PPT slides for "What if you falter?", Exodus 32:1-34:35

I posted my PowerPoint slides for the lesson, "What if you falter?" in hopes that they will help some of you better prepare for teaching this coming Sunday.

May you live in such a way as to experience the blessing of the fullness of relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Turn from wrong thinking to right thinking

To teach the lesson, "What if you falter?", I'm using the idea of "What were they thinking?". First, I'll use it in the intro to grab attention and create a little humor. Next, I'll apply it to the Israelites when they gathered around Aaron to request that he make an image of God in the form of a golden calf.

From there, I'll use it to discuss Peter, and use it to discuss Moses based on Exodus 32:32.

Lastly, I want members to apply it to themselves. To help prepare for this I found an excellent resource on Wrong Thinking from West Side Community Church. I can use these ideas to prepare a conclusion and a call to action (1 John 1:9).

Now I need to turn these ideas into a tidy set of PPT slides!

What was Peter thinking?

I'm considering using the "what were they thinking" thread throughout the presentation of the lesson, "What if you falter?".

For example, as part of step 2, titled, "How We Falter," read Matt 26:31-35, and discuss the question "How did Peter falter?" (see slide).

You may want to use Adam and Eve as an illustration. What other Bible examples might be used?

What if you falter?, Exodus 32:1-34:35

The lesson, "What If You Falter?" from Exodus 32:1-34:35, illustrates how wrong thinking results in sin. Israel tried to worship the Lord using a golden calf. God had given the Israelites the tabernacle elements and nothing in those included a representation of God Himself. The making of an idol was specifically prohibited.

Gary Payne posted his PowerPoint slides for the lesson already, but I'm still working on mine.

The Israelites attempted to worship the Lord using an idol which immediately led to further sin (see Exodus 32:5-6). Since they had just agreed to God's Law, this made me wonder, "What were they thinking?"

I will use this idea to open my lesson with a slide with quotes like the following:

Why Do You Worship?

Gary Payne is an Adult Flock Leader in Edmond, Oklahoma. This is his powerpoint lesson for April 25, taken from the Lifeway Explore the Bible Series lesson from Exodus 25 to 31. It is best viewed in slideshow:

http://www.box.net/shared/28c869g05i

Why do you worship?, Exodus 25:1-31:18

I thought of an interesting way to open the lesson, "Why do you worship?", which is based on Exodus 25:1-31:18.

The nut of the lesson is that God wants believers to worship him in meaningful ways. He didn't just leave Israelite worship practices up for grab. There was meaning in the tabernacle construction and ordinances.

To help members focus on the idea of "make meaningful", introduce the lesson by having them unscramble the following sentences:

1. present Regular is among us worship God shows:
2. During Lord helps the His us instructions worship understand:
3. regular Lord offerings Giving the pleases:

Here are the answers (which correspond to the lesson conclusions):

1. Regular worship shows God is present among us
2. During worship the Lord helps us understand His instructions
3. Giving regular offerings pleases the Lord

PPT slides for "What are your ground rules?" Exodus 19:1-24:18

Here is a link to my PowerPoint slides for "What are your ground rules?" based on Exodus 19:1-24:18. They are not my best effort, but what I have in mind is that it would be wise to walk through and teach each commandment (see Jeff Meyer's comments). Also, remember to check the slide notes.

Also, Gary Payne posted his PowerPoint slides for the lesson, "What are your ground rules?" It is best viewed in slide show mode.

Worship the Lord

One benefit of having a blog about Bible lessons is it becomes a search-able resource. For example, Step 2 of this week's lesson, "What are your ground rules?" is titled, "Worship the Lord." By searching this blog, I found a post for Step 2 of a prior lesson, "Worship No Other" discussing the preventative effect of worshiping only the Living Lord.

My old post suggested using magazines as a resource. Instead you might consider using the list of Unreal Gods from J.B. Phillip's book, which was suggested by Mark Rathel's commentary on the lesson.

Another point to consider in teaching this step is to include a list of the Egyptian false gods. Co-teacher Randy Stewart provided a list of false gods in his discussion of the plagues on Egypt (see slides 17-20).

What are your ground rules? Exodus 19:1-24:18

As I started preparing to teach this week's lesson, "What are your ground rules?" from Exodus 19:1-24:18, I thought of Jesus' response to one of the teachers of the Law in Mark 12:28-34. All other rules rest on the two commands He cited.

As you study this week, be sensitive to other New Testament verses that come to mind. They may be the very truths that God wants you to teach your class this week.

Grumbling and more

Jon Klubnik from Second Baptist Houston posted his lesson comments for "Tested Devotion". He emphasizes the issue of grumbling and I call your attention to his 6 points about the issue.

Gary Payne of Henderson Hills Baptist posted his slides for Tested Devotion. The deck is lengthy since he also covers chapters 17 and 18 in the background passage in addition to the lesson passages.

Making incremental improvements

I read Jeff Meyer's comments on the lesson "Tested Devotion," which motivated me to add an introduction he suggested.

I also tweaked a few points and created a picture of devotion based on a question asked in Mark Rathel's lesson commentary.

Hence, a new version of my PPT slides for Tested Devotion is available if you want to see the changes.

Tested Devotion, Exodus 15:22-18:27

I have a much better idea about how to teach a lesson like "Tested Devotion" after I hear it taught, or after I teach it myself. Hmmm. Maybe I should just do a “dry run” on a lesson plan and pray that God gives me insight about how to best present the background passage?

To prepare this week, I started by making PPT slides of the Lifeway plan  for "Tested Devotion."  I also used their suggested PowerPoint template, which was handy.

I plan to present these slides to a mirror and see what God teaches me. I'll go from there.