Lesson 1 Becoming Familiar with the New Testament

To acquaint the children with the New Testament and encourage them to study the scriptures.

Preparation

� Word Strips “Standard Works”, “Old Testament”, “New Testament”, “Book of Mormon”, “Doctrine Covenants”

� M&M for both the get to know you game and Bingo

� Picture of Nephi, Noah, Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ � Pictures of New Testament books

� Bingo cards

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

M&M Game

Since most likely you will have a new class with new children play a get to know you game. Everybody will

for the most part know each other but this is a fun way to get to know everyone a little better. The M&M game

is always a fun way to get to know the children better. Have each child pick an M&M. Have them answer a

question that corresponds to the M&M color.

Lesson

Give the children the following clues and have them raise their hands when they think they know the word that

fits the clues.

• There are four of these.

• (Name of a child in the class or someone they know who has all four books of scripture) has these.

• They are called the standard works.

• They contain the word of God.

• They are books.

When the children have guessed the word Scriptures, explain that this lesson will teach them about the

scriptures and explain their importance in our lives.

What are the scriptures? How is scripture different from other writings? Have a child read2 Timothy 3:16. All

scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Why do we need to study the scriptures? When should we start studying the scriptures? (2 Timothy 3:14–15.)

Why is it important to start studying the scriptures when we are young?

Display the “Standard Words”. We call the scriptures the standard works because

they are the official scriptures we use in the Church. Put the “Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon

and Doctrine Covenant” word strips under the “Standard Works”.

Show the picture of Nephi. Which of the standard works do we read about Nephi? Put the picture of Nephi

under “Book of Mormon”.

Show the picture of Noah. Which of the Standard Works do we read about Noah?

Show the picture of Joseph Smith. Which of the Standard Works do we talk about Joseph Smith and the

Restoration of the Church?

Here is a tough one. Show the Picture of Jesus. Which of the Standard works do we read about Jesus Christ?

Have 4 children read the following scriptures: Moses 8:24 through the words of the Holy Ghost), Doctrine and Covenants 20:29, 2 Nephi 25:26, and Psalm 83:18(explain that Jehovah is another name for Jesus Christ). All

four of the Standard Works testify of Jesus Christ.

The question I should have asked is in which standard Work would we find the account of Jesus’ mortal life and

ministry? New Testament. This year we are focusing on the teachings from the New Testament.

Point to the Old Testament and the New Testament Word Strips. The Bible is split into 2 sections. Open the

Bible to the contents page (list of the books in the Old and New Testaments). What is the list under each

section? The smaller books in the Old and New Testaments were written by different prophets or Church

leaders. Have the children look up the New Testament list. Each book in the New Testament is divided into

chapters and verses so we can easily find a phrase in the scriptures.

Display the Pictures of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and point to the books on the contents page.

Who were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? What did they write about? Each

of these four men wrote an account of Jesus’ life, often writing about the same events, and testified that he was

the Savior.

Have the children turn to Acts, chapter 1. Show the Picture of Acts. Acts tells about the

Apostles teaching the gospel after Jesus’ death and resurrection. What kind of things do you think the Apostles

of Jesus’ time did? What do the Apostles do today?

Have the children turn again to the contents page. Most of the rest of the books in the New Testament are letters

written by Jesus’ Apostles or other Church leaders to members of the Church. Why do you think they wrote

them? These letters helped the early members of the Church understand the gospel and counseled them to be

faithful. What do we have in the Church today that are like these letters? Articles by General Authorities in

Church magazines, satellite broadcasts, and general and stake conferences.

Display the Word strip: Matthew 28:2–9 on the chalkboard. In which of the

standard works will we find this scripture? Which number tells us the chapter? Which numbers tell us the

verses? Read these verses with the children. What is this scripture account about? Why is it important to have

this event recorded in the scriptures?

Books of the New Testament

Use the pictures to help the children memorize the books of the New Testament in order. These pictures will

help the child become more familiar with the names of the books in the New Testament. Talk about each

picture and its name. Mix them up and see if the children can put them back in the right order.

New Testament Bingo

Play Bingo with the books in the New Testament. Print out a bingo sheet for each child. I have

included a color one or and black and white. The black and white one you can have the child color in

the boxes to save printer ink. Have them fill in the blanks with the names of the New

Testament Books. Turn the New Testament cards upside down and draw out a

card. I.e. if you draw out 2nd Peter . If the child has written 2 Peter in the box

then they put an M&M or Skittle on that square. First one to have all the squares covered either

horizontal or vertical wins. You can also play to black out if time allows. If you want it to be harder,

roll the dice and draw a card. The children can only put an M&M if both the color and the picture

match. This takes a lot more time to get a bingo.

Testimony

Bear testimony of the truth of the scriptures and their importance in our lives. Share with the children a time in

your life when reading the scriptures helped you. Encourage the children to read from the scriptures daily.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.

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Standard Works

Matthew 28:2–9

Old Testament

New Testament

Doctrine Covenants

Book of Mormon

New Testament Bingo

New Testament Bingo