Tuesday Teaching Tips, Episode 187

Last night I finished reading a booklet by Nicky Gumbel. A paragraph moved my spirit and I thought I’d share it with you today.

We don’t have so much of the teaching focus today as an inspirational focus. It is vital we remember how precious this book is that we speak and preach from. Here below is a quote from the booklet:

“About 16 years ago I was on holiday with my family in Central Asia, part of the USSR as it then was. At that time Bibles were strictly illegal there, but I took some Christian literature, including some Russian Bibles. While I was there I went to churches and looked for people who seemed from their faces to be genuine Christians. (At that time the meetings were usually infiltrated by the KGB.) On one occasion I followed a man, who was probably in his 60s, down the street after a service. I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. There was nobody about. I took out one of my Bibles and then handed it to him. For a moment he had an expression of almost disbelief. Then he took from his pocket a New Testament which was probably 100 years old. The pages were so threadbare they were virtually transparent. When he realised that he had received a whole Bible, he was elated. He didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Russian. We hugged each other and he started to run down the street jumping for joy, because he knew that the Bible was the most precious thing the world.”

The next time you get up to preach or teach remember that you are bringing joy to people. Whether you cause 60-year-olds to jump up and down might not be the point! But, by bringing God’s word to people you are giving them the most precious thing in the world.

Never forget this. It’s the reason we preach and teach.

What I’d like to know today is,

“What helps you to remember how precious God’s word is?”

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.

Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org.

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“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)

God bless, Malcolm

PS: You might also be interested in my book: “An elephant’s swimming pool”, a devotional look at the Gospel of John