Own it and it owns you

Concerning teaching, someone once said to me that it was necessary to own a lesson before I could teach it. This person had in mind the idea that you can only teach what you know and what we know best comes from experience.

To effectively teach this week’s lesson, “Obey God’s Word,” you have to own it. The material must belong to you. Step 3 focuses on Psalm 119:11, or treasuring God’s Word in your heart (or the center of your will—Deut 8:2, 1Kings 8:17, Jer 23:20). Our will can only be properly directed by God’s Word.

Perhaps a way to approach Step 3 is to ask members about their belongings and how their belongings influence their actions. For example, using a swing set, James Dobson once spoke about how the things we own really own us. They demand our time and our attention, and in a sense they control what we do.

What do you own that demands your time and attention? Maintenance on your home, repairing your boat, configuring your computer?

My experience in teaching the Bible is that the more of God’s Word I know (by memory) the better I teach. Treasuring it (or owning it) demands my time and attention, but that’s the very thing that leads to owning and effectively teaching a Bible lesson. Own it and it will own you.