Course Introduction:
This course is a series of 42 Bible lessons on the New Testament designed for older (middle school) children. Each lesson is about 20 minutes in length and is taught by a 6th grade Bible teacher from Calvin Christian school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The video portion of each lesson is accompanied by a Lesson Guide containing quizzes and test questions. The Lesson Guide is available in pdf format and can be downloaded or printed out for the student to complete in class. This course is very well suited for both home schools and private Christian schools worldwide, though it is primarily designed for use in a group setting. Parents and teachers can provide additional guidance to supplement these lessons and Bible knowledge tests, if desired.
This New Testament course covers the history of the Lord Jesus as delivered to us in the Four Gospels and continues through the life of the apostle Paul from the book of Acts. The first lesson starts with the days leading up to Christ’s humble birth in Bethlehem. From there the student will move through the life of Christ, surveying His blessed ministry, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. Christ’s ascension, bringing His humble life on earth to a close, and the blessed outpouring of the Holy Spirit are taught next. The final lessons examine the calling and ministry of the greatest evangelist that ever lived, Paul the apostle. A study of Paul’s missionary journeys brings the series to a close. We hope these lessons are a blessing to you.
1 - The Setting of the Ministry of Christ
Throughout the Old Testament God promised that in the fullness of time He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Saviour to redeem His people. Between the Old Testament and the New Testament there was a period of more than four hundred years about which the Bible is silent, but also during this time the Lord directed events to prepare for the coming of Christ and the spread of His kingdom.
2 - The Birth of John the Baptist
As we study about the birth of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ we need to focus on several remarkable circumstances. His birth to the aged Zacharias and Elizabeth was announced by the angel Gabriel. Although Zacharias was righteous before God he could not believe the message and was dumb until the child was born and named John, which means ‘the Lord is gracious”. As the Lord sent John to prepare the way for the coming of the Saviour, so the Lord needs to prepare our hearts so that Christ may become our Saviour.
3 - The Birth of Jesus Christ
In the fulness of time it pleased God to send His Son upon this earth. As the Saviour he would need to be very man and truly God. To fulfill the prophecies he would be born of a virgin and be conceived of the Holy Ghost. Therefore He is also called Immanuel, which means God with us. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
4 - Jesus’ Early Years
There is not very much recorded in the Bible about the early years of Jesus life. In this lesson we will study three main events.
5 - A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
God had prepared John the Baptist, while he lived in the wilderness, to appear as a preacher announcing the coming of God’s kingdom. Many came to hear him preach about the need for repentance at the river Jordan and were baptized. John was as a voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the Saviour.
6 - Jesus Manifested as the Son of God
By His baptism Jesus had entered upon His work as the mediator between God and man. Immediately following this He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, since it was necessary for Him to defeat His enemy, Satan, but also as a comfort for His church in their temptations.
7 - Jesus Reveals Himself
After the wedding of Cana Jesus travels to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Besides cleansing the temple of those who had made it a house of merchandise He also performed more miracles and revealed Himself as the Son of God.
8 - Must Needs Go Through Samaria
After the Passover was over Jesus and His disciples travelled back to Galilee, but they went through Samaria. Here Jesus would reveal Himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman.
9 - The Apostles Follow Jesus
Although Jesus had already called some of the disciples they did not yet follow Him in His ministry. At this time Jesus will call the twelve disciples to become His “apostles”. They will follow Jesus during the years of His ministry in order to become acquainted with Him and to receive His instructions.
10 - The Sermon on the Mount
Although Jesus began with performing miracles He was first a teacher come from God. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest sermon recorded in the Gospels and the greatest sermon ever spoken.
11 - Power over Sickness and Death
As Jesus’ fame spread abroad there were many who brought their sick to Jesus to be healed. When Jesus healed the Roman centurion’s servant He only had to speak and did not even go there. He also gave the centurion faith to believe in Him.
12 - Parables and Miracles
As Jesus travelled through the country many people began to follow Him. He began to teach them as one having authority, but yet using simple parables that the people could understand.
13 - Jesus Power Over the Devil and Death
Although Satan knows who Jesus is and trembles, yet he continues to seek a way to defeat Jesus. When Jesus will cast out the Legion they ask to enter into the swine thinking to escape, but Jesus shows that He has all power.
14 - Troubled by Jesus Power and Feeding Five Thousand
Herod was troubled when he heard about Jesus and his miracles. He believed that it was John the Baptist, whom he had killed, come back to life. He had killed John for the sake of Herodias, his brother’s wife.
15 - Truly the Son of God
Jesus constrained the disciples to take the ship and go to the other side of the lake, while He went onto a mountain to pray. While the disciples were toiling in a storm Jesus went to them walking on the water.
16 - Healing the Blind Man and the Good Shepherd
While Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles He heals a blind man on the Sabbath Day. Now the Pharisees vent their anger not only upon Jesus but also upon those who confess Him.
17 - Parables of the Good Samaritan, the Foolish Rich Man, and the Great Supper.
Jesus taught many lessons by way of parables. Each of these have a specific lesson not only for those to whom Jesus told it but also for us.
18 - More Parables
The enmity of the Jewish rulers continued to increase towards Jesus, especially as more publicans and sinners followed Him. Jesus plainly told and showed them that He was come to seek and to save sinners and not the righteous. He continued to use parables to illustrate His message.
19 - Lazarus Raised and Jesus Receives Children
When Jesus came through Bethany He would often stay with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. One day , while Jesus was teaching near the Jordan, He received the message that Lazarus was very sick. His sisters expected that Jesus would come at once, but Jesus waited for two days and by that time Lazarus had died.
20 - Rich Young Ruler, Blind Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus
A rich young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. When he claims to have kept all the commandments Jesus shows him that he still loves his money more than God. He then leaves Jesus.
