Students make commitments to God—but those commitments don’t always change how they live.

In this episode, we focus on Exodus 24 and Exodus 32–34 to help teachers address a critical gap: moving students from knowing what covenants are to actually living them day to day.

From the covenant moment at Mount Sinai to the breaking point of the golden calf, these chapters reveal a pattern students still experience—commitment followed by drift. When students can see that pattern clearly, they begin to recognize it in their own lives.

This episode helps you create that awareness and guide students toward something deeper: real covenant living.

You’ll learn how to create tension between what students promise and how they act, so doctrine becomes something they feel, not just understand. You’ll also see how to center the Savior in moments of failure, showing students that covenant relationships are not just about commitment—but about returning, receiving mercy, and staying connected to Him.

This episode will help your students move from making covenants… to living them.

Chapters:
00:00 Covenant Commitment at Sinai
03:10 The Golden Calf
07:20 Why We Drift from Covenants
11:30 Moses Intercedes
15:00 Seeing the Lord More Clearly
18:45 Teaching for Covenant Living

About the Podcast:
Teach Ye Diligently helps seminary and institute teachers solve real classroom problems with clear instructional moves rooted in doctrine.

You got them engaged. The activity worked. Students were talking, thinking, participating - and then you asked them to open Exodus 20:12-17, and everything stalled.

That is the teaching problem this episode solves.

In this segment, Mark and Will show how to move students from engagement activities into real scripture study so the activity becomes a bridge, not the destination. The focus is helping students see that the last five commandments define what love for other people actually looks like.

If students never make that move into the scriptures, they may enjoy class but miss the doctrine that leads to understanding, repentance, and change.

This episode will help you:

• move students from activities into scripture study
• build a bridge from real-life experience to Exodus 20:12-17
• help students discover the meaning of commandments in the text
• increase student responsibility through decision-making
• turn discussion into personal application

When activities lead into the word of God, students do more than participate - they search, think, and apply.

CHAPTERS00:00 - Helping Students Want to Live the Last Five Commandments01:01 - Why Activities Fail to Lead to Scripture02:23 - Building a Relevant Opening with Relationships03:06 - The Bridge from Words to Actions04:48 - Searching Exodus 20:12-1705:33 - Debrief: Choosing One Commandment07:37 - Increasing Student Responsibility08:59 - Using the Handout After Ownership09:47 - Deepening Learning Through Comparison10:31 - The Good Samaritan Connection11:13 - Applying Commandments in Real Life12:29 - Avoiding Getting Stuck in Discussion

ABOUT THE PODCASTTeach Ye Diligently helps seminary teachers reduce preparation time, improve teaching clarity, and create Christ-centered learning experiences that help students engage, understand, and apply the scriptures.

SPOTIFY DESCRIPTION

What if your students understand God… but don’t actually want a relationship with Him?

In this episode, we focus on a core teaching problem many teachers face: students can learn about God without developing any desire to connect with Him personally.

We show how to shift from teaching information about God to helping students genuinely want a relationship with Him.

This matters because the purpose of gospel teaching is not just understanding—it’s conversion. Students need to feel drawn to God, not just informed about Him.

The doctrine is clear: God is not trying to control His people—He is trying to claim them as His “peculiar treasure.” When students understand what that really means, it changes how they see Him.

The instructional move in this episode helps teachers create that shift by making the relationship personal, visible, and desirable.

You’ll see how to:
• Help students see God as someone they want to be close to
• Move from content delivery to relationship-building teaching
• Use Exodus 19 to reveal God’s intent toward His people
• Create moments where students feel the value of belonging to Him
• Turn doctrine into desire, not just understanding

This episode will help you stop teaching about God as an idea—and start helping students want Him as part of their life.

CHAPTERS
(00:00) Introduction
(02:10) The Problem: Knowing God vs Wanting God
(06:45) Exodus 19 and “Peculiar Treasure”
(12:30) Reframing God’s Intent
(18:20) Instructional Move: Creating Desire
(24:10) Classroom Application
(30:00) Conclusion

ABOUT THE PODCAST
Teach Ye Diligently helps seminary and institute teachers solve real classroom problems with clear instructional moves, grounded in doctrine and centered on Jesus Christ.