This review game uses clothespins, and pennants to remind youth and teens about Bible lessons learned.

Materials
string, paper and clothespins

What to Do

1. Tie the string across the front of the room.
2. On pennants or pieces of paper, write the themes, topics, central characters, etc from recent Bible lessons youth have studied.
3. For each theme create several questions relating to facts, events, and important information to be answered by the youth.
4. Attach the pieces of paper to the string with one clothespin for each question.
5. Youth then choose a topic and are asked one of the questions. If the answer is correct one peg is removed from the pennant. If it is missed the next youth or team gets a turn.
6. This continues until all the questions are answered and all the pegs are removed.
7. Whoever removes the last peg from the pennant gets to keep it.
8. Once all the pennants are removed, whoever has the most pennants wins.

 

Variation
Instead of questions, youth must state one fact about each topic for each peg that is on the pennant. If all the facts are correct and no pegs are left then can remove the pennant. If a fact is wrong, then game play is passed to the next person or team.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Preparation

• On 10 sheets of paper place the numbers 1-10.
• Tape these across the floor on one side of the room.
• Ask youth to stand on the sheet of paper that corresponds to how they feel about the any or all the statements below. (scale: 1 highly disagree, 10 highly agree)
• You may choose to ask youth why they have chosen their positions on the scale.

 

Statements

1. Alcohol abuse is a serious problem at my school.
2. Most parents of youth at my school do not know their teens drink.
3. Most parents of youth at my school do not care if their teens drink.
4. Drugs are not a problem at my school.
5. Most youth at my school drink because they think alcohol tastes good.
6. Most youth at my school drink because it is the cool thing to do.
7. Christian youth at my school do not drink.
8. It is a sin for youth to drink.
9. A youth is affected only while actually using alcohol.
10. A youth is an addict only when the addiction become apparent to others.
11. Alcoholism is the third cause of early death behind cancer & heart disease.
12. A youth is not addicted if he or she can periodically control his or her drinkingYouth with good mental health do not become addicted; imbalanced youth do.
13. Cutting down can lead to cutting out alcohol all together.
14. If you think you have had too much to drink, the best solution is to drink black coffee and get some fresh air.
15. The stages of alcohol abuse are experimentation, then social-recreational use, preoccupation, then finally dependency.
16. If a Christian youth were in a dark room, no one saw them buy the alcohol, and no one could see them, and they only drank a little, but did not get drunk, would it be wrong?

 

*These are questions for youth discussions. Different churches and individuals may have different perspectives on the issues. They can be used as an introductory discussion to “how we treat our body as a temple of God”, gray areas in scripture, purity, decisions and choices and a variety of other topics for youth.

 

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

The Old Testament used a great many object lessons or parables for teaching spiritual truths and lessons to the people of God. In almost all instances these object lessons are still easily understood today.

An object lesson is the use of a physical object, sometimes in the context of a story, to illustrate a point or teach an important lesson or truth. By using a material object to illustrate the point of the lesson, it makes it more real to the listener.

Biblical object lessons were used both in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. By Jesus’ use of the Old Testament Object Lessons, he revealed that he considered the lessons of the old Testament were still viable and valuable as teachings in his time.

In order for object lessons to have the greatest impact, the people you are talking to need to be receptive to what you are trying to say, and you will need to say it in such as way that your audience understands.

An example of an object lesson might be 1 Samuel 16:6 where men are paraded before Samuel as possible candidates to be the King of Israel. The men saw the outward appearance and believed them to be the right person for the role, but God on the other hand, saw something different. The object lesson here is much like the old saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Seeing people for who and what they really are is far different than looking at beauty or outward appearance and judging based upon those qualities. The end result of the object lesson was that a man will usually be fooled by the outward appearance, or be led to believe someone to be other than they are if you are led by the “skin deep” part of things.

Today, we’ll require objects that speak to the people of today, since times have obviously changed since Old Testament times. Still, object lessons translated into terms that the youth or adults of today would relate to and understand, can be extremely useful in teaching good values and judgment.

Characteristics or photos of animals, which are not overly pleasant looking, could today be used to replace the “don’t judge by outward looks” lesson from the Old Testament.

One of the most powerful and hard-hitting object lessons that God uses in the Old Testament has to do with the power of prayer and faith in God. A landscape of bleached human bones was used to illustrate that prayer is a powerful and valuable tool for living. God, in order to illustrate the lesson, turned the field of skeletons into a living, breathing army. Using the vast and seemingly endless landscape of death, God illustrated that prayer, belief and obedience make nearly anything possible, even if it seems impossible.

While some people today use object lessons solely for Children’s sermons and teaching children and youth, they are practical for people of all ages. In fact, the instances in which object lessons are used in the Old Testament were mostly directed at adults. People of all ages can benefit from the use of object lessons that are found throughout the Bible. They are no less true today, and even for those who are not Christians, the Bible holds some important lessons on living.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Learn More…

Many a new Sunday School teacher has stood in front of a group of youth and experienced the stage fright that comes with being responsible for imparting spiritual knowledge to them. Teaching youth can be intimidating, to say the least. Some people seem to be born with the ability to connect with students, while others need a lot of tools to make the process go smoother.

Luckily, regardless of what category you would place your own teaching abilities into, object lessons are a tried and true strategy that can really turn a ho-hum lesson into a interactive experience with your youth. Most teachers recognize that there is a certain mood that is present when youth are engaged- a learning zen, if you will. Object lessons are one of the easiest ways to create this sort of learning environment. They were also frequently used in various forms by the greatest teacher of them all – Jesus.

In fact, the use of object lessons to teach spiritual truths traces back to the very beginning of Creation. God has not only consistently revealed himself through his creation, but God has used objects as metaphors for spiritual truths throughout the entire history of his communication with us. And contrary to their common use today with children and for children’s sermons, God and Christ both used them to teach adults. They are in fact very effective with children, youth and adults of all ages.

