Focused on the Lesson

Look ahead to the next lesson.

As soon as one lesson has been taught, you should be looking ahead to the next one.

1. Write the topic on a post-it note and stick it someplace you will see each day. Then as you go through the week, you will be amazed at the things you find in daily life that relate to the lesson. You will find yourself able to apply the lesson in practical real life scenarios.

2. Change the context.With the topic in your thoughts, walk through a toy store. What toys could be used as object lessons for the upcoming topic? Do the same walking through the supermarket, through a garden, watching the news, reading the newspaper, etc.

3. Relate the lesson to Popular Culture. With the topic in your thoughts, what recent movies or TV shows are related? How can you use them to illustrate key points in your lesson? Do the same for popular songs on the radio? Popular sports figures and events? Tap into youth culture and you have thier attention!

4. Apply it to your own life.What are some events or experiences in your own life where this lesson was applied, should have been applied, or wasn't applied. How would knowing the content of this lesson have made a difference to you? What lessons did you learn from the experience? How would applying this lesson make a difference in your life today? As you go through the week try to apply the lesson at every opoprtunity to your own life.

5. Carry a notecard with you with the topic written on it. Whenever you get an insight or idea, jot it down on the card. Too often we have great insights, but then we forget them because we didn't have a process for recording them for future reference.