It’s fall planning time again. You love God’s Word, and you relish the time you’ll get to dig in and study it in order to plan for teaching your students in the fall. You may have some new kids, fresh recruits for your youth group, and you want them to find God’s Word as exhilarating and meaningful as you do. You may have some seniors, and you are eager to pack in as much of the gospel as you can during this last year together. And you may have some students that have been with you awhile but aren’t graduating just yet; you hope to encourage this group to grow, to dig in, and to discover that the gospel truths you’ve taught them have fresh application with every passing year.
That’s a lot of work for one busy youth minister!
Rooted’s curriculum offerings are designed to help you prepare for teaching your students. Each study includes a leader guide with a memory verse, a gospel-tie in, a weekly review of previous lessons, inductive Bible study discussion questions, and more. Sermon illustrations are included in the lessons and on the Rooted Reservoir website, too. There’s also a student guide included that helps your students follow along as you go through the lesson together. With much of the prep work done for you (and your volunteers), you’ve got time to dive into the Scripture ahead of your students, free to enjoy the process without the pressure.
Our most recent additions include:
A Survey of Psalms (30 lessons)
The psalms constitute the praise book of God’s people, Israel. They serve as prayers, praises, and worship directed from the hearts of God’s people individually toward Him, as well as praises for the people of Israel to sing to God collectively in worship.
Foundations of Grace (32 lessons)
Perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, Romans clearly lays out the state of man and God’s plan of salvation. For students and adults alike, Romans gives us both the worst possible news and the best possible news: Not only do we desperately need a savior, but God has already accomplished that saving work through Christ.
Biblical Worldview (10 lessons)
This ten lesson curriculum on assessing the world through a biblical lens may be purchased a la carte.
Old Testament Foundations (27 lessons)
Genesis: God’s Promise for God’s People
The rest of the Bible will build on the concepts laid out for us in Genesis, and, in many ways, the history of God’s people will mirror the movements of the book of Genesis. From sin to sacrifice, from brokenness to restoration, from judgment to salvation, Genesis is a microcosm of what God has been doing since just after the creation of the universe.
Exodus: Sanctified By Glory
God sees us and fights for us; God always keeps his promises to us; God is with us.
General Epistles (26 lessons)
James: Faith in Action
Our current cultural climate forces students to wrestle with issues of ethics and justice, and we must learn how to be both hearers and doers of the Word in our schools, churches, families, and beyond.
1 Peter: A Living Hope
Today’s world is not too different from the world of the early Christians to whom Peter wrote. How does Jesus call us to live in light of our identity as His people in a world that is hostile to us?
123 John: By This We Know Love
John’s letters ground students in the truth that was, is, and always will be true. He reminds them that claims of new, enlightened belief systems may seem easier to digest, but they are not complete. John takes us back to the basics and calls us to remember what we knew in the beginning to be true.
Jude: Keeping the Faith
Jude begins and ends his letter with the promise that God will “keep” His people (vv. 1, 24). This means that He guards, protects, and preserves us from “stumbling,” and that He keeps us for a purpose—to live with Him in heaven and experience His radiant glory forever. No matter what life throws at you, know that you are secure in God’s hands.
Three tried-and-true curriculum packages:
Paul’s Epistles (31 lessons)
Galatians: The Good News of Grace
God’s grace is sufficient; no amount of good works, rule following, or legalism will make God love you more. This good news allows us to rest from our striving and live freely in God’s grace.
Ephesians: Created in Christ
In Christ, all of God’s people now have access to every spiritual blessing and have been called to a new life. And through this new life, the church is now a present reflection of God’s coming kingdom.
Philippians: Jesus In All Things
Philippians is especially relevant to our students who are coming of age in an environment characterized by faulty ideas of God as a divine wish granter on the one side, and as a tyrannical dictator on the other.
Colossians: Seeking Jesus, Finding Life
Our students face the temptation to follow false teaching, just as the Colossians did. Whether it be self-help books, a philosophy class, or a half-true Christianity that tells them they have to earn God’s approval through good behavior, they are bombarded with teaching that is contrary to the gospel of grace.
The Apostle John (32 lessons)
John: Come and See Jesus
Students’ deepest longing is for a relationship with Jesus. He is the One who defines their identity, shows them what it looks like to be known, shows them what it looks like to be loved, and leads them to rest securely as His child.
123 John: By This We Know Love
John’s letters ground students in the truth that was, is, and always will be true. He reminds them that claims of new, enlightened belief systems may seem easier to digest, but they are not complete.
The Prophets (31 lessons)
Jonah: In The Depths of Grace
The book of Jonah speaks to our students who are insiders, who consider themselves God’s chosen ones, who seem to have this whole “Christian thing” down pat. The book of Jonah also speaks to our students who are outsiders, who feel that they are very far from God, even beyond His reach.
Daniel: Jesus Is King
Almost all teenagers will eventually leave their homes and feel “exiled” in a hostile world intent on indoctrinating them with its “language and literature.” Daniel shows students how to be faithful in places that are designed to erode their faith.
Haggai: Rebuilding, Reorienting, and Renewing
Haggai is especially relevant for students today in a world filled with distractions and empty pursuits that keep them from finding their satisfaction in the Lord. Haggai calls students to “consider their ways” (1:5) and to reorient their priorities in line with the Lord’s because that is where true satisfaction is found.
Malachi: The Lord You Seek
Malachi may be a short book, but it is both powerful and important for our students as it gives them framework for understanding our promise-keeping, covenantal God. The composition of Malachi also offers our students an instructive framework for their own relationships with God.
Old Testament Messianic Prophecies: Painting the Picture of Christ
There is a belief out there that there is no higher plan or meaning in life. But the prophecies about the Messiah and the age to come demonstrate that, in fact, God is writing a narrative for the world.
Gospel Foundations: The Building Blocks of The Gospel is available a la carte. This ten-lesson series explores God’s grace and redemption for sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The entire curriculum for the book of Philippians is always available free on our website, so that you can preview the format and lessons before you invest.
Hear our most recent testimony from Rooted Reservoir subscriber Conner Coskery:
The Rooted Reservoir Curriculum has been a huge help to our ministry, particularly in our small groups. Our team recognized that many of our students learn best with a structured study and this curriculum fits the bill. Each lesson is clear, focused, and contextualized to help students understand the passage and apply it to their lives. I’m confident that this curriculum will become a mainstay in our Bible studies for years to come!
Whatever book of the Bible you decide to teach this fall, we hope it creates a hunger for more of God’s work and a deep love for Jesus in both you and your students!