Understanding Object Lessons

Most people who have spent any time at all teaching understand the concept of object lessons. Instead of basing your entire lesson plan on lectures or pen and paper based activities, the effective teacher introduces the youth to the concept being discussed in a more tangible way. Object lessons are most often applied to difficult abstract concepts and spiritual truths.

The main thing that an object lesson does is create an emotional connection to the abstract concept, driving it home to the students under your influence. Instead of jumping right into a lesson plan, you pique the interest of the youth, unveiling an “aha” moment that gets brain cells engaged in the total learning process.

Object lessons do more than tell about what they are teaching. Instead, they show, in an easy to understand way, what it is that you are trying to portray. As mentioned previously, they are easily used in a teaching environment that involves children, but they are in fact more suitable for youth and adults that can discern and draw more powerful insights and connections. Furthermore, because older audiences have more biased viewpoints, object lessons are ideal for breaking through those barriers, which is a distinct advantage in any teaching situation. In order for students to grasp a concept, they must be open to it in the first place.

Why Use Object Lessons with youth?

As a teacher, preparation is always a part of the process. Teachers that are well prepared are able to reach their students in a much more profound way. Students realize that they are being made a priority and the learning is enriched. There are many other reasons to use object lessons are part of your teaching strategy with youth.

• Learning Retention: There is a teaching cliche that brings this concept into focus. When a student hears something, they may forget it; when they see something, they may retain it; when they experience something, it becomes a part of them, and learning becomes easy. Object lessons assist in the retention of learning, because more parts of the brain are engaged and the student experiences the lesson as a more wholly involved process.
• Simplifying Concepts: Especially when you are dealing with children and youth, there are a lot of times when you want to bring complex lessons down to a more understandable level. In order to do this, you have to create a connection between what is being presented and something that your student is already familiar with. Object lessons make this possible.
• Increased Involvement: Youth can become easily bored with the learning process. When you are able to get them up, moving, and involved, the synapses are activated and a more energetic class time is the result.

Overcoming Teaching Challenges

While object lessons almost always add value to youth lessons when properly placed in a lesson plan, they don’t always hit the mark, and there are few common reasons why.

1. First, it can be extremely difficult to develop object lessons. While there are plenty of already developed plans, they may not directly relate to your specific curriculum used by your youth ministry or Sunday School. However, a good teacher can adapt an object lesson to their needs, as well as become adept at developing their own tangible representations of what is being presented.
2. You also will want to carefully assess the impact that your object lesson is creating. While a properly designed demonstration will increase understanding and participation among youth, one that is placed in the wrong place, or doesn’t really apply can actually undo the potential good, creating more confusion and disconnect for your students. Keep a close eye on how your youth are reacting to the lesson that you selected and adjust it according to how effective you feel it was.
3. In some instances, the presence of your demonstration can draw the attention of your students in such a way as it actually distracts from what you are teaching. This is more likely to occur if you are teaching young children. As a skilled teacher, be aware of this risk and be ready to counteract it in your class.

Finding Object Lessons Suitable for Youth

There are many places that you can look for object lessons:

1. First, having several books with already developed lessons for youth on hand is a good idea. These are often developed for a certain demographic of students or for similar types of teaching situations. In fact, most of the books of object lessons on the market are geared towards children rather than youth and adults. However, they can be adapted by a skilled teacher to be used in many different situations.
2. With teachers being classically inclined to share what works for them in the classroom, it is not at all uncommon to find compilations that other teachers have found to be useful in their own classrooms. Again, if your own teaching situation is fairly similar to the lessons being offered, you can apply them to your youth classroom almost verbatim. However, that is not always the case, and some adaptation may be necessary.
3. Visit www.CreativeObjectLessons.com for almost 100 fully developed object lessons for youth and another 200+ started ideas.

 

As you can see, object lessons add a great deal of value to many different teaching situations. They provide a readily accessible way to reach students of all ages in a tangible way. They also allow students to become involved in the classroom environment and become engaged in the learning process. As a teacher, you can become skilled at using object lessons as a way to reach youth in a more useful way.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Learn More…

Paul, the apostle said, “I have become all things to all men that by all means I may save some.” ( I Cor. 9:19-23) Paul was a master at learning how to communicate in terms that were most contextually effective. Good teachers and leaders spend as much time considering the needs of their youth as they do in planning the content for their lessons. The best teachers have learned to teach in the way they LEARNERS prefer, rather than according to their PERSONAL learning styles.

Characteristics of Right Brain Oriented Thinkers

• Prefer to learn through their emotions (intuitive senses)
• Prefer to learn through a problem solving approach (Prefer inductive learning (moving from real-life to theory) rather than a deductive approach (moving from theory to application)
• Prefer examples, demonstrations, and case studies rather than studying theories
• Respond more to an emotional presentation that provides more inspiration than information
• More interested in how ideas are presented and by whom than the content which is given
• More contextually dependent in their approach to problem solving (More focused on the situation rather than rules and principles; more experiential in solving problems than abstract)
• Prefer to learn by doing rather than listening to others teach
• Prefer to follow the examples of people who they feel can be trusted
• More interested in relationships than almost any other thing
• Willing to follow leaders regardless of their character faults
• Need to feel accepted, liked and approved
• Skilled in presenting oneself in a socially approved and diplomatic manner
• Need attention, recognition and public support (compliments, emotional reinforcement, public affirmation)
• Able and willing to compensate for others’ weaknesses, shortcomings or deficiencies because of their emotional empathy
• Need positive reinforcement, respect and recognition before cooperation is given
• Prefer intuitive, sensory and experiential decision-making that is reinforced by the group
• Prefer to look at similarities and comparisons
• Prefers open-ended experiments that allow for creativity
• Respond best to demonstrated instruction
• Draw upon qualitative patterns in people that are not sequential, but are indicative of one’s felt images
• Prefer information to be given in verbal and personal presentations
• Tend to be subjective
• Freely express feelings
• Rely mostly on images in thinking and remembering
• Prefer the authority of their group rather than of an individual
• Solve problems with hunches and previous patterns observed in people or groups

