What is the difference between a Bible class that zings and one that flops? Do you ever get to the end of a Bible class session or even an entire quarter and think, “Well, that was a waste of time, but at least its over”? Your classes don’t have to be like this. They can take a step up whether you are writing your own material or using someone else’s, whether you are teaching kids or adults, whether you are a beginning teacher or experienced. Let me show you how.

I’m teaching the high school class at the Brownsburg church right now. As every one who knows me at all knows, that is a challenge for me. When you mix together the fact that I’m a bit more task-oriented than people-oriented, the fact that I’m just not very cool, and my propensity to be absolutely boring to teenagers and you can see why I get a little insecure whenever I’m in that class. But, I like to get out of my comfort zone sometimes and I need to get to know these guys better, so I volunteered.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’ve become the best teacher in the world. I’m not saying my classes are always 100% the favorite of every person that walks in. But I am saying they don’t founder any more. They stay on task and they accomplish things. When I’m done with my class I can now say more than, “Whew, at least that’s over.”

The key is not in the decorations on the walls. The key is not the subject matter at hand. The key is not the class book. The key is the 5 questions I ask before every class (btw: I ask these same questions when writing sermons too). I certainly didn’t come up with these on my own. I think I heard them from folks like John Maxwell and Andy Stanley. But they have definitely changed my preparation to teach and they’ve made my classes better.

Here they are:

1. What do I want the class to know?
2. Why do I want them to know it?
3. What do I want the class to do?
4. Why do I want them to do it?
5. What is the win for this class?

There it is. No matter what you are teaching, asking these questions ahead of time can make the class zing.

The first two what questions help you determine the main focus of the class. Too may classes simply wade through a series of questions that someone wrote just to fill up time. This has a tendency to cover so much information that the students don’t remember any of it. The two why questions help you determine the relevancy. If you can’t figure out why your goals are relevant to the students and convey that to them, don’t expect them to hang on to what you teach them. The win question helps you figure out the measurable goal of the class.

Once you’ve figured this out, then you can determine how to use your material. Do you need to just focus on one section in the lesson and let the students do the rest on their own? Do you need to bring in supplementary material? Do you need a group activity? a YouTube video? role-playing? intense discussion?

Don’t make the mistake of just trying to jump to some “fun” activities without first determining what the class is to be about. If all you’re doing is trying to make it through the hour, it doesn’t matter how much fun your students had, the class was a flop. When you’ve figured out what the class is about and used all your time to accomplish that goal, then your class zings. And, I assure you, in the long run, most of your students will appreciate it more.

So, get to work and make your class zing.

Question: What other keys have helped you in making your Bible classes Zing? Leave a comment and let us know.

Hello, my name is Edwin and I’m a bibleaholic.

Crossway released their brand-spanking new lambskin edition of the Personal Size Reference ESV Bible in deep brown a couple of months ago. Please understand; I already have a Bible. In fact, I think I have two entire bookshelves of Bibles. I have study Bibles, wide-margin Bibles, pocket Bibles, three-ring binder Bibles, journaling Bibles, paraphrase Bibles, Catholic Bibles, Protestant Bibles, interlinear Bibles, just plain New Testaments, New Testaments with Psalms, New Testaments with Psalms and Proverbs, KJV Bibles, NKJV Bibles, NIV Bibles, NASB Bibles, NLT Bibles, chronological Bibles, topical Bibles, teen study Bibles. I have six Bible apps on my iPhone. I do not, however, have The Message, but I think you get the picture.

I even have some really nice, really expensive Bibles. I already have Crossway’s calfskin wide-margin reference ESV Bible in black. I also have a Thomas Nelson calfskin pocket size New King James Bible in black. I used to have the larger size calfskin New King James Bible in red, but I let my wife borrow it. She can’t find it. (Perhaps because she didn’t actually pay the $150 to purchase it.) Trust me, this will not happen again. I already have a personal size reference Bible from Crossway. It is TruTone blue with beige and white wrap around stripes. I’ve been preaching from it for two years now. It works just fine, though it is starting to show wear, the binding is breaking a bit, and it only has one bookmark.

