This is the first volume of a six-volume set that contains a multi-year course of study with a uniquely Swedenborgian view of the Bible.

Originally written for Sunday school teachers, the course is divided into five age groups: primary (ages 6–8), junior (ages 9–11), intermediate (ages 12–14), senior (ages 15–17) and adult. The lessons from each Bible story are geared toward the life experience and level of understanding of that particular age group, and Dole gives practical advice in each lesson for helping children—and adults!—relate to the Bible. Each lesson contains an overview of the points to be discussed, notes for parents and teachers, text with discussion questions for each age group, related readings from Swedenborg, and questions that review and test students’ understanding.

Volume 1 begins with a series of lessons on the story of Creation, the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve, following the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, concluding with Joseph and his sons.