teaching – La Vista Church of Christ

Science’s Impact on Christian Teaching

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:06:59 +0000

by Kenneth W. Ledbetter
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 3, September 1995

[The author is an aerospace engineer with NASA, most recently involved with the Hubble Space Telescope project, and is a faithful Christian at the Annandale church of Christ.]

How many of the everyday devices around you can you honestly say you understand the principles by which they function? Your VCR? Your microwave? I don’t know about you, but I can’t even tune up my car these days because of modern additions like the computer-controlled ignition. The last two generations have seen the pace of science and technology accelerating frantically. In his youth, my grandfather was old enough to remember the Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk, and he lived to see the supersonic transport fly from Europe to America in only a few hours. I myself remember when a single computer took up an entire room, and only specially trained technicians could use it. Hand-held calculators didn’t exist; I supported my math classes with a slide rule. Now kids use laptop computers more powerful than the old room-sized ones. We now have instantaneous voice and video communications all over the globe. We watched the Gulf War live on CNN. Life has become fast and instant: microwave ovens, cellular telephones, compact disks, virtual reality, the Internet.

More than 90% of all discoveries and inventions were made in the 20th Century. Over 90% of all the scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who have ever lived are still alive today. The pace of technology is still accelerating. What will the 21st Century bring? More and more, we are living in a world dominated by science and technology. Future shock is here, now. What does this rapid change mean in a person’s relationship to God? Can one believe in the God of the Bible and reconcile one's beliefs with scientific findings that are difficult for the rational mind to dismiss? Does God not want us to use the intellect He gave us to search for answers?

Acts 17:27-28 says, in part: "... He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, ... for we are also His offspring." The Christian belongs to God and not the world, but must live in the world and interact with it without being stained by it. (James 1:27, I John 2:15) But does this mean we must reject science because it is "worldly" or because someone has said that a certain scientific finding contradicts the Bible?

In far too many cases, the Christian rejects scientific concepts as being atheistic and evil, while the scientist rejects Christianity as being superstitious, illogical, and dogmatic. Because of these diverse viewpoints, some believe that the two cannot coexist, and thus we hear about the confrontation between "Science" and "Religion.” I believe, as a scientist and a Christian, that science is compatible with a living, creative, active God. Science exists in a universe created by God and operates according to the rules God set in place. Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize winner in Physics, once said: "Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind."

For many people, scientific knowledge allows them to rely on the logic of science and mathematics and to reject religion as unnecessary. This is a false sense of security, since science has yet to find a way to open the gates of eternity. How can someone in this state of mind be reached with the gospel of Christ? An approach that begins with the Bible will be rejected. We must first demonstrate that science and religion can work hand in hand to bring them to the point where Bible teaching will be accepted.

On the other hand, many Christians attribute to the Bible anti-science viewpoints that simply aren’t found in scripture. For example, insisting that the Bible says that the Earth was created in October of 4004 BC because that date is written in the margin of many King James versions of Genesis is not only wrong but also a quick way to end the conversation. We must be careful to speak only where the Bible speaks, and also recognize where various interpretations can be made without violating what is actually recorded. I Chronicles 16:30 says, "Indeed, the world is firmly established; it will not be moved." This scripture was used by the Inquisition in the early 1600s to convict the great astronomer Galileo of heresy for stating that the Earth moved around the sun. Today we recognize other interpretations that aren’t quite so literal.

So, what is science? Science is mankind's attempt to understand and describe the Natural Laws of the Universe. What is Natural Law? The set of all natural laws constitutes God’s plan for the operation of the Universe. Like God, they are orderly, logical, and operate the same way every time they are invoked. Using the mind God gave us, we can strive to understand these rules. Examples of events described by Natural Laws can help illustrate.

Motion of a planet around the sun.
Mechanism of dandelion pollination.
Flight of an eagle.
Principle of radioactive decay of Carbon-14 to Nitrogen-14
Transmission of hereditary characteristics through genes.
Mechanism of the expansion of the universe.

