I suspect many of you will recognize that verse from "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," verse 19 of chapter 1 to be exact. And perhaps a fair number of those of you who recognize from whence it comes will also realize that this verse was a golden gift from the Lord which outlines the entire book.
I bring this up because on Wednesday nights I lead the Bible study at church. Now this isn't so new but I can't really remember where I'm at in terms of sharing with you where I'm at, in life. To review in brief: I resigned as pastor, and we came back "home" -- literally, moving in with my mother-in-law; and Spiritually, back to our home church.
We worked in working there slowly, but sooner rather than later I was asked to serve as a deacon, and that was possible because the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to get out of retail and into a job where my Wednesdays and Sundays would be free.
But the job -- going back to some of my secular work roots, as a collector -- didn't work out. After three months I was frankly frustrated with what I was being asked to do, and the general "how" collections was done at this agency, the atmosphere, the ambiance, the ethos, the call-it-what-you-will. The owner was a nice guy, as bosses go, and he really didn't want me to leave. I was, if nothing else, productive in making out-going calls.
But it just wasn't what I wanted. So with some of our tax return still available, I quit in search of... something else, and hopefully something better.
I landed -- and just in time, what a quinkie-dink, eh God? -- at a non-profit organization, a consumer credit counseling organization. I got the job through a temp agency, as a temp-to-hire position; hired, that is, if they liked me, I liked them, and passed all their qualifying tests.
I passed, and they decided to keep me, and I decided to be kept. As of yesterday < 8-26-08 > I was officially "converted" from being an agency employee on staff to being employed by the organization, full-time, with benefits. So it's really a nice thing.
And I like the job, and I like helping people, too.
I also like the fact that conversion included a fairly good raise, something much needed. I have been wondering as of late if I needed to get a part-time job, and time will only tell if I still need to consider that, but for now we'll see how working out at this new pay rate works out.
So I have a good job and an active ministry at church, and perhaps the prize part of it for me is the Wednesday night Bible study. I really love to teach.
Now when I say that you might not fully understand where I'm coming from. You see, there are plenty of "Bible teachers" in the world today, on t.v., on radio, on the net, on the corner. MANY of them "teach," but it's really lecturing. Is that a valid form of teaching? Absolutely. Is it the most effective? Not at all.
The old saying of "the art and science" of a profession surely applies to teaching. There are some basic principles which you can learn which can be applied to teaching, but the actual teaching is an art form, and one must develop your artistic expression by practicing the craft.
And I think if there is a primary lesson to teaching it is this: be interactive.
Learn that principle, and you will go far, but only as far as you apply. A great key to that, then, is learning how to draw others into the conversation, how to interact with individuals in the group, and the group individually.
Thus, learning how to ask good questions, and being a great facilitator of the answers and the conversation which ensues, while adding your own input, well, it takes some practice to get that art form down just right.
I'm not trying to say I'm the greatest teacher in the world, or that the better known "Bible teachers" you hear and see and read and so on and so forth are lesser for lecturing and not interacting -- or at least if they interact we usually don't get to experience it, Woodrole Kroll on "Back To The Bible" being a striking exception to this rule, for the group of people he has around the table, and the interaction he has, even it is more him talking than anyone else.
But I am saying it's the interactivity of teaching that I love, and I love to teach. So leading the Bible Study on Wednesday evenings is the high point of my week.
When I first came back to church, Pastor had me teach through some of the Psalms, and then eventually he moved me into 1 Thessalonians. I taught that by paragraphs, so the study lasted about 20 weeks. Towards the end of that study, Pastor polled the regulars to see where their interest lay, and while there was some diversity the most consensus came to eschatology, the study of end times events. So, soon enough, Pastor announced that he would be giving some lectures on the covenants in preparation for me teaching the book of the Revelation.
The general plan was to spend 1 week introducing the book, 1 week on chapter 1, 1 week on a general discussion of the 7 churches, 1 week each on each of the epistles to the 7 churches, and then 1 week on each of the succeeding chapters. That will mean, for all practical purposes, that some of the chapters will be better served, covered and taught by taking a topical approach to the most important topic in them.
For example, the major topic of Rev. 13 is the anti-Christ, so we might just study the topic anti-Christ rather than simply going through the verses, when we come to it.
But still, no matter how it all works out, I'm excited to be teaching it, again. I think I have taught through and preached through this particular book about half a dozen times so far, and I've studied through it several more times than that. And it's a wonderful learning experience each time for me.
And I've shared all this with you to share one main key about the book: when you study it, remember that it is "the Revelation of Jesus Christ." It unveils hidden things about our Messiah and Saviour and Lord, and reveals them quite clearly, and we can learn so much more about Him, and we can learn to love and appreciate Him so much more, from a careful study of this book.
And that's a great key to understanding the book: keep your mind's eye on Jesus. See what the book has to reveal about Him, and so much more about the book will be revealed to you.
And for now, I think that's all I have time to reveal. Thanks again for stopping in, and for giving me a few moments of your time and attention.
Until next time, my blessings to you,
Timotheous, a brother in Christ
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