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8TH GRADE TEXT BOOK
FOREWORD
About
three years ago, members of the Keralite Pentecostal community
in North America recognized the immediate need for developing
well-designed curriculum materials for their Sunday Schools.
Their desire was to prepare Christian education materials that
would incorporate the cultural backgrounds and values of
Pentecostal believers of East Indian origin.
In response to the concerns and desires of
the believers in the Keralite Pentecostal community, several
Sunday School teachers, Bible scholars, pastors, evangelists,
professors, and leaders, set forth a plan to meet the pressing
need of the community in the area of Christian education. This
plan became fruitful when the first volume of WORD OF LIFE
FOR YOUNG TEENS was published in July 2002.
The first volume was a monumental achievement
for our community and was well received by Keralite churches all
across the United States and Canada. I had the privilege of
contributing
to
the first volume, and I consider it
a great honor to serve as a consultant to the project.
Now, it is my distinct privilege to introduce
and recommend the second volume in the series. Indeed, the
content of this volume is an eloquent testimony to the hard work
of all who are involved in the project.
The new volume begins with an impressive and
most useful survey of the Old Testament, classifying the books
of the Old Testament into distinct genres. What is remarkable is
that the exposition explains how the Old Testament foreshadows
the Christ of the New Testament. Units two and four are
practically oriented sections that deal with Christian
discipleship and spiritual warfare respectively. In between the
two units is a section on early church history, which focuses on
the establishment and growth, successes and problems of the
first century church. Each unit features questions and life
issues and relevant Bible passages that will encourage the
participants to interact with one another and the teacher.
Another notable quality of the volume is that each writer is
fully committed to a strictly fundamental interpretation of the
Bible. Each lesson is written as part of the whole, which
attests to the competency of the authors in arranging various
subjects on a common thread.
This new volume will serve as a valuable
weekend companion to all who want to learn more about Jesus and
His church. I am confident that this new Christian education
tool will be received with great enthusiasm.
Professor E. C. Samkutty, Ph.D.
Southern University, Louisiana
20 May 2003
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