21 - Mary Anoints Jesus and the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
When Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover He was invited to a supper in the home of Simon the leper, in Bethany. During this supper Mary anointed His feet. Although the disciples rebuked her for this, Jesus praised Mary for her act of love.
22 - Final Teaching of Jesus
After Jesus had cleansed the temple and the opposition of the Jewish leaders increased, He still told them another parable to warn them that if they rejected Him, God would reject them.
23 - Signs of the Times and the Wise and Foolish Virgins
When the disciples asked Jesus about the destruction of the temple He told them about the events that would take place before the day of judgement.
24 - The Last Supper and Gethsemane
During this week in Jerusalem Satan inclined the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray his Master to the Jewish rulers. He agreed that for thirty pieces of silver he would find an opportunity to deliver Jesus unto them. Thinking that no one knew he joined the disciples for the Passover.
25 - Jesus Before the Council and Peter’s Denial
Jesus was brought to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the council or Sanhedrin were gathered to try Him and find an accusation to bring Him before Pilate, since the Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death. They had to bring in false witnesses and when Jesus told Caiaphas that He was the Christ, the Son of God the council charged Him with blasphemy.
26 - Jesus Before Pilate
The Jewish rulers were anxious to have Jesus put to death before the people were aware of it, so when they had agreed that Jesus had committed blasphemy they brought Him before Pilate, early in the morning. Although Pilate had to declare Jesus innocent he agreed to allow Jesus to be crucified so as not to offend the Jews.
27 - The Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus
After Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified he was led to Golgotha where He would be crucified between two malefactors. While on the cross Jesus spoke seven significant sayings. The last words were: “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” And He gave up the ghost. So Jesus gave His life.
28 - The Resurrection of Jesus
Early on the morning of the first day of the week several women took the spices, which they had bought, to anoint the body of Jesus. As they walked they began to wonder who would roll away the stone, but when they enter the garden they are surprised to see that the grave is open.
29 - First Appearances of Jesus
The followers of Jesus were discouraged when Jesus was crucified and buried. Many of them had hoped that Jesus would deliver them from the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom, since they did not yet understand the scriptures. Now they were told that Jesus was risen but could not believe this.
30 - Peter Restored, The Great Commission and the Ascension of Christ
Jesus appeared to His followers a number of times during the forty days that He was upon earth after His resurrection. He met some of the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, where they were fishing. At this time Peter was restored in his office as a disciple and together with the others commanded to preach the gospel.
31 - The Disciples and Pentecost
The disciples returned to Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed them, to wait for the Comforter or the Holy Spirit. During this time they chose Matthias as an apostle to fill the place of Judas Iscariot.
32 - The Growth and Persecution of the Early Christian Church
The disciples boldly proclaimed Christ and did miracles in His name. When they healed the crippled man, in the name of Jesus Christ, they were arrested. Although they were commanded not to preach of Jesus by the leaders, they were given faith and boldness to continue to preach and many believed.
33 - Persecution of Early Christian Church
As the early Christian church continued to grow despite the persecution by the Council, other concerns arose. The apostles heard that some of the widows were being neglected, so they called the congregation together to choose seven men, to become deacons and help care for the needy.
34 - The Christian Church Scattered
The Lord has used persecution to spread the gospel message throughout Judea and even Samaria. Philip, one of the deacons, went to the city of Samaria, where the Lord blessed the preaching and many were baptized.
35 - Among the Gentiles
As Peter travelled through the land he was given power to perform many miracles so that many believed in the Lord. When Tabitha, a woman of many good works, died in Joppa they sent for Peter and he raised her from the dead.
36 - Persecuted by Herod
As a result of the persecution by Saul, the Christian church was scattered abroad. When the number of believers in Antioch increased Barnabas was sent to preach there. As the church increased Barnabas went find Saul, in Tarsus, to join him there. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
37 - Paul’s First Missionary Journey
As the Christian church continued to spread, despite the persecutions, it pleased God to choose Paul and Barnabas as the first missionaries. After they were called by the Holy Ghost, they were sent out from Antioch and travelled through various cities of Asia preaching the gospel message.
38 - Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
When Paul and Barnabas planned to go on their second mission they couldn’t agree about taking John Mark along. As a result they went separately, Barnabas with John Mark and Paul with Silas. Timotheus joined Paul at Lystra and at Troas they were joined by Luke, the author of Acts.
39 - Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
After visiting the churches established during the previous mission journeys, to establish and strengthen the disciples Paul kept his promise and returned to Ephesus. Paul continued here for some time teaching both Jews and gentiles about the kingdom of God and performed many miracles.
40 - Paul in Jerusalem
When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, his enemies accused him falsely and sought to kill him. When he was rescued by the Roman soldiers he told the people the story of his conversion. The next day he was called to address the council. The chief captain brought Paul to the castle for safety. When a band of men made a plot to kill Paul it was discovered by Paul’s nephew, who told the Roman captain. Paul was sent to Felix, the governor at Caesarea.
41 - Paul Before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa
During the two years that Paul was prisoner in Caesarea he defended himself three times, but each time before a different ruler. The first ruler was Felix, who was impressed by what Paul said, but left him in prison. The second ruler. Festus would consider sending Paul to Jerusalem, but since Paul realized that this was unjust, he appealed to Caesar. Then Paul appeared before King Agrippa who admitted that Paul had done nothing worthy of death. Since Paul had appealed to Caesar he was kept in prison.
42 - Paul’s Journey to Rome
Paul was sent to Rome with some other prisoners. After a slow voyage to the fair havens Paul advised them to spend the winter there, but the captain preferred to go on to Phenice. They were caught in a violent storm for fourteen days before it suffered shipwreck and the passengers were able to get to the shore of Melita, as God had promised Paul.