Characteristics of Left Brain Oriented Thinkers

• Prefer to learn through the use of principles (deductive) rather than through a problem-solving approach (inductive) or a trial and error method.
• Prefer to understand the principles of how and why things work rather than looking at a variety of examples, demonstrations or case studies
• Generally more responsive to an analytical presentation of the facts that are supported with solid results
• The quality, breadth, depth and relevance of the content is more important than how it is presented
• More contextually independent
• Prefer to learn from experts in the field
• Prefers to explore new ways of improving on old models
• More interested in accomplishing tasks
• More willing to follow leaders that measure up to their character, mental and productivity standards
• Need to feel a sense of accomplishment
• Skilled in presenting information in a qualitative and quantitative manner
• Craves a sense of empowerment through the accomplishing of set goals
• Able and willing to compensate for others’ weakness, shortcoming and deficiencies because of their commitment to the greater goals
• Best dealt with through assistance in helping one to complete goals
• Need authority, resources and freedom to allow one to carry out goals
• Prefer rational, analytical and deductive decision-making that may or may not be supported by the group
• Prefers to look at differences and contrasts
• Is more theoretical in solving problems
• Prefer controlled experiments
• Respond best to oral and written instruction
• Prefer information to be given in written instruction
• Objective tendencies
• Control feelings most of the time
• Relies on written instruction in thinking and remembering
• Prefer hierarchical authority
• Solve problems logically, methodically, and sequentially by looking at the parts of people or things

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

2 Timothy 3:14-16

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you have learned it and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Progression of spiritual education
Learned -> Convinced -> Continue in

Teaching is not just words, but also a person’s life – More is caught than taught!
Knowing those from whom you have learned

Effect of Scripture in a person’s life
• Teaching – tells us the path to take
• Rebuke – tells us when we have strayed from that path
• Correcting – tells us how to get back on the path
• Training – helps us to stay on the path

Twofold Purpose of God’s Word!
1. Salvation by faith
2. equipped to serve God

Get Help on Your Youth Sermons

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–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

Try this three step approach to improving your storytelling:

1. Read and learn about storytelling. (see below)
2. Listen to others who are good storytellers.
3. Learn good stories and tell them to others.

Preparing the Story

1. Read the main story out loud. If it is a Bible story, read it in several Bible translations and also read the passages before and after the story for context. Look up an unfamiliar words, places, or people. A good background for the story will make it easier to tell and remember.
2. Visualize the story. Rather than memorize, visualize. The better you are able to picture the story in your mind, the better you can relate that picture to the others. Create story boards in your mind of the sequence of the events. Divide the stories into episodes and learn them episode by episode. Episodes change when the action, scene or speaker changes. Use key, repeated words as your guide in “re-experiencing” the story. If you have to look back at the printed copy, you have not spent enough time preparing to tell the story. The story must become your story. Keep it vivid. Use words that paint mental pictures.
3. Adapt the story. The story length should be about one minute for every year of a child’s age. This holds true for youth, but you can stretch it a little more with an interesting story. For adults, the art of story telling applies to your illustrations and testimonies of real life applications. Also consider the background, vocabulary level, and characteristics and interests of your intended listener.
4. Practice. Practice stories in the dead spaces of time–while trying to fall asleep, driving the car, waiting for an appointment, taking a bath or shower. Practice telling the story in front of a mirror. Record the story so you can listen to it. By listening, you are able to learn and refine the story, making it your own. The more you practice, the easier the story will flow.

Telling the Story

1. Use a natural and relaxed manner and an expressive tone of voice. Hold the attention of the listeners with your voice. Speed up, slow down. Lower your voice or raise it. Express delight and surprise. Create suspense.
2. Make eye contact with each person or scan the audience. With children, remember to sit on their level.
3. Open the Bible to the correct reference and hold the Bible in your lap.
4. Grab the listener’s attention with the first sentence. Get the action going.
5. Alter the timing or pace of the story. Think about how boring music or life would be if everything existed at the same speed.
6. Portray characters and events with your voice and your gestures, keeping in mind that gestures should be genuine, but not exaggerated.
7. Beware of tangents. tangents tend to confuse. Avoid too many details. Excessive detail also tends to confuse.
8. Don’t forget to link the story to your lesson. In a simple sentence or two, tell them why you are going to tell them this story or why you told them the story. Keep it brief. Let the story simmer in your listeners’ minds. Let the story speak for itself. Don’t make it a sermon. Stories enhance sermons; sermons do not enhance stories.

Tools for Storytelling

1. Voice. Your voice is your most important tool in telling Bible stories. The tone and mood of your voice should interpret the Bible story. The feelings of fear, sadness, anger, frustration, or even sleepiness should be evident in your voice to the same degree that they are evident in the story. The speed and direction of your voice will communicate. Example: “Jeremiah was put into a hole in the ground. He went down, down, deep, deep down in the hole.” Your voice can drop with the words “down” and “deep.” Also, using action words and sound words (“Slap,” “Crash,” “Smack”) can add interest, movement, and meaning to the Bible story. The pitch and inflection of the voice should be used from time to time to indicate different characters in a story. Be careful. Too much character can distract from the story. Don’t panic in the pauses. Pauses actualy can be used to great dramatic effect. In pauses, listeners feel the presence, not the absence of God.
2. Facial Expression. Your face is the movie screen of the story. It can be blank with sound only or filled with the action of the story. A smile or a frown can help project the image of the place and people. As you portray different people in the story, think about what their faces would look like.
3. Gestures and Movements. It’s been said that if you tie the hands of a storyteller, he or she will forget the story. Use your hands and body to tell and live the story. The best rule for using gestures is to use only meaningful gestures and to use them on a limited basis. Storytellers who use gestures and movements for every event or person in the story risk losing the preschoolers or making gestures and movement less significant by overuse.

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Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
=> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

1. Add Social Time
Start your meetings ten minutes earlier than usual with a fun icebreaker*!

2. Keep It Moving
Change gears every twenty minutes – Every 20 minutes change something! Activity, presentation style, take a break, change the sitting arrangement, change partners or groups, have a team presentations, exercise, game, quiz, etc. You can even throw a related icebreaker* in the middle of the meeting as an attention getter! Just make sure everything ties together!

