Unit Description: The story begins with God creating everything from nothing. Of all of God’s perfect creation, people were most special, alone being made in God’s image. All that God created was created to reveal God’s glory—how amazing He is.

Big Picture Question: Why did God create everything? God created everything for His glory and our good.

Key Passage: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1 

Christ Connection: All of creation displays the glory of God - how great He is - although not perfectly. The perfect revelation of God’s glory is found in Jesus, who came to show us exactly what God is like. Because Jesus is God, He is the perfect display of God’s glory. 

Unit Description: Everything was perfect when God created it, but it didn’t stay that way. Adam and Eve rebelled against God. From that time on, creation was ruined and everyone has been born a sinner. But God would not leave people to remain dead in sin. He would provide the solution for sin: His Son, Jesus Christ.

Big Picture Question: What does it mean to sin? To sin is to think, speak, or behave in any way that goes against God and His commands.

Key Passage: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Christ Connection: People wanted glory for themselves instead of God. They ignored God’s plan, so God confused their language and scattered them all over the earth. One day, Jesus will gather together all of God’s people - from every tribe and language - and they will worship Him together. 

Unit Description: God’s solution for sin, which He promised in Eden, became clearer when God made a covenant with Abraham. God promised to bring the Rescuer through Abraham’s family. This family was far from perfect and endured great adversity, but through it all, God remained faithful, revealing that nothing could stop His plan.

Big Picture Question: Who is in control of everything? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God’s good plan.

Key Passage: I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. Psalm 135:5-6
Christ Connection: God promised to bless all the world through Abraham. God sent Jesus from His home in heaven to be born on earth into Abraham’s family. Through Jesus, all the nations of the earth are blessed because Jesus saves people from their sins.

Unit Description: Many years had passed since God used Joseph to rescue His people from a famine by bringing them into Egypt. Now, however, God’s people were in bondage and needed to be rescued. God raised up a new rescuer, Moses, to deliver His people out of Egypt and lead them back to the promised land.

Big Picture Question: Does God keep His promises? Yes, God always keeps His promises because He is faithful.

Key Passage:  “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19
Christ Connection: God keeps His promises. He remembered His promise to send a Rescuer and sent His Son, Jesus, into the world as a baby. Jesus grew up and provided salvation for sinners by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.

Unit Description: Through a series of miracles, God had delivered His people from bondage in Egypt. The Israelites headed into the wilderness on their way to the land of promise. Their journey, however, was not just to move them from one place to another; it was also to be a time when their hearts were to be moved in worship for their God, their true Rescuer.

Big Picture Question: What is worship? Worship is celebrating the greatness of God.

Key Passage:  “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:6-7
Christ Connection: God deserves our worship. He created us to be in a relationship with Him, and He has provided salvation from sin through His Son, Jesus. We can worship God by loving and obeying Him as we live to give Him glory.

Unit Description: When God’s people arrived at the border of the promised land, they did the unthinkable: they disbelieved God’s faithfulness and disobeyed His command by refusing to enter. As a result, God forced His people away from the land to wander in the wilderness where they continued in their disbelief and sin against a good, loving, and holy God.

Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is holy, good, and loving.

Key Passage:  “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11
Christ Connection: No one is like God. God is holy, good, and loving. Jesus shows us what God is like and gives us hope. God can make us more like Jesus. We can trust Him and live joyfully for Him.

Unit Description: When the next generation of God’s people, led by Joshua, returned back to the land of Canaan, God reminded them of His promises and that all of His words are true. Joshua and the Israelites would need to remember God’s Word, trust it, and live in obedience to it if they were to conquer the land.

Big Picture Question: What is the Bible? The Bible is God’s Word that tells us what is true about God and ourselves.

Key Passage:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105
Christ Connection: The Bible tells us about God’s plan for people to have forgiveness through His Son, Jesus. Jesus obeyed God’s Word perfectly. We can follow Jesus’ example to read, believe, and obey the Bible as we live for God’s glory.

Unit Description: Joshua and the Israelites saw God do what the previous generation had doubted: God went before them into the land and conquered their enemies through His wondrous works. At the end of his days, Joshua challenged the people to remember who God is and what He had done and worship only Him forevermore.

Big Picture Question: What is a miracle? A miracle is something God does that usually cannot be done so that we can know He is all-powerful.

Key Passage:  "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." Psalm 77:14
Christ Connection: By faith, Rahab believed God would win the battle. When the Israelites attacked Jericho, Rahab and her family received mercy and became part of God’s people. Jesus has won against sin and death. Everyone who trusts in Jesus receives mercy and becomes part of God’s family forever.

Unit Description: God’s people were in the promised land, but not all was well. Generation after generation continued a cycle of sin with troubling consequences. Because God is just and holy, He did not allow His people’s sin to go unchecked. Because He is also loving and gracious, He provided forgiveness through repentance.

Big Picture Question: What is the fair payment for sin? The fair payment for sin is death.

