Fun exercise with mature believers

One challenge with mature believers is that all the texts are "familiar" to them. But Scripture must never become too comfortable. We must push ourselves, and those in our classes, to see things a-fresh. Try different translations occasionally -- that can be effective.

Here's an exercise you might consider.

When you're teaching on a familiar passage, don't let your students open the Bible at first. Ask them to take a sheet of paper and write down everything they remember about the story. (Or do this as a group conversation.) Don't react if anyone gets a fact wrong, just write it all down. Give them time to do a thorough job, at least 10 minutes.

Then turn to the passage and read it out loud. Ask the people what they missed.

By doing this, you're taking advantage of what we know about how our brains work. We are particularly good at spotting the things that are different, or unexpected.

Even the 'toughest' person in class is not going to get it all right, and everyone is much more likely to remember the passage more clearly in the future. Especially the parts they didn't get right the first time you asked!

Tip: make sure everyone (or almost everyone) is familiar with the story. This strategy only frustrates people who don't have a clue about the passage you selected.