Sunday School Lessons for Youth

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Individual Lessons

This page includes complete 13 week curriculum sets. Do you need only one lesson? We have individual Sunday School Lessons available.

Semester Length Lessons

Apologetics
Brad Anderson: Apologetics more simply means “to make a defense.” This course of 14 lessons teaches youth how to make a biblical defense of the faith. This study includes a section on various “isms” which threaten the faith.755 k Word


Atheism
Brad Anderson: The purpose of this series of lessons is to define and examine atheism from a Christian perspective. We are not out to prove God’s existence, but to examine and evaluate atheistic claims. Word


Baptist Distinctives
Brad Anderson: Baptists are a distinct group with a set of theological beliefs that set them apart from other Christian groups. The purpose of this series is to explore the history of the Baptists and to examine the biblical distinctives that Baptists have historically affirmed. The student should be able to understand and appreciate the theological distinctiveness of Baptists and be committed to continuing in that tradition. Word


Baptist History
Barry Pendley: Baptist History is a study on the foundations of Baptist groups, primarily the Calvinistic Baptists. This group of lessons will focus on rise of Baptist men from the English separatists in the sixteenth century. Consideration will be given to the Baptist Confessions, theologians, pastors, and other leaders. This study will also examine movements such as the Northern Baptist Convention, Conservative Baptist Association, and modern fundamentalist groups.


Bible Boot Camp
Brad Anderson: Are you looking for a good, solid discipleship course for your new Christian young person? Then this is your starting place. This course covers Salvation, Baptism many of the Christian Disciplines and even a lesson on How to Get the Most Out of a Sermon. Word


Bible Survey: Genesis Through Esther
Brad Anderson: It is very important for Christians to get a general overview of the Bible because it is their source of faith and practice. This series is designed to examine the backgrounds and themes of Genesis through Esther. The authorship, dates, and some background history will be provided. 1 mb Word


Biblical Ethics
Brad Anderson: This series will explore the ways in which our culture is dealing with significant moral issues of the day. These issues include: Abortion, Euthanasia, Gambling, War, Pornography, Capital Punishment, etc. Our aim is to learn what the Bible teaches on such matters and encourage students to commit themselves to embrace and uphold biblical values. 484 k Word


Biblical Evangelism
Brad Anderson: The goal of Biblical Evangelism is to give the student a thorough understanding of personal evangelism. We’ll define evangelism, study the theological underpinnings of evangelism, and learn how to communicate the gospel clearly and naturally. We’ll also study appropriate and inappropriate ways of presenting the gospel. The outcome should be a renewed desire for students to reach their peers with the gospel, accompanied by the ability to do so.2.3 mb PDF


Biblical Foundations for Living: A Systematic Theology Course for Teens
The Ekklesia Institute adapted for youth by Scott Estell and Brad Anderson Biblical Foundations for Living is best characterized as a mini systematic theology. Now freely available!


Biblical Separation
Brad Anderson: “Why can’t we all just get along?” seems to be a common sentiment within Christianity today. Calls for unity and cooperation among the faithful grow louder by the day. Perhaps all professing Christians should band together to stand against the rising tide of secularism and false religion. After all, most Christians do agree on a great many things. The Christian church should be united as a testimony to the lost world and as an efficient workforce in proclaiming the gospel. Perhaps it is natural, even desirable, that different viewpoints and philosophies prevent professing believers from working together. The goal of this series is to examine when believers can cooperate and when they must separate.144k Word


Book of 1 John
Brad Anderson: John gives several proofs or evidences of genuine salvation, as opposed to empty claims. Many Christians struggle with this issue-how can one be sure that he is truly saved? John gives us several marks of genuine discipleship. If these marks are found in one’s life, then he can be assured that his faith is genuine. If not, he can have no such assurance. As we progress through the study, students should examine their own lives to evaluate the reality of their own profession of faith.382k Word


Book of Acts
The Book of Acts is a bridge between the Gospel accounts and the Epistles of the NT. The book describes how the small band of Jesus’ disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, took the Gospel message “into all the world” (Mk 16:15). Acts describes many important events, most notably, the beginning of the NT church, the conversion of Paul, and the spread of Christianity within the Roman Empire. In short, Acts relates the founding and growth of the church. 3mb Word


