Today’s teaching tip is all about patience and time. If you desire to be a better teacher, marinate your Bible study – don’t microwave it!

Two days ago my wife brought some great looking steaks home from the grocery store. I could have just thrown them on the grill, but decided to marinate them in a nice mesquite flavored steakhouse marinade for about 2 hours. I then decided to cook them over indirect heat on my charcoal grill. The result was the most succulent steaks I’d ever cooked. Yes it took more time to slow cook the steaks, but the preparation time in the marinade plus cooking over indirect heat made the difference. I suppose I could have gone the other route: fire up the grill and throw them on without any kind of preparation (kind of a quick “microwave” version of the cooking process) but the results would not have been near as good.

Let’s talk about your Bible study preparation and see if there’s something to learn here! I believe there is a great lesson about marinating your Bible study before you deliver it to your group members.

In order to teach a Bible study that satisfies the souls of your people, please consider how you prepare to guide them to experience a Bible study lesson. Yes, it’s true that many busy teachers wait until the last minute to study and prepare. These are the kinds of group leaders who “microwave” their Bible studies each week. They get the job done, but group members don’t get a succulent lesson; instead, they chew and chew on some pretty tough truths.

What if you “marinated” your Bible study instead? Start on Sunday afternoon by looking ahead to your next lesson (even though most of you just finished teaching one that morning!). Read the Bible passage in several translations to help you gain additional insights. Do some word studies. Use a study tool to look up Bible characters and people mentioned in your next lesson. Study and prepare a little bit each day of the week. By Thursday or Friday, you’re done! Saturday is a day of rest and review. You’ve allowed the lesson to marinate all week long in your heart and mind. The Holy Spirit has had time to remind you of other passages that support your next lesson. He has shown you how current events connect to it. You’ve had time as a teacher to live out the truths you’re teaching to your group.

As you prepare your Bible study this week, let it marinate! Don’t microwave your lessons any more. Your group members will than you for it.