My Favorite Bible Verses
A Bible Lesson Idea
by Joel Stephen Williams
Every minister and Bible class teacher needs to have a couple of Bible lesson ideas ready for those impromptu, unexpected situations when you are called upon to teach, because another teacher did not show up or other scheduling problems arose. Even with the best of planning, it will likely happen every now and then. One easy Bible lesson idea you can teach that can work well, especially for a small group, is to study favorite Bible verses. You, as the teacher, can share with the class your favorite Bible verse or verses, why it or they are special to you, and a little of the meaning of these verses. Then, as time allows, allow others in the class to do the same. Conclude the class with a reminder of the sufficiency of Scripture and the importance of God’s written word in our lives.
For me, my favorite Scriptures have changed over the years. The same is probably true for you. Shifting to a new favorite Scripture is normal for several reasons. Sometimes we shift in our love for a new Bible verse simply due to discovery as we study different parts of God’s word. Even though we may have read a book of the Bible many times, some part of it may become new to us as we have grown older and have different needs or as we have matured in our thinking. What follows is a brief discussion of my three favorite Bible passages, at present.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (NRSV).
Asaph’s psalm is like the book of Job in miniature. Why does it seem like the wicked are doing well while the righteous are not? Is one wasting one’s time trying to live a godly life (73:13)? But while worshipping God, Asaph realized that the way of the sinner was ruin (73:17–20). But what is the reward for those who are godly? Their reward is God himself, nearness to him, and a relationship with him (73:25–26).
Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before Him (HCSB).
In Ecclesiastes, the words of the Teacher are analyzed. What can we know about the meaning of life and man’s destiny (3:21; 8:17)? Injustice seems to be present everywhere (9:11). No one knows what the future may hold, and disaster can strike in an instant (9:12; 10:14). Despite uncertainty from his own observations about life and life’s seeming vanity, the Teacher makes a bold declaration of faith. Fearing God and obeying him is the right way to live, and it will go well with those who live this way (8:12; 12:11).
Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen (NRSV).
Whoever is teaching, exhorting, or sharing wisdom or knowledge (Rom. 12:7–8; 1 Cor. 12:8) in what might be called “authoritative speech in worship assemblies,” they should speak as one speaking the very words of God (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13). [1] Our teaching must be biblical. Preaching and teaching have eternal consequences. Those who teach will be judged with greater strictness, so let us be sober and serious about our task (James 3:1). In our ministry (diakonia) to others, let us humbly depend on God’s strength. Why do we do these things? So that God may be glorified through Christ. And thus we can pray or sing the doxology: “To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever, Amen.”
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[1] J. Ramsey Michael, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1988), 250.
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