Knowing God’s Story: the first step in teaching the Bible

As a Sunday School teacher I've experienced competing priorities when getting ready to teach a lesson. We essentially have two main responsibilities. Job number one - share God's story. Job number two - make the experience of learning the story welcoming, applicable and accessible to children.

The to-do list for job number two can quickly overwhelm a teacher’s available time. There are supplies to purchase, snacks to prepare, crafts to assemble, skits to memorize, safety procedures to follow, classrooms to clean, volunteers to coordinate and more. Purchased Sunday school curriculum is often weighted this way too; a quick paraphrase of a story and then pages and pages of games, crafts and activities that need time to prepare. Kid-friendly activities are important but too often the preparations for Sunday School focus too heavily on logistics rather than the heart of the message we aim to share.

The production effort often becomes so demanding that dedicating extra time to reading, studying, and deepening one’s understanding of God’s story feels impossible.

Throughout this website I'll aim to provide some tips and tricks for simplifying the logistics end, but for now I want to talk a little bit more about job number one - sharing God's story.

When we as teachers aim to share God's story with children, I think we need to tell the story with a level of personal investment that captures the heart of its original message. In order to do this, we need to KNOW the story!

Perhaps you have a favourite story (or two) from a life experience that you love to share. It's the one you tell over and over among friends and family, and it always comes out when you meet someone new. You’re known for this story. When you tell it, it’s as if you’re instantly transported back in time, reliving the event all over again. Your listeners are drawn in, fully immersed in your tale, almost as if they were there with you when it happened. In our house the humorous stories are the ones that get told most often. In fact, I find myself having to hold back from writing some of them here—that’s how much fun it is to relive them!

Storytelling should be like this when we tell God's story! In fact, much of the Bible was originally preserved through oral tradition—stories passed down through generations as people recounted the ways God revealed Himself to humanity and worked in the world. The Bible is filled with captivating moments—and even humour—crafted by those who lived these experiences and shared their stories with others.

So how do we become so familiar with God’s story that we can share it in a way that feels personal and compelling—so engaging that it demands to be retold again and again? I think it begins with truly knowing the story.

When I prepare to teach, I make it a priority to immerse myself in God’s story. In fact, I use the same bible studying process whether I'm using purchased Sunday School curriculum, preparing for an intergenerational service, leading a bible study or crafting my own lessons. To keep this a priority amidst the many demands of Sunday School, I’ve created a personal checklist. It helps me balance the logistics with the heart of the lesson, ensuring the story always comes first.

This commitment has been transformative—not just for me but for my students too. It’s grown my own love for God’s story, and that passion naturally overflows. My students listen more intently, connect more deeply and even develop their own excitement for the story. A good story has a way of sparking something inside—it captures our attention, stirs our emotions, and leaves a lasting impression. And with God’s story, that lasting impression can truly be life changing.

Here’s what my “Knowing God’s Story Checklist” includes:

1. Read the Story

   • Read in a variety of translations. My list usually includes the NIV (the translation I grew up with), NRSV, The Message and the Cultural Background Bible (my new favourite).

   • Read "around" the story - try to understand the story within its biblical context by reading passages surrounding the story.

     
     

2. Take Notes

   • Write down initial thoughts, reflections and questions (more details on this process in the free pdf resource “Knowing God’s Story - Bible Study Note” ....coming soon...)

3. Study the Story (QUICK VERSION)

   After reading the story and reflecting on my own thoughts, I take time to study it through the perspectives of others. Sometimes Sunday School curriculum includes some study notes. This is a good starting point but my go-to resource for this is The Bible Project. Their videos, podcasts and courses make it easy to explore materials that connect directly to the story I’m studying. I can even listen to their podcasts while driving, doing chores, or handling other Sunday School tasks.

   
   

   What I love most is their focus on historical context and how each individual story fits into the grand narrative of the Bible. If you’re short on time, I highly recommend starting with this resource—it’s invaluable.

   
   

4. Study the Story (GEEKING OUT)

   Once I've finished reading the story and explored it more deeply using resources like The Bible Project, I often find myself interested in more aspects of the narrative. The more I learn, the more I want to know! This curiosity has grown into a full-fledged love for biblical study—a bit geeky, but incredibly rewarding! If you find yourself developing this same passion for digging deeper, here are some other ways to take your study further:

   
   

   • Word Studies - When certain words stand out in a story, I’ll dive deeper into their meanings to better understand the text. This helps me see the story in new ways and brings fresh insights. (If you are interested in learning more, here’s an interesting resource about Biblical Word Study)

   • More Trusted Voices - I often turn to respected voices in biblical study, seeking insight from some of my favourite theologians and scholars. I’ll explore what they’ve written about the story or the themes that have emerged during my study. When I started, my study was almost always in book format, but now so much is available online through blogs, articles, and even sermon transcripts. My love of theology was sparked by authors like N.T. Wright and Scot McKnight, but over time, my list has expanded to include a diverse range of thinkers who have helped me see God’s story from fresh perspectives. If you already have a list of go-to authors, that’s wonderful! But if you’re looking for recommendations, consider asking your pastor, friends, or send me an email—I’d be happy to share suggestions!

     
     

5. Notes, Again - After studying, I return to my notes and ask myself: Did my questions get answered? Did my perspective shift on anything? What else have I learned? What further details can I fill in? Revisiting my notes helps me uncover new connections or refine my understanding.

   
   

6. Coffee & Visiting - I’m fortunate to have a few dear people in my life who are willing to talk about God’s story with me. After spending time studying, my mind is often buzzing with questions and insights. The more I learn, the more I want to talk about the story.  Finding someone to share it with gives me a chance to hear and share perspectives and it always enriches my understanding. It’s in these conversations, much like telling a favourite life story, that God’s story truly comes alive for me. The process of discussing, exploring, and reflecting transforms it from a lesson into something vibrant and real, sparking new learning and connections every time we share it.

   
   

Though we may never fully grasp the depths of this story, every bit of time we spend learning God's incredible story invites us further into a narrative that is alive, transformative, and deeply relevant. When we engage with it wholeheartedly, we can share it with the passion and love it deserves, helping children see that God’s story is their story too.

Stepping into God's story is a process that takes time! This is one of the reasons I often teach a single Bible story for several weeks in a row—I simply don’t have the time to deeply explore a new story every week. The time commitment also affects how I approach other tasks. I focus less on decorating, run fewer events, and reuse activities that are already effective and popular with the kids. But every minute I dedicate to this process has a lasting impact—most notably on me. As a Sunday School teacher, my goal is to help kids build a relationship with God, and His story is one of the main ways we get to know Him. It's no surprise that in preparing to teach, I've found that I’ve grown closer to God myself. This journey has made me a better person—and a better teacher.

There’s one final step in my study process, but that deserves a blog post of its own: How do we take what we’ve learned and translate it for kids? My next entry will be about "Translating God's Story for Kids: Moving From Study to Teaching"