Sunday School teaching techniques: Application story.

 

Sunday school teaching techniques: Application story.

Application: throughout the New Testament, that is what Jesus does: he teaches and then practices what he teaches us. He sets the standard for his students, he sets the benchmark of what he taught, and he leads his students, his disciples, or followers by example by applying his biblical teachings in his everyday life.

 Consider the magnifying glass, which is a convex lens (curved like the exterior of a circle or sphere) that is used to produce a magnified image of an object.

An application story or relational story gives a learner a magnifying glass in hand. How do you ask? A magnifying glass magnifies, enlarges, and extends an image of an object. When teaching like Jesus, we ought to magnify, enlarge, and extend the lesson to the learner; this increases the level of understanding.

We only understand that which we relate to; without a level or bridge of relation, understanding is completely lost. As teachers, we guide and instruct our learners in a certain way or standard, but if we offer guidance without application, our teachings are lost.

The Bible and its lessons can be quite complex and, to our learners, seem far-fetched. Now, if, for example, you were teaching on forgiveness next Sunday, obviously you would have to pick a lesson from the Bible that was on forgiveness, e.g., Adam and Eve, Joseph and his brothers, David and Saul, Paul the Apostle, and I am sure you can think of many, many, many more.

 You would, of course, prepare your lesson as we had discussed in the previous blog posts. Consider your audience, simplify your lesson according to your audience age group, and then we consider the issues they face in their daily lives.

Application/Relational Story:

 “We all are human beings like Joseph’s brothers'; we make mistakes and hurt those we love, but when we do realise we have hurt our friends at school, our siblings’, our teachers, or our parents, we need to ask for forgiveness. We need to ask forgiveness because that is what God's children do. When a friend or someone hurts us like Joseph, we must forgive.”

Allow them to release their frustrations if they do; if they ask questions, some silly ones will indulge them because this is them figuring out what the lens of the magnifying glass is showing them.

·       The relational story or application story gives them a guide on How to tackle the issues they face in their daily lives in a biblical sense.

·        The application or relational story presents WHY it is important to apply biblical principles in their everyday lives.

·       The application or relational story increases their understanding of the Bible and its importance.

·        The application or relational story makes them realise as mentioned above, that the Bible is not as far-fetched as they think it is.

Practice what you preach.

A few weeks ago, I was standing outside the church building waiting for my little lambs. Well, I was bored waiting inside honestly, and they were running late. Eventually some of them started walking in; I greeted each by name and made sure to give each a warm hug.

As I was doing this, one of the girls said to me, “Mam, why do you do that? Why do you bother with us? You wait outside for us when it's chilly out, greet us before even reaching the door, and then you give each of us a hug. Why? Our teachers at school teach us to hug them and greet them first. Why do you bother?”

As I was about to respond, the boy standing next to her said, “Mam does it because she loves us.” I got choked up for a second there, and instead of saying anything, I just nodded, smiled, and motioned them inside.

 A few days ago, I bumped into Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Self-explanatory, is it not? If I am going to teach the word, I must convey the Word, and I too am a student of the Word since I learn from the Word. When my learners are fully grown, hopefully they will “imitate” what I do, as Paul states it in 1 Corinthians 11:1-2.

“To effectively teach children, model the habits that you want to instill in them.” Douglas Sean O’Donnell. Application or relational stories do not end there but run deeper, as deep as how we carry ourselves around our students. Like Jesus, we ought to apply what we teach in our everyday lives.

 Teaching goes beyond teaching effectively and teaching techniques, but even when we are not teaching and merely in their presence. Give your learners the magnifying glass, the application or relational story and let them embrace the biblical instruction, guidance, and correction in their daily lives.