PPT slides for "How to Be Successful," Mark 10:32-45

I uploaded my PowerPoint slides for "How to Be Successful," a lesson on how a Christian can take up his/her cross based on Mark 10:32-45. I made a few notes on the some of the slides to help you understand how I plan to present them.

I didn't create an overview slide for Chapter 10, or a slide relating the healing of Bartimaeus to the lesson. You may not like the plan I developed. In either case, consider Jon Klubnik's lesson from Houston's Second Baptist as an alternative.

May God bless our classes this Sunday as we teach His Word. What a privilege!

10 secrets to success

Well, I'm going to start my lesson on "How to Be Successful," using the following slide posing a question regarding 10 Secrets to Success.

Most likely to succeed

Continuing my quest for question/picture slides to teach: "How to Be Successful," I will use the following slide to introduce Step 2. Note: I changed my mind and decided to use the "cup" slide to introduce Step 3. Now if I can just come up with an overall introductory slide, I'll have a plan.

Some of the Great

Again, thinking about my slides for teaching, "How to be Successful," from Mark 10:35-45, I think I'll use the following question/picture slide to introduce the last step.

How to Be Succesful, Mark 10:35-45

I was thinking about starting off this week's lesson with the following question/picture slide. Can you name these famous cups and what they represent?

This will lead into the lesson, "How to Be Successful" from Mark 10:35-45.

Randy's slides

Co-teacher Randy Stewart posted his slides for "How to Get Along With Others," based on Mark 8:34-10:31.

Monty's slides

Thought I'd make sure you saw Monty's slides by posting a link to his comment.

Good job Monty!

A different aim

This week's lesson, "How to Get Along With Others," is challenging. For a different take on the same verses (Mark 9:33-50), see "The Sovereign's View of First," by Karen Conner, from Second Baptist, Houston.

Her lesson aim is "To examine different scenarios where great courage was needed, see the response, and see what Christ desired so that we can grasp towards the same." This is different from the aim of the Lifeway lesson, which is to "Help adults strive to get along better w/other people."

Do you plan to mention the term Servant Leader? It was used in the lesson material posted by Jeff Meyer.

How to Get Along With Others, Mark 8:34-10:31

With a title of "How to Be Pro Life", I worried yesterday's class might anticipate a dry, uninteresting lesson. However, the Lord blessed my question based lesson plan, and the class was very interactive. They left in a buzz even though we ran late. I hope your lesson was well received, too.

All of us need this week's lesson, "How to Get Along With Others," from Mark 9:33-43, 47-50. What did Jesus mean in saying, "Deny yourself, and take up your cross and follow me."?

As you go about your business this week be alert to situations that test how well you get along with others. I believe the Lord will bring learning opportunities into our lives this week that will allow us to teach the lesson with first-hand experience.

PPT slides for "How to be Pro Life", Mark 3,5, & 10

To make the class interactive, I took an approach in my lesson slides of asking questions as the commentary on each passage.

May the good Lord bless our classes as we teach tomorrow.

Past slides

Tom Ramsey (Second Baptist Houston) posted his lesson plan for "How to Be Pro Life". He takes a very different tact in teaching the lesson than what is suggested by Lifeway.

I've been busy this week, but I hope to post my PowerPoint slides sometime tomorrow morning.

Three years ago, I posted on this blog my PPT slides for the sanctity of life lesson, “Valuing Every Life.” Four years ago, I posted slides for "Live in Respect." Maybe they will help some of you?

Recently irritated

I was thinking about situations lately where I have been irritated at other people. I thought this would give me some ideas to use in teaching the lesson, "How to Be Pro-Life" (Mark 3:3-5; 5:33-42; 10:14-16). They are good examples of where I was not too caring.

I've traveled a lot lately, and sometimes I'm irritated in a crowded airport when I'm nearly run over by parents pushing a kid in an SUV-sized stroller. Irritated at the parents, I ask myself "Are they transporting a child or moving?" Also, I get irritated when I get beeped at to make way for a cart carrying perfectly healthy people rushing to make a flight just like I am doing.

In one situation I was looking for a parking spot (in bad weather) and none were to be found up close to my destination. However, it was surrounded by myriad EMPTY handicap parking places, so many that the business appeared to be closed. Somewhat irritated, I parked a fair distance away and as I traipsed toward the main door, a lady whipped into a handicap spot and hussled into the building ahead of me. She was not handicapped.

To help surface uncaring attitudes in your class ask members to talk about a situation where they were recently irritated. Some might involve interruptions such as the one Jesus experienced in Mark 5:33-42, or Mark 10:14-16. You might mention how this article suggests dealing with irritation, and contrast it with the approach used by Jesus.

Yeah, but...

Perhaps a way to teach step 2 of the lesson, "How to be Pro-Life", is to read and ask members for their honest reaction to this story.

Make a few notes on a marker board as members call out their responses. If posted comments on the article are any clue, you'll probably get a range of reactions to the story.

I think you can leave it there, and go on to read Mark 3:3-5 and talk about Jesus' concern for a man in spite of the technicality of it being a Sabbath.

Ask members if they have ever used the phrase, "Yeah, but..." when making an excuse.

