Studying Colossians Together
Our study of Colossians is going great so far. We’ve read through the whole book each of the last two Sundays that we’ve met together. Then, we’ve studied a particular passage in detail each week.
The first Sunday, we studied Colossians 1:1-14, and the second Sunday, we studied Colossians 1:15-2:5. The first Sunday turned out to be more of a lecture with less discussion, although there was certainly some very good discussion. The second Sunday was more discussion oriented.
Each week while I was studying the book and the particular passage, there were certain things that I wanted to bring out. It is very exciting to see how God is teaching me through the perspectives of my brothers and sisters as they also study the book of Colossians and bring out different parts of the letter.
You see, I’ve always heard that the “preacher” (the person teaching a particular passage) gets more out of a study than the audience. Well, I think that is only true when the “preacher” is the only one speaking or teaching.
I don’t consider my teaching style to be “preaching” – and trust me, none of my preaching professors at seminary would confuse it with “preaching.” But, even when I teach, I also want to learn. And, I don’t mean that I only want to learn from my own personal studies.
Therefore, when I teach, I am not the only one speaking. I always encourage others to teach, comment, question, etc. That way, we learn even more than if I was the only person talking.
I like this approach to teaching. I have been seeing the effectiveness of this in my own gatherings. I would be curious about your study preparation. How much do you prepare? Do you bring notes? How do you prepare? etc.
Jeremy,
I stepped through my personal study of Colossians a few weeks ago in a blog series. Typically, I don’t write out notes – although I did for example in this case. So, I don’t take notes with me. Typically, I know the structure of the passage and the points that I want to cover.
-Alan