It was my turn to teach Sunday School. We started the way we start every Bible Orientation class—reciting the names of the books of the Bible until we reach the book of the day. The first recitation was hesitant, subdued. The Count from Sesame Street insisted that counting must be done with conviction: I apply the same attitude to reciting the books of the Bible. After instructing the children to repeat it together, fast and loud, the mood was energized. Genesis! Exodus! Leviticus!…Everyone was smiling. Our Bible survey curriculum for kids had caught them.
The previous teacher had placed a marker at the end of Ruth so we were moving into the twin books. We turned to the index of the Bible and students quickly identified 3 sets of twin books in the Old Testament and 4 sets in the New. They were surprised to discover a single set of triplet books in the New Testament. Then we found I Samuel in our Bibles.
One of the boys in my class functions on the autism spectrum and I debated assigning him references to find answers but decided to try. After a bit of coaching this boy who would not participate if he was required to formulate answers, found verses independently and read them enthusiastically. Both he and I were filled with joy.
One of the girls was assigned I Samuel 10:21 to find the name of the first king of Israel. She named “Saul” and added the comment, “I know Saul. He killed a lot of Christians.” That prompted a clarification that more than one Saul is found in the Bible just like more than one Jennifer attends our class. And so the children sorted out names in the big story of the Bible.
In our 25-minute class, we finished our survey of I Samuel. What a privilege to watch children find their way around the Bible through Bible Orientation!