Only God knows the entire set of laws perfectly; however, we can know that:

They are logical and orderly because God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).
They function perfectly because God is a perfect creator (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).
They seem complicated to us and sometimes difficult to understand because they were conceived by the mind of God (Isaiah 55:8-9). The intent of science is to try to determine the Natural Laws as accurately as possible.

In many cases, Natural Laws, or their effects, can be observed by human senses. A scientific theory is a possible but unproven explanation for an observation of an event or events detected by the human senses. In general, a theory is formulated when an observation is made, possible explanations are postulated, and experimentation is carried out. It is the "best guess" as to the law. It becomes a scientific law only after a passage of time and after being subjected to many different tests, and not failing any of them. A scientific law, then, is the best definition of a Natural Law possible, based on all the available information at a given time, and which satisfies all test cases to which it has been subjected.

Note that scientific law does not necessarily equate to Natural Law. Even theories that have been declared scientific laws must be revisited when new data show they violate their precepts. Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity had to be modified to include Einstein’s concepts of relativity. In the 1930s, there was a "law" that aircraft couldn’t fly faster than sound because they would vibrate apart. Modern textbooks present many concepts as "law" that are, in reality, "theories." It takes a discerning student to understand and separate the two.

The Bible does not proclaim any of God’s natural laws. It is not a science textbook. Its purpose is spiritual, and not scientific. It is written in a language with expressions common to people of the time. Joshua 10:13 says, "So the sun stood still..." rather than "So the Earth stopped rotating." Ecclesiastes 1:5 states, "Also the sun rises, and the sun sets." In Revelation 7:1, John writes, "I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth...” Even today, we talk of sunrise and sunset when we know the sun doesn’t move, and we search the four corners of the Earth when we really don’t think the Earth is square.

And yet, there is a remarkable absence of the unscientific superstitions that were prevalent in the culture of the time. Books contemporary with the Old Testament (both secular and religious, such as Hindu) described the Earth as flat, supported on the backs of gigantic turtles or elephants. Job 26:7 says, "He (God) ... hangs the Earth on nothing." What better way to describe the views of Earth taken by Apollo astronauts returning from the moon? In a future article, we will look at additional examples of scriptural consistency with modern scientific concepts and examine some special difficulties with creation and the origin of life.

"If you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to believe in God." [William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) 1824-1907, English Physicist].

Writing and Face-to-Face

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:26:43 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Some are not writers, and that is understandable. They are gifted in a personal way, but not so much at expressing themselves in writing. Not all have the same gifts and talents, and that is certainly understandable. Paul believed in face-to-face teaching and in the power of the written word. Writing has a wonderful place in communication. His 13 letters have endured much longer than his face-to-face teachings and continue to impact the world because they are preserved in writing. You can teach more people for longer periods by writing the truth and publishing it on various websites, in bulletins, and on social media platforms. To Paul, it was not a matter of face-to-face or writing, but face-to-face and writing.

There is something very rewarding about teaching a person face-to-face. If all Paul did was write and never teach face-to-face, he would not know the rewards of seeing how his teaching panned out in someone’s life that he personally witnessed. A preacher and teacher of the word needs to teach face-to-face as much as he can and find someone who will engage with him. Leading someone from darkness to light through personal teaching is more personally rewarding, as you see the word at work in a heart and get to observe the change it is making firsthand. When Paul wrote the words and sent them out, he did not always know how people were taking his words. He worried that the brethren at Corinth would get mad at him, and some did. “His letters are weighty, but his bodily presence is weak” was among the criticisms he heard secondhand. But those were carnal brethren, and that criticism would not stop Paul from writing. He believed in writing and face-to-face teaching. Those Corinthians who criticized his writings were the same ones he said that his face-to-face sessions with them were fruitless because they were carnal and spiritually immature (I Corinthians 3:1f). “I couldn’t talk to you” (personally and face-to-face) because you were not able to absorb it and understand it. He wrote a letter to them, and they criticized him for writing and not talking face-to-face. The truth is that he believed in what he said face-to-face as well as the need to write some things down (I Corinthians 4). Just think what we would miss if Paul believed in only face-to-face teaching!

With Paul, there was a need to preserve the teaching in writing and spread that writing as far and wide as possible, and there was the personal satisfaction of seeing it work in a heart you had personally talked to.

In writing, he never realized who all was being affected and changed, but he knew that if he cast the seed out onto the fields, God would bless it and give the increase, no matter what! Casting the seed in the media available to us can and will be blessed by God if we speak the truth in love for souls. It can be misused for sure, but a careful teaching of truth in love can be a source of enlightenment and encouragement, and you may only hear secondarily from time to time of some of the good it did in a reader’s heart, but the word of God does not return to God void and empty of good.

Some are spreading teachings through video sessions available worldwide, and some are writing articles on websites and social media accessed worldwide. When wisely done and always true to the scriptures, the media use casts light in this dark world on some soul who was seeking truth, and God providentially connects seekers with the jewels of truth they needed to find. You might not be a writer, but you can take some of these writings and share them with someone you love, and the Lord will give the increase somewhere and sometime unknown to the original writer. Paul had no idea how far and wide his writings impacted souls for centuries around the world. I think back to childhood about the Hobbs tracts in the church tract rack that I read as a young teen. They had a lasting impact, and Brother Hobbs never knew it. The good of writing cannot be measured.

Be a light in this dark world in all the ways you can! Your light is needed in this dark world. Teach by example, teach personally, teach in song, teach in all the ways you can think to teach the word, and God will bless all efforts and work it into His providence toward saving and edifying souls, and none of that labor is in vain!

The Influence of Only One

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:39:42 +0000

by Flavil Nichols

During the War Between the States, a young woman learned the truth and obeyed the Gospel. Her sweetheart, J. H. Halbrook, was a Confederate soldier. He was captured by the Union Army and kept a prisoner in Michigan until the war was over. He was given a ticket to Nashville and $2.50, and from there he returned to Centerville. Tennessee, and found what was left of his home and family. He was reunited with his girlfriend. Then, they were married.

Mr. Halbrook’s new wife studied the Bible with him, and he soon became a Christian. He thought the truth was so good and so simple that he began to teach and baptize many of his friends and neighbors. Then he began to preach, but he recognized his need for further training, so he enrolled in Mars Hill Bible School and was taught by T. B. Larimore.

Upon completing his studies at Mars Hill, Mr. Halbrook and his wife chose to move farther south rather than return to Tennessee, and they settled in the counties of Walker, Marion, Fayette, and Lamar in Alabama. Among his many converts were Charley Alexander Wheeler and his wife. Mr. Wheeler, after obeying the Gospel, soon began preaching to others. He started more than 100 congregations and baptized more than 6,000 people.

But wait, the story does not end here! One of those 6000 baptisms was my father, the late Gus Nichols. And under my father’s preaching, 12,000 people were converted to Christ!

And how many of those 12,000 began to preach ־the glorious Gospel of Christ?־ No one can know the exact number, but I personally know several who did. I am one whom he baptized and whom he encouraged to preach. And under my preaching, about 3000 have been baptized. Among that number, a few have gone on to preach the Gospel.

Only eternity will reveal the total results of the teaching of that one girl nearly 150 years ago. But at least 21,000 people have already become Christians through this single thread in the fabric of her influence.

"Go, and do likewise" (Luke 10:37), for you are important too! Dear reader, if you go to heaven, others probably will be saved because of you! “What knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?" (I Corinthians 7:16).

"Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:16). One can be very influential.

Side Note:

I find this old article fascinating because my own mother was taught by Gus Nichols.

Plant the Word, Not Churches

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 20 May 2026 02:20:16 +0000

by Clay Gentry

In today’s religious marketplace, “church planting” has become a specialized industry. It’s a world of demographic maps, branding consultants, and launch strategies borrowed more from Corporate America than from the New Testament. Some say the secret to reaching the lost lies in the novelty of a new church plant or the polished satellite campus of a distant, larger congregation. But for those who claim to follow the New Testament, we must ask a fundamental question: What are we actually supposed to be planting?

If we look to the Master’s own teaching and the apostles’ pattern, we find a principle as old as Eden and as powerful as the Resurrection. It is the principle of the Seed. We don’t manufacture the Church; we proclaim the Word, and the Word produces the Church.

The Genetic Code of the Kingdom:

In Luke 8:4-15, Jesus offers the definitive manual for growth in the Parable of the Sower. The farmer goes out to sow, and the outcome of his labor depends entirely on the interaction between seed and soil. When the disciples asked for an explanation, Jesus didn’t give them a lecture on church organizational structure. He gave them a biological fact about the Spirit: “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11).

Think about the nature of a seed. A kernel of wheat contains all the genetic information needed to produce a stalk of grain. The farmer doesn’t “build” the stalk and head of wheat; he simply creates the soil conditions for the seed to do what God designed it to do.

When we focus our energy on “planting churches,” we're often trying to build the stalk without the seed. We focus on the look, the feel, and the location, forgetting that the power to change a human soul isn’t found in a congregation’s age or location, but in the DNA of the Gospel.

The Church isn’t a franchise to be managed but a harvest to be gathered. If you plant the Word, the Church is inevitable, but if you plant a Church, the Word is optional.

The Pattern of the Missionary Pioneers:

From a scriptural standpoint, we might think of Paul and Barnabas as the ultimate “church planters,” but a careful study of their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-14:28) reveals a striking absence of modern church-planting techniques. They didn’t enter a city with a launch team, a massive budget from a sponsoring mother church, or even a three-year sustainability plan.

On Cyprus, at Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, their strategy was singularly focused: Preach the Christ. They planted the Word in the hearts of those who would listen. They didn’t start by organizing a “satellite campus” for their home church in Antioch of Syria; they started by making disciples. The assembly, or church, was the natural byproduct of people washed in the same blood and called by the same Gospel.

Only after the Word had taken root – after the disciples had already been made – did Paul and Barnabas make a return trip to “appoint elders in every church” (Acts 14:23). Notice the order: The Word creates the disciples, the disciples form the assembly, and the assembly becomes the organization. Modern methods seek to reverse this by planting the organization, hoping that the people (and the Word) will follow. But you cannot organize life into existence; life must exist before it can be organized.

Paul didn’t go into the world to build monuments to his ministry; he went to sow the Seed, knowing that God’s Word doesn't need a marketing department to turn a sinner into a saint.

The Myth of the “Newness” Factor:

One of the most persistent arguments I’ve heard for church planting is the claim that an unchurched person is more likely to attend a new church plant than an established congregation. I get the impression that this is often treated as a silver bullet to justify starting new works in areas already saturated with sound congregations.

However, this logic has a fatal flaw: novelty is a depreciating asset. Like a new car, a church plant’s newness begins to fade the moment it opens its doors. If a congregation’s draw is its new-car smell, what happens in five years when the paint is chipped and the “launch team” moves on? If you build on the foundation of being new, you’ve built on a foundation that is guaranteed to disappear. The shelf life of the Gospel is eternal, but the shelf life of a church plant’s novelty isn’t. Which one should we be banking on?

The statistics people need to hear are the ones that never expire. Research consistently shows that the unchurched are overwhelmingly likely to attend a religious assembly when personally invited by a friend or neighbor. This method works for a 100-year-old congregation just as well as for a one-week-old plant. The desperate need in our communities is rarely for more church buildings or more brands of Christianity; it’s for more Christians to realize they are the sowers.

If the novelty of a church is what gets a person through the door, you’ve sold him a product that begins to stale the moment he sits in the pew.

Planting and Watering:

In the first century, the church at Corinth began to struggle with the same personality- and brand-driven mindsets we see today. Some followed Paul; others followed Apollos. They looked at the workers rather than the Work. Paul corrected them with a principle that should be the motto of every Christian: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth” (I Corinthians 3:6-7).

When someone decides that a specific “new plant” or “satellite campus” is the only way to reach a certain area, we're dangerously close to saying that God’s growth depends on our particular brand or personality. Paul reminds us that the laborers are “nothing.” Whether we’re the ones breaking the ground (planting) or tending the established field (watering), the power for growth is entirely outside of us.

A satellite campus model often suggests that growth is tied to a specific “mother church” or a specific “preacher” beamed in on a screen. But I Corinthians 3 tells us that growth is tied to the Seed. God doesn’t give the increase to the “most innovative campus” or the “newest church plant”; He gives the increase to the faithful sowing of His Word.

We’re not the architects of the Kingdom; we are the farmhands – and a farmhand who tries to take credit for the harvest is a fool.

The conclusion of the matter is this: We don’t need new church plants; we need more Christians sharing the eternal Gospel.

Every time you share a scripture with a coworker, you are planting. Every time you invite a neighbor to join you in worship, you are watering. Every time you live a life of integrity that sparks a question about your hope, you are preparing the soil. We must stop waiting for a “new work” to start and recognize that the Work began at Pentecost and has never stopped. The field is white for harvest, not for rebranding. The Great Commission is a command to make disciples, not to file for a new building permit; if you aren’t sharing the Word now, a new church won’t make you a soul-winner for Jesus.

Learning the Story of God and His People

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:18:06 +0000

by Hugh DeLong

As a preacher, I have converted many people, most of whom knew very little about the actual bible story. Then it took time to ground them in this story of God and His work.

This was particularly true of our preaching efforts in China. How were they to learn this story? In China, they did not have access to the many Bible help books that we have. Some had never held a Bible, let alone been able to read it. I made a list for them of places within the Bible that recapped this story. They could get an inspired summary and an inspired overview. While each of these sections of the Bible was designed to teach something in particular, each adds to the knowledge of the Bible's story.

Acts 7

Stephen recaps much of this history. He is leading to the conclusion that in many of these events, people were NOT faithful to God, rejecting the men God chose to instruct them. This led to the people stoning Stephen! It has been said that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. We see here that sometimes even those who know history refuse to learn from it and repeat the same mistakes!

Acts 13

Paul does a similar telling but with the underlying purpose of tying together the promises of the Messiah through the lineage of David. This provides evidence that Jesus really is the promised seed of David – the king not only of Israel but also of kings.

Joshua 24

This chapter recounts Joshua’s telling of Israel's story from leaving the wilderness to the conquest of the promised land. He has reached the end of his life, but wants to leave this telling of the story so that the people of this ‘new generation’ would know that it was only with God’s help and intervention that they now live in the land. He ends with the famous challenge that faces all of us: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11 gives us an almost orderly list of the great heroes of faith who served God. People who trust God even in difficult times. Being faithful to God has often been very difficult!

Nehemiah 8 and 9

Nehemiah 8 and 9 tell of the time in the Old Testament when the people returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. This was a generation of people who did not have the temple, the priesthood, or the festivals of worship. They needed to be taught their history to avoid repeating the mistakes of their forefathers.

Psalms 105 and 106

Psalms 105 and 106 retell the Bible story. This section tells of God’s great faithfulness and patience. Such is contrasted with the often unfaithfulness and rebellion of those who, at least outwardly, were ‘God’s people.’

If you are new to the Bible, read these and learn the story behind Jesus and His work. If you are not new, read these repeatedly and learn what it is like to serve God in difficult situations. Such reading will ground us in our faith.

May a Woman Ever Teach a Man?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 23:25:48 +0000

by Jimmy Ferguson

There is much error taught and practiced in the brotherhood today regarding women teaching men. In some places, women are allowed and even encouraged to speak in public assemblies and to teach classes where both men and women are present. Some brethren have swung far to the right and contend that a woman cannot teach a man under any circumstances. Some have even said that a Christian woman cannot give a man a Bible and that a Christian wife cannot lead her non-Christian husband to Christ. Rather than espousing our opinions, we would do well to ask ourselves, “What saith the Scriptures?”

Let us look at I Timothy 2:12. The passage states, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Instructions to women here are in contrast to the liberty of men to teach or “pray everywhere” (I Timothy 2:8). The public discourses and public confrontations with unbelievers were to be done by the men. Women were not to engage in teaching in such places and under such circumstances.

