Puzzled by a Bible Text?

Found a difficult passage? Has someone asked you to explain something that's hard to understand?

Kevin deYoung gives some excellent advice in this short article, "What To Do When the Bible Baffles." An excerpt:
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What to do when the Bible baffles?

To begin with, we recall the sovereignty of God. God wrote the Bible and he inspired the hard texts. He breathed out his revelation through Paul. And he willed it so that some things in Paul’s letters would be hard to understand. Hard texts are still God’s texts. They must be hard for a reason.

What to do next? We embrace our finitude. We admit we are not terribly smart, nor all that clever, and so we pray. As the Irish theologian McHammer said, “You’ve got to pray just to make it today.”

And as we pray we work. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23). So we pour over words and sentences. We read commentaries. We talk to other Christians. We interpret Scripture by Scripture. We ask God for breakthroughs. He wants to teach us. Remember, Paul wrote to slaves and the uneducated, those without wisdom, influence, or nobility (1 Cor. 1:26). They could learn and so can we.

Don’t give up on hard texts or hard doctrines. Don’t settle for platitudes or for bewailing “I’m not theologian.” We must not give up on understanding the Bible without a fight. As C.S. Lewis once remarked, “God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than any other slackers.” We are all tempted to shy away from life’s difficulties, be they hard people or hard texts. But consider the wisdom of Proverbs: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” (14:4). In other words, oxen make messes, but they also help with the harvest. If you never think through difficult Bible passages, your life may be simpler, but it won’t be stronger.

God gave us brains so we could be obedient with them. And he has spoken to us in the Bible so he might be more easily known, even when some things are hard to understand.

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Read the whole article. This is good information to help your students.

7 Thoughts on Reading the Bible

Bible teachers need to foster disciples who read and learn from the Word daily, without hand-holding. We teach children to feed themselves and expect it as being mature. We should do the same with those whom we're called to teach.

Here's some helpful information from J.C. Ryle that would be good to pass along to your students.

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7 Thoughts on Reading the Bible (from J.C. Ryle)

1) Read the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it.

2) Read the Scriptures with a simple, childlike faith and humility.

3) Read the Word with a spirit of obedience and self-application.

4) Read the Holy Scriptures everyday.

5) Read the whole Bible and read it an orderly way.

6) Read the Word of God fairly and honestly.

7) Read the Bible with Christ constantly in view.

Source

More Practice Means More Freedom

A Bible teacher in Brazil sent me this comment by email: "I don't like to practice giving my lesson. This gives me more freedom. I don't want to kill the Spirit."

A few comments for you to consider:

The Holy Spirit will direct us in our preparation as well as our presentation. Many teachers have found that wrestling with the lesson material over a period of days, practicing speaking out loud, trying out questions and thinking about how to lead the discussion, all create space for the Holy Spirit to direct us and shape the lesson. I believe it's too limiting to think that the Holy Spirit only acts in the delivery moment.

The more you practice, the less you need your notes, the fewer stumbles you'll have, and the less likely your teaching presentation will be a distraction to those listening to you. Investing in practice gives you confidence. That confidence is the ground of great freedom.

Do not value your freedom as a teacher above your students' needs. We work hard and pray hard to maximize the learning that our students will have.

The real question is not about my freedom, but about honoring our Lord. You decide: how much practicing or lack of practicing most honors the Lord?

Leadership Lessons From Miracle for Pastors and Church Leaders

The movie Miracle, about the 1980 US Men’s Hockey Team that beat the Soviets, has a number of terrific lessons for pastors and church leaders. I recommend the film, and have included some YouTube clips below.

Not all-star teams, but a team that plays together

Herb Brooks had intensely studied the Soviet team who won the gold medal in the previous five Olympics. He knew that the general strategy -- assemble a team composed of the best individual amateurs from across the US – would never succeed. Brooks understand that only a team that worked together in a system of play, with the best conditioning, could beat the Soviets.

Consider the men Jesus selected for his disciples. It was nothing like an All-Star team that the religious leaders of the day would have selected! And think about the team God has arranged for you to work with – probably not an “All-Star” team, either. But when you’re taking back ground long-held by Satan, individual talent is insufficient. You need a team working in a system. And leaders often need to work out an "unconventional" strategy!

Coaches push people really hard -- but only when they want to get there

Herb Brooks was infamous for demanding the highest level of conditioning and skill from his players. He pushed and yelled and even jeered or mocked players to bring out their best. Why could he do that, without men volunteering to leave the team? Because the players had volunteered. They wanted to be there. They submitted themselves to intense training because they wanted to win.

The simple truth is that you can’t coach a person to a place he or she doesn’t want to be. But if they want to be there, you can push them and they’ll respond. Great coaches are usually tremendously demanding and unwilling to settle short. Leaders need to understand if they have someone’s engagement, and if they do, be unafraid to push them for better performance.

There are ways in which leaders cannot be your friend, and still get the job done

In the movie, right after the initial team has been selected, Herb Brooks tells them that they’ll be working harder than they’ve ever worked. He then tells them that if they need a friend, they should talk with the Assistant Coach.

The leadership lesson here is simple: You can’t be a person’s good buddy and then coach them beyond their comfort zone. I think you can be friends, but it’s a distant kind of friendship that is secondary to the role of leader and coach. The temptation to be someone’s friend often short-circuits a leader’s ability to develop an individual or a team. It’s significant to me that Jesus did not call his disciples friends until the very end of his time with them (John 15:15). If Jesus has done this sooner, He would not have been able to say to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” or rebuked the disciples as He did.

The second leadership lesson here is that you aren’t going to be able to be bosom-buddies with everyone equally on a team. Becoming too close a friend with some subordinates can create serious issues if you want a team to work together for a bold common purpose.

“The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back”

It takes a while for the team members to stop thinking of themselves in the old way – by the school they played for. Herb Brooks puts them through serious pain before they realize that playing as a team for the United States is their new identity.

