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What is the Living the Word: Teaching God’s Story series about?
What makes it unique?
How else are these products integrated together?
When are the Living the Word products going to be available for the next program year?
What is the Narrative Lectionary?
Do we need to use the Narrative Lectionary in worship to use the Living the Word curriculum/resources?
Why did you create Living the Word?
What are the objectives for the Living the Word series?
What are the common components of the curriculum products?
What products are offered?
How does the pricing work?
Can I request a special order?
From which denomination or tradition is the Narrative Lectionary or Living the Word? Can I use it if I belong to a different tradition?
Are there other materials to support congregations using the Narrative Lectionary?
What if I have other questions not answered here?
What is the Living the Word: Teaching God’s Story series about?
Living the Word: Teaching God’s Story is a series of full-year faith formation materials for all ages in a congregation, teaching the story of God’s love in the Bible from creation through the early church. The Scripture readings for the lessons are correlated with the readings of the Narrative Lectionary, allowing congregations using the Narrative Lectionary in worship to teach their students the same stories in class.
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What makes it unique?
Other than following the Narrative Lectionary, this series is unique in several ways. First, the breadth of products for all ages (elementary age, youth, adults, home devotional resources, and cross+generational worship and education) allows for the integration of your congregation’s faith formation efforts. If you have a more traditional organization of worship services, children’s ministry, confirmation/youth group, adult small groups, each of these faith formation ministries can use a Living the Word product and be learning about the same stories, making connections between worship and education, as well as between members of various generations. All the members of a family can contribute to a discussion of the day’s Bible story, as all have learned something about it! If your congregation has (or is moving toward) a more “non-traditional” model of faith formation, you can use our Cross+Generational Worship product (for interactive, intergenerational experiences in the service), Cross+Generational Education products (for an intergenerational or family classroom experience), our Sharing God’s Story @ Home bulletin insert (for assisting family home devotional practices, with or without our more traditional products)!
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How else are these products integrated together?
Since the 2016-2017 (Narrative Lectionary Year 3) product year, all of our products have had several things in common. In addition to the similar structure of our curriculum products (with Into the Story, Learning the Story, Living the Story, Bible Nuts & Bolts, etc.–See below for more information on these components), all of our products are divided into the same thematic units. Within each unit, every lesson is focused around a single “big idea,” which we call “The Point.” So, even if the 1st graders and the adult small groups are learning separately in different groups, they are all focusing on the same Point!
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When are the Living the Word products going to be available for the next program year?
The Living the Word products that begin in the upcoming September will be available for preorder by the end of February of that same year (e.g. 2019-2020 products will be online for preordering by the end of February 2019). The resource files themselves, grouped typically into Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, are available for download by or before the dates listed on the Release Dates page. We will announce the releases by email, e-newsletter, and Facebook when they are online!
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What is the Narrative Lectionary?
The Narrative Lectionary is a 9-month lectionary that begins on “Rally Day” (the first Sunday in September after Labor Day) and continues through to Pentecost (usually the end of May or beginning of June). As opposed to the Revised Common Lectionary’s standard four Bible readings for each worship service, the Narrative Lectionary provides one central Bible reading for each service. The readings begin at creation in September, cover many of the important figures and events of the Old Testament in the Fall, reaching the promise of the Messiah in the Prophets during Advent. The Sunday before Christmas, the readings turn to one of the four Gospels (one year for each Gospel, therefore a four-year cycle) and continue in that Gospel through Easter. After Easter, the readings give a brief look at the early church in the Book of Acts and the Epistles (Letters). More information on the Narrative Lectionary can be found on our What is the Narrative Lectionary? page.
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Do we need to use the Narrative Lectionary in worship to use the Living the Word curriculum/resources?
No! The Bible stories covered in the Living the Word resources are chosen to correlate with the readings of the Narrative Lectionary, but everyone can benefit from learning the sweeping story of God’s love in Scripture!
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Why did you create Living the Word?
At the time this project was begun, congregations who were using the Narrative Lectionary and who wanted their faith formation programs to match the readings used in worship had to create their own resources and curricula. Spirit & Truth Publishing decided to use our experience from creating and publishing Spirit and Truth: Teaching Kids the Heart of Worship to provide much needed resources for faith formation and the Narrative Lectionary.
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What are the objectives for the Living the Word series?
There are three main objectives of these resources.
- First is to provide faith formation resources for congregations using the Narrative Lectionary and who want disciples of all ages in their congregation to be focusing on the same Bible texts all program year long. This type of whole-congregational learning experience allows for sharing between ages, helps participants connect education and devotional practices with worship, and helps them understand what is going on in worship.
- Second is to provide disciples of all ages with a developmentally appropriate understanding of the major story (narrative) of the Bible through an introduction to the major stories of Scripture. Instruction includes issues of basic biblical literacy, the scope and structure of the Bible, and a connection to the participants’ personal lives. The Bible is foundational to the Christian faith as the “first language of faith,” therefore students must be introduced to the Bible at every developmental stage, from the large scale of what God is doing to the small scale of how to find things in the Bible.
- And, third, to provide participants with instruction and practice on how to encounter and draw closer to the God of the Bible. Knowledge of Scripture is an important characteristic of a life of faith, but it is not sufficient to build a living relationship with God. God comes to us with immeasurable love, but for us to grow in and enjoy this relationship, we must learn and practice activities that help us spend time with God. These products will provide activities for students to practice spiritual disciplines so that they can continue using those practices at home. All faith practice activities fall under the categories of Prayer, Worship, Fellowship, and Service, all within the context of Stewardship (understanding that all that we are and all that we have are gifts from God to be used in love and service to God and neighbor).
What are the common components of the curriculum products?
Each curriculum product (Kids, Youth, Small Groups, Cross+Gen Education, and Cross+Gen Worship) includes in its own way:
- Background Pages – A summary of the unit theme, The Point, background information, and a diverse menu of possible activities all make it easy for leaders to prepare for their own unique experience.
- Bible Nuts & Bolts – Each week, a different theme or structure of the Bible is introduced to give participants an understanding of the Bible as a whole. (Not present in Cross+Gen Worship)
- Learning the Story – Participants engage in the week’s Bible text in a variety of ways, from Bible study to puppet shows!
- Living the Story – Participants connect the Bible story to a spiritual practice (prayer, worship, fellowship, or service) each week through a practical activity, helping students live out their biblical faith.
- Additional Activities or Information – Each lesson includes a wealth of additional games, crafts, service projects, and/or other activities to reinforce the day’s Point and spiritual practice.
- The Story @ Home/Daily Bible Readings – Each product includes or recommends a family/home devotional resource that includes a common schedule of daily Bible readings and devotional challenges. (The Cross+Gen products do not contain their own take-home, but recommend the Sharing God’s Story @ Home bulletin insert).
What products are offered?
The most current list of products for each year is available on our Living the Word Overview page, along with links to the individual product descriptions.
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How does the pricing work?
In order to make the curriculum accessible to smaller congregations, pricing for many of the Living the Word products is based on the average attendance range of specific faith formation program for which you are ordering the product. What’s more, there are no additional leaflets to purchase (ever!) or licenses to renew, so once you purchase a season or the whole curriculum, there are no further costs other than activity supplies! The Narrative Lectionary is a four-year cycle, so once you purchase a product, you can reuse it every four years, though an upgrade will be available at a lower price for those congregations who would like the current version of the resource. You can see a summary of all of our pricing on our Living the Word Product Pricing List.
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Can I request a special order?
If you would like to order something that is not readily available on our website, please contact the publisher by phone or using our contact form with a description of what you are looking for. Once the publisher has sufficient information, he will create a quotation for the special order, including the price and completion date. The pricing will be based on the same amounts and principles as the rest of our products, as well as include an additional preparation fee, based on the amount of work required to create the special order. Special orders can include:
- A unique collection of currently available materials (e.g. Living the Word: Youth lessons for once a month).
- Customized or newly created faith formation resources.
From which denomination or tradition is the Narrative Lectionary or Living the Word? Can I use it if I belong to a different tradition?
The Narrative Lectionary was created by two professors at a Lutheran (ELCA) seminary, but their goal was to increase biblical fluency in any congregation that is interested. Although complete statistics are not tracked, there are hundreds of congregations using the Narrative Lectionary throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and probably other parts of the world, too! Similarly, the Living the Word materials are created to be used within any Christian denomination or tradition. Previous Living the Word customers included congregations from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ, Anglican Church of Canada, American Baptist Churches, Assemblies of God, and many others!
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Are there other materials to support congregations using the Narrative Lectionary?
Yes! A sampling of resources are listed on our What Is the Narrative Lectionary? page.
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What if I have other questions not answered here?
If you have any other questions, please call the publisher or use the contact form found on the contact page. We’d love to hear from you!
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