As Bible teachers we have a Teacher, the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, who will help us in our lesson preparation so we can understand Scripture well enough to accurately teach it to others (2 Tim. 2:15).
Once we’ve prepared for the lesson through the study of God’s Word, we will need help recalling what we learned as we present the lesson. Just as the Holy Spirit helps us in the preparation stage, so He will help us in the presentation of the lesson.
Teachers Have a Prompter Who is a Helper in Presenting the Lesson
Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His name (Jn. 14:26), suggesting that He would be carrying on the work Jesus had already begun. Consequently an important role of the Spirit would be to not only teach them what they still needed to learn but also to remind them of everything Jesus had already told them. That was especially relevant for the first disciples as they would be the ones through whom the New Testament would be written wherein generations to come would learn about the life and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today we spend time with the Lord through His Word to prepare for a lesson. Getting a thorough grasp of the passage we’ll be teaching is important, even if we won’t use all we’ve learned in the lesson plan. Sometimes we’re asked questions by students or discussion takes an unexpected turn and we need to know what to say. Unlike a teleprompter locked in to only that which was pre-planned, the Holy Spirit is able to help us adjust the script on the spot, by prompting us of truths we learned earlier during our preparation, or other times we spent in His Word, that relate to the moment.
Further, by the time our lesson comes around after having studied, we can be bombarded with many distractions. The Holy Spirit is there to help us by pulling back our focus on what we have studied, prompting us to remember important truths we learned and need to pass on to our students.
The Holy Spirit’s role as a prompter has implications for us as Bible teachers:
- In order for the Spirit to “remind us” of the Lord’s words, we must first take time to hear them through reading and studying Scripture.
- While a curriculum manual should contain lessons based on Scripture, it is not God’s Word and should not be used as a substitute for it. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would remind of us His words, not those of a curriculum writer. Even if we use a pre-fab curriculum, we should still prepare by studying God’s Word.
- Preparation through a thorough study of Scripture doesn’t lessen the work of the Spirit but rather gives Him something to “remind us” of. Being reminded of the Lord’s words presumes we first heard or learned them.
- We should guard against relying so heavily upon a pre-planned lesson script, that there’s no room for the Holy Spirit to prompt us to include something else. If we’ve truly relied on the Holy Spirit to teach us in the preparation phase, our lesson plan should be on target. Yet, the Spirit may want to remind us of something else, on the spot, that He wants included.
- During a lesson, rather than get flustered if we lose our place or don’t know what to say in response to something a students has said, etc., we should silently seek the Spirit’s help to remind us of truths to be applied. Let’s rely on the Spirit to work through our humanness and/or the unexpected.
Teacher Training Resource: The Holy Spirit & My Teaching Devotional