Big Questions
Is the Bible True?
Psalm 119:160
Some people think the Bible is just a collection of old stories — like fairy tales, made up to teach a lesson but not actually true. Today, we're putting on our archaeologist hats and digging into the evidence for ourselves. Because when you actually look at what's been found, written down, and dug up out of the ground, the Bible holds up as real — not myth!
Main Focus
The Bible isn't a made-up story — it's a real account of real people, real places, and real events, and there's genuine evidence to back that up. Today we become archaeologists, uncovering the facts for ourselves instead of just being told what to believe. What we'll find is this: the Bible is true, and it was never meant to be treated like a fairy tale.
Memory Verse
Big Movement Game
Set up a sandpit — a paddling pool filled with sand works well — and hide a number of small dinosaur toys deep down in the sand before the session starts. Split the children into groups. One at a time, a child from each group comes up and digs through the sand with their hands to find a dinosaur, then runs back to their group so the next person can go. The group with the most dinosaurs at the end wins. Just like real archaeologists, we dig deep to find real evidence — and the evidence for the Bible is real too!
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think some people believe the Bible is just made-up stories, like fairy tales?
- The fossils we made today capture something real, left behind a long time ago. What kind of evidence do you think has been found that shows the Bible is true?
- How does knowing the Bible is true change the way we can trust what it says?
Object Lesson
Give each child a compass, or pass one around the group. Ask them to turn it, spin it, hold it upside down — no matter what they do, the needle always points the same way: true north. It doesn't shift depending on where they stand, what they want it to say, or how the room is arranged. Explain that God's word is the same. It doesn't change depending on the culture, the era, or what people around us happen to believe. Just like the compass always points true, the Bible has stayed true for thousands of years, no matter how much the world around it has changed. All of God's words are true — reliable, unchanging, something we can always point to.
Craft & Activity
Salt Dough Fossils
Ingredients (makes about 8 fossils):
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup table salt
3/4 cup warm water
Steps:
1. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Slowly pour in the water, stirring as you go, until a rough dough forms.
3. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.
4. Divide the dough into a fist-sized ball for each child.
5. Flatten each ball into a disc about 1-2cm thick.
6. Press a dinosaur toy firmly into the dough and lift it straight back out — or use the back of a pencil to carve your own fossil design.
7. Leave to air-dry for 24-48 hours, or bake at a low oven temperature (around 100°C/200°F) for 2-3 hours until fully hardened.
While the fossils dry, talk about how real fossils are formed the same way — an imprint left behind, preserved for thousands of years, still readable as real evidence today.
Note: wait until fossils are fully dried before painting, or they'll go soft and lose the detail.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You that Your word is always true — it doesn't change no matter what's happening around us, just like a compass always points true north. Thank You that we don't have to believe blindly, but that there's real evidence we can look at and trust. Help us to hold onto Your truth with confidence, especially when others tell us it's just a story. Thank You that every word You've spoken is true. Amen.
Leader Prep & Tips
Prep ahead: hide your dinosaurs in the sandpit before the session starts, and have your compass and salt dough ingredients ready to go so the session flows smoothly between activities. If there isn't enough time to fully bake or air-dry the fossils during the session, that's completely fine — children can take their salt dough home, leave it out in the sun to air-dry over the next day or two, and paint it once it's fully hardened. As you lead the discussion, keep coming back to the heart of the lesson: the Bible isn't a book of fairy tales — it's true, real people, real places, real events, backed by real evidence, just like the fossils and artifacts real archaeologists dig up. Help the children leave not just being told what to believe, but genuinely equipped to know why they believe it.