This past month we wrapped up our first semester in our Bible college for this year and I had the privilege to teach Homiletics 1. This is a class that goes over the principles of Bible study and how to prepare and preach the Word of God. I always enjoy teaching this class because I realize that it is probably one of the most important things that they will learn in preparation to serve in the ministry. We were able to focus on several areas for this first class like how any Bible teaching has to start with us so that we can be the vessel prepared for the Lord’s use. We were also able to look at the importance of being true to the Bible’s original intent and message while preparing. This means that we have to put aside our preconceived ideas and desire to teach what we want, and submit ourselves to the Word. I have always been impressed with Bible passages like the one in 1 Kings 22 where the prophet Micaiah was asked to prophesy good towards the king and his reply was, “As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.” Now that we have the word of God as our authority, we must make the same commitment that we will strive to “only” say that which God says in His word. During the class, we were able to see several types of messages like thematic, textual and expository and for their final exam they had to prepare an outline for each type and preach one of them for five minutes. While it is a big challenge to express all of our ideas in five minutes, they all did a great job, especially those who were new and had never preached before. Please pray for these men as they prepare to faithfully preach His word, wherever the Lord will lead them.