If you’re working in a leadership team, the name on the front of your jersey (“Jesus”) is more important than your church history, your pedigree, your experiences and credentials. It’s more important than the specific ministry area you serve in.

Taking back territory long-held by an enemy requires sacrifice

Between periods one player has a bruised leg. (These guys are really tough, so I’m sure it must have been quite painful if he opted out.) Herb Brooks yells at the guy and gets him worked up enough to get back in the game.

Leaders push not only in training, but in the big game. Satan has long-held territory which he will not yield easily. Sacrifices must be made. Men and women who don’t push beyond their comfort zones aren’t going to intimidate a well-entrenched enemy.

Inspiring words + Genuine heart expressing them = authentic empowering

Herb Brooks’ speech before their match with the Soviets is masterful, perhaps the best recorded “sports” motivational speech I’ve ever seen. He inspires them. He’s genuine. His love for the game and for them comes through.

Here’s the leadership lesson: if I had said those same words to that team, it would have had no effect. If James Earl Jones had boomed those same words, or a member of the US Olympic Hockey oversight team, it would have been pretty ho-hum. They might have listened politely, but the words would not have empowered them. Leaders must use words, but only words expressed from a genuine heart carry weight and resonate in ways that change others.

Leaders celebrate victories

Toward the end of the film there is a moving scene where Herb Brooks retreats to a back hallway and celebrates the remarkable victory over the Soviets. And he also cheers loudly for the team when they receive their gold medals. Their celebration inspired millions!

Leaders celebrate accomplishments. There are times to work and push and push harder. And there are times to celebrate. Don’t shortchange your team by failing to acknowledge wins and taking time to celebrate.

What do you think of these lessons? Are there others you took from this movie?

Praying for Your Congregation

As Bible teachers we're in a position to model praying effectively, particularly for the people in our care. It's important to pray for individual needs as they are apparent. But it's also important to model prayer for the larger, corporate movement of God.

Here's a prayer from John Piper for his congregation, taken from his last sermon before a scheduled sabbatical:

"Send a remarkable awakening that results in…

• hundreds of people coming to Christ,
• old animosities being removed,
• marriages being reconciled and renewed,
• wayward children coming home,
• long-standing slavery to sin being conquered,
• spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy,
• weak faith being replaced by bold witness,
• disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession,
• boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word,
• disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s name among the nations, and
• lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory."
  

There's a model prayer for your congregation!

How I Use Twitter, Blogger, and Facebook to Encourage People and Know the Condition of My Flock

Social media can take a lot of time and be a huge distraction. Yet I recommend ministry leaders and teachers explore opportunities to use these tools for two purposes:

1. Amplify your voice for the Lord, and share encouraging information to build up disciples

2. Learn more about the condition of those whose souls are entrusted to your spiritual care

In this article I’ll lay out my own strategy, all with no-cost tools, that lets you do both without having to be “online” constantly.

Individual Twitter tweets are limited to 140 characters. Blogs can support any length text, links, and embedded images, audio, and video. You have a lot more control options for Facebook in terms of who sees the information, than you do with Twitter or blogs. All three have a significant place in online ministry.

There are two key principles to follow:

1. Use each tool to its strengths, and schedule your posts so you set up information when you have blocks of time available, and then drip out the content over time so it’s a constant stream of encouragement.

2. Interlink the tools so that the same content is used multiple ways and different audiences.

Let me work through the tools.

Blogging

I currently run two blogs, each with a different intended audience. Be Bold, Be Gentle is aimed at encouraging husbands and fathers. Teach to Change Lives is aimed at Bible teachers. I use Blogger (a free service) to host both. Were I starting over I would strongly consider using Wordpress on a domain I controlled.

Blogs let me share all kinds of information in multiple formats. Some blog posts are my own writing, and some are designed to point people to valuable content others have published. I tend to get ideas for blog posts in spurts, so I’ll write posts as I can, and then schedule them in advanced to be published. It takes a lot of stress off when you hit a dry spell for ideas, but know you have 1 to 2 weeks of material scheduled for publishing. My goal is to publish a blog post every other day on each blog. Some people are much more ambitious than this, and some publish less frequently. I can’t really create a good level of content at any higher frequency, and it seems to work for me.

I have years of blog posts that are all available to search engines. I can’t really control who sees this information. So I write with a mindset of providing generally helpful information to a broad audience of a lot of different folks.

Twitter

I use Twitter to publish short, encouraging bits to a broad audience. I do have some controls of who sees Twitter information, but not very much. I assume anything I write on Twitter could go anywhere and be seen by anyone.

My objective for every tweet is that it will encourage people. Therefore I try to have a mix of quotes, Bible verses, prayer reminders, and a very few personal comments. I avoid the temptation to tweet about politics or world events – plenty of others do this. I do not tweet about my exact location or my travels or anything that would affect the privacy of my family. (See my blog post about why I don’t talk about my family on blogs or Twitter. ) I also set up my blog posts so they’re picked up by Twitter, so that’s additional content. (See http://www.digitaldrake.com/how-to-connect-your-blog-to-twitter-facebook/ for help with this.)

I use TweetDeck a few times a week to monitor tweets from people that I’m following. I’ll retweet things which will be helpful to my audiences.

I like to have at least four tweets a day: before 5am, mid-morning, noonish, and afternoon or early evening. But I don’t want to have to be online at those times every day. So I use a free service call SocialOomph which lets set up tweets in advance and specify the day and time they will be published. A few times a week I spend about 15-20 minutes and will crank out 2 or 3 days worth of tweets and schedule them. This approach lets me create the content on my schedule, but drip it out steadily to my audience(s).

