Selecting a Topic For Teaching

by Carney Briggs

Have you ever struggled with the decision of what to teach? It happens to many as they prepare to share the Bible's truth with others. Effective topic selection is possibly one of the most overlooked responsibilities with which congregational teachers are faced with. Choosing the right topic can be accomplished when each teacher sets his mind to fulfill this biblical responsibility.

Personal Difficulties In Selecting The Correct Topic First, if a teacher lacks personal devotion, he may have a rough time trying to "get up" a sermon. That is the problem —we have to "get up" the sermon instead of letting it flow from our very being. What causes an absence of personal devotion? Failure to put faith in God and His Word can cause a lack of the intimate commitment God desires. As teachers, unless we truly believe in the power of God, and the ability of God's message to change lives, it will be difficult to select the correct topic. Paul wrote to the Romans that "the gospel is the power of God to salvation" (Rom. 1:16-17). A lack of personal devotion is also demonstrated when we forget in our prayers to ask God specifically for spiritual guidance. James reminds us when we seek wisdom from God, He will bless us with an overabundance. If we fail to seek God, or to ask for His wisdom, we will not receive His blessings (cf. Jas. 1:5-8). Also, a lack of Bible study encourages poor devotion. God's Word is our spiritual food. We will starve ourselves and the congregation to spiritual death if we fail to study the Word on a consistent basis. Something else that causes a lack of personal devotion is the failure to apply what you have learned. A wonderful way to teach someone about the Bible is to practice its truth in your own life.

Second, it may be difficult to select the appropriate topic if we are unaware of the needs of the other members. The Bible gives each one of us, including teachers, the exhortation to "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works" (Heb. 10:24). Those teaching God's Word must look for ways to stimulate the members of the congregation, or members of a study group, so they will demonstrate love (both for God and man) and manifest good deeds (obedience to God's Word).

Third, it is nearly impossible to select the correct topic if the teacher's motivation is anything less than a desire to save souls. Apathy runs rampant in many churches today. Indifference in teaching results in the congregation learning the same nonchalant behavior. Truth is no longer important in this brand of teacher—the only thing that seems to matter is completing his scheduled turn to teach!

Finally, it is difficult to select the right topic when the teacher is satisfied with his own personal religion and the spirituality of his audience. The Jews posses, sed the same attitude. In Matthew 3:7-9, John warned these self-satisfied souls that being children of Abraham did not guarantee their salvation. Today, there are some who satisfy themselves by trusting their salvation to baptism only. The response of John rings true for us as well—we must not remain satisfied with our supposed holiness but bear fruits worthy of repentance.

How then can we overcome these difficulties? What can teachers do to make it easier to select the correct topic?

Overcoming Difficulties In Topic Selection First, each teacher can become devoted. By growing in faith and trusting in the promises of God, a teacher can become intimate with the Master. Devotion to God comes from a dedicated prayer life—constant prayer 0 Thess. 5:17). A decision to study the Bible daily with the desire togain understanding will produce dedication. Devotion comes from the commitment to apply the Bible's teaching to your life living the Word each day!

Second, the New Testament instructs Christians to consider the needs of one another. This word "consider" from Hebrews 10:24, means to "perceive clearly, to understand fully, and consider closely" (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine). When is the last timeyou thoughtfully considered the needs of each member of your congregation or study group? The very life of the congregation depends on it!

Third, each teacher must seek to save the lost and be committed to promoting the truth, just as Jesus did (Lk. 19:10). There are no shortcuts, no quick fixes. We must continue to grow until our desire to share the gospel is like the Master Teacher's. If the teachers possess the zeal to save souls, each congregation will be committed to growth. Jehu demonstrated the same passion when he told Jehonadab, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord" (2 Kgs 10:16). Imagine what an incredible impact the congregation you attend would make in the lives of your community if you were all committed to seek out and share the saving message with them!

Finally, each teacher must never become satisfied with his own spiritual growth. A person demonstrating a lack of conviction reminds me of a pond that has become stagnant—it is mucky, dirty, and not good for anything except providing a home for insects. What kind of habitat are you as a teacher providing for the members of your congregation? Be persuaded to challenge each member to be the very best Christian they can be! But first you must be the best teacher you can be.

Evaluating The Needs Of The Congregation As we begin to prepare our sermon, gathering information and organizing it, we must determine if the lesson is going to benefit them spiritually. The pulpit teacher, or the teacher leading a private Bible study, must examine the needs of the congregation or individual and not simply teach what the congregation wants to hear. The Bible warns against spiritual "smooth talking." In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, God's Word says:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Why should the teacher evaluate needs? Why should he take the time to discover exactly what the congregation, or those involved in studies need? The primary reason for teaching is so that each member can grow and become established in the faith (Col. 2:6-7). The teacher has a tremendous amount of responsibility to teach to the needs of the congregation.

How does the teacher evaluate needs? There are two things that must be done if the teacher is going to succeed in evaluating the needs of the members.

1) Pray for wisdom (see Jas. 1:5-8). Without the wisdom that God supplies, you are only guessing at what the congregation needs.

2) Know your audience. Ask questions to evaluate the spiritual needs, not the wants, of the congregation. Ask yourself, "What does this audience need to learn to become more like Christ?" Try to discover not only their needs, but also their problems, beliefs, attitudes, prejudices, and errors. You might be surprised at what you find! With these things in mind, you can adapt your particular lesson to their needs. The teacher should also be aware of the maturity level of the congregation, the various age groups, and the interests of each member so that your lessons can apply to them. Once you have a thorough knowledge of the audience, then adapt the sermon to edify each member of the body.

3) Conform the sermon to the language level of the congregation. As a teacher, you want to speak to the children as well as to the adults. You also want to reach the educated and be able to connect with those who have no higher education.

4) Decide what type of illustrations to use so the audience can relate. City folks might not relate to farm stories.as well as country folks would. An older audience might not relate to illustrations about "really hip dudes" or surfing or rap music. Consider how you can get the message across successfully so all can understand. Remember to take into account the spiritual maturity of the congregation or group. Focus your lesson to meet each stage of spiritual growth. Babies need the milk of the Word (1 Pet. 2:2; 1 Cor. 3:2) while the more mature can digest solid food (Heb. 5:12-14).

In creating your lesson, consider each member so you can edify every person. The goal is for each person to grow up in Christ (Col. 2:6-7) and to be leave the teaching situation more determined to live for God.

The Need For A Teaching Plan Sometimes, in our teaching, we have short-term goals in mind. On these occasions, we should have a deliberate intention to speak to the immediate needs of the congregation. There may be the necessity to persuade one to repent or be converted and there may never be another opportunity. I have never forgotten some advice my mother gave me. She said that each time I had an opportunity to teach God's message, I should preach as if it were the last time I would ever stand behind a pulpit. Can you imagine the impact the teachers of every, congregation would have on their audience if they lived by that rule? No doubt the audience would be motivated to live for God. As the Bible says, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet.4:12). Remember—some in the audience might be listening to God. s messagefor the very last time!

But we need to establish some long-range goals for teaching the congregation. The question is, "What do we want to accomplish over a longer period of time—what is the overall objective of the congregation?" If we look at each Sunday only as separate and individual lessons, but fail to view the big picture and where we want to be spiritually as a congregation, growth will be inconsistent. When we have a definite objective for teaching, focusing on 3-month, 6- month, one-year, and five-year periods, we can determine what steps need to be taken in order to build up each member on a consistent basis. The Bible gives us some insight into the purposes of teaching God's Word in Ephesians 4:11-16: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow, up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined. and knit together by what every joint, supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share,. causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in..love” (New King James Version).

