Lesson 8 | Teaching genres
Structure and power
The rules which do not exist
There are many rules that have been suggested for how to structure a teaching. I mention some common ones here simply to emphasize that these are not rules we should feel bound to. If they were, then Moses, Isaiah, Paul, Peter, John and Jesus would all be bad teachers, because they did not follow such rules!
You should begin your teaching by clearly stating the big idea or thesis.
You should break your teaching down into three main points.
Your teaching should lead people along to an aha moment at the end.
You should summarize your key points at the end.
“Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. Then tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em.”
Again, these are not the rules to teaching the Bible. There are no rules for teaching structure.
Instead, the structure of our teaching (as with its style) should be influenced by some combination of the style and genre of the text, and our own God-given personality. And we should take our audience into account. Are your hearers academics? Then you may want to present a thesis and proceed to lay out main points and a conclusion. Are you teaching cross-culturally? Then choose the structure which will best promote clarity. Etc.
Teaching with power
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8
While our aim is not to entertain, it is also not to merely check the box of accuracy. God's word is glorious because God is glorious, and thus it is worthy of people's attention above all things. Thus, there is value both in helping our listeners remember the truths taught and in helping them feel the weight of those truths. Three excellent sources of encouragement on this point are Jonathan Edwards, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and John Piper.
I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.
Jonathan Edwards
You must have light and heat, sermon plus preaching.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The preacher must never be dull, he must never be boring...if he is dull he is not a preacher. He may stand in a pulpit and talk, but he is certainly not a preacher. With the grand theme and message of the Bible dullness is impossible.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Of course we are not talking about a single boring message. Everyone who has taught on a regular basis has had one or two of these. And we also must recognize that certain audiences do not care about the things of God and thus the boredom is actually their fault. But with those caveats aside, we must face up to the question. As a whole, is our teaching boring? If so, something has to change.
Power in teaching flows out of the gifts God has given us and our deliberate dedication to communicating the weight of the text. It also requires we learn practical communications principles. (For example, repeating something too much actually diminishes its power. Better to say it once and say it well!) And most importantly, power in teaching comes from the Spirit of God and the teacher's genuine passion. So please do not let the high bar of powerful teaching paralyze you. Instead, humbly cry out to God to fill you with passion and power by his Spirit!
What is the chief end of preaching? I like to think it is this. It is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones