Preparation for teaching…Personal Bible Study

We have personal responsibility as we prepare to teach the Word of God to our classes.  We must be prepared ourselves.  This does not mean just read over the lesson, but really letting the lesson get into our hearts.  This preparation begins on Sunday afternoon, in reading through the text for next week.

I remember a precious lady in Greenville, Mississippi telling me how she would get herself ready to teach each week.  “I read the text for next Sunday on Sunday afternoon.  That gives me time to start thinking about what God wants me to know.  Then, I read it every day of the week as I begin my study.  But, I will read it in several different translations through the week just to see if any other translation has just a little different twist on the context.  I let that sink into my heart.  I make my personal notes on what the text is saying to me.  I want the text to get into my heart.”

As we teach, we really learn the most, grow the most, and receive the greatest blessing.  As we are spiritually impacted by the lesson, we can expect to have greater impact on those we are teaching, no matter what their age.

We not only read the text daily, but make notes of what the text is saying to us and how it applies to our life.  If we want to receive all that God has for us we must be open to the Holy Spirit giving us insight and understanding.  We now combine personal study with insights we gain from reading the leader’s guide and other personal resources and God begins to put His Word deep into our hearts.  As we let the text, and the Bible study lesson takes hold of our heart, we are more apt to be effective in communicating His truth each week.

It is personal preparation each day, listening to the Word, reading the Word, and letting it get into our hearts that will make us more effective communicators of His truth.

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Kiely Young-Director, Sunday School; Mississippi Baptist Convention Board