The Took: Graft it into Life!

Hook, Book, Look and Took remain excellent handles for structuring, developing, delivering and evaluating a Bible lesson! These four simple words were first introduced to me during my seminary days through a required reading book by Lawrence Richards, entitled “Creative Bible Teaching.” (Lawrence O. Richards, “Creative Bible Teaching,” Moody Press, 1976.) A life-changing lesson requires a few moments when the participants can respond. The Took is the “take away!” The teacher is asking the class to “graft” this truth into their life. Make sure your class has taken the opportunity to respond to your brief appeal to live out the truth you have learned together.

AN INVITATION. If Bible study is to be life-changing, let me urge you to plan for an invitation, or the Took. Teachers, myself included, often run out of time during class. In the midst of discussion on verse six, or whatever, we realize our time is gone and we call on someone to dismiss the class in prayer. Usually the prayer goes something like, “Lord, thanks for this great lesson, help us take it to heart, Amen.” Did the class really take something life-changing into the coming week?

GRAB- GRASP- GRAPPLE- GRAFT! In each of these posts I have urged you to guard your class time. There are four elements of a life-changing lesson. The first and last elements should be brief, perhaps very brief. The middle two elements will require a majority of the class time and must be balanced. All four should be well planned! 

• The Hook, a brief introduction designed to “grab” the learners’ attention.
• The Book, an explanation of the text that guides the learner to “grasp” with the truth of scripture. •
• The Look or application time is to guide the group to “grapple” with a how the passage applies to their daily lives. 
•  The Took, a brief invitation that invites the learner to personally “graft” the lesson into their life during the coming week.

IN CONCLUSION. A teacher’s invitation to live out the truth of the lesson usually comes in the last few moments of the Bible study. It does not end the lesson; it launches the lesson into the realm of 24/7. I believe it is critical that the leader bring the class back to a main point or big idea and then invite them to live it out. That usually means a time of personal reflection and prayer. Don’t panic, even if you have only covered one verse of scripture, urge them to live that truth today, or in the coming week.

LIFE-CHANGE. The Took should present a challenge, “live like this.” Usually it will include a prayer such as, “Lord, we commit ourselves to live like this.” Come Monday morning some class members may not even remember text, but they should remember that a caring teacher challenged them to “do” something and then prayed with them as they decided to “do” that one thing during the week.

ENCOURAGING. In my mind, that is what weekly Bible study is all about. You must have the courage to get deep into the lesson. Deep enough that they decide to live it. Deep enough to personally commit themselves during that personal prayer time to graft that Bible truth into Monday morning and beyond. Now, that is encouraging!

EVALUATION. How do you evaluate a life-changing lesson? I hope it is more than you simply hearing the words, “Wow, teacher that was a good lesson!” I hope you will receive a call during the week. Maybe it will go something like this, “Teacher, let me share with you how I just lived out that lesson; here is what I Took to work today that I received in class on Sunday.” It Took!