Facebook

Facebook gives me the most control over who sees what information. My personal guideline is to only friend people I know in person, or have some unusually close online presence with. I’m not trying to get to 5000 friends or anything like that. I created a fan page for “Teach the Bible to Change Lives” which is broadly public, but otherwise I’m picky about my Facebook friends. Most are from our church.

The majority of my Facebook posts are actually redirects from Twitter and my blogs. I’ve simply set those up to automatically be posted on Facebook. I also comment on information others post, and occasionally message someone I know on Facebook.

Facebook is a place where many people are expressive about what’s going on in their lives. It’s a avenue for me to hear about family issues (positive and not so positive). As an elder in our church this is very helpful information, and gives me much to pray about. I notice that more women are active on Facebook than men. It’s probably partially because women are more expressive with words than most men, or represents a lack to time.

Putting It All Together

I’m writing up tweets and blog posts, and scheduling those to be published over time I set up Facebook to publish my blog posts and tweets, so that takes care of the Facebook content being updated over time. I’m checking for tweets from others occasionally, and Facebook once or twice daily. I need to update the Facebook fan page for Teach to Change Lives two or three times a week. (Someday I need to figure out how to automate this process!) That keeps my total time for social media in check, and the emphasis on creating helpful content rather than just being a consumer.

Key tools:

Blogger: http://www.blogger.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

SocialOomph: http://www.socialoomph.com

My sites:

Be Bold, Be Gentle

Teach to Change Lives

Glenn's Twitter page

Teach the Bible to Change Lives fan page

I encourage you to think about using these tools for ministry. There are already people in these channels, so use the voice God gave you to get His messages in front of them! But guard your heart and use your time wisely.

Making Eye Contact the Right Way

Great Bible teachers make eye contact. It's a necessary connection if you are going to see changed lives.

This isn't too difficult in smaller groups. (Usually teachers who struggle to make eye contact in smaller groups are struggling with a fear. See my special report on overcoming fear at http://www.teachtochangelives.com/fear.pdf for the help you need.)

In larger groups you need a *strategy* to make eye contact effectively.

You don't want to just pick three people. You don't want to go from person-to-person-to-person in a sequential pattern. You don't want to spend all your time on one side of the room and ignore the other areas.

Try out this strategy, which works well in groups up to about 120: Pick three or four people in different areas as your anchors. (Be sure to pick people who are making frequent eye contact with you.) Rotate your eye contact to these people every 45 seconds. But as you rotate to the next person, shift to somone who is sitting near them. What happens is you gradually are making eye contact with more and more people who are around your anchor persons.

This strategy takes a little practice, but the payoff is huge. After you do this a few times, it will seem natural to you and to your students.

(By the way, you really can't do this eye contact strategy if you're reading from a prepared script. You need to be very familiar with the text and you main ideas that you want to get across. That kind of preparation is at the heart of great Bible teaching!)

Don't Underestimate the Power of Words

I spoke recently with a teacher who was pretty discouraged about the lack of apparent spiritual growth in the adults she was teaching. "Maybe I should pray and ask God to show them a miracle, and then they will believe!" she said with some exasperation.

I encouraged her to look at the story of Jesus interacting with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Notice how this event ends in belief for a whole community:

" Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.

They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

Did you catch the point? WORDS convinced them to believe. No statement about miracles there. Just the power of Jesus' words are enough.

(Interestingly, Jesus returns to Galilee after this -- and here a miracle is required. See John 4:46-53)

So do not doubt the power of God's words to transforms lives. Just keep on teaching to change lives.

How to Interpret Flak

"But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." (1 Cor 16:8-9)

Everyone serving the Lord will run into all kinds of opposition. There are people who seem to work against you. There are circumstances that trouble you and impede progress. There are emotional and physical lows that threaten the joy and peace in your heart.

Let's call this flak. That's what airmen in WWII called the anti-aircraft artillery lobbed at them. Occasionally there were direct hits, but the real danger was an exploding shell above your plane, which could blow off your wings. (Wings can take terrific stress from below, but not from above.)

The American bombers used fairly sophisticated navigation and sighting equipment to find their targets. I heard an interview with a vet who talked about how they managed in poor weather, or if fog or low-lying clouds obscured their view of the ground targets. "Oh, that was easy," he said. "When the flak started, you knew you were over the target."

Notice how Paul describes the opportunity he found for the Gospel at Ephesus: and open door, AND "there are many who oppose me." You could say that Paul knew this was effective ministry because he was getting flak!

So if you're feeling opposition and discouragement, persevere because that kind of flak is best interpreted as being over the ministry target.

Remember, too, that ministry is always a team effort. Even if you feel you're alone, it's actually God and you at work.

I Don't Rap, But This Is Pretty Cool!

There's power in all kinds of presentation styles! Check this out:



What could you do differently to grab their attention and get God's message across?

Forgetting is Our Default State

There's an old joke that men aren't stupid, they just have poor retention.

(It's a good joke because there's some truth in it!)

The word "remember" appears 167 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Most of the time it is a command, or an admonition to not forget.

We're commanded to do what we don't do naturally. We understand from Scripture that we frequently forget important things. Forgetting is our default state! Therefore we need to work hard at remembering, and helping our families remember the important things about God, ourselves, and the Gospel.

Teach Progressively

One of my biggest problems in teaching (and I don't think I'm alone in this) is trying to cover too much material in a lesson. I'm excited! There's enormous depth in God's Word, and I want people to get this! There are moments of silence in the group and I'm eager to fill it with more information! I want everyone to be impressed with how much I know!

I've said it before, and I'll say it here: Teach less material, and teach it well.

Study how Jesus teaches. He gives people information in progressive stages, and does not try to pack in everything that could be known at any one subject in one session. For example, how much more could Jesus have said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:16-17? "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." Jesus could have spent hours on the Holy Spirit, but He didn't. He gave His disciples what they needed to know for the moment.

Later Jesus tells His disciples: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:12-13) Note that key phrase "more than you can now bear." It's one of the challenges that we teachers face, to discern how much a person or a group can bear at this time.

