How To Put Together A Bible Study Presentation

Making the effort to prepare and give a good Bible presentation isn’t simply a means to share the results of our own Bible study. As Paul told Timothy, it is a matter of salvation, both ours and those who hear us. It is something that requires attention and perseverance. Becoming effective communicators of God’s word takes time, but if we are absorbed in it, progress will be evident to all. In this article I will share some guidelines I have found helpful when preparing public addresses, exhortations and in particular Bible classes.

• Prayer

“Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people…” (2 Chron 1:10).

Perhaps it should go without saying that prayer should be the first step of any endeavour, and yet in the looming deadline of a talk (or an article for The Tidings!) we can all too easily rush in without first sitting still, meditating and appealing for guidance from him who gives wisdom “generously and without reproach” to assist us.

• Chapter/Book vsA. Thematic/Word studies “Preach the word” (2 Tim 4:2).

Pick a section of Scripture and stick to it. In recent years I have become increasingly persuaded that studies that primarily focus on an individual unit of Scripture are to be preferred over thematic studies.

The main reason for this is because this is how the Bible was written and how it was received by its original audience. In most cases the original audience did not have access to other books. Even in later times when the Canon was nearing completion, they did not have the ability to skip from verse to verse across the entire Bible as we can with bound Bibles or electronic tablets. Their primary contact with God’s word was in the individual letter, prophecy or book that was addressed to them. Our presentations of God’s word ought to follow this approach, where we explain first what the text meant to the original audience and only then then finding applications to the 21st century. The Bible was written for us (Rom 15:4) but not “to us”.

Therefore, aim to have your audience understand what the original audience would have heard as it impacted their lives. Try to restate it in your own words, giving careful attention to the context and the logical flow of the text. The goal is to let the word speak (exegesis), and not for us to impose our thoughts on it (eisegesis). Explain who wrote, to whom they wrote and why they wrote.

Word studies, where one relies on following the use of a particular word using Strong’s concordance, or thematic studies on a particular subject that rely on topical Bibles or books like the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge may seem quicker to prepare, but pose the danger of selection bias where we unconsciously pick and choose the verses that suit the destination we have in mind. This can be seen especially in some expositions of prophecy that string together a selection of verses without any consideration as to what the original audience would have understood. Chaining references together without considering the context can lead to us to conclusions that were never intended. Certainly there are times where authors such as Paul would use a list of verses to establish a point that he was making (e.g. Rom 3:10-18), but this is not common. If you find you are assigned a thematic title, try to find one particular passage of Scripture that will serve as the backbone of your talk.

It is important to have a logical structure to your presentation. This should come from the passage of Scripture you are presenting. One of the first steps in your preparation should be to identify this structure in a few bullet points. At the beginning of your presentation, either share this structure, or pose a question that will be resolved in the passage you are speaking on. Then, keep to that flow with minimal digression. It is very difficult for an audience to follow a class if they don’t know where it is going.

Many brothers find it helpful to consider a chapter from the daily readings when preparing an exhortation. This is a positive way to encourage all to engage in the daily readings and helps unify the ecclesia in a common endeavor. A word of warning though, resist the urge to artificially tie all three portions into a common theme unless they are genuinely connected.

3) Speaking with Conviction

“I am full of words;

The spirit within me constrains me.

Behold, my belly is like unvented wine,

Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

Let me speak that I may get relief;

Let me open my lips and answer” (Job 32:18-20).

One of the most important ways to effectively share God’s words with others is to speak from conviction and with zeal. Enthusiasm is infectious. On the other hand, a flat presentation where it looks like the speaker is not engaged with his subject will dishearten all present.

Remember the following when preparing your class:

• There is no reason to be nervous. Your brothers and sisters want you to succeed and they are all willing you on to do well.
• Pick a subject that interests you and let your audience see the enthusiasm you have for it.

Speak as you naturally would in a conversation. There is no one best way to talk, and you will be most effective if you use language and tone that you are most comfortable with. Therefore:

• Avoid using words you wouldn’t normally use. Use of jargon or pioneer phraseology can create a false impression about a speaker’s knowledge while also impeding comprehension.
• Avoid including Hebrew and Greek words. Never quote Strong’s numbers! Better to just tell your audience what a particular word means.
• Don’t try to mimic the style of other speakers. I remember growing up in Australia there was one particularly exuberant brother who was very effective in presenting God’s word, both because he was a good expositor and he was sharing his excitement for the word. But it led to some other younger brothers trying to adopt that same style when they spoke, even if though it was completely unnatural to them. It was not effective.
• If you are comfortable with it, sparing use of humor can help you engage your hearers. But remember, keep it sparing and respectful.
• Also helpful for engaging an audience, if used sparingly, are the use of stories that are relevant to the Biblical topic, like the way our Lord Jesus used parables.
• Don’t read your notes.
• Make eye contact. Pick a few people in various parts of your audience that you look at.

Those last two points require you to be completely familiar with your subject matter. This takes time, so don’t leave preparation to the last minute. Spend time reviewing your material — either by directly practicing it or freeing yourself from other distractions to mentally run through your presentation. Going for a walk (or in my case a swim) is a great time to do this. Remember, you are not putting on a performance — a successful presentation is one where the hearers remember the message, not the messenger.

4) Know Your Audience

“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (1 Cor 9:22).

