Teachers Study: "The responsibility of the Teacher"
Quoting from "Aurelius Augustine of Hippo:""The teacher of Holy Scripture must teach what is right and refute what is wrong. In doing this, he must conciliate the hostile, rouse the careless, and tell the ignorant about current events and trends for the future" ... so that his hearers become "friendly, attentive, and ready to learn."
"... the highest priority should be placed on clarity. What advantage is there in speech that does not lead to understanding? Therefore, good teachers avoid all words that do not teach; instead, they must find words that are both pure and intelligible."
"There is an analogy between learning and eating: the very food without which it is impossible to live must be flavored to meet the tastes of the majority."
"To teach is a necessity, to delight is a beauty, to persuade is a triumph."
Lesson Outline:
Remember to begin in prayer!
· Prayer 5 min
· Pick one of the options 5-10 min
· Read lesson and bible passages 10-15min (you can do this and discussions together)
· Discussion groups 15-30 min
· Going deep 5-10 min
· End in prayer and repeat application. 5 min
Total lesson time 45 min- 1 hr
"Options" Go over the "The Three Essentials of Discipleship" that will endure, "faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love." 1 Cor. 13:13 (NLT)1. Read I Cor. 13:12 and Col. 1:3-8
2. Then ASK:
Faith is our?
Hope is our?
Love is our?
"Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10:36NLT)
"Options"
Read I Cor. 13:12 and Col. 1:3-8 and Heb. 12:1-2a Committing to a Plan of Growth:Ask what do we need to do with Faith, Hope, and Love?
1. What do we need to "FIND" ____________________________
"We all have some people around whose lives tell us what faith means, so seek them out!"
2. What do we need to "REMOVE" ____________________________
"We must remove from our lives anything that would get in the way of our Lord, including the sin that holds us back..."
3. What do we need to "FOCUS" ____________________________
"We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, as a racehorse has blinders on from keeping it from being distracted, so must we."
Bible, Prayer and Accountability
4. What do we need to "DON'T" ____________________________
"So let us run the race with our focus on the Lord and blinders to everything else and never give up."
(The two options can be combined as the main lesson and do the rest the following week as a break.)
Lesson: "Step IV" QUESTIONS: ASK AND LEARN!!!
Asking questions are the tools to take God's Word and examine it. After this, we learn and grow. Just as a child will learn, so must we for we are God's children. This is the step that goes along side of IIIB and turbo charges it. It causes us to think deeper and gather the additional information we need to be challenged and then to grow.
§ When we are challenged to grow, we become better disciples for His kingdom!
Like looking at a great work of art most people who pass it by and make a sly comment, while another person will see the greatness and rave about it. The difference is some people know what to look for. Do you? The same is with the Bible. You will not find much unless you know how to look.
Remember: Effort is essential. You need to put in "Bible Elbow Grease" and the rewards are plentiful. Knowledge is power… God's power for you!
To play baseball, you need a bat. Asking questions is our bat to know God's Word.
"Discussion:"
(Take your passage, (chose a short book like II or III John or Jude or…) and go through it together or in small groups with the questions in this step. Remember whole book first, then chapters then verses.)
THE SIX BIG Q'S WE MUST ALWAYS ASK!
WHO: Who are the people? Who did it? Who can do it? Who is it talking about?
WHAT: What is it saying? What is it talking about? What is happening? What did they do?
WHERE: Where are they going? Where did it happen? Where will it take place?
WHEN: When did it happen? When will it happen? When can it happen?
HOW: How did it happen? How can it happen? How was something done?
WHY: Why did he say that? Why did he do that? Why did they go there?
ASK WHICH ONE OR MORE OF THESE APPLIES.
Note, not all the questions and "STEPS" will apply to every verse, use discernment and common sense, that is good judgment!
MORE TOOLS: GOD'S WORD IS A PLUMBERS PLUNGER TO THE WORLD'S LEAKING TOILET!
ASK THESE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
· Are there any commands?
· Are there any contrasts?
· Are there things repeated?
· Is there cause and effect?
· Is there a problem and solution?
· Are there any promises?
· Are there any connections to other parts of the Bible?
· Notice the setting!
You may need to check a Commentary or Bible Encyclopedia on this for some books.
· Compare your verse with other similar verses.
Use your imagination! Let the Bible come alive in you!!!
Check out Appendix C for a list of resources and how to use them.
"Application:"
Ask, can you think of different questions?
· What did you learn?
· How are you going to "make it work" in your life?
"Going Deep:"
A. Spend the remaining time in small group prayer for individual needs and how they can apply what they are learning.
B. Or Meditate (have students read slowly several times quietly with a sense of being surrendered to Christ, and not full of the noise of your thoughts and plans) on Hebrews 12:1-2a: