Tuesday’s teaching tip is a practical one for all you group leaders. When you teach your group and guide them through a study of Scripture, do you point to Christ? Every time?

Our tip today is courtesy of a friend of mine, Trevin Wax. Trevin has been instrumental in launching The Gospel Project, a line of Christ-centered curriculum created by my team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He is also an excellent communicator and preacher, whose messages always point the audience to Christ. Listen to the challenge that Trevin issues in regard to finding Christ in each Bible study you lead. He has several examples in his book, Gospel-Centered Teaching, but this one in particular relates to the times when you find yourself teaching from the Old Testament:

Is there anything about my treatment of this Old Testament text that a faithful Jew could not affirm? Why is this a helpful question? Because it reminds us to approach the Old Testament from the perspective of a Christian who believes the whole Bible points to Jesus Christ…Failure to point to Jesus means your message is not distinctly Christian.

If you preach the story of Moses and the Passover and do not point forward to our Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, then you are teaching from Exodus much like a rabbi, not like a Christian herald of the gospel…If you preach the narratives of the kings of the Old Testament and only draw out moral lessons from their examples, then you have forgotten how the kings (the good and the bad ones) are intended to evoke a sense of longing and anticipation of for the King of kings who will usher in His kingdom through the sacrificial ministry of His death and the smashing victory of His resurrection.

So when you teach from the Old Testament, it’s imperative that you point people forward to the Messiah. It’s what makes your message distinctively Christian.

Trevin’s point above applies to times when you teach from wisdom literature, epistles, historical books, etc. The entire Bible point to Jesus and His ministry.

So as you teach, make sure that you connect your Bible study to the cross. Point your people to the Savior. Find the Christ connection and help your people see Jesus, no matter what passage of Scripture you’re studying.

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