Class
Teaching Notes
Teaching is one of the primary responsibilities of an Elder (Pastor). In fact, according to the New Testament, you cannot become an Elder unless you are “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2 NIV). In the congregation where I serve, we take this requirement seriously. In practice this means that I spend a lot of time preparing lessons and sermons.
For a variety of reasons I manuscript just about all of my messages and classes. One is that I find it helps me to organize my thoughts and it’s easier to spot inconsistencies and flaws in logic. Another reason is that it is amazing how often the material I’ve prepared for one thing can be used in another context. Taking the extra time at the beginning to write out my lessons saves untold hours down-road. It’s also invaluable when I have to teach a particular subject or book of the Bible again. I don’t have to do the basic research from scratch. I can merely add to, or revise and polish what I already have.
One of the advantages of manuscripting is that I can easily share the lessons and teaching material that I have created with others who were not able to attend my classes. I’ve decided to make some of this material available to you. Feel free to use it in your own teaching. I only ask that you not plagiarize it. If you use my material please acknowledge the source.