So, when I learned that Crossway came out with this new Bible and that one of my friends already had one, what did I do? Well, I sat back and rejoiced with my friend as he rejoiced. I congratulated him and pointed out that such a Bible is a wonderful luxury if you can afford one. I’m so glad the church he works with is paying him well enough to buy this Cadillac of Bibles. I, however, am strapped, need to fix the brakes on my car, put braces on my kids’ teeth, and eat this week. I’m going to enjoy the blessings God has already given me, use my perfectly adequate TruTone Bible, and put it in God’s hands. If He wants me to have this new Bible, I’ll let Him get it for me.

Yeah, right.

No, I got off the phone with my gloating friend and, just to prove that I’m just as good a Christian and preacher as he is, I called my local Christian bookstore and ordered my very own copy. Obviously, I didn’t get the very first one printed. My friend probably did that. I’m guessing, however, it was one of the first ten. But I did the smart thing. Instead of just ordering it off the internet, I made the bookstore take the plunge. I politely explained while talking to them on the phone that I wanted to see it, touch it, hold it before I made such a financial investment. I really needed to prove that this would be a wise and beneficial purchase before I shelled out my money. Just to make sure they understood how circumspect I was about this whole process I specifically made sure that just having them order it would not obligate me to buy it. Perhaps if I waited the week it would take to get it in, I would back off and let reason hold sway.

And that’s exactly what happened. I received the call that the Bible was in. A few days later, I sauntered into the bookstore just to check out what all the hubbub around this classy Bible was about. I opened the Bible and noticed it was the same as my old Bible. It had all the same words on all the same pages. Sure, it has a nice soft cover. Sure, it looks good. Sure, it comes with a life-time guarantee. Sure it has two bookmarks. But I already have a Bible and I’m not so spiritually materialistic as to buy a super-expensive Bible just because it is SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET! I politely thanked the store for getting the Bible, but let them put it on the shelf for some other Bible greedy pig. The Bibles I already have work just fine. Why would I need another one?

Yeah, right. Whatever.

Actually, I received the call that the Bible was in. In 10 minutes, I had made the 15 minute drive to the bookstore. I tried to hide my shaking hands and the tremor in my voice as I said, “I th-think you have a B-Bible for me. Um, c-can I check it out before I b-buy it?” With her voice she said, “Sure, let me open that for you.” With her eyes she said, “Yeah, whatever buddy. Will this be cash, check, or charge?”

I think I made a good show of it. I held the Bible. I touched it and rubbed it with my hands. I tested it’s weight in my preaching hand (after all, it does have to balance out with my data projector remote in the other hand). I smelled the lambskin. I let the checkout lady smell the lambskin. I rubbed it on my face. I opened the pages and flipped through them to make sure they were all there. I tugged the bookmarks to make sure they were well connected. I pulled out my lexicon to make sure the translation was trustworthy. I even asked a question or two about the warranty. I hmmmmed and I ahhhed. I made sure my preacher discount would actually apply. I asked the checker what she thought of it. “Oh, yes, that’s very nice,” she said. “Notice the golden gilded pages. And it even comes with this nifty box and a piece of paper that explains the warranty.”

“Yeah, I noticed those,” I replied while wiping drool from my chin, “I guess since I can get this at a discount, I’m actually saving money if I buy it. I’ll take it.”

A few moments later I walked into my house and announced my conquest. I showed the Bible to my wife whose eyes immediately rolled back in her head. She’s the only person I know who really can look out the back side of her head, especially when I’m buying Bible #31. I just told her, “Hey, I got a preacher discount. I was saving money. Look, I have a crummy car. I wear worn out clothes and old suits. The least I can do is have a nice Bible. Do you expect people to take me seriously while preaching from a TruTone blue Bible with stripes on it? I need the genuine article, the real deal. An animal had to be sacrificed for me to preach the Word. Is it even possible to make Kingdom impact using a Bible with a fake cover? Besides, this replaces the one you lost.” I said that last line a little under my breath and looking out the window.

