Tag: Bible

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR TEACHING

Neal Pollard

 

  • Take the time at the beginning of class to break the ice, exude warmth, and build rapport.
  • Make sure you have done due diligence, entering the classroom with ample preparation.
  • Strike the balance of being “open” and “approachable” as a teacher without putting out the vibe of vulnerability or uneasiness.
  • Guide the direction of the class rather than letting the class direct you.
  • Always ask questions that are meaningful and not those that are either fillers or those that insult the student’s intelligence.
  • Avoid embarrassing or putting the student on the spot, as you cannot know the frame of mind or circumstances that may be weighing on him or her in that moment.
  • Never fail to draw conclusions and take a stand on matters of faith.
  • Do not overly press personal convictions or judgment calls upon the classroom.
  • Keep the specter of pride away from your heart so that you do not always feel the need to be right and for the student to be wrong.
  • Do not let blatantly false statements by the student go unanswered–speak the truth in love, but remember the utmost need for truth to be upheld.
  • If you make the class interesting (this is the product of study and preparation, including searching for appropriate illustrations), class feedback and discussion takes care of itself
  • Budget your time, neither glossing over or bogging down in material
  • While forced excitement will seem artificial, generating genuine passion and enthusiasm is infectious and aids the learning environment.
  • Leverage the resources in the room, looking to mature, knowledgeable Bible students to assist you in making particularly difficult or controversial points.
  • After properly interpreting and teaching the biblical text, be ever the gleaner for application–material the student can take and translate into daily living and personal use.

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HATCH AND MATCH

Neal Pollard

I have heard of Shake-n-Bake, cash and carry, Mutt and Jeff, and Laurel and Hardy, but “Hatch And Match” was a new one on me.  It was reported by Ruth Gledhill, the Religion Correspondent for The Times Online out of London, England.  “Hatch and Match” is the nickname for religious services being conducted by certain congregations within the Church of England for couples, already shacking up, who want not only to get married but have their children baptized (or even themselves baptized) into the Church of England.  While the rank and file of priests are opposed, there are officials who believe it is a good idea.  Stephen Platten, chairman of the liturgical commission, is quoted as saying, “This does not mean the Church is changing its teaching.  This is a way for the Church to reinforce its commitment to marriage.  The Church has always attempted to meet people where they are.  But it has also tried to teach something of what it believes the Christian faith to be.”  Statistics reported in The Times reveal that 44% of children in England are born to unmarried women.

I have to agree with the objecting majority.  “The proper place for sex is within marriage” and it will certainly “confuse” people’s thinking about sex and marriage.  So often, those in the position to most influence a moral recovery and repentance seem far too ready to compromise God’s Word to accommodate people’s sinful lifestyles.  As those striving to restore New Testament Christianity, may we never bow to the pressure to conform the church to the world.

A story is told of an army flag bearer traveling with a regiment charged with taking a strategic piece of ground.  Enemy fire was brutal and casualties were mounting.  The brave flag bearer made his way up to the hill, where he planted his nation’s flag.  Meanwhile, the battle heated up and the weary soldiers were ready to beat a retreat.  Their highest ranking officer still standing pled, “Bring the flag down to the troops.”  The flag bearer retorted, “No, bring the troops up to the flag.”  Thus we find ourselves in a fierce battle with Satan and the world.  The temptation is to plead, “Bring the standard down to us.”  But our Lord demands, “No, bring the people up to the standard.”  May that be our conviction as the world moves further and further from God, in ethics, morality, and doctrine.  Let us not only stand our ground, but advance toward higher ground!

FACTS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

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Neal Pollard

  • The Holy Spirit is one of three everlasting personalities of the Godhead, and as such He possesses all attributes of Deity (cf. Gen. 1:2,26; 1 Cor. 2:11).
  • The Holy Spirit moved the approximately forty men to write the Bible, breathing out God’s Word so that each writer, though equipped with free will and distinct personality, was guided completely, word for word, in the written message of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21).
  • The Holy Spirit has never directly operated upon the heart of man to bring about conversion, and thus He does not do so today (cf. Acts 2:40; 11:14).
  • The Holy Spirit has never overtaken an individual’s will or overrode one’s free choice, and that is true today, too (Rev. 22:17).
  • The Holy Spirit does not communicate Divine Revelation apart from Scripture today, as such would either be contradictory or superfluous in light of the written Word (2 Tim. 3:17; Jude 3).
  • The Holy Spirit provided miraculous gifts to the apostles to confirm the men and the message (Heb. 2:4).  Once that message had been faithfully delivered, there was no longer a need for miraculous evidence (John 20:30-21; Jude 3).
  • The Holy Spirit empowered first-century Christians with miraculous gifts, but these were to pass with the completion of the written Word.  Having thus the completed Word, there are no longer miraculous gifts (1 Cor. 13:8-13; Eph. 4:11-13).
  • The Holy Spirit indwells the Christian.  Faithful Christians may be divided as to how, with some saying He does so representatively (through the Word only) and others saying He does so personally and non-miraculously, but either view can be harmonized with Bible truth (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 3:16; etc.).
  • The only instances of Holy Spirit baptism were of the apostles (Acts 1:5) and Cornelius’ household (Acts 10:47).  The one baptism of Ephesians 4:5 is water baptism, of which there are many examples in the New Testament (Acts 8:38; 1 Pet. 3:21).