An exhortation is not a public lecture, nor is it a Bible class. It is important to consider the purpose of your presentation and prepare accordingly. It is also important to remember who is in your audience. A public lecture needs to assume the audience may know very little about the Bible. Avoid Christadelphian clichés and phrases like “as we all know”. Often your audience will be mixed. There will be some who have never heard about your subject, others who have heard it many times. Remember both groups as you prepare, you want to not go over the heads of the former, and yet at the same time you do not want to bore the latter.

5) Length and Interaction

“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead” (Acts 20:7-9).

Rather than indicate what Paul spoke about as he usually did, Luke seems to be implicitly critical of Paul in that:

• He was talking TO them
• He prolonged his message until midnight
• He kept on talking, despite the fact that the room was hot and his audience were drifting

Clearly it is possible to talk too long. A good Bible presentation must avoid this. There is no right length, as it depends on many factors such as the subject and style of the presentation. I have been enthralled by some presentations that lasted two hours. At other times ten minutes seemed too long! It is better to finish earlier than your audience expects. Don’t overestimate your ability to continue to enrapt an audience.

“When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left”(Acts 20:11).

Note the difference when Paul resumed his presentation. Now he talked “with them”. The Greek here implies a more interactive style, a dialogue rather than a monologue. Asking occasional questions of the audience and inviting feedback at the end will help maintain their attention. Other effective ways to engage an audience are to make use of worksheets and encouraging them to take notes.

6) Multimedia and Object Lessons

“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you”(Jer 19:10).

Visual aids can be a powerful assistance to ensuring that the main points of a presentation are remembered. Many of us will still have a “Round Tuit”. Brother Bob Lloyd’s style of object lessons was very memorable, though it is likely not the style many of us would use ourselves. Today the most common tool used to visually enhance a presentation would be PowerPoint. Used well, it can add significantly to a presentation. But like any tool, it can be used poorly, leading to “Death by PowerPoint”.

PowerPoint should not be used as a substitute to speaking notes. You should not read your presentation from a screen — people can read faster than you can speak and your audience will simply read ahead and tune you out. If you are going to make extensive use of PowerPoint, remember that to do it well it will add significantly to your preparation time. A picture tells a thousand words — the best situations to use PowerPoint are when showing a slide will be quicker than explaining something in words. For example:

• The outline of a presentation and the closing summary
• Showing parallels between two or three passages
• Using colour to highlight key words in a passage
• Quickly showing how a Hebrew or Greek word is used elsewhere
• Timelines and chronologies
• Graphs, photographs and maps
• Quotes from other sources that you want to read

7) Improving your presentation skills

“Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all” (1Tim 4:15).

No one starts out a great presenter. All of us have room to improve, and it will require effort and practice to do so. There are several additional ways to improve:

• Seek feedback, before and after your presentation. Even if you have been speaking for decades, when chatting with others after your class seek constructive criticism. If someone tells you it was a great class, seek specifics and ask what you could do to improve it further.
• Listen to a recording of yourself, or even better, watch a video recording. This can be very uncomfortable, but it is a powerful method to help you improve and overcome nervousness. When you do it, try to imagine you are watching someone else and focus on the positives
• Listen to others. Websites like livoniatapes.com have a large selection of classes. While you want to develop your own style, it is still helpful to listen to others to see what is effective.

8) Call to action

“Therefore urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, top resent your bodies a living and holy sacrifice…” (Rom 12:1).

The main reason you are presenting is to encourage, comfort and inspire. Your presentation is not merely to impart information, it should also inspire transformation. All talks should have a practical impact that should help change the lives of those who hear you, something they can take away. You are not there to simply demonstrate how much knowledge you have.

Often in the Bible, when doctrinal truths are expressed, they are coupled with the expected impact on our life. When Jesus was asked which the greatest commandment was, he highlighted that the first principle of God’s oneness requires the complete response of all of our love. The letters of Paul are another example of this — Paul often concludes a doctrinal section such as Romans 1-11 with a call to action (look at how Paul uses the word “therefore” to introduce these appeals in his letters).

So whenever you are preparing a class, ask yourself the “So What?” question and be sure to provide the practical implications of the passage you are looking at. A good way to do this (especially when preparing an exhortation) is to consider what you yourself need to hear. The conclusion of your presentation should reaffirm these appeals.

9) Am I a teacher?

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation…” (Rom 12:6-8).

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1).

The body is made of many parts (1 Corinthians 12). All roles are important and all are needed. But they are not all the same. Teaching is such a role that we may or may not be equipped for. Sometimes an expectation exists that all brothers should teach, despite the fact we would never expect all our ecclesial members to take on other roles such as playing the organ. As ecclesias we need to be providing opportunities for all our members to discover where their talents lie. But as individuals we also need to be aware of where our strengths are, and devote our service to those, rather than trying to live up to the expectations of others that may frustrate and discourage us.

It’s been said that assigning speaking roles to all is a way to encourage them to study. Not only does this logic contain the implicit assumption that sisters do not need to study much (as they tend to have less opportunities for teaching), it is also my experience that the one of the best encouragements to study for myself comes from hearing a well-prepared presentation from a brother who passionately engaged. I must confess that, a presentation by a brother whose talents are not in public address can actually discourage.

Conclusion

So let us all not put speakers on a pedestal, as if it is the most important role a brother can perform. It is simply one of many serving roles that we can fulfill. Wherever our talents may lie, let us all resolve to devote our selves to developing them with all of our heart and soul, strength and mind, with a focus on edifying our brothers and sisters and helping them on the path to the kingdom.