"I was excited that the pre-teen asked this tough question. It led to a great time of discussion and engagement." - C.Leaders
Yes, but... "this word does not necessitate skillful communication, much less require an elder to speak from the front of a room." - Kenneth Berding
"...one of the greatest weaknesses of the West is our commitment to autonomy....We think we should be able to read the Bible and come up with its proper interpretation all by ourselves....God told us that one of His chief gifts to the church is teachers (Eph 4:11)." - DBTS Blog
Reprinted with permission from As I See It, which is available free by writing to the editor at dkutilek@juno.com.
I recently completed a series of Sunday Bible lessons on Acts of the Apostles. It was begun in October 2019, and the concluding lesson was taught in mid-June 2022. Even accounting for the hiatus in class from mid-March to early October in 2020 due to government-imposed public meeting restrictions, this proved to be the longest single series I have ever taught (Acts being the second longest book in the New Testament—Luke beating it by a slight margin—was no doubt a major contributing factor!). I did previously teach through Acts almost two decades ago, but at much less length and detail. A total of 80 lesson outlines with notes—each usually two to three pages long—were prepared and distributed, all of my own original creation.
Perhaps some small account of resources that I found useful in preparing and teaching this series will be of interest. First, the English text used was the English Standard Version, a formal equivalence translation in (mostly) modern English. I also carefully worked through the Greek text from start to finish (Luke’s vocabulary is simply immense, with lots of rare words). I also read through the Latin Vulgate translation, as well as the revised Cornilescu Romanian translation and the Reina-Valera 1960 Spanish version.
"If we aren’t spending significant portions of our personal devotional time with the Lord in the Old Testament––including books other than Psalms and Proverbs––it’s going to be hard for us to engender passion for its truth in the hearts of those we lead." - Lifeway
"Here are three reasons why teachers of the Bible shouldn’t be boring—and four strategies to avoid boring teaching. Reason #1: God Is Interesting" - 9 Marks
From Faith Pulpit, Spring 2018. Used with permission.
A troubling trend is developing in churches today. This trend is not something we see in the “other” kinds of churches (i.e., the mainline, liberal churches) but in what we usually call “our” kind of churches—solid, Bible-preaching churches. The trend is a diminishing emphasis on Bible teachers and Bible teaching. This trend shows up in children’s and youth ministries, but nowhere is it more prevalent than in adult ministries, especially adult Sunday School classes.1 In this article we examine the New Testament emphasis on teachers and teaching and then suggest some action steps churches can take to reestablish their adult Sunday School classes.
The focus on Bible teaching in the gospels is on Christ’s teaching ministry. We see His emphasis on teaching in three areas: He was called a teacher, He had an extensive teaching ministry, and He included teaching in His last command to us.
Read Part 1.
Why did God choose to use preaching and teaching in the life of the church? Having given us the Scriptures, why did He not simply command us to read them together? After all, the only words uttered in a church gathering that are guaranteed to be perfect every time are those read straight from Holy Writ.
The answer has multiple parts. For one, preaching and teaching ministry is—like all other ministries in the church—an opportunity to be part of what God is doing among His people. For another, the ministry of the Word communicates what is written through the vehicle of a person and a life. He is speaking in the context of that life and also in the context of his relationship to his hearers.
But one huge reason we preach and teach rather than simply read Scripture is application. God’s people are edified by the connections we teachers help them make between what is written and the choices they face in life every day.
