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God is the curriculumDoes this mean we only teach the Bible in a

Christian school?

God is the curriculumJust a minute!We didn’t say: “The Bible is the curriculum.”

God is.

To know GodIsn’t the aim of the Christian life to know God?

Is it possible to know the Bible without knowing God?

God is the curriculum Making the Bible the curriculum does not

necessarily bring students to know God. But we can use the Bible to show what God is

like. We must not only point students to God through

the Bible, but point them to God as seen in the world around us.

God has something to say on EVERYTHING!

Creation The whole of creation speaks to us about God. We can see God at work in physics, chemistry,

biology, mathematics and EVERY area of study, and the whole of life.

All knowledge is God’s.

To know GodRelationshipFriendshipTrustObedienceLoveCall Him our FatherCommunicate with Him

Results of knowing HimEternal lifeGrace and peaceLove Him and othersWorship HimBecome more like HimBe His witnesses

Start with GodMake God, His character, his nature the FIRST

focus of the Christian school.Then teach the Bible OUT of who God is.Make connections between:

Who God isWhat the Bible says about who He isWhat we see in the world around us.

Example of a connection

God is Wise – it is wise to obeyTopic: Road safetyBible story: Jonah – didn’t obeyConnection: Be wise when crossing the road.

Obey the road rules.

A God-centred lesson How do I make my lesson to be like a well-

blended milkshake and not a pizza?

The ABC principleThink of a 3-pronged forkA – attribute of GodB – BibleC – character development

Who is the handle? The teacher. The teacher explains to the students the

connection between ABC.

More examples of connections

Science topic: light

A - God is LightB – Ps. 119 – Your word is a lamp unto my feet;

Acts 9 – Saul changed to Paul through light.C – Choose righteousness and walk in the light

More examples of connections

Science / social studies topic: Plant lifeA – God is LifeB – The woman at the well learned about the living waterC – God gives life to His creation. He gives life to me. The Holy Spirit can help me live as Jesus wants me to live.

This is a different, but deeper approach to finding all the references to the plants in the Bible.

The Bible is not just for devotions

We can use it and refer to it in our subject lessons.

Hearing God’s voice in knowing what to teach

Clean heartLay down our own “good ideas”Invite the Holy Spirit to guide usAsk the Holy Spirit to give us the ideas that HE

wantsListen to GodWrite it down

Some more examples of connections

God is Protector - “Shelter”God is Truth - “Fossils”God is a Loving Provider - “My Country”God is Pure and Holy - “Pollution”God is a Servant - “The Medical Profession”

How do we know if the students are getting the

point?Ask them:What is the main thing we are learning about

God in our class at the moment?How does our topic, (e.g. “the water cycle”)

show us this?What have we learned from the Bible that shows

us that God is…

Planning a unit of study

God is…(attribute) and topicScriptureOutcomes: Knowledge; Skills; ValuesQuestionsActivitiesOther subjects

Verbs to describe your activities

ReadDrawDiscussListen toCreateDescribe compareDemonstrate

ResearchDesignMakeRecordDefineExplain Measure

Whole school focusThere is great blessing when the whole primary

school works together on the same attribute.There is a deep understanding of the attribute

across the school community.

Evaluation –Measuring what they have learned

a short description of the day’s work on the topica worksheet an oral summary / class presentationlabel a diagrama short quiz a single-word answer test (includes true/false)assessment of a projecta journal entryclass presentationTeacher’s observation