I love contemporary Christian praise and worship music and find worshiping in this way to be very meaningful. It’s good, however to take a critical look at the format once in a while to be sure we are not just “going through the motions” following a pat, staged format. This video is funny as well. You might say it’s also “contemporvant” and will provide you with “growtivation.”

You probably pray before and after your teaching time. That’s important, because Great Bible Teaching must be saturated with prayer. Unless God is at work, your teaching is in vain.

How much do you pray during your teaching time? Paul commanded us to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), right?

The reality is that you may be really pumped as you teach. Your brain is going 400 mph. Your adrenals are zooming; the sweat is going. “Pray now, are you kidding me?”

Or perhaps you’re really enjoying the discussion and happy people are getting involved, almost tripping over one another in their excitement to add to the conversation.

Honestly, most teachers don’t think about praying very much during the lesson time because we’re thinking about a lot of other things.

What I recommend you do is create reminders to pray silent, short, “arrow” prayers at multiple times as you teach. You can do this (really, you can) even while you are speaking or listening to someone else speak. Our Lord engineered us to be able to operate on multiple levels simultaneously.

Here are some example “arrow” prayers you might use:

“Make me a great conduit of your truth and grace, Lord.”

“Help everyone hear clearly.”

“Steady me, Father, so I won’t get ahead of the lesson.”

“Change lives, Jesus!”

“Be their real Teacher, Lord, just use me.”

“Save their souls, Lord! Rescue them!”

“May the glory be yours alone.”

“Glorify yourself, Lord.”

“Open their minds, open their hearts.”

“Come, Holy Spirit, come.”

“Let your Words come through me now.”

“Nothing is too hard for you, Lord.”

“Feed your people, and draw them to Yourself.”

“Don’t let Satan blind or deafen them, Lord.”

Easy, quick –and wonderfully effective!

Now, how do you remember to do this during the lesson time? I’ve got an easy solution for you to try.

Take a copy of the handout or your lesson outline and put a special symbol by at least two or three parts. You can use a checkmark, or a little smiley, or an asterisk. Space these out through the lesson.

Each mark will be your reminder to pray. When you get to that part of the lesson, pray an arrow prayer! (If you’re new to this, just pick one arrow prayer for the lesson, and pray that same prayer each time.)

Simple, easy, effective. And you’re building a foundational habit.

About the Author:

Glenn is the author of several books for Bible teachers, including Teach the Bible to Change Lives. He has coached thousands of Bible teachers to be more effective.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again for our sins. His tomb is empty. What about us?

By Terri Johnson, co-author of Homeschooling ABCs, an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers.

We’ve all seen it or, at least, heard about it: the homeschooled child who wins the geography bee, or the one who graduates at the age of 15, or the one who excels in musical accomplishments.

Now, obviously, a student does not have to be homeschooled in order to accomplish one of the feats above, nor does every homeschooled child excel in such notable ways.  However, every homeschooling parent desires for success in teaching their children at home and launching them into the world to become all that God has intended for them to be.

The flip side to this statement is that no one wants to fail when it comes to teaching their children at home.  So, what are the five necessary ingredients to homeschooling success?

The first one is the desire to foster a closer relationship with each of your children and your kids with one another.  If you don’t want to spend more time together and deepen these relationships (or, at least, want to want to spend more time together), then homeschooling may not be the best choice for you.

However, I am sure that you have heard it said before that at the end of the day, no one is going to say, “I wish that I had spent more time at work or by myself or with my canary.”

No, the universal regret that aging and dying people declare is their sadness over not spending enough time with their loved ones.  Teaching your children at home is an amazing opportunity to spend more time with your dearest loved ones and have no regrets.

The second ingredient to homeschooling success is a teachable spirit on the part of the parent.  This is essential because, like it or not, you will learn so much more teaching your own children than you ever did in school the first time around.  So, you might as well like to learn.

On that same note, the third essential ingredient to successful homeschooling is creating a home environment that is conducive to learning.  This may show itself differently in each of our homes, but the result is the same: a place where kids can learn and enjoy it.

A home that is conducive to learning may have quiet and cozy reading nooks, bookshelves crammed with great books, a listening corner complete with headphones and a beanbag chair, uncluttered smooth surfaces for writing, stacks of coloring/activity books and colored pencils, a place to gather together and talk about the day’s events.  You get the idea.  Create centers in your home that make learning fun and accessible.

The fourth ingredient for a successful homeschool is 2 hours of your time to devote to your children’s studies.  Truly, when the one-on-one teaching method is employed in your home, you do not need all day in order to get things done.  In fact, a child in K-2 grades might be finished with her schoolwork in as few as 45 minutes.

Of course, that probably does not include the time that you spend reading together because who can get enough of that!

At the other end of the spectrum, you might not need that much time with your middle schooler or high schooler either, because they become such independent learners by this age.  The kids that will need the majority of that time that you have designated for school — those full 2 hours — would be your students in 3-6 grades as math and grammar assignments might get a little more involved.

The final ingredient for homeschooling success is a library card.  That’s right!  With access to a huge roomful of books, a world of learning opportunities is at your doorstep.  Let’s say that your child is interested in insects or flowers, electricity or magnetism, transportation or inventions. Check out as many books as he can devour on the subject and then some more.  Watch your child light up with the delight of learning.

With these 5 essential ingredients incorporated into your homeschool you will experience successful learning in the lives of your children because this is the measure of success: children that love to learn!

Enjoy those learning moments.

Terri Johnson is co-author of Homeschooling ABCs — an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers. Don’t let self-doubt, or lack of experience, rob you of the best first year possible!  Sign up for class now!

Hysterical story told by Christian Comedian Bob Smiley, reminding us to never miss an opportunity to share the Message of Christ.