What is the Revised Common Lectionary?
Ordering & Download Information
Introduction
Engage your PK through 6th-grade students in the amazing story of God’s love found in Scripture! These Revised Common Lectionary Mini Lessons are based on our Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education (RCL, 2024-2025) classroom-based product for the Revised Common Lectionary! They are inspired by our other popular elementary-age curricula, including the similar Living the Word: Kids (NL Mini Lessons). The Cross+Gen Education (RCL) lessons have been adapted for PK-6th graders and shortened to fit within a 15 to 30-minute teaching time (Sunday school, children’s church, etc.). Just like our other Kids products, the Mini Lessons are:
- Easy-to-use, theologically sound, and effective
- Designed to engage multiple intelligences and provide age-appropriate activities
- Fun for teachers and students
- Inclusive
- Developed by seasoned Christian education professionals
Each lesson plan provides all the information you and your teachers need to teach the weekly lesson, including necessary supplies, step-by-step instructions, and scripts for those who want them. The lessons contain three activities to balance simplicity and flexibility.
The Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (RCL, 2024-2025) curriculum is a high-quality, low-cost option for congregations and ministries of all sizes. Pricing is based on your estimated attendance range, and the purchase of a single license covers the entire congregation. You and your teachers can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). You can then print whichever pages you would like, or access the PDF files through your mobile devices!
What is the Revised Common Lectionary?
The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is a calendar of Scripture readings used in worship by thousands of congregations each week. There are four readings assigned to each day:
- First Reading (often from the Old Testament)
- Psalm
- Second Reading (often from the New Testament epistles)
- Gospel Reading
One of the strengths of the RCL is its attention to the pattern of the church year. The Gospel reading is often chosen to coordinate with the particular church festival or season it is in. The other readings are chosen to support the Gospel reading. Please note that the Mini Lessons focus only on the Gospel lesson.
The RCL is a three-year cycle that begins with the expectation of the coming Messiah, on the First Sunday of Advent. As most Christian education programs follow the common school year rather than the church year, our curriculum covers portions of two different cycles, from the first Sunday after Labor Day (US) through Christ the King Sunday (Year B in 2024) and the First Sunday of Advent through Pentecost Sunday (Year C in 2024-2025).
What’s in a Teacher’s Guide?
Each downloadable lesson includes:
- Overview and Background: A big idea for the day (The Point) and a brief summary of the Gospel lesson make it easy for teachers to prepare for their own short class.
- Learning the Word– Students engage in the week’s Gospel passage in a variety of engaging ways!
- Additional Activities– Each lesson includes two games, crafts, or other fun activities to reinforce the day’s themes.
Scope & Sequence
Check out the Living the Word Revised Common Lectionary Scope and Sequence (Years B & C, 2024-2025) for the complete list of lessons!
Other Resources
If you are looking for more products to support children’s ministry, you can find them on our Children’s Ministry & VBS product overview.
Ordering & Download Information
To order, go to the Living the Word: Kids Mini Lessons (RCL, 2024-2025) curriculum product page and select your best estimate of the attendance range of your class(es). You will also select the season you would like to order, the Full Year, or the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. After you add the product to your cart and complete the rest of your shopping, you can proceed to checkout. There, complete the form and select your payment type.
All resource materials are available as digital downloads (PDF files) for printing or using electronically. The end user licensing agreement (EULA) allows congregations to download, print, and use the curriculum lessons as often as they would like if the use remains within the purchasing congregation.
After your payment is processed, you can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). Each quarter purchased comes in a single compressed (ZIP) file, which your operating system should be able to open and extract the folders and PDF files, at which point you can print or share with your leaders as you please!
For more detailed information on ordering, downloading, and other topics, please go to our Customer Service FAQ page.