Key Passage:  "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." .Romans 6:23
Christ Connection: The judges saved the people from the consequences of their sin, but not the cause of it. God’s plan was to one day send a true Deliverer—Jesus, His own Son—to be the King of His people. Jesus saves people from sin forever.

Unit Description: Through a series of miracles, God had delivered His people from bondage in Egypt. The Israelites headed into the wilderness on their way to the land of promise. Their journey, however, was not just to move them from one place to another; it was also to be a time when their hearts were to be moved in worship for their God, their true Rescuer.

Big Picture Question: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God. 

Key Passage:  Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5
Christ Connection: God intended for a heavenly king to rule over Israel, but the Israelites did not trust God’s plan. They wanted a king like the nations around them. God had a better plan: to eventually send His Son, Jesus, to be the perfect King forever.

Unit Description: David was an unlikely choice to follow Saul as king, but David’s victory over Goliath revealed that God was with him. King David’s rule would be better than Saul’s, but it was still far from perfect as David committed a series of grievous sins. God, however, was gracious to forgive when David repented.

Big Picture Question: What is grace? Grace is when God gives us something good even when we do not deserve it.. 

Key Passage:  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7-8

Christ Connection: Samuel anointed David, setting him apart to be the next king. God’s choice for Israel’s king was surprising; David was the youngest in his family, but God saw David’s heart for the Lord. When Jesus came to earth, He seemed like a surprising choice for a king. Jesus is the perfect King who saves us from our sin and reigns forever.

Unit Description: Sin always leads us away from God. Jesus came to bring us back to God. Jesus is the true King who gave His life as a sacrifice so we can be forgiven of our sins. Jesus’ kingdom will last forever.

Big Picture Question: What is idolatry? Idolatry is a sin of the heart in which we love and value something else above God.  

Key Passage:  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5
Christ Connection: Sin always leads us away from God. Jesus came to bring us back to God. Jesus is the true King who gave His life as a sacrifice so we can be forgiven of our sins. Jesus’ kingdom will last forever.

Unit Description: Although God had continued to warn His people, they continued to rebel. By contrast, when God warned Israel’s enemies, they responded in repentance. In this we see God’s heart for all people and also His justice in what He would do next: discipline His people by sending them into captivity in a foreign land.

Big Picture Question: What makes people special? People are special because we are made in God’s image, as male and female, to know Him.  

Key Passage:  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13-14
Christ Connection: Nahum brought a message of comfort to God’s people, reminding them that God loves His people and will protect them from their enemies. Jesus also brought a message of comfort, salvation, and peace to His people. All of the enemies of God and His children were defeated at the cross. One day, God will finally judge all evil.  

Unit Description: The people were far away from the land God had given them, but they were not far from the God who had given it. Even in exile, God was with His people watching over them and promising them that one day, they would return to the land, and when they did, they would return to Him as well. 

Big Picture Question: Where is God? God is in all places at all times and is always with His people.  

Key Passage:  “The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17
Christ Connection: God humbled the proud king of Babylon by taking away his kingdom. King Jesus willingly humbled Himself by dying on the cross for our sin. God raised up Jesus and gave Him honor forever. When we humble ourselves and trust in Jesus, God will raise us up to enjoy Jesus in His kingdom forever

Unit Description: God’s time of disciplining His people had been completed, and true to His word, He returned them to the land of promise. Once there, they began to rebuild the temple—the important reminder that God was with them, that He is faithful, and that He can always be trusted. 

Big Picture Question: Can God be trusted? Yes, God cannot lie or ever be wrong, so we can trust whatever He has said. 

Key Passage: “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7

Christ Connection: God always keeps His promises. God chose to use King Cyrus in His plan to graciously deliver His people from exile. King Cyrus’ action to free the people reminds us of Jesus, whom God chose to rescue sinners and bring us to our true home in His kingdom of grace.

Unit Description: God had made good on His promise to bring the people back into the land, but they were still waiting on another promise: for God to send the ultimate Rescuer. God’s people began to prepare for the Messiah’s arrival, but even so, as always, they couldn’t escape the allure of sin.

Big Picture Question: How should we feel when we sin? When we sin, we should feel sorry that we have disobeyed God and want to turn from our sin because we love Him. 

Key Passage:  "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." 2 Corinthians 7:10
Christ Connection: God’s Word is powerful. When Ezra read God’s Word, the people loved God more and changed their ways. The Bible says that Jesus is “the Word.” Jesus is God who came to live with people on earth. Jesus has the power to change our hearts.  

Unit Description: Jesus, the long-promised Messiah, had finally arrived, but in a rather unexpected way. From the start, though, every detail of Jesus’ life was to reveal and advance His mission of being the sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

Big Picture Question: What did Jesus do to save us? Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead.  

Key Passage: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Christ Connection: The birth of Jesus was good news! Jesus was not an ordinary baby. He is God’s Son, sent to earth from heaven. Jesus, the promised Savior, came into the world to show us what God is like and to deliver us from sin and death.  

