Good morning minister,<\/p>\n
It’s a beautiful morning here. I want to first express my appreciation for the good work you are doing and pray that God blesses and supports you as you help many growing Christians know God’s will.<\/p>\n
I am a nursing student, and in my school, we have only three Christians (members of the church of Christ). I usually feel sorry for my mates who aren’t Christians and would really love for them to obey God but I don’t know how to start or on what topic to begin.<\/p>\n
Anytime I interact and want to introduce a religious topic of discussion, I find it difficult to bring up a topic that’s less ambiguous and precise.<\/p>\n
I need help on how to begin these conversations and what topics are going to be icebreakers.<\/p>\n
Usually, I ask and listen to their religious beliefs and practices in their various denominations but I find it difficult to go on from there and make it not look like an argument. I don’t mind arguing but many times it makes them defensive and not objective or willing to listen.<\/p>\n
Also, my mates here are so religious but not according to knowledge. They find the idea of one church ridiculous and they misinterpret it to mean that all denominations are all one under God since they serve “one God”. Please help me. I love my mates a lot and would love to do something about it.<\/p>\n\t
A simple way is to ask questions, as you have already begun to do so. Pick something you’ve recently read and ask them a question about the reading. “I was reading I Corinthians last night and Paul said there was to be no division. What do you think about that?” This would be an interesting discussion if you have friends with differing religious beliefs. “Why do you teach X while so-in-so teaches Y?” Look for points in the discussion where you can point out a verse in the Bible that shows something different in their beliefs.<\/p>\n
Approaching it this way doesn’t come across as challenging since you asked them for their thoughts. Pointing out a passage shows that you have been listening to what they have said.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Good morning minister, It’s a beautiful morning here. I want to first express my appreciation for the good work you are doing and pray that God blesses and supports you as you help many growing Christians know God’s will. I am a nursing student, and in my school, we have only three Christians (members…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[451],"class_list":["post-60759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41728,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-matthew-617-tell-us-to-anoint-ourselves\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t Matthew 6:17 tell us to anoint ourselves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a member of the church in Indiana. This morning, I was studying fasting, and like always, I drifted off into another topic (I'm sure this happens to you and many Christians). That's one reason why God's Word is so good: You can never have enough. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46799,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-song-leaders-can-pick-good-hymns\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":1},"title":"How Song Leaders Can Pick Good Hymns","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford via\u00a0His Excellent Word Over the past month or two, I've heard from a few people who were wondering why I was writing so much about good and bad hymns. What's the take-home? What's the so-what? I have an extremely strong view of congregational autonomy, so I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instruments-of-music-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":2},"title":"Instruments of Music in Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford I think the use of musical instruments in our assemblies is a worthwhile subject for a couple of different reasons. First, it\u2019s something that stands out about our services as compared to church services elsewhere. Visitors to our assemblies are nearly guaranteed to notice that we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/organ-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32077,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-publish-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":3},"title":"Is it proper to publish your prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Pleasant good morning, I'd appreciate some guidance, please.\u00a0I have observed prayers in the comment section under news articles of tragic incidents. When tragedy strikes I could, in the privacy of my home, say a prayer for those involved, and believe that God hears my prayers. However, others are posting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63324,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-on-parade\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":4},"title":"Religion on Parade","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Matthew 23:5-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus condemns the Pharisees many times and in our reading he condemns them for using religion as a way for people to notice them. - Matthew 23:5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is a phylactery (or some translations say frontlet)? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It comes from passages\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86460,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-difference\/","url_meta":{"origin":60759,"position":5},"title":"The Difference","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The difference between Christians and non-Christians is not that Christians are perfect. Sometimes, you find a Cornelius (Acts 10) who is morally just as upright as Christians. The difference is that one person has forgiveness through Jesus' blood, and the other does not. 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