The Bible story is filled with progressive revelation. God doesn't tell Noah everything, or Abraham, or David. He gives them commands and expects obedience. God reveals only what is necessary for each stage of His people's experience of Him. And He builds on the foundations of what came before.

When you're making decisions about how much to cover in a lesson, err on the side of teaching less information, and teaching it well. Finish with time to spare, rather than diving into something they cannot absorb.

Learning vs. Criticism

Piecing Together the Gospel Story in Prison

I recommend this clip from the movie Amistad for several reasons. First, it's encouraging the moving. Second, as a teacher, don't underestimate the power of the Gospel message to cross language barriers, or the impact of pictures.

The Reality of the Resurrection

Post-Easter is always a good time to talk about the Resurrection of our Lord -- many seekers and skeptics are open to this kind of conversation. Help your students be prepared with this excellent article by Matt Perman -- you'll strengthen their faith, too.

Memorization Tool

Easy to use online tool to help you memorize text or lists: MemorizeNow.com Very slick, very useful. You can get answers to your questions about how to use it at the FAQ page.

HT: Between Two Worlds

That's My King

Terrific presentation!

Preparing for Public Prayer

This article by Kevin DeYoung has thirteen excellent suggestions on preparing for formal public prayer. Recommended, whether you routinely lead a long congregational prayer or a much shorter prayer for your class or small group.

Book Recommendation: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

I don’t often recommend John Maxwell books. It’s hard to know what he wrote and what someone on his staff wrote, and he has so many stories and illustrations and quotes from others (which he attributes appropriately) that some books don’t have a lot of original content. I also think he’s a better speaker than writer.

I do recommend the last half of this book for the ideas and practices on connecting with people. This is a significant issue for Bible teachers. Skim the 1st half to get the basic principles, which won’t be a surprise to you. There are still lots of stories and anecdotes and quotes from others, but I didn’t find this to be distracting here. For teachers, I particularly recommend pp. 199-228, the chapter titled “Connectors Inspire People.” His basic formula is

What they know + What they see + What they feel = Inspiration

Inspiration leads to actionable changes as individuals and groups. You want to teach the Bible to change lives, right? Get this book, study it, and start incorporating some of the ideas and suggestions here.

Note: this is not an affiliate link, and I will not earn any money from this recommendation.

Getting New Insights from God's Word

Axiom: You and I will never reach the bottom of the depth of God's Word.

The Bible is amazing, astounding, with depth and breadth that will occupy our best thinking and most careful analysis and deepest meditation for our entire lives.

Unfortunately, you and me and many of the people we're teaching slip into the attitude of "Yup, studied that, heard that, nothing new here." We're always vulnerable to this arrogance. We're far too willing to be satisfied with whatever past understanding we've had. We're far too willing to treat the Bible as a dead book, rather than a means of continually interacting with the Lord.

Here are some suggested strategies for getting more from God's Word, so you can teach people by bringing them fresh bread every time:

1. Pray: "Lord, teach me anew." Ask God to give you a receptive mind and heart. This needs to happen above all else. And pray for the insights that God wants to you to share and to teach, as well as for your own understanding.

2. Look for patterns and connections. Check out repeated words. Consider the meaning (and what might have been written but was not) for adjectives and adverbs.

3. Use tools like concordances, topical indexes, and Thompson's Chain Reference Bible (my favorite!) to find related passages and ideas.

4. Read aloud. It's amazing what you will notice when you read aloud that you missed when reading silently.

5. Read in reverse order. Take familiar stories and work them backwards. You'll likely spot things you didn't notice before.

6. Read multiple translations of the Bible. Different word choices of the translators can give you new insights and ideas to follow-up on.

So the general strategy is simple: Put yourself in a position to see things afresh. Get your brain in a different mode. God does the rest.

Battling Cultural ADD

The preponderous effect of television and social media is that we're cultivating a population of youth and adults who prefer to be distracted than to concentrate. They're trained to ineffective multitasking and quick switching if something does "hold" their attention for more than a few seconds -- just press the remote channel up button, or click the mouse to go on to the next thing.

It's cultural attention-deficit disorder. Successful advertisers and content creators see the trend, and position content to be successful in this environment, which breeds more distraction behavior.

This is our real-world challenge as teachers of God's Word. How do we capture and keep attention? How do we promote engagement with the Bible?

I've written many times about using questions, story, and dialogue for effective teaching. Today I want to emphasize something else for you.

The Word of God stands like a towering rock over all this. It will not be moved, it will not be shaken, and it remains strong. It is not like the sea or the clouds, which are ever changing. God's Word will not be broken.

I encourage you to use the characteristic strength of the Bible as the attention-grabber and attention-holder. I see signs that God is at work opening people's eyes and hearts to the FACT that they are spending themselves on that which cannot satisfy. God is drawing people back to strength and solidity and confidence.

Reading the Word Expressively

Don't you dare bore people with the Word of God! It's the very word of our Lord, it's powerful, it's living and active -- don't kill its power by your poor presentation! Your teaching will be so much easier and effective if you present the Word of God as engaging, interesting, personal, dynamic, powerful!

The simple truth is that not nearly enough teachers and pastors have received any coaching on how to read expressively, or practice it regularly. You don't have to be in this group! Just a few minutes of practice can make an enormous difference!

Try this exercise to feel the contrast effect:

First, pitch your shoulders forward, round your back, tuck your chin down toward your chest, and read a short passage in a quiet monotone

Next, straighten your shoulders, sit up tall, take a deep breath, and read the same passage loudly, emphasizing some of the words but not all.

Feel the difference? So will everyone listening to you.

Here are some eight tips for reading expressively:

1. Prayerfully imagine how Jesus would read this passage to the same group you are teaching.

2. Practice reading your text aloud several times. Get comfortable with it.

3. Decide in advance how you will pronounce names

4. Try emphasizing different words and see how the meaning shifts in your mind. (Side benefit: you'll get new insights that you can use in teaching!)

