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All Scripture is Useful for Teaching

Posted on November 6, 2026 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

In teaching God’s Word, let’s remember that “ALL Scripture … is useful for teaching …” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Dated Sunday School curriculum often provides a scope and sequence that aims at providing instruction from the whole counsel of God. Assuming people attend from preschool age through adulthood, they receive a big picture instruction of the Word. When we use stand-alone curriculum, we usually don’t achieve that result unless we intentionally work through the Bible.

Check out the Teaching the Real Message of the Bible teacher training resource for a big picture grasp of the Text we teach.

A Walk Through the Bible Shows How All Scripture is Useful for Teaching

We can’t get into the details of all the Books of the Bible in this post, but a look at main sections will show a glimpse into how indeed all Scripture is useful for teaching.

Old Testament History

Scripture starts with “In the beginning God created …” which immediately points to an all-powerful God, supreme over all creation. Failing to believe Genesis 1-2 throws the whole of Scripture into doubt, dethroning Him as the One with authority over all. From the start, mankind struggled with His absolute authority, seen in their disobedience to His command not to eat from one tree in the Garden (Gen. 3).

The remainder of Old Testament history depicts a God with a plan to restore people to Himself, to bring them back into relationship with Him. Through His laws, God sought to provide for and protect His chosen people, but they continually struggled to give God His rightful place in their lives. Teaching on these books helps people form a full-orbed view of God — all-powerful and sovereign God, yet caring and loving. It’s easy to fall on either end of the spectrum in our view of God.

Old Testament Poetic Books

These books introduce us to a God who cares about individuals in their everyday circumstances of life, from suffering, hardships, and emotions to a pursuit for meaning and purpose in life, and a quest for love. Can it get much more relevant to the needs and desires of people today?

Old Testament Prophesy

Herein we find prophecies about Israel and surrounding nations, warning of pending judgment, with a call to repentance. We also find announcements of the coming Messiah. They prophesied of how He would come the first time as Savior through His death and resurrection. Then He would come again one day to reign as King, bringing a consummation of God’s plan to redeem people, not just from the penalty of sin but from its power and presence. Teaching from these books confirms Jesus’ identity as He already fulfilled so many of the prophecies. We too stand in need of warning and a call to repentance in light of prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

New Testament History

The Gospels relay accounts of Jesus’ first coming. We learn about His character as we study His life here on earth. His death and resurrection took care of the sin problem once and for all. After ascending to heaven, He continued His work here on earth by establishing the Church as witnesses of Him to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). As His people, we too are His ambassadors, committed to sharing His message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-21). These books lay the foundation for who Jesus is, what He’s done, and the purpose of His Church.

New Testament Epistles

By studying the struggles of the Early Church, seen through these letters, we find much help for how to be the Church today. We face many of the same temptations, conflicts, and hurdles. We learn how to rise above and live Christ-like through the power He provides. These epistles give instructions for church life as well as practical tips for outreach.

New Testament Prophecy

The final book of the Bible shows the culmination of God’s plan of redemption. As we peer into the future of Jesus’ final triumph over Satan, death, and evil, we find the blessing of peace which comes from the hope of Jesus making all things right. In today’s world, who doesn’t need the perspective that comes from knowing God is, and has always been, in control?

From the historical narratives of the Old Testament to the apocalyptic writing of Revelation, we find an all-powerful, sovereign God who desires a relationship with the people He created. This is a God willing to come and die in our place. His story is worth teaching — all of it!

Helpful training resources for teachers for a big picture perspective:

Tips for Teaching the New Testament Gospels

Posted on October 30, 2026 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

Throughout Scripture we find a running theme, a message of redemption. The Old Testament points forward to the coming Redeemer while the New Testament looks back at His actual coming. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide a portrait of the One able to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. In providing tips for teaching the New Testament Gospels, we must therefore keep the focus on Jesus Himself, not just His teachings and miracles.

Keep the Focus on Jesus with These Tips for Teaching the New Testament Gospels

To keep the focus on Jesus, our Redeemer, do the following when teaching from these books of the Bible. You’ll find the tips in the Teaching the Real Message of the Bible Teacher Training Resource with some added input about each tip.

