Deuteronomy 6:1-9

One of my professors made it very clear that his favorite book of the Bible was Deuteronomy. I would have never picked that as a personal favorite, but as I read it more, I realize that it is quickly creeping up my list of favorites. My latest interaction with this book has come in conjunction with a new Bible class that I will be co-teaching with the Youth Pastor at our church. We will be teaching through the Fundamentals of the Faithworkbook, created by Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. I am particularly excited about his desired approach to this class; we have intentionally opened this adult Bible class up for the youth to come along with their parents. As we teach and provide guidance each week, we will be turning the parents loose with the resources in the workbook to spend time with their children going over the Fundamentals of the Christian faith during the week.

This excites me because we hope that we will be helping to encourage and equip parents to live out their responsibility to teach their children about God and His Word…a command we see painted in Deuteronomy 6. This passage lays out some important principles to guide teaching and learning, particularly within the family setting, which I would like to share:

1. Teaching is ordained by God. The teaching of God’s commandments is commanded by God and plays a vital role in the passing on of God’s truths from one generation to the next, and it should result in a healthy fear of God (reverential trust and commitment to His revealed will) (vs. 1-2).

2. Teaching should result in transformation. The goal of teaching is not just a head full of knowledge for the learner, but a life of obedience/transformation…a life that responds with its heart, soul, and strength to the message (vs. 3-6).

3. Teaching should be relational and move with life. Teaching and learning is always going on, and a close, intimate relationship, which is not confined to one setting, is the ideal context for teaching and learning (vs. 7).

4. Teaching effectiveness is enhanced by the increased knowledge and congruent behavior of the teacher. The teacher should really know and live the message in order to most clearly and effectively teach the truths and have an effect (vss. 6b, 8-9).

I would appreciate any feedback to the questions below as I begin to prepare for this Bible Class.

Your feedback will be helpful in some decisions I have to make about the direction of the class.

Questions:

1. What are some of the greatest challenges that families typically face in teaching their children the truths of Scripture as painted in Deuteronomy 6?

2. What would be the most helpful skill(s), information, or value(s) that we could work into a class like this?