How
you teach
1. Teach passionately because
.....
Children
need to be saved.
Note
the word "all" in the following verses 1 Cor.
15:22 Romans 5:12 Eph. 2:3 Romans 3:23 Romans 5:18
Are children exempt? Psalm 51:5 Psalm 58:3 Isaiah
48:8 Matthew 18:11-14
When we see their true spiritual condition, we will begin to have
a burden to see the evangelised.
How can anyone be saved?
Repent. Acts 3:19. and Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved. Acts 16:31.
But can a child repent? can a child have faith?
Where does repentance and faith come from?
Acts 11:18 Eph 2:8-9 they are gifts of God
All mankind is psychologically incapable of repenting and believing.
Rom 8:5 1 Cor. 2:14
At whatever age someone responds to the gospel, it is not
because he has developed a certain capacity to respond, but because
of the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.
Does
the Bible clearly teach that children can have faith?
Deut. 31:13 Psalm 78:7 Matthew 18:6 John 3:16
2.
Teach interestingly .....
(a)
An interesting lesson
1.
Get attention Listening is wanting to hear.
2.
Link to the story However gripping, it is pointless unless
it leads naturally to the story or the message you want to teach..
3.
Be brief Do not allow the beginning to be more important or memorable
than the lesson.
4.
Start with what they know
"Today I want to teach you about regeneration?????? "
Cautions:
Don't say "Have you ever heard...?" "I'm sure you
heard this before but..."
Don't give away too much of the story at the beginning
1.
Good action If things are not happening children will
not pretend to listen.
2.
Good expression Have variety in your voice.
3.
Good information Include good interesting detail.
4.
Good imagination Use your "sanctified" imagination.
5. Good dialogue Make characters come alive by having
them talk to each other.
1.
Round off the narrative. Tie together any loose
ends. Keep it brief.
2.
Don't attempt to teach anything new at this point.
This is not the place to say "Now we learn from this lesson
that.........."
3.
Do not review again all you have taught.
4. Final challenge to do now what God has said through
the lesson.
(b)
An interesting presentation
Visuals
get attention and help keep it.
We
learn visually
Visuals were used in Scripture
Visuals help us to explain Scripture
Visuals
must be used with caution. Avoid -
Wrong motives- to entertain rather than teach.
Badly used - poor quality, poor presentation, not
practised.
Too many - confuses you and / or the children.
Too intricate - if it distracts, you are better without
it.
Too impressive - the children remember the visual, not
the message.
Too time consuming - it is most important that you give more time
to what you will say than to what you will show.
Will it attract or distract? Will it help me to teach the truth?
Is it accurate and not misleading?
Is it adapted - to the age of the child? (e.g. lower case letters)
or to the teaching situation?
Is God glorified by its use?
(c)
Interesting participation
An
important teaching principle: "Pupil involvement aids learning"
Hear, see and Do.
Participation is not the dominant principle. Remember the priority
of preaching.
(1) Make them think. Get them to use their minds .
Ask good questions. The Lord Jesus: " What do you think?"
What does the law say?"
Ask How and Why questions. Why did Zacchaeus say he would return
the money?
Why did Peter deny knowing the Lord?
Why did God not accept Cain's offering?
Don't put answers in their mouths. e.g. "Doesn't God hate sin?"
Don't have questions that are not specific. e.g. "What is God
like?"
Don't call out the child's name before you ask the question. Make
them all think.
Prepare questions while you are preparing the lesson.
(2) Make them use their Bibles
From about 8 years old, get them to use Bibles in class.
Don't get them to read round in the group until you know their reading
ability.
Don't ask someone to read a longer passage without them having time
for preparation.
Maybe try this: Is. 6:1-6 All read alone quietly and find
two things that God is like.
Or this: Sword drill with questions. e.g. Eph. 4:32. Why
should Christians forgive?
(3) Use activity leaflets
The best place for these is in class.
Don't give them the answers.
Don't just leave them to fill in the answers.
Talk about it together, discuss possible answers and then fill it
in.
Note: These leaflets are only useful if they fulfil the aim of
the lesson.
Drawing / craft etc. with some relationship to the teaching.
3.
Teach thoroughly .....
There
is all the difference in the world between a Bible story and a Bible
lesson. Teach truth
1.
Truth all at the end. What happens if you do this
all the time?
2.
Woven through the story Get truth into the mind while you
have attention
1.
Teach what the passage teaches.
- teach truths that emerge from the Scripture passage.
-
you can't preach what we commonly call a ”gospel message“ from every
lesson.
2.
Concentrate on only one truth.
- you can't teach every truth you find in a passage.
- to teach you have to select.
Teach about GOD. Salvation is knowing God (John
17:3)
Teach
about the Way of Salvation.
Salvation
is of God. He is Sovereign in evangelism. But He has sent you and me
4.
Teach Relevantly ...
Never teach doctrine without applying doctrine.
Application is recognised as essential in all teaching
Application is getting truth into the life of the child.
Application of truth is obvious in Scripture - in the teaching of
Jesus Christ and the apostles.
Application of truth is essential to show that the Scriptures are
relevant for us today.
Are
your children saved or not saved?
Both
need the truth to be applied to them, but the application to each
is usually different. Make it clear to whom you are applying the truth.
e.g. Truth "God's ways are best"
Summary of appl. for the saved. "Each day ask God to show
you his way for you and ask Him to help you to follow that way".
Summary of appl. to the unsaved. "You
need to turn from your sinful way to God's way".
When
to make applications
Never make an application until you have taught Truth. Applications
must always be based on truth and follow truth.
You
don't need to apply the truth every time you teach it in the
lesson, but it is good to always end the lesson with application.
Be
relevant Talk about things that relate to and concern children
Be
specific Include detail in your applications. e.g. "Do
you remember the time you took someone's homework from their school
bag and copied it? You sinned against the girl whose book you took,
you sinned against the teacher by deceiving her but worst of all,
you sinned against God. You stole the answers and God says "You
shall not steal".
Be personal Use the word "you" often and maintain
good eye contact with the children.
Be challenging Application must challenge, especially
in the conclusion of the lesson.
e.g.
"Are you willing to turn away from your sinful way to God's way/
Will you do it now?
