Fundamental Building Blocks for a Great Lesson

Sturdy, useful buildings need a good foundation. Sturdy, useful Bible study lessons are built on the foundation of the Word and prayer. But what do you build on this foundation? What fundamental elements go into a great lesson?

I’m going to lay out a completely non-secret plan that I use all the time. Almost every lesson I’ve given in over twenty years of teaching is crafted on this plan. It’s repeatable. It’s durable. It works.

Opener
Begin with a good “hook” to bring people into the lesson, get them hungry for the big meal ahead, and ready for some life-change application to come.

A small number of focus points
My grandfather used to say, "If you don't want people to learn anything, try to teach them everything." (I doubt he originated this idea.) I’m sure you’ve been in a situation, maybe a high school or college class, where the teacher just piled on the content and you came away with…nothing. Your brain just shut down when it was overwhelmed. Good teachers work with human psychological realities, not against them -- pick fewer focus points and drill them home.

How many is the right number? That depends on your class. Limit yourself with one to three, my dear teacher, hold yourself in! If there are more items, then pick three for emphasis and only highlight the others. You aren’t going to exhaust the depth of Scripture in any lesson, so there’s no cause to feel badly about not covering it all.

You want to engage the class to discover these focus points by asking good questions. Where possible, illustrate these focus points by stories, props, and metaphors.

Life Application
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The revealed Word of God will have an impact on us, and not return empty to the Speaker. (Isaiah 55:11) Identify at least one life application messages for your students. Great Bible teachers teach for changed lives, not just piling on head knowledge that does not also affect our hearts and actions.

Closer
Wrap up the package and make it easy to take home – or take to heart. This is often a quick summary with a final challenge to further growth in Christ. Sometimes an open-ended question or thought for reflection through the week.


That’s it. Opener, small number of focus points, life application, and closer.

When it’s done right, my students didn’t identify the different building blocks – they just flowed and worked together. But every student should have one or two take-aways that Christ can use to change their life. They don’t leave saying, “Wow, wasn’t Glenn’s opener great today? Best hook he’s had for months.” They leave thinking about the application, or at least some new understanding of biblical truth.