5 Ways to Introduce Your Bible Lesson

1. Ask a question. Think through the story and the main point you want to get across and ask a question about it that the audience can relate to. Use the answer to tie into the start of the story. Let's use the story of David and Goliath for an example.
   
   "Have you ever been troubled by a bully? Bullies are no fun and can make life miserable for you. People aren't the only ones with bully problems; sometimes a whole nation can be troubled by one. The nation of Israel was facing a huge bully by the name of Goliath…"


2. Tell a short story of an experience in your life or someone you know that goes along with the theme of your story. If you had a bully problem when growing up, or have one even now, share about the problem and how you handled it and then transition into the story.
   
   "When I was your age, I had a bully in my classroom that…The problem I had with the bully was not fun at all. Today we're going to take a look at a HUGE bully that was bothering the nation of Israel…"
   
   
3. A direct start. Just start right at the beginning with the initial story facts. Sometimes the best introduction is just a simple setting of the scene and going right into the story.
   
   "The nation of Israel had been disobeying God, and now they faced a HUGE problem. That problem was a giant by the name of Goliath…"
   
   
4. Use an illustration. Some possibilities include newspaper clippings, sports stories, magazine articles, news events, unusual facts, poems, cartoons, statistics, animals in nature, and solar system facts. Try to find something that will grab the children's attention.
   
   "How many of you like to play basketball? How high off the ground is a basketball rim? That's right, ten feet. Could you imagine how much the NBA would pay someone tall enough that when he stood on his tip-toes his head would hit the rim? Believe it or not, the Bible tells about someone tall enough to do that…"
   
   
5. Use an object lesson.
   
   • Read over the scripture passage for your Bible lesson and determine what main point you will teach.
   • Brainstorm possible objects you could use for your introduction that relate to that main point.
   • Choose the object and write a brief description of what it does or how it's used. Notice the word brief. You want a basic idea. Too much detail is distracting and may lead to the children's loss of attention.
   • Once you have the basic idea, look for a spiritual application, asking God for his insight and direction. Look for verses to support your application, but make sure to look within the whole context so the verse isn't misapplied. Use the verse and its teaching to support the lesson you are giving.
   
   For the story of David and Goliath, the tip of Goliath's spear weighed 15 lbs. so you could bring in a 15 lb. weight and give the children a chance to try lifting it. Another possibility would be to make a sling (2 long strings tied to a square piece of cloth) and ask the children if they could imagine fighting a trained soldier with it.