KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVE

The big idea that you are teaching is the nail. The problem for the apprentice teacher is in identifying the nail. Is it the Bible story your are teaching? Or something else. Jesus, the Master Teacher came to teach relatively few but extremely important, new ideas. Ideas that people were not open to receive. Ideas about God.

Close your eyes and try to identify some of those ideas behind what Jesus did and taught. What above everything else did He want to get across? God is love. Jesus is God’s answer to the sin problem. The kingdom of heaven has arrived. God is doing everything possible to save us. You may think of other important messages.

Now think how Jesus taught these ideas. He modeled them in His life. He told stories about them. He expounded them when He had opportunity. The Gospels are each made up of one author’s recollections of Jesus’ teachings and are meant to picture the spiritual structure rather than record all the individual nails.

Luke 15 expounds on the subject of lost and found: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Jesus apparently took three whacks to send home the nail about God missing, valuing, and seeking the lost. As teachers, we tell one of the stories, help the kids identify the nail, and pound it home through illustrations from life, and activities that give greater insight.

Know Your Objective

Narrowing the Objective

Missed Opportunity

Total Time Teaching

Divide Your Time
1 - Readiness
2 - Lesson Content
3 - Application
4 - Sharing
Variations
Conclusion

go to "Narrowing the Objective"