Grades 1-3
Below are suggested activities and goals for children in this age range.
Bible Reading
Read the following books:
- Genesis
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
General Bible Knowledge
Know the 10 Commandments:
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make any graven images.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
Bible Memorization
Psalm 23 (ESV):
1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Catechism
Memorize the Catechism for Young Children, questions 16-71.
Q. 16. Who were our first parents?
A. Adam and Eve.
Q. 17. Of what were our first parents made?
A. God made the body of Adam out of the ground, and formed Eve from the body of Adam.
Q. 18. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies?
A. He gave them souls that could never die.
Q. 19. Have you a soul as well as a body?
A. Yes; I have a soul that can never die.
Q. 20. How do you know that you have a soul?
A. Because the Bible tells me so.
Q. 21. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve?
A. He made them holy and happy.
Q. 22. What is a covenant?
A. An agreement between two or more persons.
Q. 23. What covenant did God make with Adam?
A. The covenant of works.
Q. 24. What was Adam bound to do by the covenant of works?
A. To obey God perfectly.
Q. 25. What did God promise in the covenant of works?
A. To reward Adam with life if he obeyed him.
Q. 26. What did God threaten in the covenant of works?
A. To punish Adam with death if he disobeyed.
Q. 27. Did Adam keep the covenant of works?
A. No; he sinned against God.
Q. 28. What is Sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God.
Q. 29. What is meant by want of conformity?
A. Not being or doing what God requires.
Q. 30. What is meant by transgression?
A. Doing what God forbids.
Q. 31. What was the sin of our first parents?
A. Eating the forbidden fruit.
Q. 32. Who tempted them to this sin?
A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
Q. 33. What befell our first parents when they had sinned?
A. Instead of being holy and happy, they became sinful and miserable.
Q. 34. Did Adam act for himself alone in the covenant of works?
A. No; he represented all his posterity.
Q. 35. What effect had the sin of Adam on all mankind?
A. All mankind are born in a state of sin and misery.
Q. 36. What is that sinful nature which we inherit from Adam called?
A. Original sin.
Q. 37. What does every sin deserve?
A. The wrath and curse of God.
Q. 38. Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature?
A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.
Q. 39. What is a change of heart called?
A. Regeneration.
Q. 40. Who can change a sinner's heart?
A. The Holy Spirit alone.
Q. 41. Can any one be saved through the covenant of works?
A. None can be saved through the covenant of works.
Q. 42. Why can none be saved through the covenant of works?
A. Because all have broken it, and are condemned by it
Q. 43. With whom did God the Father make the covenant of grace?
A. With Christ, his eternal Son.
Q. 44. Whom did Christ represent in the covenant of grace?
A. His elect people.
Q. 45. What did Christ undertake in the covenant of grace?
A. To keep the whole law for his people, and to suffer the punishment due to their sins.
Q. 46. Did our Lord Jesus Christ ever commit the least sin?
A. No; he was holy, harmless, and undefiled.
Q. 47. How could the Son of God suffer?
A. Christ, the Son of God, became man that he might obey and suffer in our nature.
Q. 48. What is meant by the Atonement?
A. Christ's satisfying divine justice, by his sufferings and death, in the place of sinners.
Q. 49. What did God the Father undertake in the covenant of grace?
A. To justify and sanctify those for whom Christ should die.
Q. 50. What is justification?
A. It is God's forgiving sinners, and treating them as if they had never sinned.
Q. 51. What is sanctification?
A. It is God's making sinners holy in heart and conduct.
Q. 52. For whom did Christ obey and suffer?
A. For those whom the Father had given him.
Q. 53. What kind of life did Christ live on earth?
A. A life of poverty and suffering.
Q. 54. What kind of death did Christ die?
A. The painful and shameful death of the cross.
Q. 55. Who will be saved?
A. Only those who repent of sin, believe in Christ, and lead holy lives.
Q. 56. What is it to repent?
A. To be sorry for sin, and to hate and forsake it because it is displeasing to God.
Q. 57. What is it to believe or have faith in Christ?
A. To trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Q. 58. Can you repent and believe in Christ by your own power?
A. No; I can do nothing good without the help of God's Holy Spirit.
Q. 59. How can you get the help of the Holy Spirit?
A. God has told us that we must pray to him for the Holy Spirit.
Q. 60. How long ago is it since Christ died?
A. More than nineteen hundred years.
Q. 61. How were pious persons saved before the coming of Christ?
A. By believing in a Savior to come.
Q. 62. How did they show their faith?
A. By offering sacrifices on God's altar.
Q. 63. What did these sacrifices represent?
A. Christ, the Lamb of God, who was to die for sinners.
Q. 64. What offices has Christ?
A. Christ has three offices.
Q. 65. What are they?
A. The offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king.
Q. 66. How is Christ a prophet?
A. Because he teaches us the will of God.
Q. 67. How is Christ a priest?
A. Because he died for our sins and pleads with God for us.
Q. 68. How is Christ a king?
A. Because he rules over us and defends us.
Q. 69. Why do you need Christ as a prophet?
A. Because I am ignorant.
Q. 70. Why do you need Christ as a priest?
A. Because I am guilty.
Q. 71. Why do you need Christ as a king?
A. Because I am weak and helpless.
Christian Literature
The link below shows this book on Amazon.com, but you may also want to check the church library for availability or purchase at a local bookstore.
Big Book Of Questions and Answers, by Sinclair Ferguson
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