3. Creative Reflections
After your lesson, break the youth into groups of 5 to 8 people and challenge each small group to perform a creative expression of the lesson as a skit, a song, a rap, a dance, etc. recap part of the “learnings” from the session. You can also use a related icebreaker* to close a session if it reinforces the theme.

4. Change Places
Place the names of the youth and teachers attending the meeting in a bowl. Then, everyone draws a name other than their own. When responding to ideas, youth anonymously assume the persona of the person on their card and respond from their (assumed) point of view. Later they can try to guess who was playing who!

5. Give Them A Chance!
Have soft kids’ toys in the room (foam balls, squish toys, etc.) Any time someone crushes another person’s idea (e.g., “that won’t work…we tried that before…it’ll cost too much…” etc.), or says something negative or discouraging, group members are invited to pick up the nearest soft toy and bombard the offender, shouting “Give Them A Chance!”

6. Countdown
Got some people who dominate the discussion? Get a three minute egg timer (miniature hourglass) or electronic alarm clock and use it to time discussions. When the agreed-upon time is up, the timekeeper shouts out “Time!” which is the signal to move on.

7. Call an expert!
During a break, group members call someone (another youth not present in the meeting, a parent, a teacher, a youth worker, etc and get another perspective or insight on a key question! Everyone then reports back to the group!

8. Balloon Toss
Youth must write ideas to a given challenge on a small piece of paper (one per sheet), fold the paper up and put it inside a balloon. The must then blow up balloons, and tie them. Everyone tosses the balloons around for 15-30 seconds (high energy break), and then captures a balloon. Each person takes the new idea or answer they have received, and builds on it and report to the group.

9. Games
Add a game to the lesson or include a game in the middle that teaches an important truth or application related to the lesson… Make your point then continue with the lesson! During breaks, stage games or competitions that challenge people mentally or physically. If energy is lagging, use games that involve some physical activity.

10. Celebrate Success
Award Blue Ribbons, sweets or other treat for good answers, for contributing to discussions, and for being actively involved and participating!

11. Lighten Up!
Ask the youth to identify the most common types of disruptive behaviors in meetings (interrupters, boors, manipulators, side conversations, nay-sayers, etc.) Anytime someone reflects one of these behaviors, any member (or the whole group) can shout out “I Don’t Think So!” to lightly remind the “offender.”

12. Exercise Break
Rotate responsibility for group members to lead the group in some kind of physical exercise to start the meeting or use during breaks. If desired, award prizes for the best exercises of the week/month. Bring a boom box with upbeat music to accompany.

13. Think Outside the Box
Wear something unusual! Change the meeting location, decor, seating arrangement, dress code, lesson style, or another common feature to something unusual.

14. Thinking Caps
Create hats for different roles in the group… from time to time change hats… Doubter, debater, champion, questioner, Mr Practicality, what if?, Just the facts, gut reaction, What I feel, Optimist, pessimist, creativity, off the wall, Pastor’s perspective, Parent’s perspective, etc. Members must respond from the perspective of the person represented by the hat. You can even use Biblical characters! Save the hats for future meetings, but don’t use them every week! Make them wild, fun and silly.

*Need help for creative icebreakers to add excitement plus a message to your meetings?
Check out “Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the Next Level!” by Ken Sapp
Visit www.creativeicebreakers.com

Icebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

In many ways, Paul was a spiritual Father to Timothy, and his letters refer to him as his beloved son. He taught and mentored Timothy as his son in the faith! There is much we can learn from Paul’s example in teaching Timothy!

Do what I did!

There’s well known phrase heard today, “Do as I say, not what I do.” But you would have never heard Jesus or Paul use those words. In fact, they would say “Do what I did!” In fact, Jesus said we would do even greater things than he did! To the church at Corinth, Paul said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 11:1 So as a teacher, not only did Paul set an example for Timothy, but his own example was Christ himself!

Paul, as he mentored and taught his disciple Timothy, reminded him of this same truth, in his second letter to Timothy:

“Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.” (2 Tim 3:10-11 RSV)

When Paul says, “You observed,” he uses a very strong Greek word, which means, “You came right along with me; You followed me in these things, you accompanied me through all of this; you saw all these things, now don’t forget them.”

Someone once said “Don’t lead me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.”

Actions Speak Louder than Words – Practice What You Preach

Paul taught Timothy not merely with words, but with his example. If you really want to know what someone believes, all you need to do is observe how they live life. Actions speak louder than words! Paul did not merely teach the truth; he lived it! You could see his teaching in his life, in his actions, in his behavior.

Reactions Speak louder than Actions

But his example didn’t stop there. It is said that you can learn more about a person from their REACTIONS than from their ACTIONS. In a controlled situation anyone can live according to his stated ideas and standards. But if you really want to know what a person is made of, look at how they REACT to circumstances. Look at how they react when things are less than ideal. Look at how they handle the difficulties life throws their way!

It has been said that 10% of life is determined by our circumstances, but 90% of life comes from how we RESPOND to those circumstances.

So, not only was Paul’s teaching and his actions involved, but so was his conduct in various circumstances. “You observed my conduct,” he says. That means that when he was confronted with danger, persecution, and stress, he reacted in line with his teaching; he practiced what he preached. Paul controlled his temper, subdued his lusts, mastered his passions, conquered his fears, and forgave his enemies. He worked with his hands in order to not be a burden to others, he prayed for his friends, he kept himself growing and walking in his relationship with God.

He RESPONDED to LIFE as a living example of everything he taught! It doesn’t mean he was perfect. In fact he admitted many times that he was far from it. His writings show his struggles as well as his victories! But that was why his example was so powerful. He was REAL! He was HONEST! In his life we can see ourselves and take hope, courage, and confidence from his example!

