Christian Ethics for YOUth: A Study of Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs

by Wilmer Bechtels

Bechtel Books

This book is written directly to teens. The author has designed the book so that teens can do about one lesson per day. (They might choose to take longer, especially if they do the companion workbook exercises.) Each lesson hits a topic addressed in Proverbs by interweaving the point of the lesson with a story illustration.

It might seem too “preachy” to some teens, but this will depend very much on their spiritual status and background.

The few lessons that I had time to read were very effective; the stories evoke an emotional reaction (effective for conveying a message), and the instruction is solidly based on Scripture.

At the back of the book is a section entitled “Topical Proverbs,” which, as you might guess, lists individual proverbs under topical headings.

The companion workbook has two pages per lesson with vocabulary work and questions (true-false, sentence-response, short essay) that often lead students to the Bible for answers. 

The content seems appropriate for mature junior high students as well as those in high school. Unit Tests with an answer key are optional, but they help create a complete course that should be good for one-half credit. Tests and answer key come with the complete set of all three items.