture of a seal on a scroll. There are seven. In this chapter six are opened. Some people think the first seal releases the Antichrist, the man who will lead the fight against God and His people in the end. Personally, I believe the first seal releases revival among God’s true Church. The second through fourth seals release war, famine, sickness. That is the time period known as the first half of the Tribulation. It will last three and a half years. Tribulation means trial or suffering. The fifth seal releases martyrdom, a certain number of believers will die for their faith. Realize that a certain number has been fixed. No one dies without purpose. No one can kill a true Christian without it having been purposed by God. And God does all things for our good. That is one of the most important things to remember during a time of trial. God is faithful, in control and good! He will never stop loving you. The sixth seal marks the end of the Tribulation, the end of seven years. It describes an earthquake and the sun going dark and the moon turning the color of blood and the stars falling from the sky. Compare that to this verse: “Right after the terrible suffering of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine. The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be shaken.'” The same, right? Read the rest of that Scripture. What does it describe? Jesus coming back and gathering all of His people to Himself. All of the seals were preparing for the sixth one. God’s people were being prepared to be with God. They were being made holy. Sin was being removed. They were being set apart for God so they could be with Him. Tribulation is for your good!

Lesson 174

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 7:9-17 (audio).
2. Who is in front of the throne? (answer: every different type of person who has come out of the Tribulation and has been washed clean)
3. Remember this is the point of the Tribulation, so that we can stand in God’s presence. In the Old Testament we read about people dying because they came into God’s presence but weren’t holy. Tribulation gets us turned away from the world and turned to God. It separates us from the world so that we can be with God. What do verses 16 and 17 say about what there won’t be any more of after Jesus comes back? (answer: hunger, thirst, tears)

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 7.
2. Who is in front of the throne? (answer: every different type of person who has come out of the Tribulation and has been washed clean)
3. Remember this is the point of the Tribulation, so that we can stand in God’s presence. In the Old Testament we read about people dying because they came into God’s presence but weren’t holy. Tribulation gets us turned away from the world and turned to God. It separates us from the world so that we can be with God. What do verses 16 and 17 say about what there won’t be anymore of after Jesus comes back? (answer: hunger, thirst, tears)

Lesson 175

Level 1-4

1. You aren’t going to read the whole book right now. You can if you want, but for school, you are just going to look at a few things. As you do read it, realize that it is a symbolic book. It describes things that are symbols that represent other things. It’s also not a book that reads straight through. It’s not in order.
2. Today we’re going to read about the beast and the mark. The beast is also sometimes called the Antichrist. I think of him as the head of all the earthly antichrists because the Bible says there are many antichrists, not just one. The mark you’ll hear called “the mark of the beast.”
3. Read Revelation 13 (audio). Remember that it is symbolic. People don’t think there will be dragon walking around.
4. Who will worship the beast? (answer: everyone whose name is not in the Book of Life)
5. What is the beast’s purpose (verse 7)? (answer: to go to war against God’s people)
6. What Bible story does verse 15 remind you of? (answer: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego)
7. Verses 14 and 15 talk about what I have warned about a few times, that just because someone seems to have power to do miraculous things, it doesn’t mean they are from God.
8. What is everyone forced to get? (answer:  the mark)
9. Believers must refuse to receive the mark. We cannot wear the beast’s name on us. What will we not be able to do because we won’t be marked? (answer: buy and sell) That is okay because God promises to provide all of our needs. Once when our family had no money an angel walked into our local bank branch and deposited $1000 cash. That’s the best we can figure what happened based on the information the bank could give us. No one knew we needed money. We had never told anyone. We trusted God and He provided. We have many stories of God providing for us. The Bible is true! We can trust God and His word.
10. I think most people who study the Bible believe there will be a real mark of some kind. Some people think that it is symbolic as well because the Bible says the Holy Spirit has marked us. But I think there will be real mark, because believers won’t be able to buy or sell if they don’t have a mark, so the unbelievers would need to be able to instantly recognize those marked. Similar to the Jews wearing a star and having their stores closed, isn’t it?

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 20:11-14 (audio).
2. Here is the description of an event that takes place at the very end – judgment day. Everyone stands before God and is judged according to what they have done. You read a bit earlier about the seven churches. It was promised the churches that those who “overcame by the blood of the Lamb” would not be hurt by the second death and would not have their name removed from the Book of Life. We overcome sin by seeking forgiveness and then by dying to self and letting Jesus live in us. That means we make choices not based on what we want but what God wants for us. By the power of God in us we can choose to not be selfish but to love God and others and serve God and others.

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 20.
2. There are three events in this chapter. What are they? (answer: first resurrection, the Lord reigning for 1000 years, final judgment)
3. How do you think what the Bible calls “the first resurrection” might relate to these verses? The more you are exposed to the world around you, the more you will realize that people don’t agree on anything! The Bible describes the church in Acts as having “one mind.” Today, the church is fragmented into so many different pieces and barely have one mind on anything. Your job is to read the Bible, study it and believe the truth that it teaches. When someone tells you something is true, you find it in the Bible to know if it is true or not. The second event is the 1000 years, sometimes referred to as the millennial reign. Jesus will reign on Earth. This Scripture talks about those coming out of the Tribulation reigning with Him. The final event in this chapter is the final judgment. Everyone is judged by their deeds. In the letters to the churches we are told that our name will not be taken out of the Book of Life if we overcome. How can we overcome? By the blood of Jesus. We overcome sin by seeking forgiveness and then by dying to self and letting Jesus live in us. That means we make choices not based on what we want but what God wants for us.

Lesson 178

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 21:1-8 (audio).
2. When this world ends, what new things will there be? (answer: new heaven, new earth, new everything)
3. What won’t there be anymore? (answer: death, sadness, crying, pain)
4. There is a description of hell as a lake of burning fire and a list of the types of people who will be there. Remember, murderers and others go to hell, but you can be a former murderer and repent and go to heaven. When you repent of something, God forgives your sin and you no longer commit that sin. It also lists being afraid as a sin. We are saved and go to heaven by faith, by believing and trusting God. Faith and fear are opposites. We are saved by faith. Those who are afraid do not have faith. This doesn’t mean that if you are afraid of snakes or something that you will go to hell! It means that you have to have faith that God will save you from death and give you everlasting life. Those who are afraid of death do not have faith that God has saved them. Do you understand?

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 21.
2. When this world ends, what new things will there be? (answer: new heaven, new earth, new everything)
3. What won’t there be anymore? (answer: death, sadness, crying, pain)
4. There is a description of hell as a lake of burning fire and a list of the types of people who will be there. Remember, murderers and others go to hell, but you can be a former murderer and repent and go to heaven. When you repent of something, God forgives your sin and you no longer commit that sin. It also lists being afraid as a sin. We are saved and go to heaven by faith, by believing and trusting God. Faith and fear are opposites. We are saved by faith. Those who are afraid do not have faith. This doesn’t mean that if you are afraid of snakes or something that you will go to hell! It means that you have to have faith that God will save you from death and give you everlasting life. Those who are afraid of death do not have faith that God has saved them. Do you understand?

Lesson 179

Level 1-4

1. Read Revelation 22:10-21 (audio).
2. When does Jesus say He is coming back? (answer: soon)
3. The Bible tells us that God views time differently than we do. He doesn’t measure time in the same way we do. And He isn’t “dilly-dallying” in getting back. Peter talks about this in one of his books. What can your prayer be (verse 20)? (answer: Come quickly Lord Jesus.)

Level 5-8

1. Read Revelation 22.
2. We read before that there would be no more tears. What else will there be no more of? Why? (answer: There will be no more night because God Himself will be the light.)
3. When does Jesus say He is coming back? (answer: soon)
4. The Bible tells us that God views time differently than we do. He doesn’t measure time in the same way we do. And He isn’t “dilly-dallying” in getting back. Peter talks about this in one of his books.
5. What can your prayer be (verse 20)? (answer: Come quickly Lord Jesus.)

Lesson 180*

1. *Print out this page (1-4) (5-8)and fill in what you’ve learned this year about God. Fill in the circle with the things that describe God and that can be with God. Outside the circle write the things that describe what cannot be with God. Your Scripture from last lesson listed some.
2. Watch this video on who God is throughout the Bible.
3. What do you remember from the verses you memorized? Get a high five for each one you can remember.