Using Strong Verbs in Your Lessons
Pastor Daniel Habben continues his series of articles that help us as we consider the question, How can we best reach adults with God’s Word in a Bible class setting? With a clear reminder of the blessings God’s people receive as they study his Word, this series of articles challenges all of us to take a serious look at the way we teach Bible class. Pastor Habben offers specific and practical suggestions for us to consider as we strive to become better communicators of God’s truth.

In his third article, Pastor Habben reminds us of the importance of using strong verbs in our lessons.
 

In this article, Pastor Habben quotes an article on dialogue education. To learn more about dialogue education, click here. 

Pastor Daniel Habben served St. Peter Lutheran Church in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, for 18 years. He recently accepted the call to serve St. John’s Lutheran Church on the island of Antigua. 

Pastor Habben came to love teaching when he tutored at Luther Prep School and is thankful for the feedback he received from his fellow tutors—especially from the Martin Luther College teacher grads! He was a presenter at the 2015 symposium on education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Most of the materials in the following articles are from that presentation. 

Pastor Habben will be leading an Interactive Faith online Bible study on Isaiah 1−12 during January and February of 2018.
They never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. - Acts 5:42
Adult Education: Additum
How to Electrify Your Writing with Verbs

In the lead article, Pastor Habben made the case for using strong verbs. Professor Pat Pattison’s brief online segment, linked below, is from a course for music writers. Though our focus is not on writing music, he offers a vivid and useful lesson on the role of strong verbs in our writing. Our audience will benefit if we apply this lesson to our Bible studies, our sermons, or anything we write.

Teaching Toolbox
False Starts

Good writers choose their verbs carefully. Our teaching toolbox for this issue cautions against a grammatical construction that can weaken the impact of our writing. It’s called the false start.

Curriculum Connection

The 19-Minute Bible Studies have been very beneficial for those who have a somewhat abbreviated time for Bible study sessions.

Specifically, the 19-Minute Bible Studies kit Very Important Chapters of the Bible provides the framework for a yearlong study that covers an overview of the entire Bible, focusing on key, familiar chapters.

During this Christmas season, you may want to try the sample lesson below, which takes a close look at Luke chapter 2.

Sample Lesson: PDF | RTF
 

Teaching Tip

Take advantage of the pre-class lull by posting a thought-provoking question or statement for students to see as they're filing in. This helps them get ready to learn so that when the class starts, you're off and running.
  Teach the Word  is a collaboration of Northwestern Publishing House, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and WELS Adult Discipleship.