5. Posture makes a HUGE difference. Stand or sit tall. Take deep breaths. Open your mouth wide. If you teach while sitting down, practice reading expressively while sitting down. If you teach standing up, practice reading expressively while standing up.

6. Read about 10-20% louder and with 10-20% more emphasis than you would in normal conversation with one other person. The bigger your audience, the bigger your voice should be.

7. Enunciate clearly. This is easier with practice.

8. Ask a few people to give you feedback on your reading.

Practice reading more expressively and your teaching effectiveness will improve. You'll be glad to did -- but not nearly as glad as those who are listening to you!

Note: this six minute video has an audio recording where I explain all this with some actual examples.

Resources for Teachers!

This will be a reminder to some of you, and perhaps news to others. I've published many free resources for Bible teachers, in addition to what's on this blog:

Reports and articles

Core materials for developing and mentoring new teachers

Twitter Feed

Facebook Fan page

You can also sign up for weekly teaching tips by email.

What Happens to Infants Who Die?

John Piper answers the challenging question "What happens to infants who die?" You may or may not agree with his answer, but take note, dear teacher, of how he makes an argument from Scripture -- gently, firmly, carefully.

The Skit Guys Explain the Bible

I'm sure you aren't this bad at explaining the Bible!

Kingdom and Church

You might have some questions about the kingdom of God and how the Church fits into it. (Or perhaps your students will, and you'd like to be prepared :-). I recommend Kevin excellent short article, "The Kingdom and the Church Are Closer Than You Think."

Here is the ending:

"In other words, when we think of the kingdom as what we are trying to build in this world we will be severely disappointed, potentially dangerous. But when we see the church as the presence of the kingdom in this world then the theological pieces start falling into place. The oversight in some recent conceptions of building the kingdom is that the kingdom is only thought of in terms of social services. But where Christ reigns, wickedness is expelled too. If you want to build the kingdom in your town, if you want heaven to come down to earth in your city, then you must not allow unrepentant sinners to live there. For Scripture is clear that they share no part in the kingdom.

But once we understand that the local church is the witness to and manifestation ofthe kingdom the Bible makes more practical sense. In the kingdom, possessions are shared so that no one has to suffer want. That’s why the needs of the covenant community are met through the deacons. In the kingdom, unrepentant sinners are barred from entering. That’s why we have membership and church discipline. In the kingdom there is relational harmony and everyone is accepted by God and delights in God through his Son Jesus Christ. This is not only the goal of the church, but only in the church could we ever expect to see these realities.

So yes, we desire to bring the heavenly kingdom down to earth. But the kingdom that comes, the one we are looking for and living in, shows up in the church."

Giant Print Strategy

A friend with failing eyesight showed me his strategy for using "giant print" to help his teaching. With small print, he was spending a lot of time peering at the text and losing his place frequently. He has a Giant Print Bible, but it's so big and awkward that it's hard for him to hold while's standing and teaching.

So he prepares the Bible text he's teaching from by copying/pasting it from www.biblegateway.com into his word processing program. He changes the font size to be 24. Then he prints off pages of just the text he is teaching.

So it looks like this on his printout:

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5)

That way he can easily read it and doesn't lose his place as often. He still keeps his Bible handy, if the conversation leads to passages he didn't anticipate.

Great idea!

Two Free Audio Books

ChristianAudio.com has two free downloadable audio books this month:
Cost of Discipleship (Bonhoeffer)
50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die (Piper)

I recommend both. I try to read Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer's classic meditation built from the Sermon on the Mount, every other year. He grabs you from the first sentence: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

Teaching for Spiritual Maturity

I appreciated Mark Batterson's insight:

"I think my preaching paradigm is shifting. I've always believed that as a preacher I'm called to study the word and teach the word, but that is changing as our congregation reads through the Bible together. My job is NOT to just study and teach the Bible. My job is to teach our congregation to study the Bible. That is a subtle yet huge difference. The prior approach leads to spiritual codependency. The latter leads to spiritual maturity."

It's important that your teaching ministry make disciples, who themselves are focused on Jesus.

What Does a Leader Need to Hear Over and Over?

There's a great leadership lesson about strength and courage to be learned from the life of Joshua.

Joshua had demonstrated his potential from the time he was a young man. Joshua was one of the 12 sent to spy out the land of Canaan - and one of the two who proved confident in God's leading. Joshua had spent many years serving as Moses' aide. Let's not underestimate the leadership development power of association with godly men! Think of how it would affect a man to stand outside the tent of meeting where God met Moses face to face (Exodus 33:11).

As he neared death, Moses tells the people that Joshua will lead them, and that they must be strong and courageous:

1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut 31:1-8)

The Lord commissions Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land:

14 The LORD said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you." (Deut 31:14, 23)

This commissioning probably occurred through Moses laying hands on Joshua (see Deut 34:9)

Then after Moses dies, Joshua is again told to be strong and courageous (3 times!):

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:1-9)


Finally the people ask Joshua to be strong and courageous:

16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!" (Joshua 1:16-18)

Let's review: Who is told to be strong and courageous?
Moses tells the people of Israel (Deut 31:1-6)
Moses tells Joshua (Deut 31:7-8)
The Lord tells Joshua -- several times (Joshua 1:1-9)
The people tell Joshua (Joshua 1:16-18)

(And it doesn't end here: at the end of his life, Joshua commands the people to be very strong -- Joshua 23:6)

It's safe for us to infer that leaders should be strong and courageous! The fact that this is repeated so much here suggests:
o The great danger for leaders to guard against is slipping back to our default state: timidity and fear.
o Leaders need to be reminded of the important things.
o Leaders need to remind people of the important things (being strong, courageous, and obeying God's commands).
o Being reminded frequently is a sign of God's love and compassion on us.

Let's strive to be strong and courageous leaders for God's people within the spheres of influence God gives us. Our situation today is no different than this biblical history: we have a bright future, we're a called people, we need godly leadership, and we need to be strong and courageous.

Stop Sign Prayer Challenge

Here's my challenge for you: Every time you see a stop sign, pray for someone you know fighting cancer.

Develop habits of prayer like this with ordinary activities. Washing your hands, brushing your teeth, taking out the trash, starting the car, opening the mailbox -- associate all of these with prayer. These are helpful steps towards praying continually, little buoying moments to lift our thoughts towards God.

How Would You Teach 1 Billion Souls?

Why Has God Left Satan On The Earth?

One question that surfaces regularly for Bible teachers is why God allows Satan to continue working. There is so much evil, so much pain and suffering, and if God is loving and all-powerful, why hasn't He just destroyed Satan?

John Piper gives a succinct explanation that will help you address these questions. His response is packed with Scripture, tender in its approach, and will help you see the importance of the glory of God.

"Why then does God tolerate Satan? The key is that God aims to defeat Satan in a way that glorifies not only his power, but also the superior beauty and worth and desirability of his Son over Satan. God could simply exert raw power and snuff Satan out. That would glorify God's power. But it would not display so clearly the superior worth of Jesus over Satan. That will be displayed as Christ defeats Satan by his death and then by winning superior allegiance from the saints over the lies of Satan."

Read the whole page.


HT: Matt Perman

Some Thoughts About Teaching Verse-by-Verse

I was asked recently for my thoughts about teaching/preaching sequentially through verses and chapters. The idea is simply to start in a verse, read it, and teach as you go. Loop back occasionally to help people see key points.

Some people consider this the best way to teach. I say, "perhaps" -- depends on you, the needs and preparedness of your hearers, and what God wants them to learn. God's Word is always powerful.

A few thoughts about this verse-by-verse teaching method:

• You still need to know what you will emphasize.
• You still need to keep people's attention, keep them engaged.
• This kind of teaching works best for groups who have the big story, who know the fundamental themes and ideas. One of the problems with a completely steady diet of this kind of teaching is that people zone out. If they don't have the big picture, they aren't going to get it verse by verse.

The successful preachers who use this approach the most, still frame verse by verse teaching in a larger context, and include some life application.

If you're teaching in a smaller group, be sure to leave plenty of time for interaction. Remember, people will remember most what they said -- so get them talking. Use dialogue to reinforce key points.

What Makes a Great Teacher?

The Atlantic magazine published an interesting article, "What Makes a Great Teacher?" While their focus was on public school teaching, there are some good points in the article that serious Bible teachers should pay attention to.

The Teach for America group has studied thousands of teachers and identified characteristics of the best -- as measured by students actually learning:

• They tend to set big goals for their students.
• They perpetually look for ways to improve their effectiveness. They constantly re-evaluate what they are doing.
• They maintain focus on things which contribute to learning.
• They plan exhaustively and purposefully by working backwards from the desired outcome.
• They work relentlessly.
• They frequently check for understanding. (This is not done by asking "Any questions?")
  

Do you see the combination of mindset and practice here? Very powerful!

I read this article and thought "I am doing enough goal-setting for the people I teach? Or properly, I should say, am I paying attention to the big goals that God has for my students?"

What questions do you have when you look at that list?

Read the whole article here.

Telling the Story of Peter

Here is an outstanding 6 minute clip, telling the end of Peter's life. If you're teaching about Peter, or from 1/2 Peter, there's good information here. Even if you're not, watch this excellent example of how to tell a story, and weave in encouragement and application.

The Early Church from Granger Community on Vimeo.

HT: LeadingSmart

Mindmapping

I use mind maps quite a bit, just for me as I read and think and plan, but also to create presentations for others. Some people have seen my maps and would like to do this too, but need a little help getting started.

The main thing to remember: you can't produce a bad mind map. They are tools for you to use. Play with them, move things around, expand and collapse, draw connectors -- that's the point. Don't get hung up or self-conscious.


Suggested resources:

How to make a mind map

How to use mind maps to solve problems

(There are many YouTube videos on different kinds of mind maps, usually to promote a particular piece of software. Just search for "mind maps"and start exploring.

A short tutorial for using Freemind (which is one of the best free tools for mind mapping)

A series of tutorial for MindManager Pro from MindJet (this is my favorite tool; you can get a free 30 day trial version)

Address the Real Issues with Authentic, Biblical Lessons

There's an enormous temptation -- fueled in part by well-meaning advocates -- to keep your lessons light and non-threatening and fun (and of course relevant to people's felt needs). One teacher shared with me his Pastor's firm instruction: "They should feel good about themselves when they leave."

I believe your lessons should be engaging, and relevant, and meaningful. They need to be true to Scripture, authentic to the message of the Gospel. They need to address the real needs of people, whether they "feel good about themselves" or not. Your lessons must have genuine spiritual content if you're going to see lives changed by the power of God's Word being used by the Holy Spirit!

Even curious not-yet-believers in your church or small group or neighborhood Bible study are curious about what the Bible really says, not just a feel-good lessonette that they could get from Oprah on TV. (Side note: you say you don't have not-yet-believers in your class? Why not? Whom could you invite?) Down deep, you'll have better retention of people over time if you challenge them, not coddle them.

In the end, in truth, it doesn't matter what people want. There is sin. People need the Savior.

Teach the Bible to change lives!

Bible vs. Avatar

Get recharged! I pray that we all have this kind of passion for God's Word!

Unfolding the Napkin

This is a cross-post from my "Be Bold, Be Gentle" blog. I think this book is valuable for pastors and Bible teachers also, because we're in the communication business. -- Glenn


One of the most intriguing and useful books I've read in months is Dan Roam's Unfolding the Napkin. The subtitle gives you the value of this book: "The hands-on method for solving complex problems with simple pictures."

