We’ve already looked at a reason Bible teachers might give for not spending much time or effort on preparing their lessons:
Another reason one might ask about pertains to the role of the Holy Spirit.
Another Question Pertaining to Bible Lesson Preparation and the Holy Spirit
Why spend time preparing when we have the Holy Spirit? Isn’t the Spirit enough?
While it certainly is true that we need the Spirit to work through us, it is also true that God tells us to “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The Greek word translated as “do your best”, sometimes translated as “study”, means “to hasten to do a thing, to exert oneself, endeavour, give diligence” (Vines Expository Dictionary). That means we are not to just sit back. As God’s Word sinks into our hearts, the Spirit will work both in and through us. Though God, through the working of the Spirit, is the One who brings the growth and change, He views us as “co-workers in God’s service” whom He uses to plant and water the Seed of His Word (1 Cor. 3:6-9).
You’ll find a few more thoughts about this question in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions. In addition, you’ll find responses to a few other questions about lesson preparation.
If just teaching children, why would we need to invest much time into preparing lessons?
Why study Scripture when preparing a lesson if the curriculum does it for us?
How do we prepare a lesson from scratch, without a curriculum guide?
The handbook covers 49 different issues related to Bible teaching with a total of 153 questions.
More Helpful Resources: