Want to learn more about Education? Use these Bible Studies for personal devotion, group Bible studies, or teaching a church class. Below are links to the lessons in this 13-part series.
Does it seem that there is something wrong with the way we educate young people? Over the years I’ve heard all sorts of different complaints about the educational system, especially public education in the United States. Both of my
parents were public school educators when I started school. Interestingly, except for kindergarten (which I attended in the same building in which my mother taught) my parents sent me to private Christian schools for the rest of my
education. My most common client has been a public school teacher. That brought me into contact with the things the largest teachers’ union promotes to be taught in the public schools. Decades ago I found it frightening, and
believed that if the public understood it they would stop it. Today we are seeing the results, and I no longer have any confidence that the public objects. What does the Bible teach us about great education? Let’s dive into the
beginning of the Bible!
If you are a parent, ask yourself if there was a time when your children believed everything you told them? Was there also a time when they believed almost nothing you said? This may overstate the facts for most of us, but I think
all would agree that there is a special time when our children are especially open to being taught. In the past, the public joined Christians in delivering a positive message to our children. The “Andy Griffin Show” on television
comes to mind. Do programs like that exist today in secular television? I don’t think so. With our children now viewing the Internet at a very young age, what are they being taught by it? Our lesson today is about what the Bible
teaches parents about educating our children. Let’s dive into the Bible and learn more!
Two boys were born on the same day in the same hospital. One was my son and the other the son of another couple we knew in the community. Our families were not friends, but we knew each other because of a mutual friend. One day,
when our sons were about five years old, my son and I happened to be walking by a school at the same time as this other boy and his father. A beautiful woman passed us and to my astonishment, the five year-old and his father were
discussing her body. My son didn’t even know this was a discussion topic, much less know enough to have an opinion. What a difference a parent’s education can make in the life of a child! God is our parent and His law is our
teacher. As we teach our children about God’s law, how should we approach it? What attitude should we teach our children to have about the law? Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and see what we can learn!
When I was in school the big question was, “What do you want to become? What kind of career do you want to pursue for the rest of your life?” At Regent University School of Law, where I teach, we confront our students with a far
more comprehensive challenge for their future plans. It is called Professional Identity Formation. You might say, “They are in law school, they already figured it out.” No. Professional Identity Formation challenges them to answer
“What kind of roadmap do you have for your future? What kind of person will you be when you practice law? How will your faith guide your professional life?” If you were building a custom house for your future, would you leave the
design to chance? Would you make a day-to-day decision on what to do? Of course not! Then why would you take that approach to your future? This week our study is what the Bible has to say about a proper worldview to structure our
life and our future. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible!
When you were in school did you notice that some teachers were a lot better than others? Why is that? A general problem among all employees is laziness. No doubt some teachers are lazy, and put in the minimum effort to keep their
job. Other teachers love to teach. They put a lot of effort into teaching because they like it, not because they are paid. Then there are the education and technology factors. Have the teachers been taught teaching skills? Have they
mastered technology? My wife believed that college had not taught her all of the necessary skills to teach reading. She sought out an experienced reading teacher and learned from her. Finally, there is the human factor. People are
different, with different levels of intelligence, and different kinds of talents. What about Jesus? He volunteered to teach us and He was fully God and fully man – that means He had a great skill set. Let’s dive into our study of
the Bible and see what we can learn about Jesus, Our Master teacher!
When my wife taught in church school, one of the important events in the school was the Christmas play. She taught very young children, so the actual performance result was not predictable. One year the children were recreating the
manager scene with angels, shepherds, and wise men. The second wise man forgot his line about giving “frankincense,” and instead stated that he was giving baby Jesus “myrrh.” Myrrh was the gift of the third wise man. The third wise
man did not know what to do because the line he had memorized had just been spoken by the other child. He took the easy route, he stated that he was giving the baby Jesus “more Myrrh.” That is what we are doing to you this week. We
are studying “more lessons” on the same theme as last week. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and learn more!
My brother is a commercial loan broker. I recall that about fifteen years ago, before the beginning of the real estate crash, he told me that he was seeing changes in loan applications that he thought spelled trouble for the future.
Do you work in an industry where you have insider knowledge that might alert you to trouble ahead? My litigation on behalf of public school teachers put me in contact with the material sent out by our nation’s largest labor union,
the National Education Association. It promoted materials hostile to Biblical values. Would teachers block this kind of material from getting to the students? My worry was well-founded. The education the union promoted found its way
to impressionable young people and we are seeing the consequences today. What can we do to promote God in education? The obvious answer is church schools. But, many graduates from church schools also reject Biblical principles.
Let’s explore what the Bible has to say on this important topic!
The most commonly held view of God is that He is our Father. If you had a great father, like I did, then this view is very helpful. Another view, which might be more helpful to those who did not have great fathers, is that God is
our teacher. Surely everyone had at least one great teacher. Our study this week is focused on God as our Teacher. What kinds of things will God teach us? Is it only about spiritual things? Let’s dive into the Bible and learn more!
When it comes to teaching the Bible, isn’t the church the center of education? Education is a process of changing minds. Sometimes the change is merely to learn something where you previously knew nothing. Sometimes, education is
changing opinions. If churches are “safe spaces,” where everyone is expected to refrain from expressing an unpopular opinion, how can opinions be changed on sensitive topics? This week we focus on a story Jesus told about helping
others in need. Does our church leadership model this? Are there practical limitations on who we should help? Let’s dig into our study and learn at least some part of what the Bible teaches about leadership and giving aid!
After I turned 50, I took stock of my life, particularly my favorite activity. Amazingly, my favorite activity was teaching my Bible class at church. I decided then to adjust my life to focus on teaching. After a few wrong turns on
my part, God took charge and led me into a teaching job that was better than I had hoped or dreamed. My plan was to teach classes that would integrate faith with some aspect of the law. In my first meeting with the Dean of the
Regent University School of Law, I explained what I had in mind. His response was immediate, “That is exactly what we do!” Our study this week is about integration of faith and the “arts and sciences.” Let’s dive into our study of
the Bible and see what we can learn!
Assuming you are an employee, what do you think about your employer? Is your employer good, bad, or something in between? How about your supervisor? Good, bad, or something in between? Now, the critical question – does the quality
of your work vary based on how much you like your employer or your supervisor? Have you ever thought that you are really working for God, and not your employer? This is just one aspect of the picture of the Christian employee that
we discuss in this lesson. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!
Very few people seem to take the Sabbath seriously. Most Christians don’t even worship on Sabbath, they worship on Sunday. Even on Sunday, the only special time is when they are in church. The rest of the day is like any other. Is
this what God has in mind? What is His “best practice” for Sabbath? As we will study, the Bible tells us that the Sabbath should be a delight. On the other hand, another Sabbath text we will study sounds like God’s people were under
house arrest. Now that I’m old, I know stories of parents who were very strict with their children about keeping the Sabbath, and those children learned rebellion, not delight. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the Sabbath and
see what truth God has for us!
Do you know anyone who hopes that life on earth is our only existence? I think it is almost universal that people believe, or at least hope, that there is an afterlife. I’ve always believed in heaven and I’m sure that has had a
profound impact on my decisions about how to live. The wife of one of my friends just died. If you thought you lost your life partner forever that would be devastating. The hope of an afterlife makes many things so much better. The
question is, what will it be like? We seem to focus mostly comments on what it will not be like. Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and see what we can learn!
