This lesson introduces the “Teacher Training” blog that the leadership of CFC wants to use to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Each blog is designed to pull in material on 5 subjects:
- The character of a teacher
- The prayer life of a teacher
- The Bible knowledge of a teacher
- The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
- The presentation skills of a teacher
The material will come from preaching and Bible study books. The material in each lesson is footnoted. Some months the material will only come from one source but in other months from multiple sources. The book “Rediscovering Expository Teaching” will be the main source used as it contains many godly and knowledgeable authors who wrote in the book that I knew personally. Those authors were also my seminary professors who put the essence of my training into the section of the book each wrote.
Each section will have a basic point then the more detailed quote will follow. You can read just the basic point but the excerpt that follows in quotes will challenge you even more!
This blog is designed to spur the teaching of God’s word in a manner that honors God. The material used is not to belengthy so as to not be overburdensome to the disciple (the disciplined learner).
In the Old Testament, Ezra 7:10 models this:
For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it and to teach his statutes and ordinances in Israel. (NASB 1977)
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us all the responsibility of every teacher in 2 Timothy 2:15:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. (NASB 1977)
For this warning goes out in James 3:1-2:
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricture judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. (NASB 1977)
May God bless your preparation to teach!
Pastor Mike
1. The character of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt that follows in this section is a quote on how important your character is when you are a teacher. The bottom line is read 1 Tim. 6:11-14. Ask yourself is this your character? People who teach need to have this character that Paul describes. None of us are perfect but strive for it.
"Behind the content of his message is the character of the expositor. He must be set apart from mundane matters, lifted above worldly aims and ambitions, and devoted singularly to God’s service. In 1 Tim. 6:11–14, Paul lists four characteristics of such a man of God: He is marked by what he flees from, follows after, fights for, and is faithful to." [1]
2. The prayer life of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt that follows in this section describes how important it is to pray. Pray before you study, pray while studying, pray before you present either privately or publicly—and then pray afterwards. Look, when we teach, we make an impact because God moves on someone. Prayer is a key component of teaching!
"Prayer is not an elective but the principal element in the kaleidoscope of spiritual characteristics that mark a preacher. These traits unite into a powerful spiritual force; they build a spokesman for God. Jesus, the finest model, and other effective spokesmen for God have been mighty in prayer coupled with the virtues of godliness and dependence on God. The composite of spiritual qualities that centers in prayer is conspicuous in God’s long line of proclaimers in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and in church history, even to the present day. Some books on essentials for preaching slight prayer, but others acknowledge its invaluable role. Preachers who follow the biblical model take prayer very seriously. In sermon preparation, they steep themselves in prayer." [2]
3. The Bible knowledge of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt that follows focuses on the how important it is for a Bible teacher to teach God’s Word and not one’s opinion or what is current in the culture. When you teach, you learn to open the Bible and point out what the Bible says. Your message does not have to be flashy. It is important that when you are done teaching that people know what that passage is saying. There is a process that we will discuss over the next few months. But know—when you are done teaching and you ask your students “what does this Bible passage say”—that your students can tell you.
"Biblical preaching’s authenticity is significantly tarnished by contemporary communicators who are more concerned with personal relevance than with God’s revelation. Scripture unmistakably requires a proclamation focused on God’s will and mankind’s obligation to obey. With men wholly committed to God’s Word, the expository pattern commends itself as preaching that is true to the Bible. Exposition presupposes an exegetical process to extract the God-intended meaning of Scripture and an explanation of that meaning in a contemporary way. The biblical essence and apostolic spirit of expository preaching needs to be recaptured in the training and preaching of men who are freshly committed to 'preaching the Word.'" [3]
4. The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt below focuses on the skills needed to be a good teacher. We call these skills hermeneutical principles. That is just a fancy word for good reading principles. So do not be fearful that this is over your head. You read all the time! You use these principles all the time.
We will go over these in more detail over the future but for now the quote deals with observation. When you teach a Bible passage, take a pad of paper and write down all the observations you can. Note key words, how phrases are linked together, key parts of speech---mainly just observe!!! A good teacher observes!
"The expositor who represents God fills roles comparable to those of explorers, detectives, historians, trackers, and prospectors. He needs the perspective of one who wants to do his best possible work in meeting this variety of challenges in analyzing his text before preaching. He also must utilize sound principles of hermeneutics such as scrutinizing the relevant context, watching for significant grammatical constructions, studying broader usages of the words in his text, learning to distinguish literal and figurative language, making allowance for progressive revelation, incorporating insights gained from other pertinent passages, and wisely using information on the customs of biblical times. Implementation of these and other important principles will ensure that the expositor accurately represents the truth of God’s Word." [4]
5. The presentation skills of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt that follows deals with how you present your message. A good teacher does not just get up and wing it. You can always tell when someone is winging it. It is clear there is no organization. Whether you are preaching or teaching a Bible study you need to know the order in which you are going to present the material. Then practice before you present.
"It is not enough just to have a message; you must also deliver it powerfully. Although “delivery” cannot be taught, per se, it can be improved by practicing some basic principles. Recommendations include establishing a disciplined routine before you preach and working diligently to be natural in the pulpit. Attention to methods of delivery, voice use, eye contact, and gestures can also improve delivery.
It is most difficult to teach someone to become skilled in the actual delivery of an expository sermon. Some expositors feel quite at home in the pulpit immediately, but others experience continuing uneasiness. However, by following some basic principles, anyone can improve his effectiveness in public presentation as an expositor of God’s Word.
Careful preparation is only part of the expository preaching experience. The climax comes in what Martyn Lloyd-Jones calls “the act of preaching.” Thorough exegesis and clear organization are crucial to an effective message. But a good sermon poorly preached is no better than a poor sermon properly preached. One has light but no heat; the other heat with no light." [5]
[1] James E. Rosscup, “The Priority of Prayer and Expository Preaching,” in Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), 85.
[2] James E. Rosscup, “The Priority of Prayer and Expository Preaching,” in Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), 62.
[3] Richard L. Mayhue, “Rediscovering Expository Preaching,” in Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), 2.
[4] James E. Rosscup, “Hermeneutics and Expository Preaching,” in Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), 118.
[5] Robert L. Thomas, “Bible Translations and Expository Preaching,” in Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), 321.