KNOW YOUR P’s AND Q’s
By: Bob McCool
I. “P’s” – “Preparation”
A. (P)repare yourself.
Understanding the task set before you, then judging for yourself the degree of importance that should be placed upon it will, in my opinion, determine the amount of preparation you will do on yourself. Surely when one deals with never-dying, everlasting souls who are depending upon what you say to save them, you would want to adequately prepare yourself.
The question is, How do I prepare myself?
B. (P)ray.
I am reminded of the prayer of the man that fell into a barrel of molasses. He said, “Lord, make my mouth to fit the occasion.” Whatever the occasion we need to pray, pray, pray. The first prayer-should be-for yourself. That God will prepare your heart (thinking) for the intended lesson. Pray that God will excite. you over the lesson. Look at the lesson as a challenge to you. Accept the challenge to present it in a way that it will be remembered by your students after the class is ended. This prayer should be prayed even before you
open your instructor’s manual, Sunday School book, or any other material. Then open your Sunday School book, or teacher’s manual, or better still the good old Bible. Have pen and paper in hand; read your
material slowly; treat it as if it were a thick, juicy, tender steak…savor every bite; linger with it; let God sensitize your spiritual taste buds. Next…
Research your material from your own perspective. The writer of your manual did not intend for you to use his work word for word, but as help. The Bible says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. For an exciting lesson of one hour, you need at least two hours of material condensed.
C. (P)repare your room.
No teaching can be completely effective with a room that is too cold or too hot, or in disarray. If a room is in disarray unless, of course, you are to use it as an object lesson, it speaks a silent message of your ability (or inability) to teach that class. It does not command attention but invites trouble. Make the room pleasant.
II. “Q’s” – “Qualifications”
A. Be (Q)uaint.
“Quaint” means pleasingly odd. Get out of the rut. Don’t be so orthodox in your presentation, while being orthodox in your doctrine. It is a pleasant change to have someone teach you that is willing to go to extremes to reach you. Your teaching must be spirit anointed. Nothing will take the place of that – and the spirit moves in some very interesting ways. The master teacher (Jesus) did some very unusual things. He spit on the ground and made clay to put on the eyes of the blind man, and it worked. His parables were shocking at times, but they worked. Do you get my drift?
B. Be able to (Q)uash negative attitudes.
Quash – subdue, make void – any negative talk or attitudes in your class, including you own. Be positive in your approach. For example, “Well, how many are going to get the Holy Ghost today? If you really want the Holy Ghost you are going to get it today.” Then give them a chance to receive it as you lay your hands on them as the apostles did.
C. Be (Q)uick.
To recognize when you have said enough. When you reach the end of your lesson the best thing to do is STOP! Now isn’t that profound? But, you would be surprised how many preachers and teachers have not learned this yet. For a sermon to be immortal it doesn’t have to be eternal. Remember: The mind can only retain as much as the seat can endure!
D. Be (Q)uiet.
The most exciting teaching in the world is when one can hear the voice of the spirit and will be quiet and let God speak to souls. Take a moment to allow the Spirit to speak to your students directly.
(The original source of the above material is unknown.)
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