The first purpose for teaching is to equip each member for the work of ministry. The King James Version uses the term "perfecting" instead of "equipping." The word in the original language means to "prepare fully" (Vine's). As an illustration, I used to race motorcycles and for me to remain competitive, I had to prepare, or maintain, my motorcycle or else it might fall apart. Similarly, the teacher is to equip, by training through the Word, each member so they can be involved in sharing Christ (1 Pet. 3:15) and serving others (2 Cor. 8:3-4). Our teaching is to be used to benefit the congregation and hold it together.

Second, the teacher must determine to edify or build up each member of the body (see Rom. 14:19). A building contractor never begins a home by building the roof first, the walls second, and the foundation last. The reverse is true. In the same way, the teacher of God's Word must build up every member with a solid foundation and then move on to their spiritual structure. For instance, we should teach about having a love for Christ before teaching about following Him—we should teach about repentance before teaching on demonstrating the fruits of repentance. The final purpose of teaching is J.o. bring each member to maturity. Paul preached with intensity, by both warning and training, so he could present every person perfect, or complete (Col. 1:28). Our goal as teachers needs to be the same—to bring about change from sin and to persuade all to conform to God's Word. This is done with both short-term and long-term responses in mind. There will be times you will seek a goal of immediate action: a conversion, improved attitude in worship, or an agreement on a particular point of doctrine. There will also be times you will seek a goal of long-range spiritual growth. Always teach to promote righteousness! By applying the principles taught in Ephesians 4, each sermon will train each member to be prepared to serve Christ.

Organizing A Teaching Program For a congregation to be successful in its teaching, it must organize a specific teaching program. It is important for this program to have some flexability so the training can reach different audiences at different services. Flexilibility also helps in meeting the needs of special visitors. This can be accomplished by allowing the best "prepared" speaker the opportunity to teach when a visitor attends. All teachers can be prepared by studying in advance and by bringing a wide range of sermons with them each time the church assembles.

Organizing a specific teaching program will also help in avoiding teaching ruts. This is accomplished by not using the "open-and-point method" of topic selection. In other words, invite the teachers to meet together to carefully discuss topic selections and ion-term teaching goals. By discussing topics, goals, direction, and even preparing sermons together, the teachers of the congregation can help one another avoid teaching ruts. One final thought here, a teacher can avoid ruts by using various styles of sermons such as topical, chapter studies, or verse-by-verse sermons.

The congregation must have a determined, specific teaching program if this program is to be successful. Since each congregation has a broad range of individuals, there 1:s need for a broad range of topical categories. Each congregation has different personalities, different interests, different attention spans, and members that are at different levels of spiritual growth. As teachers, we are required to teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27-28). God gave this same principle to Isaiah when he was instructed to, "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples" (Isa. 8:16). Because we are commanded to teach all of God's Word, a curriculum for teaching is necessary. A teaching program will allow each member of the congregation to be edified. In your teaching plan, be sure to combine a mixture of topical and verse-by-verse sermons throughout the year. Using different styles of sermons will help the congregation remain interested in each subject.

How can you look at general topics and break them down into manageable lessons? In the chart below are some curriculum suggestions to use for various topics in teaching the congregation. As all the teachers of the congregation work together in dividing each subject, they will discover how easy and enjoyable this process can be. Providing the congregation with a monthly teaching schedule will keep the members excited about learning God's Word.

Conclusion The Bible is God's manual for living a righteous, holy life. The teacher has the tremendous responsibility of unfolding the wonderful truths of God's book so each person becomes a mature, active member of the body of Christ. Every teacher must be devoted to becoming the best teacher he can possibly be. You can become an effective teacher if you apply God's Word directlyto your life; if you evaluate the specific needs of the congregation; and, if you use the Bible to teach to those specific needs. A prayerful, well thought-out congregational teaching plan will help each member to attain maturity. Request the teachers of your congregation to organize a specific teaching program by selecting topics with a view to the future. The future of the next generation of the Lord's church, depends on this generation being equipped to pass on God's truths!

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