There are, however, places or circumstances where a woman may teach. We find such an example in the Scriptures. There was a man in Ephesus named Apollos whose preaching was heard by a man and his wife, Aquila and Priscilla. Acts 18:26 states, “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” This Christian woman helped teach a man, and the matter is recorded in Scripture with full approval. She did not teach in a public place, nor in a public assembly. She (with her husband) “took him aside” (ASV) from the public meeting and privately “expounded” (KJV) the Word of God unto him. The word “expound” is from a Greek word meaning “to declare.” However, let it be noted and understood that in so doing, she still would not be allowed to “usurp authority” (I Timothy 2:12). In the didactic discourse (Greek, didaskein, in I Timothy 2:12), the man is in authority over the woman.

I cannot visualize Priscilla “lording it over” her husband by taking the matter out of his hands. But neither do I see Aquila closing the door on anything she might have to say. I see this as a “team effort” with both Aquila and Priscilla working together to teach Apollos, but with Priscilla not usurping her husband’s authority.

If I were lost, I would shudder to think that my Christian wife would be restricted from telling me what I needed to do to be saved! And I would hope that she would not face the judgment for having withheld the word of life from me.

Women can teach, or pray, in private settings (Acts 18:24-28) or in other settings where she does not “have dominion” over men (Titus 2:3-8). The contrast in I Timothy 2:8-15 is clear: men may pray and teach everywhere (public and private), but women are restricted (to private settings). Yes, a woman may teach a man, but not in a public place or public gathering, nor in a way as to usurp authority over him.

A Former Mormon Missionary on How to Reach Mormon Missionaries

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:18:25 +0000

by Darryl Smelser

Today, I happened across a YouTube video produced by a former Mormon missionary and former Mormon believer. He spoke about the trauma his Mormon faith and specifically his 2-year mission put him through. I'd like to share an observation of his. Not from the video, but from his comments to me.

I commented on the video, asking him if he had any observations on how best to reach those young men when they come to our doors and how to help them see the fallacy of the Mormon system.

He replied to me as follows:

"I don't think you can. It has to be a personal journey, and they will be unable to look at it honestly until their nervous system feels safe enough to do so. I doubt that will happen on a stranger's doorstep. I think the only thing you can do is show love. When missionaries face aggression or hostility, it confirms their binary worldview. When they are met with unconditional love and acceptance...even as weird Mormon missionaries, it challenges their worldview. That's what eventually broke me: kind people who weren't Mormon and accepted me regardless of my faith. It broke my brain on how the world works."

Now I'm not sure which way he's using the word "acceptance," but some level of acceptance - acceptance of a person's worth for thoughtful and kind conversation - is appropriate. And "love" is certainly appropriate (and commanded) (Luke 6:35; Galatians 6:9-10).

What broke his indoctrinated brain was kind people who weren't Mormon.

I've heard multiple preaching brethren talk about welcoming LDS missionaries into their homes, and about how quickly they "shut down" those missionaries, and how quickly those missionaries gave up and left ("They were back out the door in 15 minutes!!"). Those comments I've seen and heard have come across with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

I believe most of my brethren are not like that, that most of you in this group are not like that. But I've seen it multiple times, and a few of those times have been in this group. So I thought I'd share this former missionary's perspective.

Firing arguments like torpedoes can be seen as standing for the truth, but it reinforces the Mormon binary worldview that Mormons are kind and others are not. They're not leaving your door because they saw the truth and didn't know how to deal with it. They're leaving because they see you as someone in the mold of the world.

Speak truth, but speak it in the language of love, patience, and kindness; that challenges their worldview.

Which Doctrines to Never Mention in Church?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:47:12 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

In order to make the church more appealing to lost sinners in the community, we could avoid talking about drunkenness, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc., but then our goal becomes seeking to please men (the creature) over the Creator (Romans 1:18ff). God put verses in the epistles to be read and studied in the church's assemblies. The same book that mentions possible unbelievers coming into the assembly (I Corinthians 14:23), expected the reading of the sins mentioned in I Corinthians 5-6. Everyone needs to hear the truth, even when it may make someone uncomfortable. The news of having cancer is uncomfortable, but necessary to get the person moving toward the remedy.