Live Life on Purpose
Paul lived his life according to PURPOSE! Paul tells us this goal, this aim, this purpose very clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:9. “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” Everything Paul did in life was done with the understanding that he would please Christ! Charles M Sheldon wrote a book “In His Steps” in which the whole town began to ask the question, “What would Jesus Do?” and examined the results if we would make that simple question determine our actions. That same question has become a movement today with bracelets, necklaces and a myriad of other items reflecting the question: WWJD – What would Jesus Do?

Your Life and Your Teaching are Inseparable
Paul spoke to Timothy often of his teaching and his example. For him they were inseparable.

• “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:13)
• “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
• “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

So next time, don’t just focus on the lesson plan you intend to teach, but also focus on the life that you live, the example that you set, so that you can also say as Paul said,
“IMITATE ME as I imitate CHRIST!”

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Jesus was the Master Teacher. Not only was He an excellent communicator, but he also had the ability to ask questions that probed both the heart and the mind. The disciples were challenged to answer His questions with more than superficial, fact-based answers. The questions Jesus asked caused listeners to think and evaluate before responding.

Asking good questions is both an art and a skill. Teachers today can learn to ask questions that cause people to reflect and evaluate as well as give fact-based answers. Here’s some guidelines to improve your questions.

• Ask open-ended questions – Questions should be asked in such a way that students will be able to provide a variety of responses. For example, if you have a lesson on the vine and the branches. Don’t ask the obvious question – What does Jesus compare us to? Your only answer is “A vine” Instead ask, “What are some of the possible reasons Jesus used a vine to represent us as Christians?”
• Ask one question at a time. Focus everyone’s thoughts on a single question and you will get much better answers and lively discussion.
• Address everyone with the questions. Don’t allow one person to answer all the questions. Spread them around, call students by name, invite more people to answer. Some of your most quiet kids might have some of the deepest insights.
• Provide positive feedback based on member responses. When you tell a student he is wrong, you will quickly have a silent room when you try discussions in the future. Affirm everyone for giving an answer, then artfully ask questions and pose alternative to guide students to the correct answers.
• Follow some questions with another question. The purpose is to generate discussion, not to test a student’s knowledge. Students need to be engaged in conversation.
• After asking questions, wait for a response. If no response comes quickly, ask the question again and tell learners you will wait for them to think about their answers. People need time to think. Silence may seem uncomfortable but don’t rush too quickly to end the silence.
• Challenge people to answer their own questions sometimes. Occasionally a question can best be answered by the questioner because that person really does know the answer. They just need a little help to think through it and sift it out from their thoughts.
• Affirm all responses. Even incorrect answers reflect an effort to learn. When necessary, comment on incorrect ideas or answers, but be careful not to discourage people from answering questions in the future.
• Admit you don’t have all the answers. When necessary, promise to provide answers to questions you cannot answer in the session. Follow up individually or with the entire class to make sure correct answers are given.

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Last time we looked at Successful Bridge Building and the importance of knowing your destination. Building bridges requires you to take stock of where you are and where you want to go. We mentioned that is must be in BROAD terms and set the DIRECTION you want to go. That moves us toward the destination. But the true destination is a change in the life of the student.

2.Goals tell what should happen to the learner, not the teacher!

• Goals do not express what the teacher will know or understand.
• Goals do not state what the teacher will do to teach the lesson or the course.
• Goals tell what happens or will happen to the learner.

For example, the following statement tells what will have happened to the learner at the end of a course.

• Knows the temptations of Jesus

Which of these goals describes what will happen to the learner rather than what the teacher will do to teach?

1. Understands the beatitudes of Jesus.
2. To increase the student’s understanding of the beatitudes of Jesus.

The Answer?
In number 1, the student obviously understands the methods of Bible study.
Number 2 tells what the teacher intends to do. You should have checked number one.

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Building bridges requires you to take stock of where you are and where you want to go.

Every bridge has a starting point and an end point. Too often, teachers think all they need to do is explain what the Bible means. But knowledge for the sake of knowledge is meaningless. While we must surely begin with this, we must then explore how Biblical truths apply to the lives of our youth. We need to choose a destination.

With each truth, there are many possible destinations. Some applications will be very closely related to a truth, while others may be a little far off. We need to explore those that are closely related and choose a destination, a landing point. When we do this, it will be much easier to determine the direction and links that will take us to our chosen destination. Anything else is just extra weight. Add too much weight and we risk the possibility that the bridge may collapse before we reach our goal!

Where do you want to go? CHOOSING YOUR GOAL!

An effective goal reveals in relatively broad terms what the student should learn. Instead of stating what the student will do to prove he has learned, it sets in relatively broad terms the direction of learning.

Read the following statements. Which ones do you consider “relatively broad” statements of the direction of learning.

1. The student arranges in chronological order a random list of ten events in the life of Jesus.
2. The student knows the teachings of Jesus.
3. The student matches the 10 beatitudes of Jesus with examples of each.
4. The student demonstrates understanding of the meanings of the beatitudes.
5. The student understands the teaching of the “sermon on the mount”

The ANSWER?
The list contains some very specific statements-one and three. They specify rather minute indicators that the learner has achieved a goal. So we do not call them goals. Numbers two, four, and five express learning intent in relatively board terms.

Next: More about choosing your goal!

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There is something about a bridge that is fascinating.

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is one of the world’s longest single-span suspension bridges. Its rust-colored structure is strikingly beautiful when partially shrouded in a morning fog and illuminated by rising sun. Colorado’s Royal Gorge bridge has a total length of 1,260 feet and is suspended 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, which flows through the bottom of the canyon below. This height makes the Royal Gorge Bridge the world’s highest suspension bridge and one of America’s most spectacular attractions. Florida’s Tampa Bay Bridge spans seventeen miles on Florida’s gulf coast. The list goes on.

When you see one of these incredible monuments to modern construction they seem an impossible achievement. How do they build a bridge to connect two land masses thousands of feet, or even many miles, apart over choppy seas or across towering cliffs?

There are answers, of course – answers that involve elaborate construction processes. A qualified structural engineer specializing in bridge design could tell you of the theory and process of bridge building that is behind such accomplishments. But, for the uninformed or the inexperienced, building a bridge is still a mystery.

