Principles in Biblical Teaching



Syllabus

Principles in Biblical Teaching

Class Description

This is a course on the basic principles of biblical teaching. It is designed to give a basic overview of methods and principles of teaching biblical truth. In doing this, the class will attempt to give the student helpful feedback so that he or she can access with more confidence God’s calling in his life.

Class Objectives

Upon completion of this class, the student will have . . .

1. Gained greater confidence in determining his or her calling.

2. Developed a personal teaching philosophy by writing a philosophy of teaching paper.

3. Gained further understanding concerning the Holy Spirit’s role in the teaching process.

4. Learned about various teaching methods along with their effectiveness.

5. Become aware of the importance of the spiritual, intellectual, and homiletical preparation that biblical teaching requires.

6. Become thoroughly familiar with the homiletical process through lecture, discussion, and preparation of lessons.

7. Prepared and delivered two lessons using the principles learned.

8. Created a personal critique sheet which will be used by peers in evaluation of lessons.

9. Learned to humbly evaluate the critique of others.

Class Material

Required

Jim Wilhoit and Leland Ryken. Effective Bible Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988.

Howard Hindricks. Teaching to Change Lives. Multnomah: Sisters, OR, 1987.

Suggested

Haddon Robinson. Biblical Preaching. Baker: Grand Rapids, 1980.

Richard Ramesh. Preparing Expository Sermons. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.

William Yount. Called to Teach. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1999.

Howard Hendricks. Color Outside the Lines. Dallas: Word, 2002.

Given by Instructor

Many handouts will be given by the instructor. The student is expected to read each one.

Class Requirements

1. Participation: This class is structured and designed in such a way that participation in in-class discussions and activities will take up the majority of the time. Participation is therefore essential.

2. Reading: Each member of the class is expected to complete any and all readings that are assigned. See schedule for due dates.

3. Development of a Teaching Philosophy: This paper should be one to five pages. You will ask the questions, “What constitutes an excellent teacher?” “What constitutes excellent teaching?” and “What type of teacher do I want to be?” Then you will write down the primary values that you believe constitute an excellent teacher with the view of exemplifying these values in yourself and your teaching.

4. Create a personal evaluations sheet: This evaluation sheet contains areas in which you think critique of your performance is most important. You will give this sheet to the other members of the class to use when you teach.

5. Each student will be required to prepare and teach one sermon or lesson: This is the high point of the class. It is at this time that you will apply the principles learned and subject yourself to the critique of the other members of the class.

Class Outline and Schedule

The formal class sessions will be held for two consecutive weeks (Saturdays 9am-2pm).

The structure of the course will tentatively be as follows:

|Class |Subject |Date |Due |

|1 |Developing a Teaching Philosophy |2/8 | |

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| |Exegetical and Theological Process | | |

|2 |Homiletical Process |2/15 |Reading: TCL |

| | | |Teaching philosophy paper |

| |Evaluation of Teaching | |Exegetical and theological outlines |

| |First Lesson |TBA |Reading: EBT |

| | | |Personal critique sheet. |

Teacher Training

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Teaching

1. Holy Spirit as Revealer

The Holy Spirit is the only revealer of spiritual truth (1 Cor 2:1-16)

Teacher

Student

2. Holy Spirit as Gift Giver

Although all people are commanded to teach (Matt 28:19-20), certain people are spiritually gifted to teach (Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:29).

What does the “gift of teaching” look like?

What is the difference between natural ability and the gift of teaching?

|Natural Ability |Gift of Teaching |

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General Principles

How does one know if he or she has been given the gift of teaching?

Is there an unusual thirst to learn spiritual things?

Is there and unusual ability to understand spiritual things?

Is there an unusual desire to teach (Jer 20:9)?

Is there a natural ability to teach?

Do people benefit spiritually from your teaching?

Teaching is a joint venture

Just because you have the gift of teaching does not mean that you do not need to be diligent in your preparation.

