A final lesson on teachers and teaching
Tonight we close out a study
on the topic of teaching.
I
want to end this study by looking at the words “teacher, teachers, teaching,
taught.”
Next
week we will be transitioning into the area of evangelism.
AS
WE THINK ABOUT THE WORD “TEACHER” IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS, WE MUST REALIZE THAT
THIS ACTIVITY IS IMPORTANT TO GOD.
a)
One of the earliest pictures we have of our Lord
involves teachers.
b)
Lk. 2:46 says Jesus was “in the temple” and was “in the
midst of teachers.”
c)
If we are a child of God, we should have some
attachment to teaching.
d)
We cannot become a Christian without being a Christian.
e)
Jn. 6:45 says “They all shall be taught of God.”
f)
Rom. 10:14 asks, “How shall they hear without a
preacher?”
g)
We cannot be a Christian without teaching.
h)
We cannot continue to grow without teaching.
i)
Some of what we learn is going to be self-taught.
j)
A lot of what we learn should be taught to us by
someone else.
k)
This teaching may come by the material we read, the
classes we are in, the sermons we hear, etc.
l)
If we do not have some connection to teaching, we are not going to be
very close to God and Christianity.
2)
We know that not everyone is going to be a teacher in
the formal sense of the word.
3)
Paul made this clear in 1 Cor. 12:29.
4)
Paul asked if everyone was an apostle and a prophet.
5)
The answer to these question was “no.” There not dozens or hundreds of apostles.
6)
Neither was everyone in the first century a prophet.
7)
This same verse asks if all are teachers and the answer
to this question is also “no.”
8)
Our salvation does not depend on our teaching a Bible
class.
9)
We do have in the church a need for teachers. If we can fulfill this role, this is an
excellent work.
10) Last
night we had a time set aside to honor our teachers and this was a good thing.
11) Teachers
serve a key part in the work and we want to let them know how important they
are.
12) If
we do not think our skill is in the area of formally teaching a class, we can
do some other things.
13) We
are in the process of moving forward with some Bible correspondence courses.
14) When
we are ready for the correspondence work to actually begin, we will need help
with the lessons.
15) We
may need a person to keep track of who the study contacts are.
16) There
will be a need to grade and reply to lessons—helping with a BCC allows us to be
a teacher.
17) Most
of us can teach in one way or another.
a)
As we are a teacher, we want to be mindful of the
example we can have on others.
b)
All teachers have an impact on their students.
c)
A teacher can make a life-long impact on his or her
students.
d)
No teacher is going to be the perfect example all the
time.
e)
We can try to leave students with the best example we
can offer.
f)
Children grow into adulthood and sometimes think back
to a teacher they had.
g)
If you saw the B&P for Friday, you saw this point
illustrated well.
h)
A king wanted to honor the greatest person in his
kingdom.
i)
Things were narrowed down to just 4 finalists.
j)
One person was a distinguished judge; another was a
celebrated physician.
k)
There was also a great philanthropist and an old woman
who looked pretty plain.
l)
The judge, the doctor, and the giver all made sense to
the king as far as being great people.
m)
Why was the old woman on the short list of being an
important person?
n)
The old woman had taught the other three candidates.
o)
We are not going be a doctor or a lawyer without a
teacher.
p)
Teachers
are some of the most important in the world and they are often a good example
of servanthood.
1)
Jesus illustrates this point in His life.
2)
In Jn. 13:14 Jesus said He was the “Lord and teacher.”
3)
Jesus was deity in the flesh. In this chapter we find Him “washing the
feet” the apostles.
4)
Some religious groups have concluded from this incident
that foot washing is a church ritual.
5)
This is somewhat odd because the New Testament says
almost nothing about foot washing.
6)
We read about giving, preaching, praying, singing and
the Lord’s Supper.
7)
Foot washing is in basically the same category as the
“veils” of 1 Cor. 11.
8)
Foot washing and the veils are not presented as things
that God ordained for the church.
9)
Unlike singing, preaching, praying and giving, veils
and foot washing are not really “regulated.”
10) In
fact, they are hardly mentioned in the New Testament.
11) The
purpose for the foot washing is found in the text: this was a cultural need.
12) Most
people wore sandals, the roads were dust, and the feet had to be cleaned.
13) People
washed feet as a sign of hospitality; it was an act of service.
14) Jesus
said that He—the teacher—had washed
feet.
15) As
a teacher He was wiling to “spend and be spent” as Paul told the Corinthians (2
Cor. 12:15).
16) If we are going to be a
teacher, we must be willing to give of ourselves so others can grow and be
productive.
17) This
means teachers put time and effort into the classes they teach.
18) Good
teachers plan out their lessons in advance and then present that information
they best they can.
19) Part
of being a good teacher is considering who is in the class.
a)
Good teachers consider their audience. Jesus did this as He taught people.
b)
A long time ago I had a teacher give me what I still
think is good advice.
c)
He said a lot of ministers like to use sports
illustrations.
d)
There are some great illustrations in the area of
sports.
e)
In many cases, a male is the one who is most interested
in certain sports.
f)
If a lot of sports illustrations are used and women do
not follow those sports, guess what?
g)
The men can identify with some things very well but the
women cannot.
