Lord, Teach Us
Jesus taught His disciples through everyday events, using living examples to reveal the character of God and spur them into action.
K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the importance of experiential learning in the Christian faith, drawing parallels between modern education and the way Jesus taught His disciples. He highlights that Jesus used everyday events and personal examples to impart lessons about God and how to live righteously. The disciples' request for Jesus to teach them to pray illustrates their desire for deeper understanding and connection with God. Yohannan points out that Jesus' teachings were meant to inspire action, leading the disciples to preach and heal as He did. Ultimately, the sermon calls believers to learn from Jesus' example and actively live out their faith.
Text
In this day and age, when a person desires to learn something new or become skilled in a particular field, he will seek some form of educational institution, be it a college or technical school, master's program or certification. Years are spent, reports are written and book after book is studied, all to gain the desired knowledge.
But in ancient times, a different form of learning took place. Students lived with their teachers, learning directly from watching their lives, pulling valuable lessons and asking necessary questions from daily events. The home was the classroom; the textbook was living examples and events of the day.
Look through the Gospels and you will see that this is the way Jesus taught His disciples. Through everyday events, Jesus revealed what the Father God was like. Whatever came His way became His teaching material--a child's illness, a crowd of hungry people, the woman caught in adultery, the disciples' dusty feet or a confrontation by the high priest's troops.
Jesus' reason for taking 12 men to be His disciples was to teach them--through His example and the events of life--how to live like Him and do what He did. And the Bible shows how effective He was in that. Consider the time when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them: "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he fi nished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray . . .' " (Luke11:1, NIV). And Jesus taught them!
But the teaching was not an end in itself. It was not knowledge for knowledge's sake, but rather to spur them into action. And that's just what happened--"Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits . . . . They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them" (Mark6:7, 12-13, NIV).
Sermon Outline
- The Traditional Method of Learning
- Jesus' Method of Teaching
- The Purpose of Teaching
- To spur action, not just knowledge
- The importance of putting faith into practice
- The effectiveness of Jesus' method
Key Quotes
“The home was the classroom; the textbook was living examples and events of the day.” — K.P. Yohannan
“Jesus revealed what the Father God was like through everyday events.” — K.P. Yohannan
“It was not knowledge for knowledge's sake, but rather to spur them into action.” — K.P. Yohannan
Application Points
- We should seek to learn through hands-on experience and living examples, rather than just theoretical knowledge.
- We should put our faith into practice by applying what we learn to our daily lives.
- Effective teaching should aim to spur action and transformation, not just impart knowledge.