Vocabulary for Lesson 1

Instructions [ Hide ]

Learning is work. There are multiple ways to study. Different study strategies will work differently for each student. Serious students should try all of them several (6-7) times to see how they work when done well. For the best learning, every student will likely need to use more than one strategy and switch between them. Here are some tips relating to studying vocabulary. You can adapt them for memorizing texts.

  1. Use multiple senses: read, speak, and hear the material aloud. Then, write your version with a pencil into your notebook and notice how that feels. Then, read your own definition aloud as you study. (combine with the next two strategies)
  2. Use your brain: condense the definitions into a form that makes sense to you. Identify key words for every definition. Think of synonyms that you would use. (combine with the other strategies)
  3. Use your body: say your definition and act it out with an expressiveness that fits the meaning.
  4. Use your friends and family: Ask someone to quiz you using spaced repetition for a set amount of time, from your notes. (Example: for 10 minutes, all questions get repeated, but the quicker and more accurate your answer, the longer the interval until that question comes back. Questions you get wrong are repeated sooner.)
  5. Use basic technology: Show all definitions and hide all the terms on this page. Try to remember each term before you show it (by clicking the definition) to check your answer. Then, show all terms and hide the definitions on the page. Only show a definition (by clicking the term) after you have made your best effort to remember your own version of it.
  6. Use tools: Make a stack of index cards with terms on one side and your definitions on the other. When reviewing, don't check the opposite side until you've made your best effort to remember. Sort them into three stacks: Easy, Hard, and Failed. Then re-sort the Failed cards and work through the Hard cards until they are all Easy.
  7. Use advanced technology: On the web (Example: SuperNotes with free signup or with subscription.) or on an app (Example: Anki), create a stack of virtual cards and let the software quiz you. It will use spaced repetition automatically.
  8. Use brute force memorization: Copy a term and definition from this page. Then navigate to Catechesis Contents > Memorization Tool and paste it into the box, then follow the instructions on that page. (Caution: this works quickly for memorizing texts, but must be repeated a few times after a break for long-term recall. It is less effective than the other strategies for understanding what you memorize.)
Jew
The most common name for a person wh was of the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who was circumcised, and who accepted Moses, the Prophets, and the worship of the Temple in Jerusalem. All Hebrews are sometimes called by this term, although the following distinctions were sometimes made: "Hebrew" denoted a person who descended from Abraham, "Israel" denotes a person who descended from Jacob, and this term applied to a person from Judah.
Gentile
Anyone who was uncircumcised and not a Hebrew of the bloodline of Abraham.
children of Abraham
  1. Only the Hebrews of the bloodline of Abraham who worshiped according to the Old Testament Scriptures.
  2. Only all true believers in Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, who believe in salvation, not by the works of the Law, but by grace alone through faith in the promise made to Abraham.
Joppa
A port city of Judea on the Mediterranean Sea northwest of Jerusalem. It is the city of Tabitha and Simon the tanner. In this city, Peter received a vision of a four-cornered sheet filled with unclean animals coming down from heaven as a sign that the Gospel was for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
Simon the tanner
The disciple of Jesus in the city of Joppa at whose home Peter lodged when he received the vision which opened up the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Caesarea
A port city of Samaria on the Meditteranean Sea north of Joppa and south of Mount Carmel. This city was first evangelized by Philip (of the seven), was the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius (the first Gentile convert), and became a prominent city in the missionary travels of Paul. Paul spent over two years in this city when he was under arrest by the Roman governors Felix and Festus, before his appeal to Caesar and journey to Rome.
centurion
The title of an officer in the Roman army who was in command of one hundred men.
Cornelius
The Roman centurion from the city of Caesarea who became the first Gentile convert to Christianity through the ministry of the apostle Peter.