Latest revision as of 16:08, 22 July 2019

Objectives:

• Students will ground their goals as a student in the Word of God.
• Students will participate in their future Bible classes by:
• Asking appropriate questions
• Answering questions in specific and applicable ways
• Engaging in fellowship with classmates and their teacher
• Providing encouragement to their teacher
• Studying Scripture outside of class

Set-up

• Time: 90 Minutes
  • 10 minutes, Introduction
  • 45 minutes, Supporting your teacher in the classroom
  • 5 Minutes, Break
  • 30 minutes, Supporting your teacher through personal Bible study

Main Body

Introduction (5-10 minutes)

Ice Breaking Activity: Students in the Bible

The Bible is full of passages about teachers, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Colossians 3:16, Titus 2:7-8, Romans 12:6-7, James 3:1 and many more. Indeed, the teacher of the Bible has many directions from Scripture. But what about the students? What does the Bible have to say about students?

• Give the class 3-5 minutes to brainstorm and see if they can come up with any passages that give instruction to students learning from a teacher. The main passage we will focus on later is Acts 17:10-12 but for now see what passages the class comes up with. A few possible passages are listed below, there are others but if the class seems to stall out on this activity you can refer them to some of these passages.
  • Galatians 6:6
  • Romans 15:4
  • Hebrews 6:1-2

The Bible does indeed have some passages that describe students and give some direction to students. We are going to spend some time learning about one particular passage and trying to apply that passage to our lives today.

Supporting Your Teacher in the Classroom (45 minutes)

The Berean Christians

In Acts 17:10-12 Luke introduces us to a group of Jews who are identified as being of noble character. Paul had just recently arrived from Thessalonica and in verses 2-4 we see that as Paul reasoned with the Jews in Thessalonica, many did, in fact, believe. However, there was a significant contingent of Jews who not only disbelieved but incited a riot against Paul. Paul, under the cover of darkness, moved 46 miles southwest to the city of Berea. In Berea the Bible tells us that they received the word with readiness of mind or eagerness. However, the Bible goes on to describe something unique about the Bereans, the Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily.” What might this phrase mean?

Give the class five minutes to discuss what this means. The goal here is for the class to come to the conclusions that they are not just supposed to passively hear the Word of God in class, but actively study and search the Word of God. Checking to see if what the teacher said is right is not an act of disrespect, but a noble means of weighing the words of the teacher and taking everything taught seriously.

If we accept that we should be searching the Scripture even when we are being taught, then we should try to better understand what searching the Scripture looks like. We will look at some techniques for personal devotions later, but for now let’s try to better understand how we can search the Scripture within the context of a class.

Asking Questions

One of the first things you can do to support your teacher is to ask good questions. Someone once said there is no such thing as a stupid question. Frankly, they are wrong, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask questions, it means we should ask good questions. In each of the passages below we contend that the individual asked a good question. What characteristics of good questions do you see in these passages?

• Matthew 18:21 (Questions that ask for clarification of Scripture)
• John 9:2 (Questions that seek for clarification of a commonly held misconception)
• Mark 10:26 (Questions that reveal an understanding of my low position before God)

Give the students 3-5 minutes to discuss these passages of Scripture. The goal is for the students to see that a genuine question is not a stupid question but provides opportunity for real growth. Also, make a point of telling the students that nine times out of ten if one person has the question then several people have the same question.

• The Bible is also full of some bad questions. What characteristics of bad questions do you see in these passages?
  • Matthew 22:15-17 (Attempt to trap the teacher in a legal mess)
  • Matthew 22:23-28 (Attempt to trap the teacher in a doctrinal mess)
  • Matthew 22:34-36 (Attempt to trap the teacher in an ethical mess)

Give students 3-5 minutes to discuss this. Hopefully the students will come to the conclusion that motive really matters in questions. Having the right motive behind a question can determine the value of a question.

• Can you think of any other examples of good or bad questions?

Give 3-5 more minutes for students to brainstorm. Another category of question that might come up is “defensive” questions. If these do not arise naturally, you might direct the class to Matthew 12:2, this is not an explicit question but an implied question. The Pharisees had created a multitude of laws and were, in a defensive stance, asking if their laws were applicable.

You should ask questions of your teacher and ask them regularly. At first, it might throw your teacher off slightly when you ask a question, but as you and your teacher become more comfortable asking questions, both of you will get better and everyone in class will learn more. There is one final caution that is in order when it comes to asking questions. There are some questions that while legitimate questions might be best asked later in a more private setting. Whenever we ask questions we should remember a key passage of Scripture, Titus 3:9. We want our questions to be edifying, and not to cause divisions. There may be a time when we disagree, but these situations are almost always handled best in private.

