How to Teach a Better Bible Class: End by Giving a Point to Think About by Josh Hardin

Bible class never really ends. The teacher may finish the day’s lesson, the buzzer may ring, the students may go home, but the Bible study, or at least thinking about the Bible, should never end. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 tells when people should think about the instructions of God:

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on our foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

In other words, all the time. The Word of God is something to carry in the forefront of a Christian’s thoughts. It is what directs his other thoughts and actions. It is something to meditate on every day, all the time. A Bible class should reflect that by giving the students a point to think about as they leave class.

The ending point is a question that does not need to be answered before the bell. It can be given, in fact, just after the bell rings. It should reflect the main point of the lesson and give the students something they may want to study that week and even talk about with their parents (or their spouses and friends).

This ending question can be more personal and can challenge the students to look at some truth in a new way, or at least with a little more depth. For example, after a lesson on patience, a teacher might ask: “Remember the person you gave as an example of patience? What makes them patient, and how can you be more like that person this week?”

Bible study helps Christians understand what God wants and makes them into His people. Bible teachers who take their responsibility seriously and work to improve their teaching skills help people become more Christ-like in their thoughts and their actions. They help all Christians write the words of God not just on plaques outside their doors and on needlepoint frames on their walls, but on their hearts. They have a great responsibility, but they also have a great reward for helping people get to Heaven.