Getting Back To Biblical Basics
While reading through my curriculum the other day I decided to take only the scripture and read through it with my students without the curriculum questions. We’d read a section and discuss it until they didn’t have anything else to say and then move on to the next section.
They ate it up. We were looking at the emotions of the people involved; cheering crowds as Jesus rode in on a donkey, angry priests as Jesus turned over tables, healed the blind and taught. We asked questions about why each reacted the way they did and how we can relate today. It was great. We had two segments of scripture left over. I had them write the scripture reference on their arms so they would remember to finish reading the chapter on their own and dig deeper into the text.
About an hour after everybody went home, I got a call from one of my guys asking a question about what he read in the homework assignment. That in itself was awesome – he actually did the homework!!! Woo-Hoo!!! The better reward, however, was discussing the text with him and talking about options of what Jesus could have been trying to communicate.
I’m working hard to get my guys to own their faith and not rely on getting all they need from small group. I want them learning, growing and serving outside of small group. It’s so great to see them taking the challenge and opening their eyes.
For tonight, I’m stoked that getting back to biblical basics was not only a great way to teach the lesson, but also a great way for them to learn how to interact with the scripture beyond the words and into the scene of the text (emotions, reactions, context, etc.).
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