HOW TO TEACH AND PREACH
A lesson about how to share the Word of God.
Introduction
(5:15)
How to Teach and Preach
(16:18)
Conclusion
(0:52)
As you read this lesson, be sure to hover over the the Bible verses to read them or look them up in your own copy of the Bible. When the Bible passage is longer, you need to click on “more” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.
Introduction
Welcome! The Bible has much to say about this interesting topic. You may find it helpful to invite a mature Christian from your church to study this topic with you. You may have a lot of questions that are not answered here. Maybe there are ideas here that seem hard to understand. Do not get overwhelmed! You can contact us with any questions that you may have. The elders of your local church can help you as well.
Remember that learning the content about this topic is helpful, but knowing the information will not truly change you. For you to benefit fully from this topic, you must…
Become born-again by securing a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith by grace. This information cannot change you until the Holy Spirit of God gives you a new heart that is able to apply it to your life. To begin a personal relationship with God, it is imperative to understand and believe the following:
God is separated from you, because He is good, pure, and holy. 1 John 1:5-6
You are sinful, impure, and unholy because you do not measure up to God’s holiness. Romans 3:10-12 You are a descendent of Adam and Eve who rebelled against God. Romans 5:19
Your sinfulness provokes God’s anger and separates you from Him because He is holy. Romans 5:12 As a result, you deserve to be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Revelation 20:14-15
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life. He was nailed to the cross, shed His blood, and died in your place for your sins. He was buried, rose again, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for all who believe. He will return one day for those who believe. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough for you to be accepted forever by God the Father the moment you believe. John 3:16 God does not accept you on the basis that you try to be a good person and do good works. Romans 4:5 He accepts you fully and forever the moment you abandon your sins and call on Jesus to save you. John 3:36
As you understand, meditate on, and believe the information presented here about this topic, you must also do what the Bible says. James 1:21-22 Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word regarding this topic will you experience the full benefits of this information. James 1:23-24 Trusting and obeying God’s Word will change you as you learn this. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 You will be happy as a result of your obedience. James 1:25
Seek and heed the advice of your church leaders regarding this topic. Hebrews 13:17
Depend upon the Holy Spirit to change you. Galatians 3:1-3 You cannot change without Him enabling you. John 15:5 He will change you in His time and way; but not apart from your faith and obedience to God’s Word. Trust Him to do His work in your heart. Philippians 2:12-13
Allow the joy that you experience from obeying God’s Word to transform how you interact with others. James 2:12-20
How to study In Preparation tO pREACH OR tEACH A BOOK OF THE bIBLE
Before you write:
Pray.
Read the entire book of the Bible from which you plan to share. Do this to get the big picture of that particular book. Pay attention to the flow of thought and context of the passage.
Consider reading it again in other translations to help you better understand it.
When you write:
Rewrite your theme verses as if you were explaining them to a child.
Write down a short summary sentence for each verse.
Consider how to summarize the summaries into a 1-to-3-word phrase that is immediately recognizable, easy to understand, memorable, and challenging to your audience. These phrases will be the main points of your presentation.
Note what those verses mean in the context of the book.
Investigate the writer’s purpose for writing those verses. The writer’s main purpose will be the theme of your presentation.
Write what the verses say about God, us, and others.
Remember to keep your presentation short, clear, and concise. Do not get bogged down by too many supporting verses.
Assume that your audience has never heard what you are teaching them. Do your best to communicate correctly, assuming that they might misunderstand you.
Jot down some specific applications of the verses to your own life.
Write specific ways in which your audience can apply the verses to their lives. Be sure that you reflect each point of the biblical writer. As you prepare, consider which individuals will be in your audience:
How might their current circumstances affect how they might respond to these application points?
Are they going through a hard time or a time of great joy, making it more difficult for them to respond with the same enthusiasm that the biblical text warrants?
How might their current spiritual, emotional, and physical maturity level affect their ability to apply what you are telling them?
