The How We Got Our Bible course provides more than an introduction to church history. It helps people ask the key questions Christians have faced over two millennia - and provides answers for those questions for today.

Click on the order button below to download this Christian History Study as a Word file. You can choose individual studies or the complete course.

You do not have to be a historian or seminary graduate to teach this course successfully. Concepts and events are explained fully, and as a leader you get helpful background material. Plus, each session gives you everything you need--activities, presentation points, discussion starters, and questions.

How We Got Our Bible contains at least six weeks of material for your Sunday school class or Bible study - and can be downloaded for your immediate use:

Session 1 - Discerning What is Scripture
The Bible contains four accounts of Jesus' life, but Christians in the first few centuries knew of at least fifty. Sorting out which books were authoritative was sometimes a controversial process.

Session 2 - Jerome and the Latin Vulgate
His translation of the Bible into Latin stood for a millennium and set a standard for future translations.

Session 3 - The Bible and the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, art, architecture, and drama brought the stories and truths of Scripture to a non-reading public.

Session 4 - John Wycliffe
This fourteenth-century English theologian is called the "Morning Star of the Reformation" for his vision to see the church reformed and the Bible translated into the language of the people.

Session 5 - William Tyndale
Defying the king and the church, Tyndale lived and died to give the Bible to the people.

Session 6 - The King James Bible and Modern Translations
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries have brought an unprecedented proliferation of English translations of the Bible, but none has made more impact than the King James Version.

Conclusion - What the Bible's History Teaches Us

Each session begins with a Key Question and a few paragraphs of context. This tells you what the session is about.

Next, the Preparation section tells you what is included in each session. Most sessions use articles from the award-winning Christian History magazine--and they're included FREE with your lesson. Other sessions provide a short reading or handouts you can photocopy for the group.

The Class Section guides you through the study in four steps - Opening, Historical Setting, Application, and Closing.

- Each study lasts between 45 and 70 minutes.
- Preparation time may take up to 60 minutes.
- Total number of pages for all 6 sessions - 104
- Files can be easily saved, edited, and printed. For questions, e-mail CBSStore@ChristianityToday.com.

You have permission to make up to 1,000 copies for use in your local church.