For years I've been an inveterate doodler. One friend at work jokes with me that "it hasn't been a meeting until Glenn gets up to the whiteboard. Maybe he likes to sniff the dry-erase markers."

The book is actually like a workshop. It's helpful to practice the drawing process along with the author.

The primary methodology is built on the FACT that our minds like pictures. Pictures communicate. Pictures are memorable. Pictures -- especially simply pictures -- engage our intellect and imagination.

I really liked Roam's process of breaking down problems into 6 elements (who/what, how much, when, where, how, why) and then using a SQVID process (it's an acronym) to figure out how to work through problems and present solutions to different types of stakeholders. Brilliant stuff! I think even a lot of the Ph.D.'s I know would appreciate this, and I'm confident that most teenagers would instantly get it.

Roam also gives at the end some very practical advice about tools. Nope, you don't need elaborate software, even for a computer intensive group that loves complicated software.

For me, this goes back into the reread in 2 months pile after I've practiced with pictures.

If you're a leader or teacher, you need this book. What I should say is, you need this capability to use pictures to communicate and solve problems.

Recommended Resource for Greek Word Study

I have a helpful product to help you learn the basics of Hebrew and Greek word study, but if you're ready to go beyond this, I recommend you subscribe to the free weekly lesson from Bill Mounce. He is the author of the bestselling New Testament Greek resources, Basics of Biblical Greek, and served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version translation of the Bible.

I appreciate both his depth and his helpful cautions.

Got a Kindle? (Or free Kindle reader on PC?) Great Free Books Available!

Whether you have a physical Kindle device or are using the free Kindle for PC application, there are some terrific Christian books available for free.

Archive.org has 1.8 million books in their library -- and they are now starting to provide books in the .mobi format, which works on the Kindle and some smart phones! You can pick up classics like Calvin's Institutes, John Bunyan's complete works, Thomas Goodwin's complete works, etc -- all free. An excellent starting point is Project Gutenberg.

Here's how to use the Kindle browser to get books:

• Open up the Internet browser on your Kindle, by going to the Home screen, pressing Menu, choosing Experimental and then choosing Basic Web.
• Enter this URL on your Kindle browser:.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top
• Either browse or search to find a book you like.
• Click on "Mobipocket/Kindle to download it to your device.
• After you accept the download, the book should appear in your Home screen.

Also, watch Amazon.com for specials on Christian classics. The ESV Study Bible in only $9.99 in Kindle format, and the complete works of Jonathan Edwards were available for $1.98.

Spotting Counterfeits

In the not-distant past, one of the ways banks found counterfeit money was by feel. They trained tellers by having them spend hours handling authentic bills. Just moving bills in their hands. A teller so-trained could take a stack of bills, riffle through them fairly quickly, and toss to one side any bill that didn't feel right. A large fraction of those "wrong" bills were confirmed to be counterfeits.

The best way to train people (of any age) to be able to spot Satan's lies is by having them spend a lot of time in the Bible. Even if they can't articulate why something isn't right, they'll have a such a strong feel for the truth that they'll be suspect of it.

The Most Difficult 12 Inch Gap

It's about 12 inches from a person's head to his or her heart. If you desire to teach to change lives, the most difficult 12 inch gap you must traverse is the distance between their heads and their hearts!

We must teach to get across information. Your students need to know the story of the Bible, the principles and commands and the promises. That's basic education, and we can never walk away from that responsibility. (Also, do not underestimate how many repetitions of these basics are valuable!)

But life change does not come from head knowledge alone. This is why we prayerfully seek the power of God to be at work in our student's lives! They need a lightning strike of insight and changes their conviction. They need to hear the still quiet voice that shatters the walls of their hardness.

In God's plan, He has a part and he gives us a part.

Worship Before You Teach

Let me stress this to those of you who want to teach the Bible to change lives: worship before you teach.

It's true that our whole lives should be worshipful. (Equally true that they aren't.)

Before you begin teaching a class or leading a small group discussion about God's truth, create some time and space for personal worship. Consciously reconnect with God through praise and celebration! Listen to music, sing songs, pray aloud with hands raised high, whatever you can do, but get your whole mind and heart and body engaged in worship that pleases God.

Having worshipped the living God, your teaching can flow from that. And that's teaching that can change lives!

Are Christians Required to Tithe?

It's a common question: "Are Christians required to tithe?" Let's be good students of the Word and think through this together. (By the way, this might make a really nice lesson for your students.)

The simple answer is that you will not find a clear command to tithe in the New Testament. You also won't find an explicit command to not tithe or not give generously. The New Testament tells us that the reality of our "new creation in Christ" life is a much higher standard of giving than legalistic tithing.

Let's walk through the Scriptures on this.

Many people will point to Matthews 23:23 as evidence that Christians should tithe. (There is a parallel passage in Luke 11:42.) I think this interpretation is missing the primary point.

In the whole chapter of Matthew 23, Jesus speaks harshly to the Pharisees about their religious practices. In verse 23, He does not condemn their systematic tithing (even of kitchen herbs) but challenges them to go beyond the letter of the law and live as a reflection of God's grace to them:

23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23)

Let's review New Testament passages which lead me to believe a higher standard of giving is normative for Christians.

Jesus commanded giving to God. It's not an option, if I read this correctly:

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matthew 22:21)

Jesus commended the widow who gave far beyond a tithe:

1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)

After Pentecost the new believers were incredibly generous with giving and helping. It does not appear they limited themselves to a tithe:

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Paul commends the extreme giving of Macedonian churches and urges the Corinthians to "excel in the grace of giving:"

1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:1-7)

Paul's instruction to the Galatians and Corinthians is to give regularly in proportion to the income God has provided (without mentioning a specific figure):

1Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (1 Cor 16:1-2)

I suggest to you that Christians are not given a command about a specific percentage offering (a legalistic standard) because we're called to give from the heart (evidence of God's grace).

