Youth · Ages 13-17
Youth Sunday School lessons
Written for a class that can handle the text itself. Five parts, a longer memory verse chosen for what it claims rather than what is easy to recite, twelve questions, and a set of open discussion prompts with no clean answer - the kind a leader can hand to a group and let run.
Every lesson is free to read in full and free to print. Each one has a memory verse, the account in five parts, a quiz with a KJV answer key, and an activity sized for ages 13-17.
- 1 David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17 · 12 questions · 5 parts “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45 The Philistines and Israel were drawn up for battle on opposite mountains, with the valley of Elah between them. Out came a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
- 2 Noah's Ark Genesis 6-9 · 12 questions · 5 parts “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Genesis 6:9 When men multiplied on the earth, God saw that the wickedness of man was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. It repented the LORD that he had made man, and it grieved him at his heart, so he purposed to bring judgment.
- 3 Adam and Eve Genesis 2-3 · 12 questions · 5 parts “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 Genesis 2 zooms in from the wide account of chapter 1 to a single man. The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- 4 Moses and the Red Sea Exodus 14 · 12 questions · 5 parts “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14 Israel has already been released, and that is what makes chapter 14 so uncomfortable. When the king of Egypt was told that the people fled, the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? The regret is economic, not moral.
- 5 Creation Genesis 1 · 12 questions · 5 parts “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27 Genesis 1 begins without argument or defence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. There is no account of where God came from, because the chapter is not making a case for him, it is reporting what he did.
- 6 Daniel in the Lions' Den Daniel 6 · 12 questions · 5 parts “So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” Daniel 6:23 Daniel is an old man in a foreign government, and he is good at his job. Darius sets an hundred and twenty princes over the kingdom, with three presidents above them, of whom Daniel was first.
- 7 Jonah and the Whale Jonah 1-2 · 12 questions · 5 parts “I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:9 The book opens with a commission and an immediate refusal. Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
- 8 The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 · 12 questions · 5 parts “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Luke 15:24 And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. The request is worse than it sounds to modern ears.
- 9 The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37 · 12 questions · 5 parts “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27 The parable exists because of a question asked in bad faith. A certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He is an expert in the law testing a teacher, not a seeker looking for help.
- 10 Elijah on Mount Carmel 1 Kings 18 · 12 questions · 5 parts “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” 1 Kings 18:39 The confrontation opens with an accusation and a correction. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? The king blames the drought on the prophet who announced it.
Teaching a different age?
The same accounts, rewritten for the reading level - not the same page with the ages swapped.