Standard Lesson Frequently Asked Questions

A: Standard Lesson Quarterly Bible Teacher offers the full content of Standard Lesson Commentary in a convenient, quarterly format. The guides follow the same Bible study plan (scope and sequence) each year.

A: It’s true: today you can find any number of resources, in print or online. But you won’t find another annual commentary that is as focused on the text of Scripture as Standard Lesson. With contributions from brilliant teachers and leading scholars of New and Old Testament studies, Standard Lesson has the research needs of a church leader or pastor in mind: exegetical aids, outlines, illustrations, discussions of context, maps, and charts. How much is your time really worth? We all have access to more information than ever before, but Standard Lesson Commentary puts the right content together in the shape that you need to really dig into the text and to apply it.

A: This series of articles provides best practices for using Standard Lesson:

• Exploring the Lesson Sections
• 10 Tips for Lesson Preparation
• Why We Include Lesson Aims
• Leading Group Discussions

A: The Standard Lesson Edition Chart is a helpful tool that highlights features of the Deluxe Editions and compares them to the Regular Print and Large Print Editions.

A: Each Standard Lesson Commentary Deluxe Edition includes a unique code that can unlock a Logos Basic Library. The code and detailed instructions are printed on the inside front cover of the book. After logging into Logos on your device, you will be able to add the Standard Lesson Commentary. Read or print the instructions here.

Update with new PDF provided

A: Instead of offering Regular Print and Large Print editions of NIV SLQ Bible Teacher, we offer one edition with easy-to-read type that has the same font size as our Large Print editions.

A: While we believe it’s important for every Christian to read and study every verse of the Bible, doing so together in Sunday school isn’t always practical. The Bible contains over 31,000 verses. If you covered 20-25 verses each week, it would take between 24 and 30 years to study the whole Bible. And if you took each book in order from Genesis to Revelation, you’d spend ¾ of your time in the Old Testament. Imagine a new Christian in your class coming for years without ever studying the life of Christ! Standard Lesson Commentary and Standard Lesson Quarterly present an overview of the Bible in just 6 years. Alternating between the Old and New Testaments, you typically study the New Testament more often than the Old. And nearly every year will include a study from one or more of the Gospels. The Standard Lesson Commentary and Quarterly will inspire your students to dig deep in the Bible at home!

A: The Microsoft Excel and PDF documents below give an index of lessons in the cycle from fall 2022–2026. They are sorted by canonical order and by date of lesson publication.

• Excel Format: Cycle 2025 Index
• PDF Format: Cycle 2025 Index

A: Activity Pages are available in three ways. They are conveniently printed in the back of the Standard Lesson Commentary Deluxe Editions, in a large print format. They are included as digital downloads when you purchase Adult Resources. And the same Activity Pages are also available in color on StandardLesson.com.

A. Visit In the World to access online bonus leader content that aligns with each week’s lesson: with each week’s lesson:

• Additional teaching point that connects with the news and current events
• Links to contemporary and traditional Spotify® playlists, with song selections that follow lesson themes
• Links to relevant commentary, video or audio content, and sermons to support lesson preparation

A: Yes! The KJV and NIV editions of Standard Lesson Commentary are available as eBooks on Amazon and iTunes. These typically become available in June prior to the start of a new annual study each September.

A: If you are using the Standard Lesson Commentary or Quarterly (or any Uniform Series curriculum), Devotions is tailored to help you get the most out of each Sunday’s lesson. The daily reading in Devotions each Sunday matches the printed text of the Sunday school lesson. The other readings, from Monday through Saturday, are designed to support the Sunday reading with a parallel passage, background information, or other biblical material that will help you understand the lesson text. The addition of the song suggestion, meditation, and prayer thought each day will help prepare your heart as well as your head as you approach each Sunday’s lesson.

A: Standard Lesson Resources are print and digital products that help you get the most out of your teaching time, whether you use the Standard Lesson Commentary or the teacher and student quarterlies (Standard Lesson Quarterly). Standard Lesson Resources include the Adult Resources pack (full-color posters plus a Presentation Tools download featuring reproducible student, PowerPoint® and Google Slides™ presentations, and more), the Power for Living® take-home paper, and the quarterly Devotions book to enhance the daily Bible readings. Check out the full line of Standard Lesson Resources here.

A: We produce only one edition of Adult Resources, and users of both KJV and NIV curriculum use it. Most of the time we make the caption something that works equally well for both versions. Perhaps we’ll find a phrase that reads the same in both versions and use that for the caption. Or we may use a paraphrase or summary of the text. But sometimes we feel we really need to quote the Scripture. When that happens, we more often use the KJV since more KJV users buy this product. But we still use the NIV occasionally since users of both versions are using these visuals.

A: The publishers of the New International Version have the legal right to license its use and limit its use. Biblica has determined that publishers who use the NIV translation in their materials must use the 2011 edition, so we are obligated to use that edition. Standard Lesson has been using the 2011 edition of the NIV since the fall quarter of 2012. Quoting NIV 2011 has not changed how we comment on Scriptures. We have not changed our editorial policies to “match” the NIV or any other source. When we discern the gender-neutral language misrepresents the text, we say so. Thus, while we’ll be using the newest NIV, you can continue to trust Standard Lesson to be true to the Bible and provide a faithful exposition of Scripture.

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