FRIDAY, MAY 18: With the continual decline in our generation, it is necessary that we have effective teachers in the church and so I would like to encourage all of us to teach with God’s Style.
We are going to look at seven ways that God has taught us through His Word that we can emulate to remove boredom from our Sunday Schools, Bible Studies and youth groups.
When Walk Thru the Bible International Ministries conducted a study as to why teenagers left Sunday School, they were shocked at their findings.
The number one reason was not false teaching, non-committal teachers, or even a lack of love… it was that they were bored to death.
So as we look each week at changing our style to reflect God’s style, maybe we can actually put these principles into practice to notice a difference not only in our teaching, but also in the lives of our students.
Let’s talk about the first way that God teaches.
What is His timeless style of instruction?
First of all, God’s style is memorable. God made it his purpose to teach us in such a memorable way, in other words, he taught us in ways that we could easily remember.
Most teacher training programmes devote little time to showing teachers how to help students to remember.
But in the Bible, we see that God devotes a significant amount of effort to boldly bring home the truth to His hearers.
God always wants to burn the truth of His Word into our memories. For example in the Old Testament when the nation of Israel crosses the Jordan River, he asked for 12 stones to be piled up that were taken from the river.
What was the point?
It was to serve as a teaching illustration for the younger generation so that they can learn what God has done in the past, so that they will trust God to move in their lives in the present, to make an impact for God in their future.
God is a trans-generational teacher. He is not only concerned about reaching the present generation, but the upcoming youth that so desperately need Him.
Another example of this is in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 talks about this,
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Now keep in mind this practice is over 2,000 years old. The purpose of what is known as the Lord’s Supper or the communion service is for people to remember what Jesus has done for them.
He was the one that died, was buried and rose again for our sins, that if we trust in Him as personal Saviour we have eternal life.
This was to be a constant reminder to us that we are saved not because we are good people, or because we deserve it, or because we earned it, but we are saved by His grace.
In other words, this act was to cause people to understand that they could never boast that they were “good people” so that’s why God saved them.
Not one of us deserves salvation. Sometimes Christians get saved and forget what things they did before accepting God.
Some get so arrogant that they look down on others who struggle and as a result lack submission to God and a humble spirit. However, this “object lesson” is to help people to remember the main point.
Here we have Jesus associating events surrounding his death and resurrection with concrete objects: bread and wine. Is it not true that we remember 60 per cent more of what we experience than what we just audibly hear? Sights, feeling, smell, repetition, taste…. they all contribute to our memory, don’t they?
These facts can also contribute to your student’s retention of your lesson content as well.
Pray right now and ask God to make your teaching more effective so you can witness for yourself what dynamic teaching can do to change lives.
What ways can you make God’s Word more memorable as you teach by involving the five senses of your students? Material made memorable, means material made liveable.
Pastor Gary Simons serves as the Senior Pastor at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship that meets each Sunday at 10am at Ruth Seaton James Auditorium, CedarBridge Academy, Devonshire. www.cornerstone.bm.