I’ve posted a few things before related to my personal philosophy of preaching and teaching (The 3 AM Statement,The 1 Question that Can Change Someone’s Life, and 7 Steps of Bible Study Preparation). Today, I’d like to post some things I try to keep in mind whenever I prepare to preach or teach. These are some helpful, overarching principles that have guided me in my study, particularly as I try and put the information into the form where it can be best understood by others.

So here are 4 Keys to the Art of Teaching Scripture:

1. Look for the story.

Everything in the Bible has a story. Even the laws of Leviticus or the specific instructions regarding worship of Paul. Everything has a story. Look for the backstory of the text. Why did the author write it like this? What emotions was he feeling as he did? How would the people have received it? What was their personal relationship like with each other? If, as communicators, we can express this larger story, we not only help people get a more full sense of the scope of the text, we also help them connect more deeply to not just the words, but the spirit behind them.

2. Find the thread.

If we believe that ultimately the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture, then there is always a continuity between different parts of Scripture. If we look deeply, we can find the thread between seemingly unrelated parts of the Bible and how they thread together. Sometimes it’s with an image. Sometimes it’s with a single word. Sometimes it’s with an author or an audience. But finding that thread helps people see that the Bible isn’t isolated from itself; it’s one, cohesive unit.

3. Elevate the audience.

Simply, nothing is ever “just about” something. A text about parenting is never just about parenting. A text about mildew is never just about mildew. A text about sexual purity is never just about purity. There are cosmological things going on here, and because there are, there is always far more at stake than what might seem to be. A good example of this is Paul’s teaching on marriage in Ephesians 5. At first glance, we might treat the text as “3 Ways to Have a Successful Marriage.” But there is always something more at stake. What is at stake is the fact that marriage is meant to be a walking, talking, living, breathing illustration of the gospel. We must elevate the audience to see the immensity of what’s truly at stake in the seemingly common, everyday stuff of life.

4. Point to Jesus.

Jesus is the hero of the Bible. He’s the center of every story. As a seminary professor of mine once said, “The fingerprints of Christ are on every page of the Bible – sometimes you just have to dust for them a little bit.” We must always preach Christ and Him crucified, so that means it’s entirely appropriate when we approach any text to ask the question, “Where is Jesus in this passage?”