Are they too spiritually immature to appreciate the need to obey the Scripture? How can you help convince them of the blessing of obeying this biblical text?
How might their educational level affect their ability to apply this in the way that you are suggesting?
How can you suggest ways to obey the biblical text that do not require a lot of reading?
How might their reaction to their past affect their response to these teachings?
Did they have a traumatic experience that warps their ability to obey this biblical text joyfully? How can you give the suggested application of the text in a way that is sensitive to their past?
How might their relationship with or perception of you affect their willingness to receive these application points from you?
Have you fallen short of applying this scripture in front of them? Before you teach or preach this lesson, you should go and confess your sin to them.
After you write:
Ponder some heart-penetrating questions you could ask throughout your presentation that will encourage your audience to apply it sincerely to their lives.
Add items such as appropriate illustrations or tasteful jokes throughout your presentation to help your audience understand and relate to it. Be sure to obtain permission for any illustrations or jokes.
Before and after each point, say something that will be encouraging and cause the joy of their salvation to be restored to their hearts.
Finally, review your notes to see how you can shorten it, make it easier to understand, and/or flow more naturally from beginning to end.
CONCERNING YOUR LESSON/SERMON NOTES
Include an introduction, main points, subpoints, summary, and conclusion.
The notes should be easy to preach/teach. They are to jog your memory for what you are planning to say. Keep them simple so you won’t lose your train of thought.
Your main points should be obvious to your listeners.
Teaching Your Lesson
Before you teach:
Pray.
Give your lesson time to process through your own heart.
Confess any known sin to God.
Ask forgiveness of others for any known sin against them.
Remember that the goal in teaching is to glorify God by convincing the audience to think the way God’s Word says to think.
Plan for 5-10 minutes less content to teach than the time that is allotted. That way, if something robs you of that 10 minutes, you still will be able to impart all of the information that you wanted.
Additionally, plan to allow for 5-10 minutes of question and answer time.
Teach your lesson by yourself, keeping track of time so that you can get a feel for how long it actually takes.
While you teach:
Include these practices: capture attention, read, teach, explain, transition, and summarize.
Introduce, explain, and then repeat each point you teach. Then connect each point to the others and to the main topic.
Be sure to emphasize each point by asking thought-provoking, purposeful, and helpful questions relating to the point.
Never talk too long without interaction.
Remember that your goal is for them to understand the Bible content and why it matters.
Do not teach too slowly or too quickly. Pay attention discreetly to the clock.
Ask students in the class to read the Bible verses out loud for you. (It is wise to ask students privately before class if they are willing to read out loud.)
Call on those who cannot read to help answer some of your questions.
Never embarrass anyone or make them feel they are asking you an unimportant question. Be sure to redirect the audience carefully and politely back to the lesson whenever they’re getting sidetracked.
Do not ask people to accomplish a task that you are unwilling to do. Luke 11:46 (NASB)
Do not speak to people assuming they can’t understand you.
Speak up. Speak like you truly believe what you are saying. Speak like you really want them to believe what you are telling them, but don’t beg.
How are you encouraging people to ask more questions about what you told them? Do your tone of voice, demeanor, facial expressions, and choice of words invite people to ask you more questions?
Never teach with an angry attitude or to intentionally make people feel badly. 2 Corinthians 7:2-3
Speak at a proper pace.
Use words that your audience can appreciate.
Smile and use an encouraging tone of voice.
Do not speak excitedly too much or too little.
Face your audience and look them in the eyes. Do not stare at only one person. Pay attention to the crowd’s response.
Assume that your audience has never heard the material. Do your best to be understood.
Never just read the lesson. Be familiar enough with the lesson that you can summarize it in your own words, engaging your audience as you teach.
Be mindful of your audience. Teach in a way that unbelievers, immature believers, and mature believers will understand God’s Word and be impacted by it.
After you teach:
Pray.
Do not look for a pat on the back.
Do not second-guess your delivery.