Effective Bible teaching is also a bridge-building task only a few have mastered.

The Bible teacher must build a bridge from the ancient world of the Bible to the modern world of the student.

What are some of the gaps a Bible teacher must bridge?

• Time: The student must be able to cross not only to the past but to his own future as well.
• Meaning: We must be able to take what it meant to original hearers and cross over to what it means to our hearers today.
• Culture: This bridge must take the student into a society far different from his own and back again.
• Needs: Must bring the Biblical truths to the needs of the learner.
• Level: We must bridge the gap between Biblical truths and the level of understanding of the learner.

The teacher must help the student construct a bridge that will carry biblical principles from the world of Abraham, David, Jesus, and Paul to one of stock markets, housing projects, school hallways, and the Internet. This is no easy bridge building project, but it can be done.

In the next installment of “Building Bridges” we’ll look at an important question that we need to ask ourselves before we can build an effective bridge from the Bible to the youth of today!

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“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”
Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Getting Back in Touch with Your Personal Creativity!

I am often asked, “How can you come up with so many Creative Ideas?”

Personally, I think all of us are born creative. We are born with a “Sense of Wonder”. Unfortunately, as we get older we tend to lose our sense of wonder. We figure everything out. Things began to have but one interpretation, the correct answer, a single perspective, fossilized associations. We forget how to “think outside of the box” and tend to see things in only one way. But give a child a banana and it becomes more than a healthy snack. With a little imagination it becomes a gun, a smile or a frown, a mobile phone, a nose, an antenna, a flute, and more.

So how can we regain our creativity? What is the solution?

1. Loosen up

Break out of the walls, take on the qualities of a rubber band – be flexible. Embrace the ridiculous and challenge the rules. What if the impossible were possible?

2. Look at Things Around You in Unusual Ways.

a. Turn things on their heads. What if the flea was the elephant or the elephant the flea? What if the ice was hot and the fire was cold? What if the turtle was fast and the rabbit too slow?
b. Take things to extremes. Imagine the ridiculous, exaggerate a quality or characteristic.
c. Change the scene. What if you were teaching race-car driving to the golf pro? Or golf to the race-car driver? What if you were giving the lesson at the beach, in a cave, in the morgue, on the moon? What if you were teaching in the kitchen, the toy store, on the farm, in the blacksmith shop? What if you were a policeman, a lawyer, an alien, a fish?

All these things change your perspective. Some of the world’s greatest inventions and achievements came from people looking at things from a different perspective.

3. Look Everywhere for Inspiration

The Bible, an encyclopedia, your music collection, chemistry, nature, household items, junk drawers, machines, animals, science, the body, the alphabet, shapes, colors, textures, sports, transport, street signs, magazines, fairy tales, movies, cartoons, TV, daily routines, occupations, songs, hobbies, books, clothes, office supplies, kitchen utensils, arts, crafts, instruments, quotes, idioms, emotions, famous personalities, flavors, cars, photos, desserts, drinks, tool sheds, food, games, game shows, insects, etc.

a. Look to your senses. How would you describe it according to smell, to touch, by sound, taste or sight?
b. Look around you – Walk through a toy store or other store , empty your junk drawer, visit an appliance store, a supermarket, a bakery, a Christmas tree. What if it were a bird, an animal, an insect, a fish?
c. Look to others. The most creative people in the world are those who draw intelligently from the idea well of others.
d. Look for similarities, differences, and various characteristics? What objects, things have similar attributes?

4. Look Between (Link and Make connections)
a. List all possible associations, even the seemingly ludicrous. Don’t evaluate, just list.
b. Pick out the best, but save the rest
c. Draw applications, find connections – While most ideas are never new, how they are applied is never old. What are the metaphors, the object lessons, the parables, the truths?

5. Look Back.
How did things go? What worked? What didn’t? What inspirations came to mind? Unexpected truths?

6. Look Ahead.
How could it be done better next time? Write it on a card and place it in a file for future use.

Practice these 6 steps and in no time at all you will find yourself being asked the same question I am – “How can you come up with so many creative ideas?”

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
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• To serve others
• To gain love and acceptance
• To obtain recognition and status
• To find self-fulfillment
• To serve God

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Ingredients
1 loving teacher
8 to 12 young minds
1 to 2 cups curiosity
4 to 5 spoonfuls fun hands-on participation
Patience
Laughter
Enthusiasm

Directions

1. Combine talented teacher and eager young mind
2. Add cupfuls of curiosity and spoonfuls of fun.
3. Blend in generous amounts of hands-on participation mixed with patience.
4. Sprinkle with laughter and serve with enthusiasm.

Yield
Learning at its best!

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Tips for using Stories.

• Don’t tell a story without practice.
• Do not analyze the story. Let the story speak for itself.
• Don’t make it a sermon. Stories enhance sermons; sermons do not enhance stories.
• Keep it vivid. Use words that paint mental pictures.
• Make sure it is appropriate. Age group and context are important considerations.
• Visualize the story. Rather than memorize, visualize. See the story in your mind’s eye.
• Consider student vocabulary level.
• Beware of tangents. tangents tend to confuse.
• Avoid too many details. Excessive detail also tends to confuse.
• Don’t show and tell. Use props sparingly Let your words do the communicating.
• Resist asking for feedback. Let the story simmer in your listeners’ minds.
• Do not illustrate a story. Stories within stories may work in writing but not in teaching.

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Game Description
Sitting in a circle, youth toss a ball of string to someone else in the circle. The person receiving the string must name a quality, item, or something else related to the lesson.

Game Materials
Ball of string or yarn

Game Play
Example: Name a Quality of friendship

1. Sit the group on the floor in a circle.
2. Holding firmly to the string, toss it to a person in the circle.
3. The person receiving the string must name a quality (of the person who tossed it to him/her) that makes them a good friend.
4. The person then, holding firmly onto the string, tosses the ball on to another person. The string should be held above the ground.
5. Continue until everyone has received the string at least once and said at least one quality of a friend that the person who tosses it to them possesses.

