Yesterday was my day to be at the
African
Bible
College teaching
classes.
I previously had spoken to
Pastor Timothy, the one responsible for the college’s existence, and he passed
along the material I was to teach.
The
classes I am now teacher for are going through the course of “Preaching
Biblical Messages and Pastoral Ministry.”
Ergo, the basic matter is that I am teaching a course that I myself have
not been through.
Haha but I hope you
will not send a message to my superior revealing that fact.
Despite having ample classes on teaching, I have not had a
single one on preparing a sermon or ‘biblical message.’
However, I have the course manual and I can
teach myself; that shall have to suffice at this point.
When this course is finished I will be teaching
Biblical Doctrine followed by New Testament Survey.
These should be a bit more complete as I have
passed through this myself.
Regardless, I am teaching the same class back to back, now I
realize how pastors and teachers must feel who have multiple services or
classes.
The first class I get good
practice on and I believe I am sufficiently warmed up for the second.
Alas, that is the rub, for the second class
is some kind of class indeed.
The idea we were covering yesterday was finding the
contextual subject of a Biblical passage and determining the ‘completers’ or
points of support for the subject.
The
course material outlined several of these and then offered a section in which
one would complete the assignment on his own.
I am sorrowful to report that we never reached that section despite it
being only three pages forward in the book.
We started off well but one of the examples listed was about
the man in John 9 who was healed of blindness.
The basic subject was that not all illness is caused by sin.
Yet, we somehow drifted to the issue of
divine healing and then the gift of healing and then the gift of prophecy and
then the office of a prophet and then the issue of discernment and finally
ended when our time expired.
Wow, I am
amazed at the diversions and side roads the conversation will take.
I think it would be easier chasing a rabbit
through a tall stand of grass in the plains.
Haha so be it; it matters little as everyone is still learning and the
Lord is still glorified!
