The Art of Teaching

PEDAGOGY & HOMILETICS 1#

Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth Definitions in Hermeneutics

PEDAGOGY = The science

Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth Definitions in Hermeneutics

HOMILETICS = The science (principles) and art (task) by which the meaning and relevance of the biblical text are communicated in a

“God’s speech makes our speech necessary. We are called to pass on the message we have heard to others. We must speak what he has spoken or, in other words, we must preach.”

JOHN STOTT, THE CHALLENGE OF PREACHING

1 Timothy 4:13–16

13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you.

15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.

16 Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.”

2 Timothy 1:14

“Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.”

“Preaching is not just a skill that you hone, but a person you become.”

- John Mark Comer

There are 3 main components of teaching: craft, content, and character.

1) The craft is your gift.

It’s the very artwork of teaching.

2) Content is what you have to say.

Your great task as a teacher is to remain a student and to partner with God to learn Kingdom truth, wisdom, understanding and love.

This is where your sermon content should come from.

“Content trumps creativity.”

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!

Our task as a teacher is to create a store room containing new and old treasures of insights from an ancient text.

3) Character is at the root of all teaching.

You are your ministry - not your sermons, and so you must aim to become the best version of yourself through apprenticing under Jesus.

Ministry is all about modeling (Follow me as I follow Christ).

“Your best gift is not your teaching, theological education, charisma, or leadership skill, it’s yourself (wrapped in true humility)”. - John Mark Comer

“The best gift you can give to the people you lead is your TRANSFORMING self.” - Ruth Haley Barton

The greatest threat to the people you lead is YOURSELF.

Proverbs 10:19

“When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise.”

James 3:1

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.”

“A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside of him or herself, Inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.” - Parker Palmer

“Preaching is divine truth coming through a human medium.”

Ezra 7:10

“Now Ezra had dedicated himself to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching its statutes and judgments in Israel.”

THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN OF A SERMON

“Jesus said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’”

- MATTHEW 13:52

Start with the end in mind.

Term Paper Preaching:

Intro

Thesis Statement

3 points (Alliterations)

Conclusion (Restate Thesis/story/joke etc.)

Eugene Lowry - The Homiletical Plot (book)

“Teaching is a narrative art form.”

Comer’s approach (Narrative Art Form) to sermon:

INTRO (no thesis statement)

If one does come 3/4 in the message (if at all)

Never say what your talking about up front (Kills curiosity).

Start like a movie not a term paper.

The goal in a sermon is spiritual formation.

Beginning of sermon you want to create a hook (some type of emotional connection with the people.)

Different types of hooks:

Question - Needs to be answered

Problem - Needs to be solved

Tension - Needs to be resolved

“Lead to the ache in the human condition.”

You are trying to get people in touch with their fear or desire.

BODY OF THE TEACHING

Basic Flow:

Head (Vision) - Teacher mode (dumping content/illustrations/etc.) = Reveal thesis statement/main point {if necessary}

Heart (Intention) - Tell a story (could be from own life) how this teaching is affecting me.

People will often relate to your weaknesses more than your strength.

A way for the teaching to move from their head to their heart.

Hands (Means):

Practice

small creative next step

question

prayer prompt

Change in people:

Mind - Easy to change

Attitude - Hard to change

Behavior - Harder to change

Group Behavior - Hardest to change

Organize the sermon in:

Movements - Large section of the sermon (2 to 5 movements)

Chunks - One unit of thought (story, quote, insight)

Seams - 1 to 3 sentence transition from one movement to the next.

MANUSCRIPT VS. OUTLINE VS. EXTEMPORANEOUS

Extemporaneous - spoken or done without preparation.

Pros:

No prep

More time to pray

More time to pastor people

Cons:

Brilliance mixed with confusion

Simple Outline - One to two pages mixed with bullet points

Pros:

Easy to write

Free flow

Cons:

Less exact

Less context heavy (better for exhortation)

Rises and falls on the teachers intellect and content base.

In Depth Outline - 2 to 4 pages with movement, chunks, and seams (Written intro and outro)

Pros:

Easier and faster to write than a manuscript.

More down to earth and authentic than a manuscript.

Easy to stay open to what God is doing in your heart.

Cons:

Fuzzy

Less content

Takes longer to say something

Manuscript - 8 to 15 pages

Pros:

Very exact

Speaking makes a ready person.

Reading makes a full person.

Writing makes an exact person.

You can get more content in

Cons:

Time consuming

3 MAXIMS:

Be clear in what you are trying to say

“Where there’s a haze in the pulpit there is a fog in the pew.” - Charles Spurgeon

2. Avoid cliches (learn new terms)

3. Assume intelligence

FEEDBACK & EDITING

Get feedback on your sermon before you preach it.

You can get power of the pronoun “we.”