Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

M E N T O R N O T E S / 8 3

a puzzle, once the overall picture (theme) is understood, it is much easier to put all the pieces together.

~ Norman L. Geisler. A Popular Survey of the Old Testament . Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003. p. 19-20.

Geisler nicely summarizes what will be the underlying theme of this lesson. We are hoping that your students will not be intimidated by the OT, but will see that with a Christocentric focus, they can master the theme of the OT. Understanding its structure in a Christ-centered and Christ-oriented way, they can gain a handle of its most fundamental message, and come to comprehend its inner structure in a way that usual methods of OT study cannot. Throughout this lesson, then, you will want to encourage your students in their ability to gain a hold of the essential structure and data making up the very voluminous and remarkably diverse literature we call the Old Testament. This focus on a Christo-centric hermeneutic is the way that non-experts in the languages and culture of the OT can truly gain real intimate knowledge of the book’s internal logic and operating principle. Just saying this, however, will not be convincing unless your students have an opportunity to see just how thoroughgoing the principle is in the literature. This lesson has been designed to show just how intimate the relationship between the material of the OT is with the person and work of Jesus Christ. This focus on the unity of the Scriptures, and, because of it, our ability to gain a real handle of its overall meaning and usage, are the critical themes of the lesson. Emphasize them as often as you can, and use the examples of a Christo-centric hermeneutic which are offered here as evidence of them both. Notice at the beginning of each lesson that the teaching aims and objectives are prominently displayed. These aims represent the heart of the material and impulse behind all of the lecture and discussion of the lesson. We have sought to make them clear and direct. You ought to emphasize them throughout the lesson, during the discussions and interaction with the students. The more you can highlight the objectives throughout the class period, the better the chances are that they will understand and grasp the magnitude of these objectives.

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