Interruption

A great lesson must be clear, relevant, interesting and Biblically sound. I assume you explain the Bible verses in context based on various commentaries, your own learning, or sharing from others in the class. That’s why I don’t comment on it too much in terms of lesson preparation. The “clear and relevant” part come from you and your class. The key open question then is how to make the lesson interesting. I sometimes wonder about the expectations of class members. Do they expect to learn, or are they there to merely socialize. But that’s another topic for another day.

Thought questions are interesting because they can sometimes jar a learner into actually thinking. Our TV trained culture is good at passive observation without filtering. To break into their conscience thought process as a teacher on some level is like that of the Holy Spirit getting their attention regarding a matter in daily living.

Being trained in computer science, the idea of using an interrupt occurs to me. While we cover the verses Romans 8:1-8 in step 2 of this LifeWay lesson “Led by the Spirit,” I’m thinking of asking a class member (in advance) to sit on the front row (visible to everyone else) and hold up their hand. As a teacher I plan to ignore their raised hand for quite some time. I may even call on other members as we discuss the verses in what will increasingly become an untenable situation. Tension will rise as I continue to ignore the person with the raised hand. Eventually, I will call on the person and a prearranged dialogue will take place regarding the idea of how the Holy Spirit wants to lead in our lives but that we ignore His presence. I’ll post up the pictured PPT slide with a painting from Bouguereau during the discussion and work thru the points one by one.