About DiscipleTown
DiscipleTown uses a creative and adaptable town theme to teach practical "Disciple Skills." It is published by the creators of DiscipleLand, the most comprehensive children's Bible curriculum on the market. DiscipleTown teaches DiscipleSkills -— practical skills that every follower of Jesus Christ must develop in order to grow and live victoriously. The children's church format compliments DiscipleLand and/or your other ministries to kids. Learn more about DiscipleLand's Bible Curriculum at DiscipleLand.com.
Rather than providing a rigid plan to follow, you can quickly and easily modify DiscipleTown to fit your ministry needs. There is more than enough material for a full length service, but you can also choose only the elements you'd like to use. By design, DiscipleTown is packed with ideas so you'll never be left needing to supplement the lesson, but its flexibility allows you to add your own unique teaching elements.
Unit Summary
God declares that His Word is authoritative and effective, and when "hidden in the heart," it has the power to keep us from sin. But the idea of memorizing Scripture can intimidate children and adults alike. In this unit, children will appreciate the incredible mind that God has given them, the importance of memorizing God's Word, and the benefits of doing so. Furthermore, kids will learn to meditate on Scripture in order to allow it to sink into their very characters and wills, resulting in deeper, richer insights. Using fun science, they'll know that God has wired them to learn and to apply what they learn. The more Scripture we know by heart, the more it transforms our minds and influences our decisions to live for God.
Lesson Summaries
Lesson 1: My Amazing Mind
Memorizing can seem like a daunting task to children. It may conjure up images of school and difficult lists of things they have been made to commit to memory. It doesn't sound very exciting or fun on the surface. But when we help children understand just how incredible the human mind is, how much we memorize all the time without even realizing it, how the mind works, and the benefits of learning God's Word by memory, hiding God’s Word in our hearts can become a lifelong pursuit that is both exciting and life-changing. The sooner children start this habit, the greater the impact will be on the rest of their lives!
Lesson 2: Scripture Memory Formulas
Teaching children how to memorize Scripture can be fun and engaging. In this lesson several different techniques will be explained because everyone learns differently. Your students will also review how to understand Bible references to help them find verses in the Bible and learn a consistent way to quote Scripture verses that will aid in recalling verses later when they are needed in life situations. Just as scientists and mathematicians rely on formulas to solve problems, so Scripture memory "formulas" can help kids memorize Bible verses so they can address the problems that will face them in life.
Lesson 3: Scripture Memory Motivators
Scripture memorization is not easy, but it is rewarding, and it brings with it great rewards in our spiritual life and Christian development. As the old saying goes, "No pain, no gain." However, all of us need motivation in order to do the hard work of memorizing Scripture. In this lesson, children will learn many of the benefits of hiding God’s Word in their hearts in order to motivate them to make this a lifelong pursuit.
Lesson 4: Scripture Meditation
After we have memorized Scripture, then what? Obviously, we live it! We apply it to our lives and call it to memory in times of temptation or when we need to make decisions or encourage others. But one of the most powerful uses of Scripture is meditation* — focusing intently on God's Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak, deeply and richly word by word, as we concentrate on what the message of the passage is for us. Teaching children to meditate on the Scriptures may be rare, but isn't irrelevant; it can be transformative!
* The term "meditation" is used in this lesson to describe the biblical process of examining God's Word and never refers to the disciplines of Eastern religions.