Food for the SRE Teacher’s Soul

In order to persevere in teaching SRE, we need sustenance from God's Word. Here are some encouraging bible verses for every SRE teacher.

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some verses that have always encouraged me as an SRE teacher, and I hope they encourage you too.

1.       Your Labour in the Lord is not in Vain

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:58

This verse comes at the end of a whole chapter where Paul is discussing the resurrection and what it will be like. His conclusion is this: because we have a glorious resurrection that awaits – in the meantime we stand firm and give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.

I was talking to a friend and fellow SRE teacher the other day who has been teaching SRE in his local area for 30 years. I asked him why he keeps doing it and he said, 

“I want to make the most of the opportunity that God has given me.”

We quickly did the maths together and– he’s probably taught somewhere around 2,400 students over those last 30 years. Here is someone who has given themselves fully to the work of the Lord. 

But my friend is not alone. All over NSW there are faithful, long-serving SRE teachers who are giving themselves fully to the work of the Lord. Not only so, but this year, new SRE teachers stepped into classrooms for the first time. Whether you’re an old hand, a seasoned veteran or brand new in 2020, Paul’s words are an encouragement for you: your labour in the Lord is not in vain. 

2.       Preach the Word in season and out of season

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. - 2 Timothy 4:2b-5

It’s interesting that the context of Paul’s exhortation here is similar to the one in 1 Corinthians 15 above: Christ’s return. I love the clarity of the instruction here: ‘Preach the word’. I’m the kind of person who finds it hard to focus – my brain is always running at a million miles an hour! To help me stay on task I love to write to-do lists. Short, clear and to the point task descriptions help me. ‘Preach the word’ is one of them. What am I doing in SRE this week? Sure, we’re going to have a game and do some craft, I’ll always find a way to make the students laugh along the way, but at the core I’m there to teach God’s word.

But Paul doesn’t end with preach the word – he reminds us to keep preaching the word in season and out of season. I don’t know about you, but due to the COVID-break, I’ve found myself with more energy than usual in SRE – in fact, I was so excited in my first lesson back I was almost bouncing off the walls of my Year 4 classroom! But there’s no denying that this was a year unlike any other – both in the SRE classroom and out of it. 

Paul encourages you to keep at it, even if it seems like this is an “off season” – and the reason is in my next verse:

3.       God’s word will do God’s work

…so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. - Isaiah 55:11

I had this verse printed out and stuck to the folder I would take into every SRE lesson I taught the first year I was an employed High School SRE teacher. That was a year that definitely felt like it was “out of season” (to quote Paul’s words from 2 Timothy 4)!

But even in a hard year, there were glimpses of God’s word at work.

There was a student who told me in week 1 that they were an Agnostic and was invited to the local youth group and became a regular attender. A boy who told me earlier in the year that he didn’t want to come back to SRE again however he kept coming and soon opened up about his grandmother who had been praying for him.

God asks us to teach his word, and to do it to our best ability. The rest is up to Him.

Which brings me to my final verses:

4.       You do not know what soil you’re sowing into

The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown. – Mark 4:14-20

Let me tell you about Adam. Adam was in Year 4 scripture and liked to muck about with his mates. He wasn’t overtly naughty (not hiding in cupboards or swapping names with the other kids like some I’ve heard of!), but one week his disruptions became so bad that the SRE teacher had to send him to the Principal’s office. I can only imagine how Adam’s SRE teacher felt that day: frustrated, despondent, sad for Adam.

That teacher doesn’t know what I know, that when Adam was in year 10 at school, he accepted Christ Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. That teacher doesn’t know that Adam is now a Senior Minister who dedicates several hours a week to teaching and coordinating Primary School SRE in his parish.

You don’t know if you have an Adam in your classroom, but God knows!

These verses have encouraged me as I reflect on a year in SRE like no other. I pray that they are helpful for you as you finish the year well, and rest up in store for another year of SRE teaching in 2021.