How to develop the gift of teaching (Roy Zuck):

1 Exercise the gift (1 Tim 4:14).

2 Observe others who are effective.

3 Getting training in the principles of teaching.

4 Have someone observe your teaching and make helpful suggestions.

5 Attend Christian education conferences and workshops.

Principles in Biblical Teaching

2 Timothy 4:2

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Outline

Session 1: Developing a teaching philosophy

Session 2: Exegetical and Theological Process

Session 3: Homiletical Process

Session 1:

Developing a Philosophy of Teaching

Outline

I. What constitutes excellence in teaching?

II. Developing your own teaching philosophy

III. Holy Spirit in Teaching

IV. Role of Man in Teaching

V. What is the difference between preaching and teaching?

VI. Different teaching methods

What constitutes excellence in teaching?

✓ Think of the teachers who have most influenced your life in a positive way. What was it that made them excellent teachers?

✓ Likewise, think of all of the poor teachers you have had. What is it that made them poor?

|Excellent Teaching |Poor Teaching |

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What is an Effective Teacher? [1]

✓ He has clearly-defined _________.

✓ He is _______ and ___________.

✓ He creatively handles _________ and ____________.

✓ He encourages ___________ and ___________ in others.

✓ He is committed to students as ______________.

✓ He is ____________ about teaching.

✓ He is excited about the _____________.

✓ He is open to _________ values and beliefs of others.

✓ He is ____________ _____________.

What is an Ineffective Teacher?

✓ Lack of ____________.

✓ Lack of ____________.

✓ No clearly defined ___________.

✓ Lack of __________ and _______________.

✓ ______________ with closed lecture.

✓ Lack of _______________.

✓ No personal _____________ and ______________ concerning subject.

✓ Teaching doesn’t let you ___________.

✓ ______________ answers for questions asked.

Developing your own teaching philosophy

Values

What do you value

in teaching and teachers?

Write down your ten primary values. These values will constitute your excellence in teaching paper.

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The Role of the Holy Spirit in Teaching

Holy Spirit as Revealer

The Holy Spirit is the only revealer of spiritual truth: Read 1 Cor. 2:1-16

Teacher

Student

Holy Spirit as Gift Giver

Although all people are commanded to teach (Matt 28:19-20), certain people are spiritually gifted to teach (Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:29).

What does the “gift of teaching” look like?

What is the difference between natural ability and the gift of teaching?

|Natural Ability |Gift of Teaching |

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General Principles

How does one know if he or she has been given the gift of teaching?

Is there an unusual thirst to learn spiritual things?

Is there and unusual ability to understand spiritual things?

Is there an unusual desire to teach (Jer 20:9)?

Is there a natural ability to teach?

Do people benefit spiritually from your teaching?

Teaching is a joint venture

Just because you have the gift of teaching does not mean that you do not need to be diligent in your preparation.

How to develop the gift of teaching (Roy Zuck):

1 ______________ the gift (1 Tim 4:14).

2 _________________ others who are effective.

3 Get ____________ in the principles of teaching.

4 Have someone ___________ your teaching and make helpful suggestions.

VII. Role of Man in Teaching

Discipline

2 Tim 2:15

Creativity

Christ’s Example: Conflict, parables, sermons, dilemma, illustrative, and expository.

Passion

The difference between preaching and teaching

|Teaching |Preaching |

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Different teaching methods

|Least affective teaching methods |Most effective teaching methods |

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Hear, see, and do: getting the students engaged:

Hear:

1. Mini-Lecture.

2. Sermon.

3. Role playing.

4. Devils advocate.

See:

1. Use visual illustrations.

5. Give handouts and outlines.

2. Use Power Point.

3. Use white board.

Do

1. Large group discussion.

2. Small groups discussion.

3. Have the students give illustration to a point.

4. Continually ask questions and wait for the answers.

5. Neighbor nudge.

6. Create dilemmas.

7. Field trips.

8. Have student debate.

Session 2:

The Exegetical and Theological Process

I. Exegetical Process:

✓ Choose a text

✓ Outline the text

-Take into account the natural division markers (but, therefore, and, etc.)

-Divide into points (each section should not contain more than three points)

-Give each point an exegetical heading that summarizes the point

✓ Give the section an exegetical proposition

-Subject: What is the passage talking about?

-Compliment: What does it say about what it is talking about?

-Example: The exegetical process (subject) must summarize what the text is teaching about the subject of the passage (complement).