If you discover that you said something incorrectly, then correct yourself later.
Do not make it about you. Do not immediately go to someone and ask, “So what did you think?” or “How did I do?”. Remember, you were not performing for them; you were teaching on behalf of God.
Always give God glory for any good that comes from your lesson. Never rob God of His glory by taking it for yourself. Do not be falsely humble. Thank those who encourage you, but give the glory to God.
Trust that God will do whatever He wants in the heart of the people as a result of your lesson.
Preaching Your Sermon
Before you preach:
Pray.
Give your sermon time to process through your own heart.
Confess any known sin to God.
Ask forgiveness of others for any known sin against them.
Remember the goal in preaching is to glorify God by convincing the audience to obey God’s Word joyfully.
Plan for 5-10 minutes less content to teach than the time that is allotted. That way, if something robs you of that 10 minutes, you still will be able to impart all of the information that you wanted.
If you are teaching or preaching through an interpreter, always assume you have half the amount of time to teach or preach because of the time it takes for the interpreter to interpret for you.
Preach your sermon by yourself, keeping track of time so that you can get a feel for how long it actually takes.
Make sure your sermon notes are easy for you to read quickly and silently during your sermon. Do not stare at your notes while you preach.
Some men preach from a word-for-word manuscript. If you choose to do this, it is very important that you know your notes well enough that when you preach, it doesn’t look or sound like you are simply reading it, which could render it boring.
While you preach:
Include these practices: capture attention, read, preach, explain, illustrate, challenge, and encourage them at each point.
Introduce, explain, and then repeat each point you preach. Then connect each point to the others and to the main topic.
Be sure to emphasize each point by asking thought-provoking, purposeful, and helpful questions relating to it.
Preach through the passage explaining it word by word, phrase by phrase. You need not flip through the whole Bible for supporting verses. Instead, briefly quote some supporting verses without turning to those passages. Focus on explaining and applying the primary passage from which you are preaching.
Never talk too long without interaction.
Your illustrations can be an example, a life story, or a joke to help people understand what you are trying to communicate.
Your goal is for them to understand and care about obeying God’s Word.
Do not preach too slowly or too quickly. Pay attention discreetly to the clock.
Do not ask people to accomplish a task that you are unwilling to do. Luke 11:46 (NASB)
Do not speak to people assuming they can’t understand you.
Speak up. Speak like you truly believe what you are saying. Speak like you really want them to believe what you are telling them, but don’t beg.
How are you encouraging people to ask more questions about what you told them? Do your tone of voice, demeanor, facial expressions, and choice of words invite people to ask you more questions?
Never preach with an angry attitude or to intentionally make people feel badly. 2 Corinthians 7:2-3
Speak at a proper pace.
Use words that your audience can appreciate.
Smile and use an encouraging tone of voice.
Do not speak excitedly too much or too little.
Never construct or preach your message as an opportunity to single out one of your audience members. It is better to talk to them privately.
Change the tone and volume of your voice to make appropriate emphases, but don’t overdo it.
Face your audience and look them in the eyes. Do not stare at only one person. Pay attention to the crowd’s response.
Assume that your audience has never heard the material. Do your best to be understood.
Repeat especially your main points often.
Use appropriate hand gestures and facial expressions.
Never just read the sermon. Be familiar enough with the sermon that you can summarize it in your own words, engaging your audience as you preach.
Be mindful of your audience. Preach in a way that unbelievers, immature believers, and mature believers will understand God’s Word and be impacted by it.
After you preach:
Pray.
Do not look for a pat on the back.
Do not second-guess your delivery.
If you discover that you said something incorrectly, then correct yourself later.
Do not make it about you. Do not immediately go to someone and ask, “So what did you think?” or “How did I do?”. Remember, you were not performing for them; you were preaching on behalf of God.
Always give God glory for any good that comes from your sermon. Never rob God of His glory by taking it for yourself. Do not be falsely humble. Thank those who encourage you, but give the glory to God.
