Teaching equips Bible teachers and ministry leaders to communicate Scripture clearly and help people grow in faith. Explore practical, Bible-based guidance on lesson planning, facilitation, discussion questions, and making meaningful application for different ages and settings. You’ll find resources for teaching in classes, small groups, youth and children’s environments, and church-wide studies—along with help for handling difficult topics, staying faithful to the text, and creating a learning culture rooted in grace and truth. Whether you teach weekly or occasionally, these articles help strengthen your teaching ministry.
January 9, 2023
God’s people had returned from their exile in Babylon, had rebuilt the altar in the temple, and were laying the foundation of the temple when they ran into a buzz saw. “Enemies” reared their ugly heads (Ezra 4:1). . . .
January 9, 2023
The book of Ezra tells how a group of exiled Jews traveled back to Jerusalem to rebuild God’s temple, but it wasn’t a smooth and easy journey. Their story reveals some principles that can help us travel rough roads of our own.
January 9, 2023
What can you learn from Ezra 4:12–5:2 about God’s timing, waiting on him, and trusting him in the process?
January 2, 2023
By this point in the book of Ezra, God’s people had their hope deferred. They came back from captivity with such high hopes . . . but then the wheels fell off. . . .
January 2, 2023
In life, as in sports, it’s important to stop and give thanks when things go well. Before we rush ahead and move on to the next event or activity, we should pause and celebrate the wins. . . .
January 2, 2023
What area in your life are you hoping to build on with God’s help this year?
December 26, 2022
God had planned from eternity past to get his people back home and give them a fresh start. Ezra and Nehemiah tell of this new start (these books were once combined as one). . . .
December 26, 2022
As another new year begins, it’s good to remember that the Lord is the Master Craftsman. He’s an expert at making things new. He knows how to take our lives apart and put them back together again.
December 26, 2022
What were God’s roles and what were the people’s roles in the Jewish exiles’ return to Jerusalem?
January 1, 2021
When We Decided to Teach People in Our Community How to Study the Bible, God Provided Everything We Needed When COVID-19 first hit and life ground to a halt, I didn’t know what I would do with myself. As a volunteer outreach coordinator at Copper Creek Christian Church in Maryville, Illinois, as well as a leader with several independent outreach opportunities in the community, I was devastated when all events were unexpectedly and indefinitely canceled. Suddenly my involvement in two to three outreach events per month dropped to zero. No more events. No more kids’ activities. No more social gatherings.
August 14, 2019
By Jim Nieman In 2016, Ozark Christian College began producing free online teaching videos featuring professors such as Chad Ragsdale, Michael DeFazio, Shane Wood, and Mark Scott. Since that time, the project—known as NextLevel Online—has grown to include 25 different biblical teaching series and 198 free online videos that have been viewed more than 100,000 times by church classes, small groups, student ministries, and individuals in all 50 states and 35 countries. Ozark’s mission is to “train men and women for Christian service,” said Jim Dalrymple, Ozark’s vice president of advancement. “We do this in the classroom every day, and
June 22, 2019
By John Whittaker I was sitting in a coffee shop with a young man I had baptized several months earlier. “I’m lost during the sermon,” he admitted. “I don’t know whether the passage comes before Jesus or after. And it feels like the preacher just opens his Bible to wherever.” Fact: Basic Bible or Christian understanding can’t be assumed anymore. Fact 2: Folks have access to infinite amounts of nice-sounding memes and inspirational junk food on social media, and because they have such a limited and shallow understanding of the Christian faith, it all gets mixed together into a sort
October 18, 2018
I’ve heard anecdotes about P.H. Welshimer and how he used Sunday school to build attendance at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio, so I was interested in this article he wrote for the October 24, 1953, Christian Standard. It’s a longish article, so without further ado . . . _ _ _ How the Bible School Was Used to Build the Church at Canton, Ohio By P.H. Welshimer WHEN I BEGAN my ministry in Canton, Ohio, Jan. 1, 1902, there were 120 persons in the Bible school that Lord’s Day morning. There was no adult class. The second Lord’s Day
February 27, 2017
By Michael C. Mack As sailing is a partnership between man and nature, spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and God. The term for Spirit is the same for that of wind in both the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Spirit is the wind that provides the driving force of all spiritual growth. You cannot bring about spiritual growth in your own life or the lives of those you lead, but neither are you a passive bystander. As the Holy Spirit moves, you must become engaged in that driving force. As a small group leader or teacher,
April 14, 2016
We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” Their answers are as diverse as they are challenging. ____ By James Book There is no question our facilities and the way we communicate with our church family and community will change over the next few years. We have come to expect constant change in this age of technology. The church need not back away from using every form of media outlet to convey the truth. Generations coming up are constantly using their cellular devices. People stare at computer screens
December 7, 2015
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the December 6 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Someone rightly said, “Exodus is about getting God”s people out of Egypt while Leviticus is about getting the Egypt out of God”s people.” How were God”s people supposed to act once they left Egypt? Leviticus held the answer, and it was “in holiness.” The third
November 30, 2015
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 29 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott A certain workaholic said, “Thank God it”s Monday.” But even the most aggressive workaholic needs rest. Out of eternity God carved time and made days, weeks, months, seasons, and years. Habit is a great liberator””learning the rhythms of God gives proper pacing to our lives.
November 23, 2015
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 22 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Our lesson title is taken from verse 11 of our text: So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. The content was not Bible exposition as much as gospel announcement. Could teaching the gospel reverse an immoral
November 16, 2015
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 15 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Acts 16 set the stage for the gospel going up and down the social ladder. Acts 16 illustrated the truth discerned in Acts 15. If Gentiles did not have to become Jews to be Christians, then that is good news for everyone. People like Lydia (Acts
November 9, 2015
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 8 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott The pioneer statement, “Go west, young man,” matches our text. Another way to say our title, “From Derbe to Philippi,” is “From Asia to Europe.” Those of us who live in the western hemisphere need to thank God for this text. Western civilization would have been
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