Answering Questions

One of the hardest challenges for a teacher comes when the teacher asks a question and is met with silence. Learning is an active process that requires us to engage our minds. Sitting in class and learning can and should be a tiring process as we engage our minds. While there are all sorts of biological problems with calling the brain a muscle, the analogy fits and we really should be working-out our brain when we sit through class. Can you think of any passages of Scripture where Jesus used questions to engage his disciples?

• Matthew 16:13-15

You might ask students what it would have been like if nobody had answered the question. Give them 3 minutes to discuss their answer. A great deal of learning occurred because Peter was willing to provide an answer.

We can dig deeper into the way in which Peter answered the question. In verse 14 the disciples took a classic approach and answered the question from the perspective of someone other than themselves. That is the disciples answer was all about what other people said and did. Peter on the other hand answered the question specifically and from a personal level. Peter gave a better answer. When we answer questions, we should make the answers specific and personal. What are some of the ways in which we fail to give a good answer to questions? Give 5 minutes for the class to brainstorm. Some of the answers should include, we answer the question in a vague or trivial way, we make the question all about someone else.

Some other things to consider when answering questions are issues of equity. People think at different rates, some people like to really ponder something, and some people are slower to respond. Unfortunately, people who are quick to respond and dominate conversations don’t always realize they are doing so. One of the most important things you can do is ask yourself if you are that type of person who is quick to respond and can easily dominate a conversation. If you are, then pay attention to how often you answer a question. The first to respond is not always the best answer. You should ask yourself, what can I do to make sure that other people are given the opportunity to respond to questions, am I giving other people a fair opportunity to respond.

If you are the type of person who likes to sit and ponder before answering a question, then you should also make sure you bring a notebook and something with which to write to class. When the teacher asks a question, you should try to write down a single sentence answer before you start to ponder. This will help to guide your thinking and keep you focused on the question the teacher has asked.

Regardless of who you are, you should be willing to answer questions. If the question has you confused, ask the teacher to clarify. We all learn best through actively engaging with the material. Finally remember that questions, answers, and discussion can lead to rich fellowship. If we all keep Romans 12:10 in mind we will go a long way.

Encouraging Your Teacher

To do a good job teaching, your teacher has probably spent several hours preparing the lesson. This process is often a thankless process and can be exhausting especially when hours of preparation results in a short 30-minute discussion of the Bible. As a student, you should show appreciation for your teacher and the work they are doing. What are some ways that we can show support and encouragement to our teachers? Give the class 5 minutes to brainstorm. If you need to give more time that it also fine. Hopefully praying, thanking, and discussing the lesson after class all come up.

Break (5 minutes)

Supporting your Teacher Through Personal Bible Study (30 minutes)

The first thing to say here is that everything in this section also applies to supporting your pastor. If you do these same steps with the sermon the pastor will also feel your support.

The Realities of Preparation

In preparing a lesson, it is very rare that the teacher discusses or teaches about everything that went into the lesson. There may be words or historical facts that were researched in preparing the lesson that simply did not fit or had to be cut for time. There may be deeper doctrinal topics that were not discussed. In any case, the lesson taught is likely just the tip of an ice-berg that represents the preparation that went into the lesson. This, however, provides a unique opportunity for you to support your teacher. You can take what was learned in class and dig deeper throughout the week. As you dig deeper you can discuss what you are learning with your teacher, likely, this discussion will not only encourage your teacher, but provide them opportunity to utilize some of the additional knowledge they gained in their preparation time. To this end, we have some ideas for ways in which you can study your Bible in a way that supports your teacher. Connections

The Bible is the Word of God and represents a complete revelation of God to mankind. As a complete revelation, the Bible is interconnected and rarely does one idea sit in isolation. Let’s imagine we have just completed a Sunday School lesson on the Bronze Serpent in Numbers 21:4-9. The theme was look and live and the teacher has concluded by stating that God expects us to look to Him for our Salvation. The teacher encouraged everyone in class to spend some time this week looking at John 3. What connections might the teacher be hoping you will make? Give 5 minutes for the class to talk amongst each other and discuss the connection that might be made. Allow the class some freedom to explore other passages if they want.

If you start looking at cross references you might also come across 2 Kings 18:1-4. What important lesson might you learn from 2 Kings 18:1-4 and how might this give you something to discuss with your Sunday School teacher? Give the class 5-10 minutes to discuss. In 2 Kings 18:1-4 we see that the bronze serpent had become a stumbling block because people were no longer identifying it with looking to God, but had actually begun to worship the bronze serpent itself. As Christians, we can fall into exactly this same trap. We should identify the cross with Christ, but sometimes we go so far as to start to worship the cross instead of worshipping Christ. How to Study the Bible