This is the first of several periodic assessment lessons that you will participate in throughout your study of the New Testament. These lessons are intended to help you evaluate your goals, learning, and personal growth.
Encouraging daily scripture study. One way to encourage students to study their scriptures daily is to provide regular opportunities for them to share in class what they are learning and feeling during their personal scripture study.
Student preparation: Invite students to think about how their scripture study has been going and to prepare to share insights they have had or ways that their study has recently improved.
Possible Learning Activities
The purpose of assessment lessons
Display the following image and question for students to see as they come in to class.
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person planting seeds into the dirt
Draw a simple picture of a plant at various points in its development. The displayed image can help you. As you draw, consider how you would answer the following question. When you have finished your picture, write down your response to the question on the same paper.
How is your spiritual growth similar to the growth of a plant?
President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained some actions we can take to increase our spiritual growth and focus on our eternal goals:
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President M. Russell Ballard
Over the years, I have observed that those who accomplish the most in this world are those with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on their vision and tactical plans for how to achieve them. Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose, and accomplishment to life. …
To return to [God’s] presence and to receive the eternal blessings that come from making and keeping covenants are the most important goals we can set. …
I have found that to stay focused on returning and receiving the promised blessings, I need to regularly take time to ask myself, “How am I doing?”
It’s kind of like having a personal, private interview with yourself. And if that sounds unusual, think about it: who in this world knows you better than you know yourself? You know your thoughts, your private actions, your desires, and your dreams, goals, and plans. And you know better than anyone how you are progressing along the road to returning and receiving.
(M. Russell Ballard, “Return and Receive,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 62–64)
What did you learn from President Ballard about periodically measuring spiritual growth?
To help you measure your growth regularly, some of your lessons will act as learning assessments. These lessons can be viewed as opportunities to ponder and celebrate how you have learned and improved. They can also be an opportunity to identify things you still need to learn or ways you can still improve.
Coming unto Jesus Christ and becoming His disciple
Help students evaluate their progress related to coming unto Christ and being His disciple. The rest of this lesson presents a few ideas of how to do this. Depending on the learning experiences students have had, these ideas may be adapted or replaced with other ways to help students assess their learning.
One of the primary purposes of seminary is to help you more fully come unto Jesus Christ and be His disciple, or His follower. Hearing the Savior’s words through our scripture study and personal revelation is an important component of following Jesus Christ.
Take a few minutes to evaluate your personal scripture study and efforts to receive personal revelation. Record your thoughts in your study journal. Here are some questions to help you evaluate:
How has your personal scripture study been going? What improvements have you made in your ability to study and apply the Lord’s word to your life? What is an aspect of your scripture study that has been difficult or has not been working that you would like to improve on?
How have you felt the Holy Ghost teaching or prompting you this year? What questions do you have about receiving personal revelation? What can you do to seek more opportunities to feel the voice of the Spirit?
Demonstrate your learning
The following activities are designed to give students an opportunity to explain some of the roles of Jesus Christ they may have learned about recently.
Choose to do one or both of the following activities to show what you have learned about Jesus Christ and His roles from your study of Matthew 1–2; Luke 1–2; and John 1. You might review your study journal to remind you of truths you have learned.
Display the following options for students to refer to as they complete this activity.
Provide various art materials for students if these materials are available, such as pencils, pens, crayons, markers, paints, paper, and so forth. This could also be done with clay or as an outdoor activity with sidewalk chalk.
Option A: A creation inviting others to “behold the Lamb of God”
In John 1, we read John the Baptist’s invitation for his followers to “behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36). One meaning of the word behold is to look at, notice, or pay careful attention to something or someone.
For this activity, create something that can help people to “behold the Lamb of God,” or pause and reflect on Him and the roles He performs in our lives. Begin by thinking about the attributes, roles, and names of Christ that you have learned about. Find scripture passages where you have learned these truths about Jesus Christ. Consider using a scripture as a theme for what you create. For this activity, you might do one of the following projects:
Create an artistic representation of an attribute, a role, a name, or a title of Christ that is particularly meaningful to you, and provide an explanation of what you created.
Write about a personal experience that helped you deepen your understanding of the Savior.
Ask classmates, friends, or family members to share things they have beheld about Christ. Use their thoughts in what you create. Some examples might be a journal entry, an artistic depiction, or an edited video of what they shared.
Option B: An introduction to Jesus Christ
Create a list of three titles of the Savior that you would use to introduce someone to Jesus Christ. Identify and cite the scripture passages where you found them. Include a brief explanation of what each title means and how a person’s life might be different if they knew the significance of these titles.
Include a scripture story or personal experience where the Savior demonstrates each title you chose. For example, you could list the title “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). You could identify examples from your life or the lives of others where the Savior was “with” you or them.
This activity could be completed as an artistic rendering (such as a drawing, painting, or sculpture) or simply in writing. Consider looking for ways to continue to find titles of the Savior as you study the New Testament this year.
After students have had sufficient time to finish their work, give them an opportunity to share what they created with the class (or in partnerships or small groups). Consider concluding class by bearing testimony of Jesus Christ. It may be helpful to focus this testimony on some of the roles and titles that were discussed in this lesson.