Adults | Train Bible Teachers Blog

Adults Studying the Bible on Their Own

Posted on November 8, 2014 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 1 Comment ↓

Adults Personally Study God's Word

A friend shared her experience with me about spending time in God’s Word.

She was saved at the age of four during Vacation Bible School. Though she later went to Bible college and attended good Bible believing churches where she was told that she should be spending personal time in God’s Word, she could never get herself to consistently study the Bible on her own until she was in her 40’s.

What made the difference?

Her motivation changed. Before she was driven by guilt of what she ought to do and wanting to be like other people she considered to be spiritual. When she finally grasped that it was more about getting to know her heavenly Father, a passion began to grow within her for God’s Word. The more that relationship developed, the more she WANTED to study the Bible.

Lessons We Can Learn About Adults Getting into the Word.

The experience of my friend teaches us at least two lessons about adults reading and study the Bible on their own:

Spiritual maturity does not necessarily correlate with physical age or even the length of time one has been saved.

My friend trusted in Jesus for her salvation when she was four years old. It wasn’t until she was a middle-aged adult that she so much wanted to get to know God and nurture her relationship with Him that she began to consistently study His Word. The more she got into the Word, the greater her love for God grew. The stronger that relationship became, the deeper she would get into the Word. The more time she spent in the meat of God’s Word, the more she grew into a Christ-like believer.

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb. 5:13-14)

No matter how old a person is, or how long they have been saved, it is never too late to begin. But, that’s the key — they must begin.

My friend was in her forties when she began. Twenty years later she is still daily communing with God in His Word. Why? — Because SHE BEGAN the journey.

I had another senior adult friend who kept saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I would tell her that number one, she was not a dog but rather a person created in the image of God to be able relate with Him on a personal level. And, number two, she had the Holy Spirit within her to enable her to learn new disciplines. One’s age and long established patterns should not hold a person back from beginning.

Teacher Training Resource: Discipling Students in the Word of God Worksheet

Resource for Adult Students: New to Bible Reading Discipleship Tool

Object Lessons for Adults?

Posted on October 18, 2013 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — 2 Comments ↓

Aren’t object lessons mainly a method for children? We often think of object lessons as a teaching method to use with children. Yet, if you think about it, Jesus, the Master Teacher, used objects in His teaching which focused primarily on adults.

Using Object Lessons with Adults?

The basics of presenting an object lesson are the same when using them with children or adults so the Tips for Using Object Lessons Worksheet could apply to teachers of both children and adults.

Most books with object lesson ideas focus on children. Just look under resources on the Object Lessons Teacher Training Resources page and you will see what I mean. Some of the ideas in the books geared to children or youth could work with adults with a few tweaks but if you allow yourself to think even just a little bit creatively, you can probably come up with some of your own ideas.

An object lesson, especially for adults, doesn’t have to consume the entire lesson.

Use object lessons to hook their attention as you introduce the lesson. Think of how a candle can be used to introduce a lesson related to lifestyle evangelism.

Or perhaps, use them to illustrate a truth within the lesson. Think about how a chair can be used to illustrate faith.

Scripture Memory Bible Verses for Senior Adults

Posted on July 12, 2013 by TrainBibleTeachers.com

Senior Adults & Bible Memory Senior adults have much to offer in terms of involvement in ministry. People don’t always treat them that way. Nor do they themselves always believe it to be true. Sometimes they feel they should move out of the way for the younger generation to take over. They might question what they can do in their current physical condition. Bible verses that would be good to zero in on, and even encouraged to be memorized, could be those pertaining to their continued usefulness.

Scripture Verses on How God Views Old Age as Valuable

Start with a reminder of God’s take on old age. He views it as an honorable attainment.

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. (Prov. 16:31)

More Bible Verses for Senior Adults

Scripture contains many verses for senior adults, good for them to memorize as reminders of God’s continued purposes for them, their potential fruitfulness even in old age, and the strength, guidance, and hope He provides to sustain them.