II. Theological Process:

✓ Ask the questions:

1. “What does this mean for all people?”

2. “What does this say about God?”

3. “What does this say about man?”

✓ Using your exegetical outline, form a theological outline.

✓ Using your exegetical proposition, form a theological proposition.

-Subject: What is the passage talking about?

-Compliment: What does it say about what it is talking about?

See handout for examples of the exegetical and theological process

Create exegetical and theological outlines and propositions for Luke 9:37-43 and Prov 28:2

Prepare exegetical and theological outlines for the following passages and have them ready for next week.

John: John 5:1-16

Gary: Ps 1:1-6

Harry: Gen 25:27-34

Session 3: Homiletical Process

What are you going to talk about?

I. Hook (Introduction)

• Creates a need

• Answers the audience’s question, “Why do I need to hear what you are talking about?”

• Gives a preview to orient and prepare the audience.

• Recognizes that people come to your lesson with much baggage from a hard week.

• Illustrates the importance of the forthcoming message.

What does it mean?

II. Book (Expositional and Theological)

• Moves from 21st century to the ancient time of the text.

• Interprets the text to the audience.

• Communicates in terms the audience will understand.

• Incorporates both the exegetical and theological process.

• Answers the questions:

1. “What did it mean then?”

2. “What does it say about God?”

3. “What does it say about man?”

What difference does it make?

III. Look (Illustration)

• Illustrates the lesson

• Shows how this is relevant to the audience

• Motivates people to action

• Inspires people and prepares them to apply the lesson.

What do you want us to do?

IV. Took (Application)

• Summary of message

• Shows how your audience can apply the teaching to their lives.

• Specific actions

• Many imperatives

• Brings closure to the lesson

|Good Conclusion |Bad Conclusion |

|“Let me give you four points of application” (10 min) |“And may God apply these truths to our lives. Amen” |

Big Picture of the Lesson

|Option One |Option Two |Option Three |

|Introduction |Introduction |Combination of the two. |

|I. Point #1 |I. Exegetical |Makes sure that each category is represented somewhere. |

|A. Exegetical |II. Theological | |

|B. Theological |III. Homiletical | |

|C. Homiletical |Conclusion | |

|II. Point #2 | | |

|A. Exegetical | | |

|B. Theological | | |

|C. Homiletical | | |

|III. Point #3 | | |

|A. Exegetical | | |

|B. Theological | | |

|C. Homiletical | | |

|Conclusion | | |

Odds and Ends

I. Support Material

1. Personal Illustrations

2. Current event illustration (newspaper, magazine, etc)

3. Research polls (; magazines, Gallup)

4. Illustrations from an Illustration Book (, Tardy Oxcart, etc.)

II. Creating an Atmosphere

III. A/V Techniques (see handouts)

IV. Evaluation Sheets (see handouts)

V. Setting a time to teach

My understanding of excellence in teaching has been derived both inductively and deductively. Inductively I have learned by principles I have been taught, books I have read, and my own experience teaching through various mediums. Deductively, I have learned by the example of both good and bad teaching that I have sat under throughout the years. I have drawn from both of these categories in my formulization of my understanding of what excellence in teaching is. The list of principles given in this paper are not given according to priority. I have tried to include only what I understand to be the sine qua non of teaching excellence.

Personal Life

The Excellent Teacher “Practices What He or She Preaches.”

This principle is an extremely broad and difficult principle to articulate. It has to do with the teacher’s personal life. Does the teacher practice what they preach? True, some teachers do not preach, as well, some preachers do not teach. But through the course of this paper, the argument will be interwoven through various principles that all teachers are to a certain degree preachers and all preachers should be teachers. A teacher is one who teaches what is significant for the learner. The objective based teaching evaluates what the student needs. Teaching is not simply a vain transferal of information, but is an impartation of information which is relevant to the students lives. Teaching pushes the student toward a goal that will transform their lives in one way or another. The teacher must communicate the importance of the information. The teacher must let the student know that there is an applicational end to the learning which is taking place. Therefore, it is my contention that when the teacher communicates the objectives of the course and the rational behind those objectives, he or she begins to preach and exhort his or her student toward an applicational goal. When the teacher communicates this rational effectively, it is of extreme importance that teachers are actively pursuing the same goals which they are inspiring their student toward.

