Bible teaching requires proper time for study. If the evangelist needs many hours to prepare a stirring sermon, surely the Bible instructor who gives three or four studies a day needs unusual resources of subject matter and argument in order to present forceful, logical, convincing studies. We have been cautioned by the messenger of God to avoid tame, lifeless teaching. If our Bible studies are to maintain force and power, they must be polished and repolished. We must avoid getting in a rut, giving the same studies over and over in the same style and manner.
Let us adapt our textual arrangements to the needs of each reader. As the subjects are repeated with various readers, we may soon trust to memory in following the texts of the study. The better we know our subject, the more forceful will be our presentatioh. We may feel that we do not have time for the needed study, but just as soon as we neglect to study, our Bible readings will become tame and lifeless. We read in Gospel Workers: "Hard study and hard work are required to make a successful minister or a successful worker in any branch of God's cause."—Page 71.
Are only Bible instructors to give Bible studies?
No! Ministers are to give studies in the homes too. I quote again from Gospel Workers:
"My ministering brethren, do not think that the only work you can do, the only way you can labor for souls, is to give discourses. The best work you can do is to teach, to educate. . . . Preach less, and educate more, by holding Bible readings, and by praying with families and little companies."
"When a minister has presented the gospel message from the pulpit, his work is only begun. There is personal work for him to do. . . Let ministers teach the truth in families, drawing close to those for whom they labor."—Pages 193, 187.
Lay members can also give Bible studies. "Filled with love for souls, they could proclaim the message with such power that many would be converted."—Testinzonies, Vol. IX, p. 35. If all our lay members were faithful in working for their relatives and friends, we as Bible instructors would have more Bible studies than we could give.
Although a series of twenty-six to twenty-eight studies is perhaps the maximum to be used, few readers today receive that much attention. Some readers will require even more, however. Our studies are usually held with one or two individuals, but it is more interesting and also saves time if we can get groups together for cottage meetings.
When appointments are made for the study to be held at a certain hour, the Bible instructor should make every effort to be there, and on time. It is better for us to wait for our readers than for them to wait for us. If for some reason we are not able to meet the appointment, let us be sure to notify them.
Forty to forty-five minutes is the usual amount of time required for each study. Some subjects take longer. We should be friendly and sociable, but we should not spend much time in social visiting. We should make every minute count. Start the study with a short prayer for wisdom and guidance and for the Lord's presence ; then at the close ask the readers to join with you in prayer. Pray for definite things. Mention the readers' names, and if you know their problems or their relatives, remember them, too. Show that you are interested in those for whom they are anxious.
During the study, if there are questions asked concerning some other subject, and they can be answered in a few words, then take the time. But if not, tell them you plan to study that subject at a later date. It is well to keep to the subject as far as possible, or the time will lengthen into hours.
If a question is asked that you cannot answer, just tell them, without embarrassment, "I do not know. We can look that up for next time." Encourage them to ask questions. This indicates interest.
Let readers in turn read the texts from their Bibles. This helps to familiarize them with the books of the Bible. Very few readers are able to find the texts readily. It is well not to embarrass them by just sitting and looking at them. Either help them find the texts, or while they are looking and you are waiting, write down the texts of the study in a notebook to be left with them.
Some readers are quick to respond. Others have to be asked questions in order to get a response. Be sure they understand the points presented. For example, when you present the study on the millennium it is very important that the reader understand when the thousand years begin, and the events that mark the beginning, before proceeding with the events of the thousand years.
The study should be so interesting that the reader will not want to stop at the close of forty-five minutes. Give a brief review of the points presented and then make the appeal. Work and pray for a definite answer. Do not give up. Be persevering. The messages we present are convincing, but there will be no results unless our readers are more than convinced that we have presented the truth. They need to be convicted by the Holy Spirit.
"Arm yourselves with humility; pray that angels of God may come close to your side to impress the mind ; for it is not you that work the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit must work you. It is the Holy Spirit that makes the truth impressive."-Id., Vol. VI, p. 57.
"The saving of souls is a vast work. . . . Those engaged in it should constantly increase in efficiency. . . They should seek to attain larger and still larger results in their work. When this is the experience of our workers, fruit will be seen. Many souls will be won to the truth."-Gospel Workers, p. 95.
