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How To Prepare A Bible Study Lesson

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You have a group of people who want to learn more about the Bible, and they want you to teach them? What an awesome responsibility! I’m sure you’ll be praying about it and asking God for help. But here’s some important information you’ll need which will help you get ready and teach more effectively.

In the Greek language, Paul used two different words to describe knowledge:

  • One word referred to intellectual knowledge (head knowledge).
  • The other referred to experiential knowledge (heart knowledge).

Good Bible teaching will help people gain head knowledge which will move 16 inches down and become heart knowledge – real life experience. Experiential knowledge is best gained when we use all parts of our mind and senses to take it in. Research shows that we remember:

  • 10% of what we read (e.g. a book).
  • 20% of what we hear (e.g. a speaker).
  • 30% of what we see (e.g. a poster ad).
  • 40% of what we hear and see (e.g. a T.V. program).
  • 70% of what we say (when we give a talk or are talking).
  • 90% of what we say and do (where we are actively involved in the process).

Learner-Centered Teaching

Learner-centered teaching is where the learner is actively involved. Learning has really taken place when a person’s life has changed. In other words, we need to teach with a method that lets the learner discover facts they can apply to their lives today and hopefully in the future.

Planning a Lesson

Following are some tips to help you plan your Bible study, keeping in mind the need for learner-centered teaching.

1. After you have picked the portion of the Bible you want to teach, work through the passage yourself.

This is always the first step in lesson planning and should be done early in the week. This extra work will allow you to think about it, learn it yourself, add to and revise the study during the week.

2. Identify the central truth.

Ask yourself, “What is the main fact or point I want the group to learn from this study?” For instance, your central truth may be that Jesus Christ is God and the only way to reach God.

3. Know your goals.

What do you want the students to do as a result of discovering the central truth? For example, you may hope that by the end of this lesson the students are able to tell another person three ways Jesus is unique.

Make sure your goals are ownable (the students want to do it), reachable (they are able to do it), and measurable (you can find out if they did it).

4. Make a list of your students and what you think they need to understand from the lesson.

This will help you stay person-centered rather than material-centered. Who wants a bunch of information thrown at them? Use this list for prayer during the week too.

Leading the Study

1. Begin with a short learning activity that gets their minds where their bodies are.

You want to get them thinking about the central truth. You might do this through a skit, drawing, or game. Just be creative. This usually takes about 5-10 minutes. For example, you might want them to think about how God searches for lost people. Hide a pager somewhere and set it off, seeing who can find it first.

2. Let them discover what the material has to say about the central truth.

Ask questions about the lesson content. Use open-ended discussion questions rather than ones with “yes” or “no” answers. Read appropriate Scriptures. Let them figure out how this truth relates to their lives.

3. Help them apply the central truth to their lives.

Once they’ve figured this out, they need to apply the truth to their life during the week. Help them see how the truth directly affects their lives. The success of the study depends on how you help them understand what the central truth is and how it applies to their life.

Organizing the Time

The flow of the Bible study needs to be just right. If you spend too much time eating and socializing, you won’t have enough time to dig into God’s Word. On the other hand, if you just study and don’t let the students interact with each other, they may only see the study as an intellectual exercise and not something that applies to their lives right now.

Flow of Your Study

Here’s a suggested flow for your Bible study:

1. Refreshments (20 min.) – Unhindered talking, sharing, and settling

2. Bring group together (5 min.) – Use a catch/hook statement or learning activity to get their attention and introduce the theme

3. Bible Study (30 min.) – Discover the central truth and apply it.

4. Prayer (10 min.) – Pray conversationally if the students are willing.

5. Conclusion – Make announcements for upcoming meetings and plan any other activities. Give rides home to kids who need them.

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A Vision of Fruit

Copyright Fireseed Productions, Duplication permitted

God’s love for you and the students at your school is pretty remarkable. The Scripture says in 2 Peter 3:9 that it is His desire that none of your friends would ever perish, but they would all repent of their sins and come to know Him. If this is God’s desire, how can we tell as many as possible? And when we do, will all of them respond? The answer to that question is found in an illustration Jesus used in Matthew 13:1-23. After you read this passage, discuss these questions: In this Scripture, people’s hearts are described as soil or the ground where the seed was sown.

How would you describe the four types of soil in this story?

1.

2.

3.

4.

In your opinion, what does the seed represent?

Who is the sower, and what does it mean to spread the seed?

If you were a farmer, you would plant seed across all your fields, not just some of them. Why? Because the more soil you cover with seed, the more crop you will have at harvest time. Let’s go back to the story in Matthew 13:1-23 and think about these questions:

How much of the field did the sower plant with seed?

What portion or percentage of the field bore fruit?

Why did some of the field produce, while other parts did not?

What are the four different results from the seed that was scattered?

1.

2.

3.

4.

In this story, the sower was doing a good job spreading his seed across the whole field. But he got different results. Some seed was rejected by the soil. Some sprang up but quickly faded away. Some seed was eventually choked out by weeds. However, a good portion of the soil was ready, and produced a huge crop.

Let’s talk about your school for a moment.

How does the story of the sower, the seed and the soils apply to you and your campus? Give some examples.

When we share Christ with others, can we expect that some will respond? Why?

If not everyone responds to the message of Christ, should that surprise us? Why?

The Bible tells us that our world is made up of spiritual fields, fields of people (see John 4:34-38). A campus is a field of people with clubs, teams, cliques and classes. It is in this field that God is carrying out His rescue operation, using us to spread the seed of His Word to as many parts of the field as we are able. The more Christians who are involved in a campus club or movement, the greater the amount of seed that is spread across the campus – and, the greater the number who will come to Christ. What about those who do not respond when we share Christ? Do we ignore them? In the same way that a farmer cultivates hard soil so that it will receive the seed in the future, we keep loving and relating to our friends who are not responsive. In due time, some of them will put their trust in Christ.

How can you apply this discussion on the “vision of fruit” to your campus ministry?

Has your vision for fruit increased? Explain your thoughts to your group.

What have you decided to do as a result?