Discussion

• Of the qualities mentioned which do you value most?
• Who are your friends?
• How can we be better friends?
• Why are friends important?

Closing
What makes a friend is the connections we make, the events we share, the discussions we share. Eventually, if we fail to share with each other or if we do things that “break” the relationship the friendship begins to fall apart. John 15 speaks of the “Vine and the branches” and the connectedness we must maintain with Christ! Fortunately the Bible says we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother- Jesus.
What are some of the qualities of God as a friend?

Apply it
What is one quality of a friend you will work to show in your actions this week? Who will you show it to? How?

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Description
Conspicuously placed signs get attention and encourage participation.

Example

1. Post two large sheets of paper or a couple of sheets of newsprint (small print classifieds work best) with
2. the heading “Good Things Come to Those Who Wait” on opposite walls.
3. Use large tip markers but make sure the paper is thick enough so it does not bleed through. Alternatively use your classroom whiteboard.
4. As youth arrive, direct them to one of sheets of paper or the whiteboard and instruct them to list as many things as possible that may take a while to receive but are definitely worth the wait.

Note: pasting newsprint around the room, on the floor or on a table etc in unusual places with large printed questions is more likely to catch their attention when they enter your classroom because it is unusual.

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Use
Use this word game to add an element of fun and interactivity to a lesson. It works great with questions where youth can list a variety of single word answers.

Materials
Paper and writing utensil for each youth

Example As a game, give the youth 30 seconds to make a list of as many things as possible that must be “connected” in order to work properly.

1. Go around the group and have each person choose a word off their list that has not been chosen yet. S/he will get a point for each other person who has written that same word.
2. Everyone then crosses that word off the list.
3. Continue around until there are no more words left.
4. Reward the youth with the highest score.

Discussion
Why is being connected to Jesus so important in John 15?

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Often, well known scripture passages and events gain new life when told from a different perspective. Assign class members the roles of different people a passage. If we were to use Mark 14, then read the Mark 14, and have each person retell the story from the perspective of the person’s role they were assigned.

Possible roles are:

1. Jesus annointed with Perfume – Jesus, Chief priests and teachers of the law, people (crowd), Simon the Leper, Mary the sister of Martha (the woman with the jar of perfume), disciples, Judas Iscariot
2. The Lord’s Supper – man carrying the jar of the water, the owner of the house with the large upper room, the disciples, Judas, Peter, Jesus
3. Garden of Gethsemane – Peter-James-John, God the Father, Jesus
4. Jesus’ Arrest – The servant of the High Priest who had his ear cut off, the streaker who lost His garment, guards, Jesus, disciples
5. Jesus Before the Sanhedrin – Sanhedrin, High Priest, Jesus, guards, those who were asked to give false testimony
6. Peter denies Christ – the servant girl who questioned Peter, the crowd, Peter

Some more creative roles would be to tell the story from the following perspectives:

1. Annointed with Perfume – from the perfume’s perspective
2. The Lord’s Supper – the unleavened bread and wine, the table, the upper room
3. Garden of Gethsemane – the garden itself
4. Jesus’ Arrest – the streaker’s lost garment, the ear, the swords and clubs, the kiss
5. Before the Sanhedrin – The house of the high priest, the high priest’s torn robes, the hands which struck Jesus, the blindfold Jesus was made to wear
6. Peter denies Christ – the rooster, the fire by which Peter was warming himself, Peter’s tears

Application
1. Discuss the insights and lessons learned from this activity.
2. Do this same process for key Biblical events in both the Old and New Testaments

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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.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
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Create file folders for common lesson topics

Over the years, you will find yourself repeating many of the lesson topics with a different set of youth or children. You don’t need to re-invent the wheel every time.

1. Make a list of future lesson topics and create a folder for each topic. Whenever you come across stories, articles, or other teaching materials related to the topic, place a copy in the folder. You can even get parents and the rest of your youth workers and youth teachers to help you. Let them know what topics are coming up and ask them to be on the lookout for related information and to give you a copy of anything they come across.

2. Save your Lessons and Materials by topic. When you teach a lesson on a specific topic or Bible passage, photocopy it and place it in a folder for future reference. In the future when you teach the topic or passage again, you now have additional teaching ideas and activities to help you prepare your lesson.

3. Save your ideas and insights. Have a great teaching idea or activity for a lesson? Write it down and place it in a file according to topic. In the future when you teach that topic, your incredible insights and wonderful ideas won’t be wasted.

4. Do the same thing for key events and activities. Put a copy of everything related to the event into a folder. Meeting minutes, publicity, contact persons, resources etc. Next time you have the event it will be so much smoother!

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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What you do
In a designated place, leave a lesson photocopied from your favorite resource with everything needed to teach the lesson. A small cloth bag with a draw string works great. Staple a label to the outside with the title of the lesson, the topic, and the scripture passage. (Large manilla envelopes or file folders can also be used for this. A small toolbox also works.)

Here’s what you should include:
1. A Photocopy or the original teaching plan for the lesson. (This has all the details for the lesson background, key principles and teaching points, and instructions for the learning activities. This should be read in advance of the actual teaching, even if it is 15 minutes before you start.)
2. A teaching outline of the lesson with key points, discussion questions to ask, and activities listed. This is what you actually use when you teach the lesson. You should never teach directly from a curriculum.
3. Any props, objects for objcet lessons, posters, OHP cells, or other materials needed to teach the lesson.
4. Worksheets and pencils for the typical number of youth that attend your program, plus a few extras.
5. Blank Paper for students to write on
6. Whiteboard markers and eraser
7. A small Bible
8. A list of the contents of the bag needed for the lesson.
ANYTHING ELSE NEEDED TO TEACH THE LESSON

WHY?
1. For those times when you are running late and don’t have time to prepare for a lessonand collect all the resources needed.
2. When you need to teach a lesson outside the church in someone’s home, at a school, or even at another church. Just grab your “Lesson to Go” and you have everything you need.
3. When you get delayed, or find yourself ill and you need someone else to teach a lesson for you. They will appreciate your advanced preparation.