This principle is of primary importance when the subjects dealt with are in the theological realm. The Bible, theology, and spiritual life are all subjects which inherently have principles which have direct application to ones personal life. If the applicational aspects of these subjects are ignored, the subjects themselves have been short circuited seeing as how they have not accomplished their intended goal. Students of subjects in the area of theology must not be short-changed. I believe when a teacher does not strive to live by the principle which he or she is teaching, the entire teaching process is in danger of failure. The student will see no motivation to receive the full benefit of what they are being taught. The teacher will be seen as a hypocrite. Therefore, it is extremely important for the teacher to strive to live up to the principles which he or she is teaching.

Paul, writing to the Philippians, tells them, “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” Paul wanted the Philippians not merely to listen to what he said, but also to watch what he does (Phil 3:17, emphasis added). As a teacher, it is incumbent upon me to strive to attain to the goals and objectives which I have set for my students. If the rational behind my objectives does not inspire me, how is it to inspire them?

The Excellent Teacher has Personal Integrity Outside the Classroom

This issue is extremely important for the teacher in the theological realm. At first glance it seems to be the same as the first principle. While there is much similarity, and the basic theological foundation is the same, it is also different and deserves its own category. Personal integrity is much more broad than the first principle. It involves not only a commitment to strive to follow by the principles which are taught in the classroom, but also a striving for personal integrity in many other areas. When Paul gives the qualifications of an elder in 1 Tim 3:2, one of them is to be “above reproach.” This involves the responsibility of the elder to have such exemplary personal life that no one can call his character into question. Therefore, when he leads, people are not going to be disqualifying him (and the Christ he represents) because of some failure in one or more areas of life. This principle is true for the teacher as well. The teacher has been put in a leadership position. The teacher, like the elder, must be sensitive to this, knowing that he or she is going to be judged more strictly both by man and by God (Jam 3:1).

The broader category which this fits under is that of discipleship. The teacher is to disciple the student not only on what he or she explicitly teaches in the classroom, but also what they teach by the way they live their lives. The students will look more broadly at the teacher’s life and judge whether or not they show to have integrity in their personal lives.

Personal integrity outside the classroom involves, among other things, the teacher’s moral life. He must strive to display behavior that is in accordance with the principles of Scripture. It involves a strong commitment to family, devotion to God through a consistent prayer-life, and a commitment to the to the lost. It would be difficult to list all that is involved in being “above reproach” in the teacher’s personal life, but it is a necessary principle to which the teacher must strive to adhere.

Excellence in Teaching Involves a Commitment to Individual Student, Not Only Individual Classes

Christ had great crowds which followed him during His ministry. Many times these crowds numbered in the thousands. Christ could have easily been overwhelmed by the crowds and not found any time for the individuals. But this was not the case. He was continually taking people under His wings in order to disciple them more fully. An excellent teacher must do this as well. The teacher must be committed to the students in such a way that he or she is willing to devote more than classroom time to the students. As Howard Hendricks puts it, “You’ve got to be willing to pour out your life. It means getting personally involved with your students, both in and out of class, both formally and informally. It means coming to class early and staying late just to talk to them. It means inviting them into your home.”[2]

There is much that is involved in this principle. At the very least the teacher would do his or her best to know the names of the students. This can be a daunting task, especially if the class is large, but it is extremely important to the student to know that the teacher cares enough about them to memories their name. The teacher must get involved to the best of his ability in the personal lives of his or her students. Again, this is even more difficult, even impossible, with some classes because of size. Nevertheless, the teacher must try to get to know as many of the student as he or she can. This is valuable for many reasons. First, the teacher can have a better feel for the needs of the students and therefore be able to adjust his or her lessons accordingly. Second, the teacher will be able to lift students up in prayer more effectively. Third, it sends a message to the students that you truly care, and that you want the student to attain to the objectives that you have set.

Professional Life

The Excellent Teacher Must Be Committed to Diligent Preparation in the Study

It almost goes without saying that you cannot teach what you do not know. God calls us to diligence and excellence in our preparation in teaching. Paul tells Timothy to, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). It is a fearful task to teach others spiritual truths. It is one which should be continually feared. The greatest motivation for the excellent teacher to be committed to diligent preparation is the idea that people will believe you. You sit in the seat of Moses. What you say, they will more than likely believe because of the authority that your position brings with it. That is why is extremely important that the teacher be committed to his study.

Diligent preparation in the study involves a commitment to be continually learning yourself. Hendricks calls this “The Law of the Learner,” about which he states, “Neither personality not methodology can substitute for this principle. You cannot communicate in a vacuum. You cannot impart what you do not possess.”[3] Therefore it is of primary importance that the teacher be continually studying and learning. This takes much humility on the part of the teacher. He or she must be willing to admit that they, like the students, are still learners. The teacher must be willing to change according to new understanding. The teacher must not let traditionalism stand in the way of his or her advancement in studies. In short, the teacher must be a student.

The Excellent Teacher Must Be Willing To Work With Colleagues

We live in a society which elevates individuality in all areas of life. This is unfortunate because it keeps people from functioning in a community the way that God has designed them. As the Trinity is a functional unity, so must people be. People flourish when they work with others to accomplish their set upon goals. The Tower of Babel evidences the capabilities of man when working according together. The Body of Christ also illustrates this principle well. It cannot function correctly apart from the participation of all the individual members. As Paul states, “But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; or again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor 12:20-21). Individuality in the body of Christ does not work.

That is why it is important for the teacher to build a constituency of his colleagues for support, help, and evaluation. Support and help are given to the teacher by other teachers when problems arise in the classroom. Others who have experienced similar problems can offer valuable advice and support. Evaluation among colleagues can be a valuable way to gain honest insight into your effectiveness in the classroom. This also will keep the teacher on his or her “toes” so that they are less likely to fall behind in their studies and preparation.

The Excellent Teacher Must be Able to Actively Engage the Students

This principle, like many of the others, is extremely broad and important. It involves excellence in classroom presentation. In our “microwave” society, classroom teaching is becoming much more challenging. Teachers have to compete with compact computers, Palm Pilots, Hollywood movies, Game Boys, and TV. All of these attractions place much pressure on the teacher to compete for the student attention. The teacher must be able to actively gain the students attention before their minds wonder off to The Lord of the Rings.

Christ used methods in his teaching that were effective in his culture. He was sensitive to the way the mind of the people of his culture worked. He used parables to draw a connection from the known to the unknown. The incarnation illustrates God’s desire to communicate to His people in an engaging and relevant way.

The excellent teacher will be sensitive to the importance of engaging the students so that they participate in their learning. Bonwell and Sutherland state the research indicates that, “Students learn best when their intellectual engagement is high.”[4] Whether this be through discussion lectures, Power Point presentation, small groups, or debates, the teacher must be continually pushing their student to engage in their own learning.

The Excellent Teacher Plans His Strategy Well

In everything that we do, it is important for us to have a plan. What is it we are trying to accomplish, why are we trying to accomplish this, and how are we going to accomplish it. Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained . . .” The teacher must first have a vision for what he or she is trying to accomplish. He or she must be able to envision what the end product of their goal looks like. What do you want to accomplish? After the vision is cast, consideration must be made of whether it can be accomplished. Christ taught this principle, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). The goal may be admirable, but can you attain it? The teacher must consider this before planning can occur.

The excellent teacher also makes his plans according to objectives that he or she has set forth from these goals. How is the teacher going to accomplish producing the end product? Setting the right objectives is essential in strategy planning. The class is then built around those objectives. Every class session must be objective based. If a class plan does not relate to any objectives, the excellent teacher will change the plan accordingly. In short, an excellent teacher will make sure that he has a clear vision, make objectives based upon this vision, and then plan the class sessions around those objectives.

The Excellent Teacher Ultimately Relies Upon God for the Fruit of His Labor

This principle is possibly the most important in my opinion. This is especially true when it spiritual change that the teacher is seeking. A teacher can teach, inspire, disciple, and exemplify Christ, but this is not enough. The teacher is limited; God must move within the students to cause these things to be integrated and applied to their lives. Paul tells the Corinthians of this limitation. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Paul and Apollos did all that they could for those to whom they ministered. Ultimately, God is the one who has to step in and cause the real fruit to be produced in the person.

The excellent teacher will not get discouraged when students do not progress according to the vision laid before them. They will be able to faithfully and humbly rely upon God to do his work in the life of the student. An excellent teacher will then spend more time in prayer for the individual students. Having realized this, the excellent teacher will then give glory to God for any successes that they have with the students. If the student does progress according to the vision set before them, the teacher will not unduly take credit that is not his. God will then be the center of the excellent teacher’s ministry.

Gen. 25:27-34

Exegetical Outline

I. Moses contrasts Jacob and Esau’s character by portraying Esau as a rugged hunter and Jacob as a more civilized man and gives this contrast in character as the background for their parents partiality (27-28).

A. As a grown man, Esau is said to be rugged and a great hunter while Jacob, by use of a disjunctive clause, is said to be civilized (27).

1. lit, “A man who knew hunting”

2. “Man of the field” found only here in the OT can only be defined by the contrastive statement that Jacob was a “tent dweller” meaning that he was civilized and therefore carry the meaning of “uncivilized.”

B. Because he loved the food that Esau brought, Isaac is said to love Esau, while Rebekah is said to love Jacob without explanation (28).

1. Again, a disjunctive clause is used here to juxtapose the partiality of the boys’ parents.

2. The explanation of Jacob’s preference for Esau is emphatic in that there is no explanation for Rebekah’s love for Jacob.

II. Esau foolishly gives up his inheritance of the family’s wealth by selling it to Jacob in exchange for a bowl of worthless “red stuff” in a time of extreme hunger and weakness (29-33).

A. Esau, having allowed himself to become starving, weak, and venerable while hunting, comes to Jacob’s house with an animal-like appetite and shouts for the first bit of food he sets his eyes on calling it “red-stuff” (29-30)

1. Word-play is used here to show how the hunter becomes the hunted.

2. The word “feed” used by Esau was used for feeding animals and portrays Esau’s weakness and appetite as animal-like.

3. The phrase “red-stuff” shows the barbaric nature of Esau’s hunger in which he is not concerned with what it is he just sees that it is edible and that he wants it.

B. Esau’s weak condition caused Jacob to use it to his advantage trading a worthless bowl of “red-stuff” for an invaluable birthright.

1. Explanation of the birthright.

2. Contrast between the birthright and the “red-stuff.”

III. Esau quickly ate the “red-stuff” and hated his birthright because of it.

Exegetical Proposition

Contrast is made between Jacob and Esau by portraying Esau as a rugged animal-like person who satisfied his physical desire of hunger by trading something of immense value for something that was worthless.

Theological Outline

I. People’s temptations are often hereditary (27-28)

II. People’s weaknesses are often set up by previous experience (29-30)

III. People will often give up things of immense value for things that are worthless in times of temptation (31-33)

IV. Giving in to temptations causes you to move further away from God (34)

Homiletical Outline

Genesis 25:27-34

Subject: What giving in to the momentary satisfaction of physical pleasures does.

Compliment: Causes you to hate the things of God.

HP: Giving in to the momentary satisfaction of physical pleasures causes you to hate the things of God.

Introduction:

• To Seminary Students: People who have given in to the passing pleasures and sacrificed their ministry.

• To Church: People who have given in to the passing pleasures and sacrificed their family (i.e. sexual sin, work, golf, etc.)

• HP: Giving in to the momentary satisfaction of physical pleasures causes you to hate the things of God.

• Create need: Small temptations that could destroy our life.

• Transition

• Read passage (Gen. 25:27-34)

I. God’s sovereign choice can be disregarded because of passing pleasures (27-28).

A. God sovereign choice is for Jacob to inherit the blessing of Abraham over Esau (23; Rom 9:10-13).

1. It is characteristic of God to bypass the firstborn.

2. God’s ways are not our ways in that He often goes against the customs of man.

B. Isaac neglects God’s plan for his passing pleasures (28).

1. Isaac loves Esau more than Jacob because Esau was a hunter.

2. Rebekah loves Jacob.

II. The things of God can be set aside because of passing pleasures (29-33).

A. We need to recognize what should be most valuable in our lives.

1. What is so big about this birthright?

a. The value of a birthright.

b. The value of Easu’s birthright.

