The Greatest Teaching Method

November 13, 2015

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

The Apostle Paul invested himself in a one on one relationship with a young man named Timothy.  He challenged Timothy to have that same kind of relationship with other men, who would then have that kind of relationship with other faithful men.

I had about seven years of classroom education for the ministry.  I also had a handful of older men who mentored me personally in a relationship like Paul had with Timothy.  A great pastor named Ray Stedman invested four hours every Thursday afternoon for a year with me in the Word of God.  He challenged me to do the same with others.

As I have considered the impact of Ray Stedman’s investment in me and my investment in others, I have come to the conclusion that this is the greatest teaching method in the world.

This method actually started for me when I was a small boy as I watched my father spend hours sitting in a rocking chair preparing his Sunday school lesson.  Every now and then he would exclaim, “Oh this is wonderful!”

I realized there is wonderful truth in the Bible.  When I was a late teenager I adopted that declared value of my father and have passed that value on to my son who is a pastor.  I am greatly blessed to have had a father and a mother who taught me the Scriptures in a one on one relationship like Paul had with Timothy.

If you are a Timothy, do you have a Paul? If you are a Paul, do you have a Timothy?

Dick Woodward, 08 December 2012

Editor’s Note: Women readers note that we are not off the hook – we should be challenged to do the same with younger/ older women in our faith communities! The daughters and sons of Dick Woodward would not be where we are today if it had not been for our precious Mama who prayed for us, taught us about Jesus, loved us with His love… and led by her example of faith.  Of course, it also helped that she & Papa ganged up together to get the Word of God into us (& us into the Word!) 

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Posted by Dick Woodward

The 4 R’s of Parenting

January 7, 2014

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”  (Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7 NKJV)

Have you discovered that parenting is emphasized in the Bible?  The Bible mentions mothers more than 300 times.  Since God assigns the spiritual nurture of children primarily to fathers, the Bible mentions fathers more than 1,400 times.  Children are mentioned just under 6,000 times, which shows how important they are to God.

This teaching method of Moses in Deuteronomy rests on four foundations. The first one is responsibility.  Moses gives the responsibility for the education of children to parents.  There are 8,760 hours in a year.  Since children receive about thirty minutes of instruction in the average Sunday school class, if that is their only source of spiritual education, they are only spending .02% (one-fifth of one percent) of their time being spiritually nurtured.  If you send them to a Christian School they still spend 87.3% of their time with you.  Can you see why Moses gave this responsibility to parents?

The second foundation is revelation.  We are to teach the revealed Word of God to our children.  The third foundation is relationship.  You cannot apply this teaching method without having a relationship with your children.  The fourth foundation is reality. These words must dwell in your heart and life before you teach them to your children.  Your children will remember your example far more than your teaching.

Is your parenting built squarely on these four solid foundations?

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Posted by Dick Woodward

A Formula for Hearing

October 24, 2012

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”   (Luke 8:15)

This verse is taken from a very familiar parable of Jesus called “The Parable of the Sower, “ but I call it  – “Four Men in a pew, which one are you?”

Jesus is claiming that when the Word of God is taught, seventy-five percent of the time nothing happens.  The first man who hears is wearing a hard hat – the Word does not penetrate his mind.  When the word is not understood, nothing happens.

The second takes his Word on the rocks. The seed of the Word does not penetrate his heart, or his will.  If the Word of God does not penetrate the will, nothing happens.

The third man understands and fully intends to obey the Word but he loses the Word in the weeds of riches, pleasures and worries.  Again, nothing happens.

The fourth man understands, obeys and overcomes all the weeds above the soil and the rocks under the soil.  He perseveres through all this and produces a crop that is more than one hundred percent what was planted.

Jesus is giving us a formula for hearing when the Word of God is being taught or preached.  We must understand, obey and overcome all the obstacles that are trying to defeat us as we hear the Word of God.

Jesus is also challenging His disciples to realize that as they teach the Word of God unless they penetrate the understanding, the will, and the opposition of the evil one nothing happens.

He concluded this teaching with the challenge to be careful how we hear His Word and how others hear when we teach.

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Posted by Dick Woodward