Category Archives: Holidays & Teaching

As the various holidays come near, whether it’s the upcoming Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, Bible teachers might notice some effects in the classroom. That leads to this question.

FAQ: Aren’t teaching times around holidays basically throw-away sessions?

To look at teaching times as throw-away sessions suggests that it’s senseless to plan an actual lesson. We might be more prone to just fun and games during those sessions, or simply letting students converse about their holiday plans. While the holidays might lead to a more relaxed environment, perhaps with a special emphasis, it doesn’t mean teaching is a waste of time. Before dismissing that any kind of learning can happen, think through the issues at hand.

The Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions includes this question and helps you further think through what to do with the potential for absences as well as what to do if students are more distracted. In addition, this handbook also responds to the question, “How might the holidays affect teaching?”. You’ll find help with teaching in this resource as well, with 153 total questions covering 48 other issues in teaching.

To make the most of a holiday, consider teaching on a relevant theme. Go to Holiday Teaching Opportunities Resources for Bible lesson ideas appropriate for different holidays.

Teacher Training Resource: Intruders in the Classroom that Steal & Vandalize: Holidays & Other Special Events

For many, Thanksgiving means sitting down with family for a turkey dinner. For Bible teachers, it only begins with the turkey. Whether your class time falls in anticipation of the holiday or after as a reflection, let students talk about the turkey but bring them back to the Thanksgiving part of it. Guide the conversation toward an acknowledgement of God’s provisions.

Get Beyond the Turkey to What They’re Thankful For

You could do this simply as a spontaneous sharing time. Or, you could use the circle response method where you go from person to person sitting in the circle to give one thing for which they’re thankful, followed by discussion. You can make it harder by not allowing repeats.

Another idea uses an acrostic of the word THANKSGIVING:

For older children or younger teens, you could start with a cut out of the body of a turkey posted on a bulletin board or wall. Make 12 feather cutouts, each with a letter of the word THANKSGIVING at the top of the feather, so when tacked on to the body, in order, it spells the word. Put the feather cutouts all in a bag. Have students reach their hand into the bag to pick a feather. They must write down something on the feather for which they’re thankful that begins with that letter. If you have less than 12 students, they pick more than one feather. If more than 12 students, you could make more than one turkey. Be sure to think through, ahead of time, how to handle this logistic.

For older teens or adults, you could give them a piece of paper with the word THANKSGIVING already printed on it vertically with space to write words that begin with each letter. You might even include a few Bible verses at the top or bottom of the page about being thankful like Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:17, or 1 Thessalonians 5:18. You could have them work on the acrostic individually and then come together to see how many unique words they came up with for the different letters.

Get Beyond What They’re Thankful For to the One Who Deserves Their Thanksgiving

We find commands in Scripture to be thankful but don’t stop there. Use it as a segue to remind students of some key truths:

1) All we have comes from God. (Ps. 24:1-2; 89:11; 1 Tim. 4:4; 6:6-8, 17)

2) Apart from God we can do nothing of eternal value. (Jn. 15:4-5; Phil. 4:13)

Consequently God ultimately deserves our expressions of thanksgiving for each and every person, thing, or ability we might list.

Bible Lessons: Use Thanksgiving to Cultivate Hearts of Gratitude All Year

In training teachers we can provide training about the effects of the holidays on the classroom but we can also sometimes tailor training to a holiday theme. Let’s use Valentine’s Day as an example. Love and/or relationship building can be the theme.

Variety of ways to use this Valentine’s Day holiday as a means of training and supporting your Bible teachers:

1) Challenge teachers about how they reflect the love of God to their students and/or how well they promote relationship building in the classroom.

• Teacher Training Resource: Does your heart beat with the love of God? Worksheet
• Teacher Training Resource: Teachers Either Block or Promote Community Worksheet

2) Provide reminders about how love is the greatest characteristic they could ever bring to their teaching.

• To Read: Love is the Greatest

3) Give them tips on how to teach about God’s love.

• To Read: Teaching About God’s Love

4) Encourage them to make the most of the holiday through guided conversation and activities.

• To Read: Guided Conversation Ideas for the Holidays

5) Help teachers make the most of the holiday by pointing them to resource ideas they can use in the classroom for Valentine’s Day.

• For Teaching about Love:  Teach about Love & Relationships Around Valentine’s Day
• For Other Types of Resources: Valentine’s Day Ministry Resources

6) Provide notes of encouragement, affirmation, and appreciation written on hearts or valentines to your teachers as a form of building them up.

People go to church over the holidays having been bombarded with the secularization and commercialization of Christmas.

Of all places, the church should be a place where the coming of Christ is kept first and foremost as the reason to celebrate the Christmas holiday.  — Come, Let us Adore HIM!

Yet, if Bible teachers aren’t careful, they can send out conflicting messages about the true meaning of Christmas.

Considerations of How We Might Give Conflicting Messages about Christmas

Carefully consider the following:

• the way we decorate the classroom
• the songs we sing
• the crafts we use
• the gifts we give

Even the way we respond to questions about Christmas symbols or icons can either point students to Christ or from Him.

This is not to be rigid or legalistic but rather for the purpose of making the best use of the short time we have our students.

Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Eph. 5:15-16)

Let’s make the most of this holiday season by keeping the message of Jesus Christ central.  — Come, let us adore HIM!