Bible Orientation was designed for children. I was flabbergasted when my friend posed the question: “Will you teach Bible Orientation to adults if I get a class together? “Um… sure! But why do you want to take this course?” My friend is a seasoned Christian; she reads her Bible, prays, and is active in her church. Her reply was unexpected: “I don’t understand how the Bible fits together.”
The first adult class included a reluctant student. She was forthright, “I’m here because my sister insisted I come, but I’m not going to pray.” Ok, I understand.
We started with Genesis, followed by Exodus, and then we encountered Leviticus; this was new territory. Genesis and Exodus were familiar, but Leviticus introduced Jewish offerings and feasts and unfamiliar laws. By the time we finished the books of the Law, attendees driven by curiosity had drifted away. The seven who remained had whet their appetite for the Bible and were eager to discover more.
One of the men confessed that he was bored by his faith and attended only to please his wife. He was the one who frequently requested, “Can we stop and investigate this? I’ve never heard this before.”
We ended every class with a short prayer time. A few months in, the reluctant participant started praying aloud; it was heartfelt prayer. When asked, “What changed?” she replied, “I now know to whom I am praying.” A few months later, she suggested a major Bible research project and assigned each of us a specific topic that had come up in our church. I watched the Holy Spirit bring a wilting group to life in a radical way.
My goal for Bible Orientation was that children would learn the layout and basic content of the Bible. I did not anticipate a transformative effect on adults, including churchgoers. Their confidence in the reliability of the Scriptures skyrocketed. They discovered its consistency and started making connections between passages. Students learned that the Bible is its own best interpreter. They were revived by “the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians 5:26).
Seven years later, this group still meets weekly to study the Bible. We have gone through many life events and Bible books while growing in faith together. Adult students are eager to share their faith with others and teach a variety of Bible Orientation classes.
I should not have been surprised that Bible Orientation is useful for everyone, not because I did such a good job, but because it is God’s word. I don’t consider myself an author because I have not written an original book. These are not my ideas. I merely organized the main ideas and characters of every Bible book into a question-and-answer format, along with activities and worksheets that teach particular concepts more effectively that way.
The one true God, the God of the Bible, is full of surprises. I invite you to go through the Bible with Bible Orientation as your guide, with a friend or two, or a child or a neighbor, or in Sunday School or a Senior’s Residence or by Home Schooling or with your family or by yourself. Studying the Bible opens your heart and mind to the working of the Holy Spirit. You will gain knowledge and whatever else God has planned for you. Prepare to be amazed!
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