Book of Ecclesiastes
Brad Anderson: Ecclesiastes is a book that talks about life with and without God. The author tried all kinds of things to amuse, entertain, and improve himself, and finally came to the conclusion that God is the only One who gives any meaning to life. It is the only book in the Bible that reflects a human, rather than a divine, point of view. It is often quoted by cultists who use it to support their unorthodox views. Nevertheless, one should not overlook this part of the Bible. The author struggled with many of the same problems that modern people do, and we can learn much from the wisdom contained in the book. Its message appears to be especially directed to young people. 194k Word


Books of Ezra-Nehemiah
Brad Anderson: The OT books of Ezra and Nehemiah are neglected parts of Scripture, not often listed as favorite passages and rarely taught in church. That is unfortunate, because the books are very valuable and helpful. Like all Scripture, the books are inspired and profitable for our reading and include examples for us to learn from. This series will examine the high points of the books and seek to extract practical lessons for the church today. As normal, we’ll start with an introductory background and overview study. 2.08mb MSWord


Book of James
Barry Pendley: The Book of James is an expositional study of the book of James. Emphasis is given to the practical exhortations of Christian living, while relating these to the historical and theological situations. PDF


Book of Jude
Brad Anderson: Like us, Jude lived in an age which preferred toleration to truth, and regarded all religions as equally valid aspects of the quest for a supreme being. He calls upon his readers to reject the false teachers and to stand up for the true faith.118kb Word


Building a Philosophy of Music
Brad Anderson: Christian music is a very controversial issue within many churches today. Churches have split because of disagreements over the style of music the church uses or does not use. Every individual Christian seems to have his/her own ideas regarding what is appropriate. “Building a Philosophy of Music” attempts to give youth a “filter” helping them identify both the good and the bad. Focus is made on Church music and Personal music.109k Word


Building Up One Another
Brad Anderson: The NT frequently uses the term “one another” when describing how believers are to interact. When all the “one another” passages are considered, several different responsibilities emerge. This study will examine several significant actions Christians are to take toward one another to help build up the local church. As the individual members of the church implement these responsibilities, the church itself will become stronger. This series of lessons is designed to help members of a local church to recognize their responsibilities to one another and to strengthen the unity and ministry of the church as members implement these principles. Word


Contending for the Faith
Brad Anderson: The purpose of this series of lessons is to warn students about current theological trends that are a significant threat to biblical, historical, conservative Christianity. While a study on cults exposes external threats, this series focuses on internal threats posed by elements within evangelicalism. These threats are all the more dangerous because they often originate from sources that have historically been reliable. Some Christians don’t sense the threat because they don’t understand the issues involved. So in this study, we’ll look at several movements and see how they undermine biblical Christianity. This material is dsesigned for youth in the upper grades of high school. Young people in college and other adults would benefit from this study. The information is beyond the grasp of most junior highers. Word


Christian View of Dating
Scott Estell: Dating is an analysis of the American dating scene from a biblical perspective with an emphasis on marriage as the sole purpose for dating. This study will focus on biblical principles and show how they apply to dating.1.6 mb PDF


Christian Walk
Brad Anderson: This series of lessons seeks to explore what the Bible says about the Christian walk and to apply those principles to practical daily living. We will seek to distill principles from both the OT and the NT as we describe how God’s people ought to live. Word


Developing a Christian World View
Brad Anderson: Many sources of “truth” compete for a hearing in the marketplace of ideas today. Supporters of various ideas are battling for supremacy. Some hold that all religious ideas are equally valid (or equally invalid, depending on your point of view). Others assert that their ideas, and only theirs, are correct. With such contradictory and contrary ideas floating around, Christians must insure that they are committed to looking at the world through biblical and accurate lenses. This series of lessons is designed to help believers develop and maintain a Christian worldview. It will also give believers the tools to help others evaluate their worldview, remove inconsistencies and gaps in it, and replace it if necessary. 2.6mb Word


