Luke 3:23

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age,

Greetings! To my sister Bible class teachers,

It’s been while since I have shared, and I will hopefully make up for that with this post!

I have found there is one thing my Bible students love and that is a good but fun challenge.

I don’t make this challenge too difficult, and repetition certainly helps.

How many of you can tell me what these numbers stand for?

40, 39, 1, 30, 8, 66, 1600, 27, 6, 33, 2, 12, 14

In my Bible class we review these numbers quite a bit and we have made a game of it.

I have been working with students who are age 5 through grade 3 but I believe just about any age of elementary student would enjoy and benefit from this challenge. I would even test teenagers with this!

I got on my trusty computer and created the numbers in boxes of various colors and designs. Then printed them off, cut them out, and taped them onto tongue depressors. I made one set of numbers for each child and put each set in a gallon zip-lock baggie.

Making sure each student has a bag of numbers on a stick, they open their baggie and take out the numbers laying them in from of themselves.

Then I begin asking the questions.

How many men wrote the Bible? Each of them holds up the number they chose, covering the number with their hand and they revile their chosen number on the count of 3.  If they chose number 40, they got it correct and can put that number in their baggie. if they didn’t get it correct, they lay it back down on the table and try again. Eventually they end up with one last number and they hold it up after I ask the question.

You may want to add other numbers that will help your students recall something from your current Bible lessons.

Here are the questions that go with the numbers we have been using.

•  How many men wrote the Bible? 40
• How many books in the Old Testament? 39
• How many Gods do we have? 1
• How old was Jesus when He began His ministry? 30 years old
• How many men wrote the New Testament? 8 – (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James, and Jude)
• How many books in the Bible? 66
• How many years did it take to write the Bible? 1600 years
• How many books in the New Testament? 27
• How many days did it take for God to create the world/universe and everything in it? 6
• How old was Jesus when He died? 33 years old
• How many main parts are in the Bible? 2 – Old/New Testaments
• How many disciples did Jesus choose? 12
• How many apostles were there? 14 counting Paul and Matthias

I also like to have a set of the numbers for myself in front of the class and turn the question around. Instead of asking, “How many books are in the Bible?” I hold up the number 66 and ask them to tell me what 66 stands for! They also like that challenge.

Something else you may like is making a mobile using the numbers so your students can see the numbers as they sit in class and be reminded of what they stand for. This mobile is made from an oval paper plate and black crochet thread #10 weight.

Here is a link for instructions on making the mobile. I used this same mobile idea for our Bible numbers.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find this article useful for your Bible class!

Gwen

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Gwen Schnell

Gwendolyn (Gwen) Schnell is a dedicated Christian wife, mom, Grandma, Nina, daughter, sister, and friend. She is known to many as “Miss Gwen”.
She enjoys opening the Word of God with various ages, but children are one of her all-time favorites. Gwen has had the pleasure of putting the Word into the hearts of children for over 40 years and loves it still! Gwen also loves to conduct personal home Bible studies.
Gwen has been married to her husband Dan for over 45 years. He has been the pulpit minister at the Owasso Church of Christ in Owasso Oklahoma for over 26 years. They both love working with this congregation. They are richly blessed with 3 grown children who along with their spouses love and serve in the Lord’s kingdom in various ways. Gwen and Dan are even further blessed to have Jonathan, Matthew, Micaiah, Lydia, and Esther Rose join the ranks making them Grandma/Nina and Opa!
Gwen enjoys lectureships, outdoors, good movies, reading, crafting/sewing, organizing, pizza, and a comfortable chair.

She is the author of the book, Mary Rose & Me Learn Bible Truths Together! Mary Rose will help you love God, others, and yourself! Check it out at the link below!
https://www.amazon.com/Keaac-Womens-Pieces-Crewneck-Sleeve/dp/1943245150#customerReviews

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