2. God’s gifts vs. gifts of this world.

3. God’s promises vs. the hope of this world.

4. What is most valuable in your life; what is your birthright?

B. We need to recognize our own weaknesses so that we can avoid temptation.

C. When temptation comes people think irrationally and are ready to give up anything to fulfill that desire.

1. Esau’s weakness was his hunger and he was willing to give up anything to satisfy it.

2. What is your weakness that you are willing to give up the gift of God for?

D. Once temptation is recognized, run from it.

III. The things of God can be hated because of passing pleasures (34).

A. Comparison of this story to that of Adam and Eve.

B. Man cannot have two masters; he will love one and hate the other (Matt. 6:24).

C. What passing pleasures are you often willing to give up your birthright for?

Christ tells his audience that when a person in the Jewish believing community wrongs another in the Jewish believing community the steps that he should take are first to go in confidence and confront the person, if he agrees and repent then fellowship is restored, if he does not agree and repent, they are to follow the Law by taking two or three from the Jewish believing community with them to listen to and establish their argument, and if he does not agree and repent, then he is to take his case to the leaders of the Synagogue, and if he does not agree and repent, he can no longer be an active participant of the Jewish believing community.

I. Christ tells his audience to confront in confidence the person who has wronged him with hope that he will agree and repent and fellowship will be restored.

a. “In Private”: carries the idea that not only is the person alone, but that this is a matter that is only between them. The steps support this conclusion.

b. To “listen” can also mean “heed to.” The context tells us that this is the case in this verse.

Theological

I. What to do when a believer wrongs a fellow believer.

II. There is a confrontational process to take place within the believing community.

When a believer wrongs a fellow believer, there is a confrontational process to take place within the believing community.

Homiletical Statement

What to do when another believer does you wrong.

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[1] Adapted from DTS class notes: Howard Hendricks and Michael Lawson, “Teaching Process.”

[2]Howard Hendricks, Teaching to Change Lives (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1987), 89.

[3] Ibid, 17

[4] Chales C. Bonwell and Tracey Sutherland, “The Active Learning Continuum: Choosing Activities to Engage Students in the Classroom” New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 67, Fall 1996.

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“Christian education is a cooperative process, a venture involving both the human and the divine. Human teachers communicate and exemplify truth; the Holy Spirit seeks to provide guidance, power, illumination, and insight to the teachers.”

-Roy Zuck

Definition of the gift of teaching: The supernatural ability to lead people to Christ-likeness through the transmission of spiritual truth.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15

Taken from the old French Valoir, “to be strong, to be worth.”

American Heritage Dictionary

1. To determine or estimate the worth or value of; appraise.

2. To regard highly; esteem.

3. To rate according to relative estimate of worth or desirability; evaluate: valued health above money.

4. To assign a value to (a unit of currency, for example).

“Christian education is a cooperative process, a venture involving both the human and the divine. Human teachers communicate and exemplify truth; the Holy Spirit seeks to provide guidance, power, illumination, and insight to the teachers.” Roy Zuck

Definition of the gift of teaching:

The supernatural ability to lead people to Christ-likeness through the transmission of spiritual truth.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15

10% of what they hear

50% of what the hear and see.

People Remember:

90% of what they hear, see, and do.

Principles for Do:

1. Challenge their creativity.

2. Be patient.

3. Explain instructions clearly.

4. Supervise the activity.

5. Encourage students in their participation.

6. Bring focus back to the goal of the lesson.

7. Take into account circumstances-time and resources.

“If the preacher does not capture attention in the first thirty seconds, he may never gain it at all.”

—Haddon Robinson

Suggested Outline for Your Introduction:

1. Create the need

a. Illustration (personal if possible)

b. Current events

c. Creation of a dilemma

2. Reveal the Subject (Homiletical Proposition)

3. Context of the passage

4. Preview (Outline)

5. Tell people to turn to the passage (give them time!)

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