20) A
critical part of teaching is considering who are students are.
21) We
may not only consider age, gender, and background, we consider our student’s
knowledge.
22) Some
who attend the teaching that is done in a local congregation are spiritual
infants.
23) 1
Tim. 2:7 says Paul was a “teacher of the Gentiles.”
24) The
Gentiles did not have the religious history of the Jews or a good grasp of the
one true God.
25) Paul
often times dealt with people who were from a pagan background.
26) He
dealt with people who worshipped statues.
27) He
sometimes dealt with people who thought fornication was a way to worship a god.
28) Paul
also sometimes taught “babes” (Rom.2:20).
a)
As we try to teach people we need to remember that are
spiritually immature.
b)
There
will be adults who do not know the difference between the New Testament and the
Old Testament.
c)
We will find people who do not know who the Ten
Commandments were given to.
d)
We will find those who think Jesus was an important
man, but not God in the flesh.
e)
Teachers are people who must have or develop patience.
f)
Teaching people can be tedious work and it is sometimes
very frustrating.
g)
It is a rewarding and God approved work that will bless
people in this lifetime and the one to come.
IN
ADDITION TO DRAWING SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM THE WORDS “TEACHER” AND
“TEACHERS,” WE ALSO FIND SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY LOOKING AT THE WORDS
“TAUGHT” AND “TEACHING.”
a)
Taught occurs
in verses such as Ps. 71:17.
b)
The writer said God had “taught” him from his “youth.”
c)
The other day I read that when people get to the age of
50, they hardly make any new friends.
d)
Many things are done early in life.
e)
Getting people to change gets harder and harder as the
years go by.
f)
One good habit to help people develop is getting them
to services and Bible classes.
g)
A great work in every congregation is bringing young
people to Bible classes.
2)
A child’s parents may not want to come.
3)
Maybe not all the children in a family will want to
come.
4)
In previous generations the church was good at bringing
children to Bible classes.
5)
We have gotten away from that (and so have other
groups) and it is showing in society.
6)
Children grow up and have less and less knowledge about
God.
7)
A few days ago an interesting study was released.
a)
The various states in America were surveyed to see
where people were “not religious” in any sense.
i)
34% of the people in the state of Vermont are said to
“not be religious.”
b)
25% of the people in Maine are said to not be
religiously inclined.
c)
New York came in at 14%.
d)
Imagine the children in these states that could be
brought by members of the church.
8)
If parents will not come, we can look for children to
bring to class and worship.
9)
These children will be the pool of people that helps or
hinders the future of the church.
10) In
Vermont things don’t look very good.
Let’s do what we can for Indiana.
11) If
we teach, some of those who listen to us may remember our words for a long time
to come.
a)
I have had people say things to me such as, “Do you
remember that sermon/class?”
b)
Sometimes the answer to that question is “no” – I do
not recall that specific sermon.
c)
Someone may remember that information because it really
connected with them.
d)
Teachers must realize that their instruction can stay
in a person’s mind for a long time.
12) By
the time of Lk. 11 John the Baptist was dead.
a)
Jesus disciples said, “teach us to pray as John taught
his disciples.”
b)
John’s instruction not only made an impression on his
disciples, it affected the apostles.
c)
Teachers may wonder at times if they are getting
through to their students.
d)
Is any one listening in class? Is anyone listing to a preacher’s
sermon. The answer is “yes.”
13) Teaching
is such a powerful tool that the world often opposes it.
a)
Acts 4:2 says there were “officials” who were “sore
troubled” because of Christian teachers.
b)
In some respects teachers control the world.
c)
We saw this from the illustration about the old women
and the 3 men she taught.
d)
Teaching is one of the most powerful ways to influence
people.
e)
Liberalism understands this truth all too well and uses
it in many public school classrooms.
14) Schools
want to teach children about all kinds of things.
15) There
is math, science, history, geography, athletics…the list is very long.
16) Christianity
operates in a similar way.
17) In
the Christian faith, teachers do not have just 5 or 6 things to teach.
18) Jesus
said (Mt. 28:20) that God wants us to know “all things.”
19) We
will never know it all; Christianity means were are lifetime students of God’s
word.
20) The
more we dig, study and search the more we will know and the better teacher we
will be.
21) We
can know what is right and we can continue “steadfastly” in that teaching (Acts
2:42).
22) We
want to be the best teacher we can be.
23) In
the coming weeks we have an opportunity to teach a lot of people using a BCC
program.
24) We
hope you will help with this in the ways that work best for you.
25) We
want to be sensitive to finding people we can bring to services; this is
another way to teach.
26) To
our Bible class teachers, thank you for all you have and continue to do.
27) As
we go out into another week, let’s have in our minds: How can I teach someone today/this week?