HOW TO TEACH AND PREACH
A lesson about how to teach a bible lesson and preach a sermon at church.
INTRODUCTION
HOW TO TEACH AND PREACH
CONCLUSION
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 before and after each time you prepare.
Read the whole book of the Bible (from which you plan to teach or preach) in one sitting, so you get the big picture of that particular book. While reading the verses that you are teaching or preaching on, pay attention to the flow of thought and context.
Consider reading the book again in other types of translations to help you to understand the book.
When you write:
Then rewrite the verses that you will be teaching or preaching on. Your rewrite should be you explaining what those verses mean plainly in your own words as if you were explaining them to a child.
Write down a short summary sentence for each of the verses that you will be teaching/preaching on.
Think about how you can summarize those short summary sentences into a one-to-three word phrase that is immediately recognizable, easy to understand, easy to remember, and that will challenge your audience. These phrases will be the main points of your lesson/sermon.
Then note what those verses mean in the context of the book.
Investigate what is most likely the intended purpose of the writer for writing those verses. The writer’s main purpose will be the main idea of your lesson/sermon.
Write down what the verses say about God, us, others.
Remember to keep your lesson/sermon short, clear, and not too bogged down with details. Make sure that you do not get distracted by using too many supporting verses.
Assume that your audience has never before heard what you are teaching them. Assume that they might misunderstand you and do your best to be understood correctly.
Then write down some very specific ways that you yourself can actually apply the verses to your life.
Then write down some very specific ways that your audience can actually apply the verses to their lives. Be sure that the main point of the writer is the emphasis behind each of your points. As you prepare these points, 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 which makes it more difficult for them to respond with the same enthusiasm that the biblical text calls for?
How might their current spiritual, emotional, physical maturity level affect their ability to understand how to apply what you are telling them?
Are they too 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 education level affect their ability to apply this in the way that you are suggesting?
How can you give them suggested ways to obey the biblical text that do not require a lot of reading?
How might their reaction to their past affect how they might receive these teachings?
Did they have a traumatic experience that warps their ability to obey this biblical text joyfully? How can you give the suggestion application of the text in a way that is sensitive to their past?
How might their relationship with you 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? Maybe before you teach or preach this lesson, you can go and confess your sin to them.
After you write:
Next, think about some heart-penetrating questions you can ask throughout your lesson/sermon that will encourage your audience to truly apply your lesson/sermon to their lives.
Then go back through your lesson/sermon and add some appropriate illustrations or tasteful jokes throughout your lesson/sermon that will help your audience to understand and relate to your lesson/sermon. Only use illustrations or jokes in which you have prior permission from the person whom you are using as an illustration or joke.
Then go back through your lesson/sermon and add some sentences to ensure that before and after each point you are saying something that they will be encouraged by and cause the joy of their salvation to be restored to their hearts.
Finally go back through your lesson/sermon notes to see in what ways you can shorten it, make it easier to understand, and flow naturally from beginning to end.
CONCERNING YOUR LESSON/SERMON NOTES
Contain an introduction, main points, a few supporting points to each point, a summary, and a conclusion.
They should be really easy for you to teach/preach from. They are simply notes to jog your memory for what you are planning on saying. Do not make them too abbreviated or too detailed so as to cause you to lose your train of thought.
Your main points should be so obvious that your listeners could write them down, simply by listening carefully to you.
Teaching Your Lesson
Before you teach:
Pray.
Give your lesson time to process through your own heart.
Confess to God, any sin that you are aware that you have committed.
Ask forgiveness of people for any sin that you aware that you have committed against them.
Remember that the goal in teaching is to glorify God by convincing them to think the way God’s Word says to think.
Plan to teach for 5-10 minutes less than the time that you are allotted. That way if something robs you of that 10 minutes, you were still able to impart all of the information that you wanted.
Additionally, plan to allow for 5-10 minutes of question and answer time and awkward silence.
Practice alone, teaching your lesson using a stop watch to keep track of your time so that you can get a feel for how long it actually takes you to teach the lesson.
While you teach:
Consider following the pattern: get their attention, read, teach, explain, transition, and summarize.
For each point that you teach, you should introduce it, explain it, and then repeat it. Then you should connect each point to each other and then show how each point relates to the main topic.
Be sure to break up each point by asking thought-provoking, purposeful, and helpful questions relating to the point.
Never talk too long or monologue.
Remember your goal is for them to understand what the Bible is talking about and why it matters.
Do not teach too slow or too fast. Pay attention to the clock in a discreet way.
Without embarrassing those who cannot read, have different people in the class read the Bible verses out loud for you. Maybe before class, ask them privately if they are willing to read out loud in class.
For those who cannot read, perhaps call on them to help answer some of your questions.
Never embarrass anyone or make them feel they are asking you an unimportant question. However, be sure to carefully and politely redirect the audience back to the lesson whenever they’re getting sidetracked.
Do not ask people to do what you are unwilling to even lift one finger to do yourself. Luke 11:46 (NASB)
Do not speak to people like they are too unintelligent to 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 never manipulate or sound like you are begging them.
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 later?
Never teach with an angry attitude or to intentionally make people feel bad. 2 Corinthians 7:2-3
Always speak at a pace that is easy for your audience to understand.
Always use words that your specific audience can appreciate.
Smile and use an encouraging tone of voice.
Do not speak excitedly for too long of a moment. Do not speak without excitement for too long of a moment.
Face your audience and look them in the eyes. Do not stare at one person. Pay attention to their attentiveness.
Assume that your audience has never before heard what you are teaching them. Assume that they might misunderstand you and do your best to be understood.
Never just read the lesson to them. You should be familiar enough with the lesson that you can summarize it in your own words and engage your audience as you teach.
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 later 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 the glory 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 yourself some time to process your sermon through your own heart before you preach it to an audience.
Confess to God, any sin that you are aware that you have committed.
Ask forgiveness of people for any sin that you aware that you have committed against them.
Remember the goal in preaching is to glorify God by convincing their hearts to be encouraged to obey God’s Word joyfully.
Plan to preach for 5-10 minutes less than the time that you are allotted. That way if something robs you of that 10 minutes, then you are still 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.
Practice preaching your sermon using a stop watch to keep track of your time so that you can get a feel for how long it actually takes you to preach the sermon.
Make sure your sermon notes are easy for you to quickly and silently read for yourself during your sermon; but do not stare at your notes while you preach.
Some men preach from sermon notes that are actually 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 to the people. In other words, don’t be boring.
While you preach:
Consider following the pattern: get their attention, read, teach, explain, illustrate, challenge them to obey, encourage them, and then transition to your next point.
For each point that you preach, you must introduce it, explain it, and then repeat it. Then you must connect each point to each other and then show how each point relates to the main topic.
Remember to preach through the passage explaining it word by word, phrase by phrase. Try not to flip all over the Bible using supporting verses; instead briefly quote some supporting verses without turning to those passages. Focus on explaining and applying the primary passage that you are preaching from.
Be sure to break up each point by asking thought-provoking, purposeful, and helpful questions relating to the point.
Your illustrations can be an example, a life story, or a joke to help people understand what you are trying to communicate.
Remember your goal is for them to understand how to obey what the Bible is talking about and to help them to care about obeying it.
Do not ask people to do what you are unwilling to even lift one finger to do yourself. Luke 11:46
Do not speak to people like they are too unintelligent to 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 never manipulate or sound like you are begging them.
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 later?
Always speak at a pace that is easy for your audience to understand.
Always use words that your specific audience can appreciate.
Smile and use an encouraging tone of voice.
Do not speak excitedly for too long of a moment. Do not speak without excitement for too long of a moment.
Never preach with an angry attitude or to intentionally make people feel bad. 2 Corinthians 7:2-3
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. Be sure not to overdo it.
Face your audience and look them in the eyes; but do not stare at one person for too long. Pay attention to their attentiveness.
Repeat yourself often; especially your main points.
Use appropriate hand gestures and facial expressions.
Do not preach too slow or too fast. Pay attention to the clock in a discreet way.
Assume that your audience has never before heard what you are preaching to them. Assume that they might misunderstand you and do your best to be correctly understood.
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. Consider how married couples, children, and believers who are single can apply your message.
After you preach:
Pray.
Do not look for a pat on the back.
Do not second guess your delivery.
If you later 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 the glory 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.
Additional Thoughts
Your lessons/sermons should build off of one another. You should look for opportunities to remind your audience of what you taught/preached before and how it ties into what you are teaching/preaching about now.
Consider teaching phrase by phrase and verse by verse.
Above all, you want them to remember the Bible more than 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.
Look for opportunities to tie the Gospel into your message and to show how the Gospel relates to a believer’s understanding of or obedience to God’s Word through your lesson/sermon.
Work very hard at making creative introductions and applications.
At times, give people some 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 teach/preach it to others.
Teach/preach the Bible verse 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.
Always do your best to start and end on an encouraging note.
You should be prepared to teach/preach in 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.
Also, since you are spending time with God everyday, you should eventually know the whole Bible (or at least some books of the Bible) well enough, so that at the very least you can teach/preach about something that you have learned in your time with God during such unexpected opportunities to teach/preach.
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 your heart and life. 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 prep. You need to get into God’s Word, daily, apart from prepping a lesson or sermon. Also, you should not teach your lesson or preach your sermon until you have honestly examined your own life in light of the text. Obey God, before you tell others to obey Him!
Strive to teach and preach with excellence. Continue to grow in your teaching and preaching. However, in your pursuit of excellence, do not neglect your other personal or ministry duties such as: taking care of your family, discipling, counseling, administrating, and evangelizing.
If you are teaching a book study (as in book that is not found in the Bible, but it is a book about a topic from the Bible), always have another leader study the book with you so that in the event that you fall sick and cannot teach the chapter, the other leader can easily teach the lesson for you.
You should never simply read the book to the people for your lesson and consider that as teaching them.
You should have studied the chapter so well, that it is a part of your heart, and as a result you can easily 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. We must demonstrate the importance of us and others enjoying fellowship with God 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 in our teaching and preaching.
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 to freely 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.