After a few moments of silence she walked out of the room saying, “Yeah, whatever. Go order some pizza with all the money you saved buying that Bible.”

So, I did.

This article does indeed contain affiliate links, as if that shocks you at all. But you might enjoy the fact that now that I’m finally posting this story, you can by the same Bible at this affiliate link for about $30 less than I paid for it two months ago. And get free shipping. Don’t pass up such a sweet deal just because you don’t like affiliate links.
 

Okay we’ll try posting this again. Sorry for the misfire for everyone who already tried to look at this.

As someone commented on the YouTube page, it is a shame something this good is being used to market a marketing company. But then, perhaps they are a marketing company because they know how to come up with something this good.

I just couldn’t help but wonder if the way we spoke the Gospel might not change the way folks hear the gospel sometimes. What do you think? Click the following link to add your input: Post a comment.

For my e-mail and RSS subscribers, if you can’t see the video, click here.

photo by Randall's Photography

Hello friends and subscribers,

First, I want to thank you so much for being part of this blog. I hope you are being built up as we learn about God’s way and how it works.

Second, I would love to meet you face-to-face. This week provides a great opportunity for me to meet folks who want to serve God in a place I’ve never been before. Starting Sunday (September 12), I will be preaching a series of lessons on prayer for the Kirkwood Church of Christ in St. Louis, Missouri. If you are in the area, I would love to meet you. Further, I believe these lessons will be beneficial and edifying for you.

I will be conducting two series on prayer and I invite you to both or to any of the individual lessons you can attend.

Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer

Sept. 12, 9:30 AM:      The Power Who Hears Our Praying
Sept. 12, 10:20 AM:   Prayer: Empowering God’s Warriors
Sept. 12, 6:00 PM:      The Dynamic Duo: Prayer and Bible Study
Sept. 13, 7:30 PM:      The Plugged In Saint
Sept. 14, 7:30 PM:      The Plugged In Family
Sept. 15, 7:30 PM:      The Plugged In Congregation
Sept. 16, 7:30 PM:      Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayers?
Sept. 17, 7:30 PM:      The Kinds of Prayer: A Sermon in Prayer and Song

Praying Like the Psalmists

Sept. 13, 10:00 AM:    Believing in the God of the Psalmists
Sept. 14, 10:00 AM:    Seeing Ourselves as the Psalmists Did
Sept. 15, 10:00 AM:    The Goal of the Psalmists’ Praying”
Sept. 16, 10:00 AM:    Rigorously Honest and Candid
Sept. 17, 10:00 AM:    Praying Creatively

If you are able to attend, I am sure you will be warmly welcomed. You can find directions here.

Have a great week.

Sorry for not getting to the usual posts yesterday and today. I’m in New York for the very first time. I’m having a blast, getting to see some things I’ve never seen. We’re on our way to the Statue of Liberty today, as well as the Empire State Building, and Ground Zero. However, this is not really a vacation trip. I’m here to work with the Upper West Manhattan church on Saturday and Sunday.

If you live in the area, I’d love to meet you face to face.

The series is entitled: “Living Righteously–How Can I, Really?”

The schedule is:

Saturday, January 23

10AM–Sold Into Bondage

11 AM–Legalist or Love of God

1 PM–Where Do I Draw the Line?

Sunday, January 24

10:30 AM–Only One Thing is Necessary

11:30 AM–Counting the Cost

The Upper West Manhattan church meets at:

Hostelling International

891 Amsterdam Ave @ 103rd St.
Upper West Side
New York, NY 10025

Looking forward to meeting you.

I doubt I could spiritually condone everything the Steve and Kathy Show teaches, but I can’t help but love their “Real Preachers of Genius” videos. I hope they put out more. The first one is good, but it is apparent they were just figuring out how to do these.

The second one is awesome.

I hope you enjoyed those as much as I did.

ELC

…or at least my preaching.

Yes, I admit that every once in a while you come across a video that is so moving it changes your paradigm about how you think, how you act and how you live. Check it out and see if you don’t agree. Especially if you ever preach.