There are no verses to avoid in church. The mission of the Spirit is to convict the world of sin and of how to be made right with God, calling us to repentance. The church must not shun to declare the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). If it shuns to declare what the Bible says on a few topics, it is not a true church of God. Look to be part of a church that preaches even the uncomfortable truths. Mirrors are not designed to make us feel good about ourselves. They are designed to show us the truth so that we know what to improve (James 1:21f).

How can I remember where passages are?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 23:15:57 +0000

Question:

Hello,

I do appreciate all the questions you have answered and the guidance that you have provided. I have a student who is concerned that she cannot recall scripture to support her beliefs. I understand the basic knowledge of how to commit something to memory. While in nursing school, I sometimes did not fully understand when I had to commit the information to memory. Oftentimes, we would use acronyms. How can I put into words how she may learn scripture? I plan to suggest reading and re-reading as well as making note cards. Then, practice and practice. Of course, reading from the Bible daily can help facilitate memorization. I was hoping you might have some additional insight to help me assist her.

I thank you for your time!

Answer:

Memorizing passages is important because we don't always have a Bible at hand, but it sounds like your student is more concerned with locating passages to support her points.

"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:12-14).

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:22-25).

Book learning is good, but it is hard to retain if it is not put to use.

When I study with someone and a point comes up that I can't recall the passage for, I apologize and ask if I might get back to them on it. Once I locate the passage, I write the verse and a short description of how it can be used in the blank pages at the front and back of my Bible. Over the years, I compiled an index of passages I frequently used in studies (see "Quick Reference for Personal Workers"). I encourage people to develop their own lists. Over the years, I've found that I look at the list less and less because I've used the verses so often that I've memorized them without actually setting out to memorize them.

Today, with smartphones in everyone's pocket, it isn't difficult to create a note file with your favorite verses. But this leads to another technique. Instead of memorizing whole passages, try to remember keywords. For example, I'm studying with a Calvinist who denies that baptism can save. I recall a passage that says "baptism now saves." Perhaps I also remember that the passage is somewhere near the end of the New Testament. I start up my Bible on my phone, type in "baptism" and then scroll down to the last entry, which is I Peter 3:21, just the one I was looking for!

Another example: I want to encourage someone who just had a disastrous slip-up with sin not to give up. I recall there was a verse in Proverbs that said something about the righteous falling seven times. So I look up "seven," scroll to Proverbs in the list, and notice that Proverbs 24:16 is the verse that I wanted.

Again, I find that as I look for the same verses a number of times each year, over the years, I begin to remember the references without having to look them up. Remembering key phrases is much easier for me than being able to quote the entire verse.

A final technique I've been working on is learning what each book of the Bible is about. It helps me narrow my searches. Once I got comfortable with that, I started memorizing what each chapter is roughly about. For example, II Peter 3 is about the second coming of Christ and the destruction of the world. II Corinthians 3 about the difference between the Old and New Law and how the New Law is superior. Hebrews 11 is about faith and features a list of "heroes" of faith. Once again, the more I use this, the more it becomes a part of my memory. While I might not remember the exact verse number, I often can say, "A verse about the destruction of the world is near II Peter 3:12," which is good enough to quickly locate the exact verse.

A new Christian should never expect to know everything about the Bible in their first year. Instead, do you know more than you did a year ago? Then you are making progress. I admire people who can quote large portions of the Bible from memory, but I know my mind doesn't operate that way, so I work on techniques that help me teach others. As of this writing, I've been preaching for 51 years, and I'm still working on improving my recall. I figure I'll be at it for the remainder of my life.

Response:

Thank you very much!

Confidence in Sharing Your Faith

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 21:11:53 +0000

by Scott Smelser
via InLight Media

Evangelism intimidates us. We feel guilty because we feel like we should do more, but that only creates a stronger vicious cycle of not doing it. In this video, Scott Smelser breaks it down and shows you how sharing your faith is totally doable, and much simpler than you think!