Consider this part of Paul's letter to the Corinthians:

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:

"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. (2 Corinthians 9:6-13)

Another issue which is important to review: are we cursed if we do not tithe? Failure to keep the Mosaic law led to cursing, so if we don't tithe are we cursed by God? (Or at least not blessed as He describes in Deut 14:29 and Malachi 3:10-12?)

The answer is No. The work of Christ at the cross delivers Christians from the curse of the Mosaic Law, because the law has been fulfilled in Christ.

When people ask the question "Are Christians required to tithe?" my question is the attitude of the heart that provokes that question. I fear they are really asking "What's the minimum I can do and still be ok with God?" Legalism is deadly, but attractive because it's manageable within our own strength and tangible.

From the passages above I believe the New Testament give us a picture of extremely generous giving as the normal reflection of God's amazing love and power in our transformed hearts. Let's work to shift our attitude from "I have to tithe" to "I get to give generously and joyfully!"

In terms of directing our giving (e.g., how much should go to my local church?), there is no direct statement of command in the New Testament.

Let's think about some principles we can glean from the whole of Scripture:

1. Everything we have is God's, not just X%. (See Psalm 24:1)
2. We will be held accountable for how we steward what has been entrusted to us (Luke 16:12; 19:11-27)
3. We should support church leaders and those who minister to us (see Galatians 6:6 and 1 Tim 5:17-19)
4. We should help the poor, including widows and orphans (many passages)
5. We should support missions outreach (many passages)

Let's also consider the structure of the Mosaic Law tithes, which included:

• The tithe to support the Levites (see Lev 27:30,32; Num 18:24)
• The festival tithe (see Deut 12:11-12)
• The welfare tithe (see Deut 14:28-29) [This model provided for the whole community without any further government functions in an agrarian culture.]

The Old Testament tithe command is therefore not a comprehensive 10% (as most people think), but much more generous.

If we follow that pattern, then, giving to the local church for ministry support would be comparable to the tithe to support the Levites. Giving to support special events would be comparable to the festival tithe. And giving beyond that to support those in need would correspond with the welfare tithe.

Therefore many Christians have looked at 10% of income going to their local church as a good starting point, and then giving to special events/needs and to support the poor above and beyond that. I think this is a reasonable approach, but will not make it an expectation or mark of a "true" believer.

I cannot support the statement "Christians should give 10% of their income to their local church" specifically from Scripture. What I can support from Scripture is that Christians should give very generously to others, in accordance with the love of God in their hearts. Instead of a legal obligation to tithe we are offered the opportunity to give cheerfully and joyfully from the heart.

Proving You Don't Exist

I really liked this:

The story is told of an atheist philosophy professor who performed a parlor trick each term to convince his students that there is no God. "Anyone who believes in God is a fool, " he said. "If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove he is God, and yet he can't do it." The professor then dropped the chalk and watched it shatter dramatically on the classroom floor.

If you meet anyone who tries this silly trick, take the roof off. Apply the professor's logic in a test of your own existence. Tell the onlookers you will prove you don't exist.

Have someone take a piece of chalk and hold it above your outstreatched palm. Explain that if you really exist, you would be able to accomplish the simple task of catching the chalk. When he drops the chalk, let it fall to the ground and shatter. Then announce, "I guess this proves I do not exist. If you believe in me, you're a fool."

Clearly, this chalk trick tells you nothing about God. The only thing it is capable of showing is that if God does exist, he is not a circus animal who can be teased into jumping through hoops to appease the whim of foolish people.

- Greg Koukl, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, p.150, 151

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

How to Study the Bible with People Who Can't Read

Excellent advice here.

In my experience, even in situations where people read well, you should be reading the Bible aloud. It's powerful.

This Wasn't For Me--Until I Started Using It

You know I'm a big proponent of using questions in Bible studies and lessons. (I even wrote a book on it!) Jesus taught with questions, story, and dialogue and so should you.

I generally don't have problems coming up with questions to use in Bible lessons. But many people write me and ask for help with this.

Someone in my family gave me the Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study for Christmas.



My first polite thought was "Well, that's nice, but I don't need that." A few days later I picked it up and started leafing through it. I was impressed at how well organized this is for small group leaders -- and for any type of small group leaders. The questions are actually very good.

Here's some description about the Bible:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"It provides Bible study leaders with ready-made, life-changing discussion questions on any passage of Scripture. In-text study questions help groups open discussion, dig deeper into the meaning of a passage, and reflect on life application. The 200 studies and 60 course plans address the needs of ten different groups, including men, women, singles, youth, and more. With the ready-made studies in the Serendipity Bible, the only thing a group leader has to prepare in the coffee!

Features include: • Thousands of penetrating study questions • 60 felt-need course plans for ten different kinds of groups • 16 topical study courses offer basic and deeper question tracks for study • 200 Bible story questionnaires offer another study alternative • Separate studies for each book of the Bible • Lectionary-based Bible studies for churches that follow the church year calendar • 200 general group studies address the needs of ten different groups, including men, women, singles, youth, recovery, and more • "Open-Dig-Reflect" questions help you discover each other’s hearts and apply God’s Word to your life • 32 two-color introduction pages help you use this Bible more effectively."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I heartily recommend this as a resource for Bible teachers and small group leaders.

I'm using it as a resource for my devotion and lesson prep the way I use commentaries. I spend a lot of time in the Bible text itself, chewing it over and over, and praying for insights. Then I will look up that same passage in this Serendipity Bible and check out the questions they have lined up for that passage. I'm usually picking up at least one really good idea with this approach.

I haven't yet tried any of their recommended courses (which take you topically through multiple passages of Scripture), but they look promising.

Teachers and small group leaders, add this to your resource library.