Let's Be Fair About It, James 2:1-13

As a teacher, I’m getting that feeling of being in a rut again. Also, I worry about using PowerPoint because there is a risk that class members will stop listening to you and just read the slides.

One idea to get around both of these problems is to compose a set of slides that offers a single picture for each step of the lesson. That picture becomes a starting place for you to teach the key point of that step.

For example, to teach this week’s lesson, “Let’s Be Fair About It” from James 2:1-13, the LifeWay Adult Leader Guide divided the teaching plan into five (5) steps. For step 1, create a slide containing the lesson title, a reference to the focal verses, and a single picture—the only “power point” on the slide. Describe the point you intend the picture to make, and then go on to complete your introduction without using any additional slides. Your class will focus on listening to what you have to say as opposed to just reading a dense slide!

The content of James 1 and 2 suggest some “class distinctions” were made in the early Church—poor versus wealthy, and which of these had been given God’s grace. Three key ideas emerge from reading the focal verses—favoritism, the royal law, and mercy. Force yourself to pick one of these as a MAIN point and make a slide for it. Below is my suggested opening slide for this week’s lesson. P.S. I’m not too enamored with the use of the word “fair.” I hear a common complaint in our culture today, “That’s not fair!” It begs the question, “Is fairness to be expected?” I think James was not discussing fairness, but that’s just my opinion.