Creative Techniques for Teaching the Bible & Bringing Scriptures to Life
- Students can act out a biblical story that is the focus of your lesson. Perform a biblical story using a modern twist on the biblical account. Alternatively, focus the skit on the topic of your lesson; for instance, act out the parable of the Prodigal Son, which shows that just as the father does not turn his back on his wayward son who finally comes home, such is the unconditional love God has for his children. This way, students can understand the key point more thoroughly.
- Including secular history in addition to your Bible content will bring the Bible to life for your students. For instance, they may have heard of the fall of the Roman Empire and other things that happened during ancient times. Using the Bible and secular world history accounts as parallels -- for instance, mirroring the stories of the Roman Empire's mysterious decline with an anachronistic but also long-ago story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah -- will enrich students' understanding of accounts in the Bible. It will bring to life the culture that the biblical characters lived in, and will help make the stories more real to students.
- Object lessons -- that is, using props to put lessons into focus -- allow students to visualize a selected biblical character's wardrobe. For example, if you teach a lesson on the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6, dress a student or mannequin as a Roman soldier. Teach about details on the spiritual aspect of each piece of armor including the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness and the Belt of Truth. An object lesson will help students to put Bible stories into context.
- When speaking about a particular part of the biblical world, search online for photos of that area, print them out and show them to the class. Pictures of Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, Bethlehem and other places in Scripture will help students to see the type of place where biblical characters lived. While the architecture may not represent an exact replica, students can get a better understanding of climate and environmental context.