Resources for Presbyterians

This is the first in a series of articles highlighting resources that will eventually result in a Presbytery of Los Ranchos online digital library. Today’s focus is on curriculum and study materials, particularly those by Presbyterians for Presbyterians.

For All Ages

Follow Me: Biblical Principles for Faithful Living ** is a twenty-seven-unit curriculum based on practices Jesus did and taught us to do as faithful followers. Written for people of all ages who wish to live out their faith, this curriculum examines where these practices are found in the Bible and how they have been used in Christian faith then and now.

Feasting on the Word is lectionary based and allows everyone in the church, regardless of age, to study the same text each week. All the leader background information comes directly from the Feasting on the Word series.

For Children

Growing in Grace and Gratitude Toddler ** introduces the love and grace of God through Bible stories and activities in the context of a faith community for the youngest children.

Growing in God’s Love: A Bible Story Curriculum ** This relationally focused curriculum dives into the 148 stories from the Story Bible. Each session also includes suggestions for intergenerational church and home activities around worship, education, connections, and service. Ideal for any size church to use with multiage children’s groups.

Growing In God’s Love: A Story Bible ** features 150 popular Bible stories that are organized by 13 themes, including Strong Women and Men; Listening for God; Parables; Healings and Miracles; and more.

Growing in Grace and Gratitude embraces children in the grace of God through engagement with the Bible. This children’s curriculum for ages 3–10 explores Bible stories through the lens of grace. Each session contains age-appropriate opportunities for responses of gratitude through claiming, celebrating, praying, and offering.

For Youth

Faith Questions explores questions asked by real youth about important faith topics. Each unit offers connections to media resources, activities, and a Coffeehouse version of the lesson, a discussion guide for an online ministry setting.

Engage Based on Engage curriculum for adults, this new six-session resource encourages youth to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The Notebook serves as a personal journal for teens with opportunities for self-discovery as a disciple of Jesus.

Simple Sundays offers straight-forward lesson plans with little to no preparation required. Perfect for any gathering of youth at any time and in any location.

Confirmation

Big God Big Questions ** based on the findings of the Confirmation Project, is focused on preparing youth to authentically answer the questions they are asked when they join the church:

• Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?
• Who is your Lord and Savior?
• Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple obeying his word and showing his love?
• Will you devote yourself to the church’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers?

Big God Big Questions equips confirmands to study scripture, tradition of the Christian tradition, and your congregation, to tell their own story.

Professing Our Faith ** shares a foundation of faith and spiritual practice in the Reformed tradition. It invites young people to explore the meaning of their baptism and their participation at the Lord’s Supper, as well as to learn about church polity, stewardship, spiritual practices, worship, and mission.

For Adults

Being Reformed: Faith Seeking Understanding a series of biblically based short-term courses that provide adults with a foundational understanding of the Reformed faith. Each six-session study—written by well-known and respected scholars—features Scripture, prayer, in-depth commentary, and questions for reflection. Plus direction for group study.   Also available in Korean and Spanish

Engage curriculum inspires a journey of prayer and faith-sharing, equips members to live out and share their growing faith, and connects the church with its community. Also available in Korean

The Present Word is an in-depth Bible study for adults that dives deep into God’s Word, studying the Bible over a six-year period and focusing on a specific theme each quarter. Adults read the Participant Book lesson during the week, and a no-prep Leader’s Guide provides instructions to lead a 45-minute session.  Designed by an ecumenical collaborative, the goal is to engage in a serious study of Scripture in order to discover its deeper meaning and how it is relevant to our world today. Learn more about this ecumenical collaborative.

Intergenerational

Mr. Rogers

• Peaceful Neighbor: Discovering the Countercultural Mister Rogers by Michael G. Long invites us to see and understand Rogers’s convictions and their expression through his program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
• Lessons from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a free four-session intergenerational curriculum.

One More Recommendation

Choosing Curriculum from Building Faith, a ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary, an Episcopal Church institution, helps leaders navigate the sometimes daunting task of choosing resources compatible with their context and goals.

In future articles we will feature resources from other publishers in the Reformed Tradition and also denominational publishers whose theology and pedagogy is compatible with our Reformed theology.