How to be Pro-Life, Mark 3:1-6; 5:21-43; 10:13-16

My class was well received yesterday. Several members indicated they liked the interactive nature of the lesson presentation. I've found that allowing adults to get involved in the class helps them to be more attentive and better apply the lesson points to their lives.

Learning by immersion (see 10 points) may be a unique way to teach this week's lesson, "How to Be Pro-Life," which is based on Mark 3:1-6; 5:21-43; 10:13-16.

As a teacher, I need to inspire change to get members to take specific actions to enhance the lives of others. I could suggest, for example, specific actions such as visiting members of the church who are shut-ins, writing cards to encourage the elderly, or phoning a needy friend or family member. They may not follow thru, however.

It would be more instructive to immerse the class in a learning experience in the Church nursery, the Church prayer room, or in a Church pre-school class. Of course such a visit would have to be prearranged and planned, but it would put class members into the actual environment where all their senses could help them learn, for example, to comfort a crying child, pray for a non-Christian, or help a pre-schooler learn to count.

I need to do some planning, but I'll probably teach a brief lesson from the focal passage illustrating how Jesus was people oriented, then make our immersive learning trip. An alternative is to arrange for a pre-K class to visit my class. It would shock everyone to see those kids walk into the classroom!

Think about it. It's just an idea.

PPT slides for "How to Develop Your Faith" Mark 7 & 8

I posted PowerPoint slides for "How to Develop Your Faith," based on Mark 7 and 8.

Let me also recommend Monty's slides (see link in his comment), which offers a discussion of faith and points out the resources available for Christian to use for personal growth.

A tradition of standing

I was thinking of a tradition in the modern church to use Sunday to help my class relate to how it is used in Mark 7:3-5, 8-9, 13.

Let me try it first on you. Many Sunday's in my church, a worship song is sung while the congregation is seated. Inevitability, during the song, however, someone will stand--perhaps because of a right heart attitude. Shortly, a person sitting nearby will also stand. Before long, other people stand up in what becomes a wave that sweeps over the whole congregation. Why?

I think of it as a tradition like "hand washing". It's certainly not a commandment, but why do people stand up? To avoid the appearance of not worshiping?

Perhaps other people do join in and stand to display a worshipful heart. However, my guess is that many people stand without the right heart attitude.

Jesus might say, "The act of standing does not affect the heart," or "The rightness of a person's heart is not determined by standing, or sitting."

Of course I could be wrong about all this. Am I off base?

I do not understand!

To teach Step 3 of the lesson, "How to Develop Your Faith", based on Mark 8:16-21, I think I'll use Proverbs 30:18-19.

¹⁸ "There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:

¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden. Proverbs

I plan to discuss how Agur was open to admitting his lack of understanding in four areas--the physical mysteries of how such a large bird can fly, how a snake adheres and transverses smooth stone, or a heavy boat actually floats, and the relationship issues between men and women. Ask the class about their understanding of these four areas, which should make for some lively discussion!

Relate the discussion back to the issue of what is it about Jesus that the disciples did not understand? Key is for class members to acknowledge their need to admit what they don't understand. Only then can they be open to learning spiritual truth about Jesus.

How to Develop Your Faith, Mark 7:1-8:33

The lesson, "How to Develop Your Faith," challenges us to grow in our spiritual understanding of "Who Jesus is."

I've studied Mark 7&8 and the next step for me in lesson preparation is to read the LifeWay materials. This helps me understand the lesson as they have designed it. I get prepared to at least teach it, if nothing else.

I pray about it and add ideas as I have time, and study enough to make sure I "own" the lesson. You can only teach what you know, and it's amazing to me how God brings experiences into my life during the week that pertain to the lesson in some way.

Consider using the following "mistake" quotes to open your lesson (the last one was selected to help jump into the lesson):

No one is listening until you make a mistake.
Anon.

We made too many wrong mistakes.
Yogi Berra

It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.
Ornette Coleman

Three-fourths of the mistakes a man makes are made because he does not really know what he thinks he knows.
James Bryce

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
John Powell

Site update

I haven't posted a site update since the update in 2008.

Increase in site traffic slowed in 2009 since I traveled much of the year and didn't blog most of Oct and Nov. This reduction can be seen in the following chart from Statcounter.com.

Nevertheless, I'm excited that you continue to come to the site, and I'm praying more teachers will find it useful. I'm excited that some of you are taking time to also post your lesson ideas and PowerPoint slides. The Lord is good.

I'm teaching "How to Develop Your Faith" on Jan 10, so I look forward to posting this week as we study Mark 7 & 8. Join in when you can and comment with your ideas to help all of us teach a better lesson.

PPT slides for "How to Be Courageous" Mark 6

I posted my PowerPoint slides for the lesson, "How to Be Courageous," based on Mark 6:6b-56.

Also, co-teacher Randy Stewart posted his slides for the same lesson.

Thanks to all of you who continue to use this site. Remember to read the comments by others. A good summary chart for Mark was pointed out in a comment by patkritt.

Appreciate it Pat! Very helpful.

Also see the comments to this post by Monty.