You’ll find a list of these verses in the Scripture Memorization Discipleship Guide, along with some additional input. The resource also looks at age-appropriate Scripture memory for other age group. In addition, it explores benefits and means of memorizing God’s Word.

God Provides Specific Ways He Might Use Senior Adults

God can use older believers in a number of ways. Two are specifically referenced in Scripture:

1) if grandparents, impact in their grandchildren’s lives (Prov. 17:6)

2) mentoring of younger men and younger women (Titus 2:2-6)

God is Praised When the Elderly Maintain the Right Heart Attitude

How easy it would be to grumble and complain about the hardships of growing old. Yet, even into our senior years, we are to bring glory to Him through our actions, attitudes, and words. None of the verses about being light and salt in this world, about everybody having a part in the Body, etc. have an expiration date. Titus 2:2-3 reminds us of qualities that need to be in older men and women if they are going to have a real impact on others.

young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. (Ps. 148:12-13)

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. (Ps. 71:18)

Role of Bible Teachers in Promoting Continued Usefulness of Senior Adults Through Scripture Memory

Bible teachers of senior adult classes can help reinforce their continued usefulness with these Scripture verses, encouraging their students to memorize key Bible verses.

Sure, older students might claim they can’t memorize anymore and it often truly is difficult at this age. Here are some ways teachers can encourage memorization:

Stress the value of having these verses memorized. In addition to being good for the soul, it serves an extra purpose in helping to keep their minds sharp.
Start with memorizing key phrases in the verse and then build on them as you can.
Suggest they do it in conjunction with serving others. For example, they might be able to help in children’s classes to be a listener or help their grandchildren with Scripture memory. If in a mentoring or discipleship relationship, they might find it helpful to work together with their partner on memorizing some key passages.
Select a Bible verse as a class verse which is repeated on occasion in class, on any print material distributed to them, even included in prayer, and any other way you can think of to provide repetition. In time, the verse will be memorized without thinking of it as “Scripture memory” work.

Scripture Reminders Middle-Aged Adults Need

Posted on July 5, 2013 by TrainBibleTeachers.com — No Comments ↓

Middle-aged adults need constant reminders of what God wants them to do with the past, present, and future. What better way to always have those Scripture reminders with them whenever needed than to have them hidden in their hearts … memorized.

Scripture Good for Memory & Reflection by Middle-Aged Adults

While Scripture contains many applicable verses good for middle-aged adults to commit to memory and reflect on, perhaps focusing in on a whole book of the Bible would help them stay more centered on what they most need at this time in their lives. The Book of Philippians has many passages quite applicable to this age. You might want to suggest teachers of middle-aged adult classes encourage memorization of key passages in conjunction with a group study on Philippians.

Following are some passages from Philippians and how they tie in with the past, present and future realities of middle-aged adults.

Phil. 1:4-6 – God’s not finished with them yet. He will continue to be faithful.

Phil. 1:9-11 – Get in touch with what is most important.

Phil. 1:21-24 – To die is gain but God won’t take you until He’s done with you here.

You’ll find more passages from Philippians suggested in the Scripture Memorization Discipleship Guide, with some additional thoughts about middle-aged adults dealing with the past, present, and future. This resource also looks at other age levels, along with exploring benefits and means of memorizing God’s Word.

Getting Middle-Aged Adults to Memorize Blocks of Verses

You will notice that the suggested passages are blocks of verses. The fuller context of key verses can be most helpful for meditating on its meaning.

While the lives of middle-aged adults can be quite busy and they might not feel they have the time to memorize one verse albeit several, if the verses are relevant to their current needs, they might be more prone to giving it a chance. If done in conjunction with a study of the verses, either on their own or as a group, they might find it more motivating to memorize them. Some of these adults might already have memorized or be familiar with one of the verses in these blocks of verse and so they would merely be adding on to what they already know.

Teachers need to be ready with suggestions of ways for adults to memorize Scripture.

Category Archives: Adults