Trust that God will do whatever He wants in the heart of the people as a result of your sermon.
Additional Thoughts
Your lessons/sermons should build upon one another. Look for opportunities to remind your audience of what you presented before and how it ties into what you are presenting now.
Consider teaching phrase by phrase and verse by verse.
Above all, you want them to remember the Bible more than they remember you or your illustration.
Look for opportunities to point to the Gospel in your lesson/sermon and invite them to respond to the Gospel by faith.
Show how the Gospel relates to a believer’s understanding of or obedience to God’s Word through your lesson/sermon.
Make creative introductions and applications.
Give people regular pause to reflect upon what you said.
Be sure that you have given yourself time to meditate on and obey what you are teaching/preaching before you share it with others.
Teach/preach the Bible passage as if the author wrote it directly to your audience. Speak with authority.
Teach/preach as you would want someone to teach/preach to you.
Teach/preach with bold humility in your heart, compassion in your face, loving concern in your voice, and gentle authority in your body language.
Start and end on an encouraging note.
You should be prepared to teach/preach at a moment’s notice:
There may be times when the teacher/preacher becomes sick unexpectedly, and the person will need someone to teach/preach the lesson/message.
It would be wise for you to have several lessons/sermons already prepared in advance for such occasions.
Since you spend time with God every day, you will eventually know the Bible well enough to teach/preach it from your personal time in His Word.
Any lesson you teach or message you preach should be bursting forth out of the overflow of your heart, because you spent a lot of time thinking about how it affects you. You should be eager to tell others about what you learned in your preparation, because you know how it has already affected your life.
Your personal time with God cannot be replaced with your lesson/sermon preparation. You need to get daily into God’s Word apart from preparing a lesson or sermon. Also, you should not teach your lesson or preach your sermon until you have examined your own life honestly in light of the text. Obey God before you tell others to obey Him!
Teach and preach with excellence as you grow. In your pursuit of excellence, however, do not neglect your other personal or ministerial duties such as taking care of your family, discipling, counseling, administrating, and evangelizing.
If you are teaching a book study (apart from the Bible) always have another leader study the book with you so that he can take over for you as needed.
You should never simply read the book to the crowd as the lesson.
Study the chapter so well that it is a part of your heart. As a result, you will then easily be able to explain the chapter to others without having to read the book in front of them.
REPRESENTING CHRIST in Our Teaching and Preaching
Remember that we do not exist simply to live for ourselves. We were created to represent God.
When we teach and preach, it is not about us and our audience, primarily. It is about God being represented well in our teaching and preaching. His reputation is on the line, because we represent Him.
God wants us to enjoy fellowship with Him and other believers. We must demonstrate the importance of this by our teaching and preaching.
If we do not prioritize teaching and preaching well, then we will not become more like Christ, and we will be misrepresenting Him.
When we share the Gospel, it shines a light on our lives. If we are not teaching and preaching well, then we will be tempted to shrink back from sharing the Gospel with those whom we lead and others.
When we have done everything to teach and preach well, it gives us boldness in our faith. This boldness will enable us to be transparent with anyone. This, in turn, will enable us freely to let other believers into our lives to disciple them.
We must let the reputation of God and His love for people motivate us to grow in our ability to teach and preach well.
The love of Christ is enough to motivate us to make teaching and preaching well a priority in our lives.
Conclusion
Now that you have studied this topic, we encourage you to...
Ask us or any of your church leaders about any questions or concerns you still have about this topic.
Pray for yourself to grow in maturity regarding this topic.
Do your best to practice what you have learned.
Tell someone else about what you have studied.
Ask one of your church leaders to help you overcome your weaknesses regarding this topic.
Teach this subject to others.
Consider reviewing this topic once each year.
Commit to growing in this area together with other members of a local church.
Trust the Holy Spirit to change you as He uses His Word, others, and circumstances to make you more like Christ.