Unit Description:Jesus’ early encounters with people revealed that He had come to be the Savior of all people—Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and poor. All people have been made in God’s image and are loved by Him. 

Big Picture Question: How do we know God loves us? We can know that God loves us because He gave us Jesus to forgive the sins of the world.  .  

Key Passage: 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'. Romans 5:8

Christ Connection: God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God is love, and God loves all people. He calls everyone who trusts in Jesus to love Him and love others.   

Unit Description: As Jesus began His ministry of miracles and teachings, not everyone responded in the same way. Some rejected Jesus outright. Others were amazed by Jesus but didn’t understand Him. But some came to place their faith in Him and worship Him for who He is: the Son of God. 

Big Picture Question: How can we be saved? We are only saved through faith in Jesus.   .  

Key Passage: 'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.' Hebrews 11:6

Christ Connection: Jesus read Isaiah’s words and announced that He is the promised Messiah. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus because of their unbelief. God invites us to trust in His Son, Jesus. Jesus came into the world to rescue sinners.  

Unit Description: During His earthly ministry, Jesus performed a number of amazing miracles. He calmed storms, healed sickness, fed multitudes, and more. Each miracle was done out of compassion for people, but also to prove that He is the Son of God.  

Big Picture Question: Is Jesus God or a human? As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.   .  

Key Passage: "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." John 1:18 

Christ Connection: Jesus’ disciples knew Jesus was a good man and a good teacher. When Jesus calmed the wind and the waves, He showed His disciples that He is also God. God rules the sea and stills its waves.  

Unit Description: Jesus taught like no one else—as One who has authority. Everything Jesus taught about revealed what God’s kingdom is like, the kingdom that Jesus had come to establish in full.  

Big Picture Question: What did Jesus teach when He was on earth? Jesus taught about God and His kingdom. He taught that all Scripture is about Him.  

Key Passage:  "Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the powerand the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all". 1 Chronicles 29:11

Christ Connection: Jesus invites us to join Him in heaven—the great wedding feast. When we receive His invitation, Jesus gets us ready by clothing us in His righteousness. Salvation is a free gift for everyone who trusts in Christ.

Unit Description: Even though Jesus performed amazing miracles, including raising someone from the dead, the religious leaders rejected Jesus and managed to turn the people against Him too. Their sinful hearts were hard. Even this rejection, however, was part of God’s plan to bring salvation to the world. 

Big Picture Question: Why do people reject Jesus? People reject Jesus because all people are born with a sin nature and want to please themselves rather than obey God.

Key Passage: "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." Isaiah 53:3

Christ Connection: Paul told believers to be ready to fight a spiritual battle every day. People and powers who are against God will be against us too. But Jesus died and rose from the dead. He had victory over evil. We can fight the battle against evil, knowing Jesus already won the war.

Unit Description: The time for Jesus’ rejection was at hand. After sharing a special meal with His disciples, Jesus was betrayed by one of His own and was arrested. Even as His death approached, Jesus continued to act as a perfect Priest, loving His followers and praying to the Father on their behalf.   

Big Picture Question: How is Jesus the perfect Priest? Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin, and He speaks to God the Father for us today.  

Key Passage:  "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Hebrews 4:15

Christ Connection: God’s people had broken the old covenant, and God promised to make a new covenant to forgive sins. The new covenant says that everyone who turns away from sin and trusts in Jesus’ death and resurrection will be forgiven of his sins and will have eternal life.  

Unit Description: The darkest day the world has ever seen became the brightest day one glorious Sunday morning. After Jesus was unjustly convicted of a crime, He was crucified and His body was placed in a tomb. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating sin and death and rising again as the conquering King.  

Big Picture Question:  How is Jesus the perfect King? Jesus perfectly rules over the universe as the King of kings.   

Key Passage: "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Revelation 5:13

Christ Connection: Jesus was unfairly sentenced to die although He did no wrong. Jesus was the perfect substitute for us, dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead. Everyone who trusts in Jesus has forgiveness and life with God forever.  

Unit Description: Before Jesus returned to be with the Father, He gave His followers the mission to continue what He had begun. But this is a mission they would not be able to complete in their own power. Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to change them and empower them to be His witnesses to the world. 

Big Picture Question:   How does the Holy Spirit help Christians? The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory.  

Key Passage: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Christ Connection: Matthias was chosen to join the apostles in sharing what they learned about Jesus. God calls us to join in this mission of sharing the gospel, working in community, and seeking Him in prayer.  

Unit Description: As the church began, Peter played a key role, following the example Jesus had set. Like Jesus, Peter preached the gospel, healed people, and confronted sin—all so that others might come to know Christ, too. 

Big Picture Question:   Why does God command Christians to tell others about Jesus? We tell others about Jesus so they will hear and believe the good news.   

Key Passage: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Romans 10:14

Christ Connection: After Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples power to begin working. With the power of Jesus’ name, Peter healed a man who was lame. Peter and John showed God’s power and pointed to a greater, spiritual healing found in Jesus.