I'm ashamed to admit that in all my years of reading my Bible, I still haven't memorized all the books, much less the order. Some books (like the minor prophets), I even forget sometimes. I'd love for my girls to know their Bibles by heart though (that's a goal for me too). I am happy with our review of one handy tool that can help with this: Books of the Bible At-a-Glance from Teach Sunday School.
Books of the Bible At-a-Glance is basically a cheat sheet for every one of the Bible's 66 books. But of course, cheating is a sin, so they're called Reference Sheets. Each book of the Bible gets one page, and on each page, you get the following information:
- Its place in the Bible; i.e. the first, ninth, sixtieth, etc. You'll also know if it's New or Old Testament
- Author
- When it was written
- Period covered
- Famous stories
- Most popular verses
- Important points of the whole book
I just learned, for example, that the book of Haggai has only two chapters (I don't think I've read this one too often) and focuses on the getting the returnees to build the temple.
There are many ways to use this resource. You could print out all the pages as is and put them in a binder. You could then study each page as you start on a new book of the Bible. Me, I wanted to make something portable and fun for my kids. So I printed out four to a page (on hindsight, that made the bottom text way too small for me to read easily, but the kids don't seem to mind), cut, and laminated each mini page.
Unfortunately, I ran out of laminating pouches before I could finish a set. I was planning to punch a hole in the upper left corner of each laminated mini page, and hold them all together with a ribbon (worst case) or a ring. That way, they can toss the set in their bags when they go to church, or flip through them while waiting. But it definitely would be sturdy.
Another way I was thinking of using the laminated mini cards (I printed two sets) is to play some modified Go Fish card game. Like someone can ask, "Do you have the card that talks about putting on the armor of God? (Ephesians). I also want to print it in booklet form and just add a sturdier cover, so I can use it like a book, and insert it into my Bible. Or, I could print it half size, and keep the other half of a full letter-size sheet blank for any notes as we study the Bible. There really are so many possibilities (although most of mine involve my current favorite toys--the laminating machine, my paper trimmer, and my spiral binding machine)!
Other families also received a copy of Books of the Bible At-a-Glance. Click below to read about their experiences.
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