Teach the fullness of who Jesus is, not just the parts you’re comfortable with. The Gospels each depict the same Person but from different angles.
Help students understand who Jesus really is — God who came in the flesh. The Gospels portray Jesus as One capable of taking on the punishment our sin deserves.
When teaching about Jesus’ death, get beyond the story of the cross to the Person who hung on the cross. The Gospels focus on Jesus, not mere stories.
Don’t keep Jesus hanging on the cross. The Gospels all end with His resurrection and ascension back to heaven, critical to us too being raised from the dead, both spiritually and physically.

In light of the Gospel Message, in addition to tips for teaching the New Testament Gospels, you might also want tips for teaching about …

the Cross.
Salvation.

Teaching the New Testament Gospels

Posted on October 23, 2026 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

In teaching the New Testament Gospels we point people to Jesus Christ. It’s about more than teaching the doctrine of Christology. We introduce them to the Person, God in the flesh, who came and lived among mankind. We see how He lived, what He taught, and how He performed miracles. And then, we learn how He died on the cross, was resurrected, and ascended back to heaven.

In Teaching the New Testament Gospels Point to Who Jesus Is

While the four Gospels contain some overlapping accounts, each points to a different aspect of who Jesus is, as seen below.

Matthew focuses more on Jesus as the Messiah, King of the Jews.
Mark focuses more on Jesus as a servant who went about doing good.
Luke focuses more on the humanity of Jesus, the Son of Man, God who came in the flesh.
John focuses more on the deity of Christ, as God the Son.

The Teaching the Real Message of the Bible Teacher Training Resource provides more input on each of the Gospel’s portrayal of Jesus.

Zeroing in on the Death and Resurrection Gospel Message

The word “Gospel” comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning good (eu) message (angelo), often translated as Good News. It’s the message of redemption that runs throughout the Old Testament, fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. “… the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19:10).

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we too can live eternally with God. — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (Jn. 3:16)

Since Jesus’ death matters so much to God’s redemption plan, we should take time to reflect on teaching about …

the cross.
salvation.
sin.
the consequences of sin.
the sufficiency of Jesus’ death over sin.
choosing Jesus alone as Savior from sin.

In the next post you’ll find some tips for teaching the New Testament Gospels.

Looking for Curriculum? Go to: Bible Lessons on the New Testament Gospels

Teacher Training Over the Holidays?

Posted on October 16, 2026 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

The holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s seems to zoom by. Personal schedules get busier than ever. The Church plans special holiday programs, activities, and parties. Even Bible teachers who love to teach might struggle to find time and motivation to prepare lessons. To add teacher training over the holidays to an already stressed calendar may seem fruitless, perhaps a bit insensitive.

Will teachers attend a meeting? If they do come, will their hearts and minds be into it or too distracted? But, do you really want to lay aside training for this period of time? What alternative is there?

How to Maintain Teacher Training Over the Holidays

Who says teacher training requires a meeting? This Teacher Training Blog has already provided a series of posts about teacher training ruts. Review the various means for training listed in that post and you might find something that will work well over the holiday season.

And, why must training consume a lot of people’s time? Something simple and brief can leave an impact. Consider doing something like the following for teacher training over the holidays:

Think through one or two sentence teaching tips most relevant to your individual teachers. Make note cards with one tip per card. Every week during the holiday season, distribute a card to each of the teachers. Over the span of these two months, they will have received some good reminders. You can go the extra mile in personalizing the messages using their names or perhaps the name of the class they teach and/or decorating the cards for even greater appeal.

Compose brief messages relevant to the specific holidays to send to teachers through some form of social media, e-mail, or even postal mail. For example, …

for Halloween you might send a message reminding them that not everyone agrees with celebrating this holiday, suggesting how to handle differing views

at Thanksgiving you might send a message asking if their students know how thankful you are for them, explaining how critical relationship-building is in the teaching process.

for Christmas, you might send a message about the reason Jesus came to earth to be our Savior, leading into some tips for guiding their students to accepting Christ as their Savior.

at New Year’s, you might send a message about how the New Year reminds us of how God wants to make us new, emphasizing that the goal of teaching should be changed lives.

Notice how each of these ideas weaves together the holiday and training.

Make Training About Holiday Effects

Making the Most of Every Opportunity Even with Teacher Training Over the Holidays Teachers will feel the effects of the holidays in the classroom. Remind them of how God exhorts us to make the “most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:16). This would be a good time to provide training on how to do that.

Make teacher training over the holidays about the holidays so they’re ready for the holidays!

Need help with training?

You could distribute this two-page document to them with some tips for teaching over the holidays: Intruders in the Classroom that Steal & Vandalize

And/or, you could send them links to the following articles: