Prayer – Lesson 8, God's Servants
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Help our teachers and students this week to understand their privilege and responsibility as Your servants. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Demonstrate care by changing plans if needed.
There may be some times when the best lesson you could teach your class is not printed in this quarterly. Before we explore this idea further, it should be noted that there are some teachers who, under the guise of following the Holy Spirit's leading, lead their class in some other activity - singing, sharing, chit-chatting - because they have not prepared to teach the lesson properly or do not want to deal with the subject matter. Such teachers ought to be ashamed of themselves!
At the same time, there will occasionally be events in your students' lives that are so stressful, shocking, or traumatic, that the best thing to do is put the lesson down and share or pray or sing or look in God's Word for scripture that speaks to the immediate need. Doing this requires sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit, sensitivity to your students’ feelings and needs, and willingness to change one's plans.
We often think of discipleship in terms of being taught, but discipleship is about following - learning through relationship. Therefore, recognize that the most important lessons your students learn from your class may not be the words you say, but rather the behavior and lifestyle you model.
Prayer – Lesson 7, The Judgments of God
Heavenly Father, we pray for our classes today as they study about Your coming judgment of sin. In this world of tolerance and disregard of sin, help us to be faithful in proclaiming Your coming judgment, the wickedness of sin, and yet Your great grace for all who will repent. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Project a positive, caring atmosphere.
When you teach Sunday school, what kind of attitude do you project? Such a question may seem to suggest that we should act hypocritically, but that is not the intention. Rather, this question is meant to recognize that we all have a "public" face and a "private" face.
With this understood, what kind of public face do you show? Is it all business? Do you demonstrate such a great passion for presenting the lesson material that you do not show a concern for people? Obviously, both are important. As the teacher, you give an example to your students of being serious about interpreting and applying God's Word. But if you are so focused on the text that you don't take time for the people, you will miss out on a great opportunity for ministry. It should also be noted that some may take caring for people to an extreme with the result being little or no study of God's Word during the class time.
Is your attitude positive or negative? One preacher was once asked by his wife why he was so unhappy when he was preaching. The preacher didn't know what she was talking about - he wasn't unhappy or mad about anything. But he did not have a pleasant smile on his face, so it appeared to his congregation as if he was upset about something.
Does your class know you care? How do they know this?
Prayer – Lesson 6, Our Worthy Redeemer
Heavenly Father, as our classes study this lesson today, help us to understand the privilege we have in worshipping You. Give us creative ideas about how to express their love to You. Most of all, help us to actively worship You day by day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Update your prayer list and pray over your list
One of the easiest ways to develop community in your class is to take some time to ask students about their concerns and needs. Not only does this allow your students to share with one another about their lives, it also helps you as a teacher know how to speak to their needs from God's Word. If you have committed to praying daily for your students, this time also allows you to update your prayer list with new requests and answers.
One of our Sunday school teachers has an admirable method for class prayer. Every week, he brings a half-sheet of paper for each student with a list of prayer requests his class has been praying for, as well as recent answers to prayer. The class takes time to read through the list, add requests, and pray for the needs. As a result these prayer requests are not forgotten immediately after the brief time of prayer, but this list can guide the students' prayers throughout the week.
Questions you may want to consider include:
- How long should you take for prayer during the typical class period?
- How will you track ongoing prayer requests and answers?
- How can you ensure an appropriate level of privacy/confidentiality?
Prayer – Lesson 5, A Vision of God's Throne
Heavenly Father, as our classes today study about the revelation of Your throne in Heaven, help our students to reexamine their lives to see if You occupy the throne of their lives. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Arrive to church 15 minutes early
Beginning with this lesson, we will now discuss several "Sunday" best practices for the Sunday school teacher. The topic for today's lesson a good habit to develop, simply for the benefit of being punctual. However, there are several other practical reasons for developing this habit.
Why should you arrive early for Sunday school?
- Arriving early will give you extra time to do any set-up of the class - arranging tables and chairs or setting up the whiteboard or projector, etc.
- Arriving early may allow you to review needed materials for class, and make quick last-minute calls to someone who can bring them, if you realize materials you thought were in the room are missing.
- Arriving early as a practice sets a good example before your students how they should approach Sunday school and church attendance.
- Arriving early can allow you to spend some time in quiet thought about the lesson and prayer for you and your students.
- Arriving early gives you the opportunity to be available to students who may have spiritual questions, but are intimidated by the prospect of voicing them before the whole class.
We should recognize that good intentions do not develop good habits. What changes in your Sunday morning routine do you need to make in order to develop this habit?
Pray for your students and their needs daily.
What does it mean to be a Sunday school teacher? Probably for most, the mental image they have of a Sunday school teacher is a picture of a person at the front in a church classroom, teaching their students. The actual ministry of the best Sunday school teachers, however, includes far more.
The best Sunday school teachers are, in a real sense, like a pastor to their class. These teachers do not see their job beginning and ending with the "Sunday school hour." Rather, they work throughout the week to build a relationship with her students, minister to them spiritually, and train them to follow God. As such, a vital part of the Sunday school teachers’ work is to pray for their students and their needs on a daily basis.
What should the teacher do in order to know how to pray for students?
- Pray for God's will for your students, including their salvation, entire sanctification, spiritual growth, and involvement in Christian service.
- Keep a notebook or journal (hard copy or digital) of the prayer requests and praises of your students.
- Pray regularly for the Holy Spirit to reveal how you should be praying for your students.
Prayer – Lesson 3, A Call to Repentance
Heavenly Father, As our classes study this lesson today, help them to understand the truth that God tolerates no competition to His lordship of our lives. If there are any who are not living fully surrendered lives to Christ, may they repent and find grace in Your sight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.