Discussion Questions

Verlin repeats the older pastor’s advice, “Keep your nose in the book,” and calls Scripture the “bedrock”; what does that reveal about God’s intention in giving His word, and what would it look like to treat the Bible as bedrock rather than raw material for our own ideas? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin calls Scripture “bedrock” and says, “Keep your nose in the book.” What does that say about why God gave us His word, and what does it look like to treat the Bible as a firm foundation instead of using it to back up our own ideas?

Verlin says teaching is “weighty” because we are “setting ourselves up to present truth, to represent the Lord and His word,” and he admits he is capable of “misleading” and “misinterpreting”; how should that sobering reality shape the humility, caution, and even fear-of-God with which Christians speak publicly? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin says teaching is “weighty” because we speak for God’s truth, and he admits he could mislead people. How should that make Christians more humble, careful, and God-fearing when speaking in public?

He contrasts “great stories and great ideas” with the need to “pull it back to the text,” and he warns against “illustrations in search of a passage”; where do you see that temptation in sermons, youth talks, social media, or even personal devotion, and what changes would keep the text primary? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He warns about starting with a great story or illustration and then hunting for a Bible verse to match it. Where do you see that happen (sermons, youth talks, social media, or your own Bible time), and what would help keep the Bible passage in the lead?

Verlin tells the story of building a sermon on a “neat, catchy phrase” not from Scripture and calls it “a total flop” that “didn’t feed the people well”; what does that story suggest about what actually nourishes a church, and how do we measure whether teaching “fed the people” without defaulting to entertainment or crowd response? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin built a sermon on a catchy phrase that wasn’t from Scripture, and it flopped because it didn’t feed people. What does that show about what really helps a church grow, and how can we tell if teaching fed people without judging by fun or crowd reaction?

He says you “can’t replace” time spent studying, warns against “shortcut,” and says the study must stay “fresh” and include “hearing from the Lord”; what practices help you avoid relying on old familiarity, gifted speaking, or recycled notes instead of fresh engagement with God’s word? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says you can’t replace real study time and shouldn’t take shortcuts, and that it needs to stay fresh with “hearing from the Lord.” What habits help you avoid leaning on old notes, natural speaking skill, or familiar passages instead of fresh time in God’s word?

Verlin’s workflow emphasizes copying and pasting the text, rearranging it, and outlining “primary things this text is saying” before moving outward; what would change in your Bible study or teaching if you forced yourself to outline only what the passage actually says before adding themes, cross-references, or application? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin starts by working closely with the passage and listing the main things it actually says before adding anything else. How would your Bible study or teaching change if you forced yourself to outline only what the passage says before adding themes, other verses, or application?

He says even topical teaching becomes wrong when we go to Scripture “looking to justify a particular topic or an end notion,” insisting we must ask, “What does the text have to say about this topic?”; what topics (cultural, political, therapeutic, church-traditional) most tempt you to use the Bible as support rather than as authority? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says topical teaching goes wrong when we use the Bible to prove what we already believe instead of letting it lead. What topics tempt you most to use Scripture as support for your view rather than as the final authority?

Verlin values commentaries but stresses “they were men…they didn’t write scripture,” so he takes them “with a grain of salt,” and he also says truth can come from “people of ill character”; how does that challenge modern instincts to either baptize a favorite teacher as “safe” or dismiss a claim as false because we distrust the messenger? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin uses commentaries but remembers they aren’t Scripture, and he says even people with bad character can still say something true. How does that push back on our habit of treating a favorite teacher as always right, or rejecting an idea just because we don’t trust the person?

He quotes a mentor: “the closer you stick to scripture, the nearer those two perspectives come together,” applying it to Calvinism and Arminianism and warning about going “beyond just the text”; where have you seen Christians become polarized by extrapolations, and what would it cost (relationally or doctrinally) to force your conclusions to stay closer to the text? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says the closer we stay to Scripture, the closer Christians’ views can get, even on Calvinism and Arminianism, and he warns against going beyond the text. Where have you seen Christians split over ideas added on top of the Bible, and what would it cost to keep your conclusions closer to what the text actually says?

Verlin uses early Christian writers (via David Bercot’s *Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs*) because they’re “closest to the early days,” yet he cautions they’re “not scripture,” may reflect only “his little part of the world,” and jokes about “the early church” vs. “Clement of Alexandria” on beards; how should early Christian writings function in our theology and discipleship today—especially when their zeal and seriousness expose how comfortable modern Christianity has become? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Verlin learns from early Christian writers because they lived closer to the first Christians, but he says they aren’t Scripture and may be limited. How should their writings help shape what we believe and how we follow Jesus today, especially when they make modern Christianity look too comfortable?