5 Minutes on the Prophets

I have concluded my teaching Semester today by setting the final exams on the prophets. I got my students preach a 5 min sermon on each of the 17 prophetic books. Except for Malachi each book got two turns as we have 33 students for our 3rd year class. Most of my students will be graduating with a diploma and only a handful will be going on to do BTHEOL.  I thought it was important that they learned to preach from the prophets. I have done so consistently from the beginning of the year.

 I have preached from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, a few other prophetic books in recent times. 5 minutes are hardly enough but it is important to get them to do a short homily, be concise and straight to the point. I was impressed by the overall performance and a few caught the prophetic spirit especially on Habakkuk, Jonah and Zechariah and preached powerful messages.
Three students scored As and none A+. I am a bit stingy in giving good grades but the lowest scored a B, a reflection that they had done well in preaching. Men and women are equally good and it is good to see that they enjoyed themselves. I taught the class having returned to College mid-Semester and really could not do much in light of their other workload which is crushing. Sometimes it is not as simple as teaching my subjects and ignoring how the College is run. I have to bid my time, be patient for as long as the students are blessed and ministered to and are equipped for the ministry, you can't ask for much more.