Disciplines of the Christian Life
Brad Anderson: This series of lessons will examine several aspects of discipleship and the disciplines of the Christian life. The goal of these lessons is to show the student what a disciple is, what discipleship is, and how to engage in the following spiritual disciplines: Reading God’s Word, Prayer, Worship, Evangelism, Service, Stewardship, and others.966 k PDF


The Case for Dispensationalism
Barry Pendley: The Case for Dispensationalism is an approach to the interpretation of Scripture. This course introduces the student to the topic of Dispensationalism and contrasts this system with other systems of interpretation. Throughout this study, the student is enlightened to the progressive nature of revelation among the seven dispensations. The study concludes with interpretational guidelines for understanding the Bible.3.3 mb PDF


From Moses to You
Barry Pendley: From Moses to You is divided into two sections. The first section is an overview of the inspiration, canonization, and preservation of the Bible throughout history. The second section outlines proper principles for the interpretation of the different types of literature found throughout the Bible. This material emphasizes proper hermeneutics, including a grammatical-historical-theological approach to interpretation. 2.3mb PDF


Great People of the Bible
Brad Anderson: In this series we will be looking at several key characters from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. We’ll find both good and bad examples to learn from. The Bible presents people in all their fallen humanity-warts and weaknesses, strengths and struggles. Our goal is to learn from these examples and apply important lessons to our own lives.589k Word


Hermeneutics
Brad Anderson: A series on the art and science of Bible interpretation. Word

Investing for Eternity
Brad Anderson: Christian youth especially need to know how to manage their financial resources. The Bible has much to say on the matter of money. The author outlines biblical principles related to the stewardship of money. Then he relates and applies these principles to common sense decisions related to money. Word


Learn to Discern
Brad Anderson: Learn to Discern is a series of lessons designed to help youth biblically and critically evaluate the information they receive. After studying the discernment process, the students learn how to apply it to various sources of media (i.e., textbooks, TV, news, movies, etc.) 380kb Word


Life in the Father’s House
Scott Estell and Brad Anderson: Life in the Father’s House demonstrates that much confusion exists as to what the church is and what it is supposed to be doing. Some see the church as a social club, others as a welfare agency. Churches are involved in politics, feeding the hungry, homeless shelters, and even banks. What does the Bible say about the church? That is the question this course will answer biblically. 3.6mb PDF


Life of Christ in the Book of Mark
Brad Anderson: Why examine the life of Christ in the book of Mark? Why not use the other gospels? The Gospel of Mark is a succinct, unadorned yet vivid account of the ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Mark presents the narrative in an appealing way, for he tells the Good News about Jesus Christ so simply that a child can understand it. 269k Word


The Person We Call God
Scott Estell: The Person We Call God is a study of the attributes of God with an emphasis on the practical implications of each. As a result of this study, the student should have a greatly increased appreciation for the awesomeness of our God and an understanding of how such knowledge affects every aspect of life. 1.3mb PDF


Prayer
Teach us to Pray by Brad Anderson is a series of lessons designed to encourage believers to pray rightly by examining what the Bible says about this critical spiritual discipline. Word


Religious Cults
Scott Estell: An overview of various cults: Jehovah’s Witness, Mormonism, Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventism, The Faith Movement, Armstrongism, The Unity School, Spiritism, New Age Movement. The final chapter equips the believer to counteract these cults and any movement that opposes biblical teaching. 180k Word


Sermon on the Mount
Brad Anderson: The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. It is one of the most beloved, well known, and frequently quoted portions of the Bible. It’s also the longest single unit of Jesus’ personal teaching recorded in Scripture, “the most concentrated yet comprehensive portion of His ethical teaching.” Some think of it as “the most profound section of the entire New Testament and the whole Bible, … the most penetrating section of God’s Word.” Unfortunately, it’s also a very misunderstood passage. Thus, it is beneficial for believers to carefully and thoughtfully study the Sermon. Our goal should be not only to learn what Jesus said and meant, but also to apply the lessons from the Sermon on the Mount to our own lives personally. Word