After you have taught the lesson, be sure to replace your “Lesson to Go” for the next time you find yourself in a crunch!

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Materials
None

Activity
Ask Youth or Children,
“If you could ask God one question, what would you ask?”

Questions are positives, not negatives.
If a child / teen is not asking spiritual questions he / she is not growing spiritually. In “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby this is referred to as a “crisis of belief.”

Honest doubts and questions are not the same as unbelief. Actually, they are the sign of belief or of a developing belief. Faith is not the absence of doubt, but moving forward despite the doubts. As decisions are made, in spite of the doubts, one’s faith grows and the doubts disappear.

As you help children / youth /adults to work through their doubts and questions you will be nurturing their faith.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Description
A communicative exercize in which individuals or groups must present a specific view of an issue and argue against other views presented by other groups.

Example
Jesus violated the Sabbath to heal the sick.
Group 1: Take the position of the Pharisees in keeping the Sabbath
Group 2: Take the position of Jesus in healing the sick

Key Actions
1. Choose the topic or issue and participants
2. Provide information, references or other sources that can be used in arguments
3. Give all sides of the issue opportunity to present their views and to respond to other views.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Description
A description of the meaning of a word or phrase.

example
Faith: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
Faith: a convinced belief
Faith: Belief without evidence

Key Actions
1. Have members form a personal definition
2. Read formal definitions from dictionaries, encyclopedias or other sources.

Game Idea
1. Award the person whose definition is closest to that in the dictionary
2. Include webster dictionary among the entries. Ask youth to try to find the corerct definition among those given

Application
A dictionary is the one of the best Bible study tools available. It opens up the meaning of the words as used in scriptures and is accessible to anyone. Teaching kids and youth to use a dictionary while they study the Bible has great benefit!

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Description
A method of problem solving in which group members are led to suggest as many solutions as possible in a designated time period. Evaluation and criticism of proposed suggestions in not allowed until later. Great to get kids to begin thinking about a topic or subject.

Example
1. What are some similarities between fishing and evangelism?
2. In what ways are Christians like a light?
3. What equipment is needed for fishing?

Key Actions
1. Leader presents a problem or question
2. Time period is specified
3. Contributions are recorded as offered by ALL the participants
4. After contributions are made the leader leads the group in evaluating proposed solutions / answers.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Description
A word is chosen and each letter in that word is used as the first letter of another word.

Examples
GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
FAITH = Forsaking All I Trust Him

How to use it to spice up your teaching
1. Pick an important word from the lesson
2. Have participants in the group or subgroups create an acrostic using the key word.
3. Have volunteers share the acrostics they have created.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

What is an Object Lesson?

An object lesson is the use of objects – insects, fruits, vegetables, animals, coins, thermometers, tools, weapons – to teach intellectual and spiritual truths. More than just a visual, an object lesson draws a truth from something you are showing or doing. Real objects, places and happenings can make learning come alive for children, youth, and adults.

The Bible Is Full of Object Lessons
The potter’s house, the fig tree and sheep were used by God to teach his people truths in ways they could understand, remember, and share with others. Lessons can be found not only the things of nature, but in the sacrificial service and observances of the Bible. The Scriptures themselves were given to reveal God. All of nature reveals the thought of God, but we often fail to see him through his creation. (Romans 1:20)

Jesus’ Use of Object Lessons
Jesus often used the objects at hand around him to teach people about God and His Kingdom. When he was by a well, He used water. After He fed 5000 people, He taught them about the bread of life. When He was on a fishing boat, He said the Kingdom was like a fishing net. He told his listeners to consider the lilies, the sparrows, and the hairs on their head. Jesus referred to a fig tree, a mustard tree, yeast, salt, a vineyard, money and other things from everyday life to reveal spiritual truth. When He spoke of a vineyard, He was probably by a vineyard. When He said, “consider the sparrows,” there were probably sparrows flying around.

In Christ’s teaching, the unknown was illustrated by the known; divine truths by earthly things, the spiritual by the natural, the difficult by the simple. He used the things with which the people were most familiar, the things of the earth to teach them the things that were unfamiliar, the things of heaven. Object lessons speak to the eyes and other senses so that they are received into the heart. In fact the more senses that are involved, the greater the learning that takes place. Christ’s teaching using object lessons was targeted at adults, not children, but everyone can learn truths from a simple lesson involving the senses.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Learn More…

One key to effective teaching is concentration on one “big idea.”

Like a magnifying glass on a hot summer day, concentration turns ho-hum teaching into fiery hot teaching. It is the teacher’s job to select what is really important to teach and converge all of the teacher’s energy on that.

Too often the reason our students don’t get things is there was a lack of concentration on the part of the teacher. Focus down to ONE concept. Rewrite it if you need to… but focus on one truth for the lesson.

Too often teachers teach too little because they tried to teach too much.

“How often do we do this in Sunday School?” We scrape the Milky Way with all kinds of high-sounding truth about this and that and never get around to telling people how to read the Bible for themselves, how to be a good Christian, how to memorize scripture and how to know that we are forgiven for our sins.

It is fine to explore some of the intricacies of theology and biblical background and history and cultural issues. These are good to know, nice to know, interesting to know and helpful to know. But the key thing is, how do our pupils perform at game time? Are we making disciples who know how to relate to God, enjoy God, serve God, get along with others and advance the kingdom with the gifts God has given them?

I have been guilty at times of teaching too little because I try to teach too much. I am too interested at times in all kinds of detail related to the Bible that is nice to know, good to know, interesting to know, but not absolutely necessary to living the disciple’s life. I want to be a teacher whose teaching is fiery hot because of the concentration of the message around one single idea.

Select from each week’s Bible Study passage one idea that you want to drive home. Pound away on that one idea. Support it; explain it; give examples of it; discuss it. Draw illustrations of it. Mold it. Shape it. Cut it. Map it. Discuss it. Ultimately, lead your group to apply this one salient idea when they get on the playing field of life.

When one idea has been imprinted in their thoughts, its much easier for it to become ingrained in their actions and life.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…