Instruction for Life

Not long ago I took a break for lunch at a favorite fast food restaurant. Seated directly behind me was a grandmother-granddaughter pair. I was not aware of the music coming over the speakers until Grandma informed her granddaughter: “This is not real country music. Real country music was sung by Johnny Cash.” She went on to name others of that era and continued, “Real country music makes you feel something.” (Long pause.) “It makes you think.” The lesson continued.

I call it a ‘lesson’ because Grandma was teaching the little girl (no more than three years old) the definition of good music and its value. I cannot help but think that there will be similar lessons to follow, lessons to reinforce the important truth taught that day. Grandma will someday pass from this earth and whether that little girl embraces real country music or she marches to her own drumbeat, I cannot predict. However, this lesson will undoubtedly be remembered as being of great importance to Grandma.

I cannot help but think that the grandmother practiced what she preached and listened to real country music. That would be another vitally important component of teaching:

1. Model the values, attitudes and behavior that you wish pass on.
2. Verbally express your values, attitudes and behaviors. After all, people, and especially kids, do not always understand your example.

Paul’s instruction, “whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7), may be applied to teaching. It applies to both verbal instruction and the lessons one models through example.

In my opening illustration, grandma thought it important to teach her granddaughter about country music. I reflected on the content of the lessons that I had taught my children.

Paul’s instruction to fathers about the content of parental instruction is compact: “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) There are many valuable life lessons. Yet, many have value only in this life. They are not the specific content of “the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” They are more often based on one’s life experience and home-spun philosophy. That is not what Paul meant.

The entire Bible is filled with the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Instruction is the verbal/written aspect of teaching while discipline is the hand-on, practical application of God’s teaching. Throughout Scripture we receive instruction on honesty, integrity, faith, morality, self-control, godliness, generosity, service, love of God, love of others, and more.

The ‘stories’ in the Bible are also important. Noah teaches faithfulness, patience, and gratitude. David (and Goliath) teaches faith and courage. Ruth teaches faithfulness. Nebuchadnezzar teaches humility (in contrast to great pride). The stories teach us something about the character of man but also God’s expectation of good character. We need to tell the stories, but we must not forget the lessons taught by those important examples. At the same time, we must not forget how God’s interaction with people teaches valuable lessons about His divine character.

You might say that every person’s life declares, “This is how to live life.”

Eyes are watching; ears are listening.

So, what are you teaching by your example? What lessons will continue to ring in the ears of your children, grandchildren and those who knew you? Make sure that you are providing instruction of eternal value.

Mark Stinnett

August 10, 2025

It’s Not Fathers’ Day (But You’re Still the Dad) (Pt. 4)

Part 4: Teaching Moments

God assigned the primary role of leadership and discipline in the home to fathers. Of course, mothers are not excluded; they are just not given the primary responsibility. God’s expectation is for parents to teach their children about God and to train them according to God’s word.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

--Ephesians 6:4

The purpose of all instruction and discipline is to instill useful principles in the minds and hearts of our children for good living. More specifically, our goal as parents should be to instill within our children a sense of reverence for God for a lifetime of devotion to Him in preparation for Christ’s return.

What can a Christian parent do to carry out this instruction??

While some families may choose to have periodic organized times for devotional or Bible study, we must all take advantage of the daily opportunities that arise. The following are just a few examples of unforced, natural teaching moments.

When fixing the car, you may have an opportunity to mention federal and state regulations which you may not like, but that you follow because you honor the laws of the land as Scripture teaches.

When teaching your daughter how to manage her finances you might take the opportunity to say something about God’s blessings and the value of honoring Him in a weekly contribution or by financially assisting someone in need. Instill the value of generosity, an attribute of God.

In the evening while on a fishing outing you might pause to enjoy the sunset and draw attention to the majesty of God’s creation.

After hosting friends for an evening in your home you might say something about how God values fellowship and hospitality.

After an exhaustive, yet ultimately successful search for an important lost item, you might be able to impress upon the heart of your child God undying love and compassion for lost souls. Consider also what might be taught when that valuable item is never found!

When your children observe poor behavior in other children, you might be able to teach something about the value of discipline.

When finances are tight and you cannot participate in a desired activity, you might teach something about financial responsibility or contentment.

After experiencing disappointment, you might teach something about the nature of our broken world and the enduring hope of everlasting life with God.

After having applied effective discipline, you have an opportunity to reinforce your love for your child, in spite of the wrong that was done. You may also be able to teach about God’s mercy and forgiveness.

If we intend to discipline and instruct our children in the Lord, we must have the instruction of God in our heart. So, we must be people who use God’s word to govern our lives. In addition, we must be constantly aware of teaching opportunities. Then, when those situations arise, we must take advantage of the opportunity for the benefit of our children.

And finally, if we are to discipline and instruct our children in the Lord, we must ensure that the things being taught are already being demonstrated in our own lives. Our lives as parents should punctuate and reinforce our instruction.

Mark Stinnett

May 25, 2025

"All the World's a _____" ?

A day or two before moving to Missouri dad had an errand to run and he asked me to go along. He dropped in on an older gentleman from our congregation while I stayed in the car. Dad returned with a shoe box. Inside was a pair of shoes. He said they were the wrong size for him, but he accepted them anyway.

Confused, I asked why. Dad explained that he had taught the man about God and that he was deeply grateful and wanted to give him a gift. Dad said that he accepted the gift because the man needed to honor him with a gift.

That was a profound lesson for a 13-year-old: He needed the opportunity to give.

My dad was a great example that day. But there was something about his example that I’ve reflected on numerous times. I did not learn from his example by watching, but by listening. The example was there, but I would have never learned that valuable lesson without dad’s words to communicate it.

Sometimes our children will pick up on valuable lessons without us saying a word. More often, however, we will need to use words. We will need to focus their attention and tell them what our examples means. It’s not bragging. It’s called instruction, and it’s our job as parents.

Early in the book of Proverbs Solomon wrote:

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction 

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Fathers and mothers are both teachers and there are many areas of life deserving of their instruction. It is worthwhile to teach children about managing their finances, being responsible with the their possessions, how to make good friends and how to choose a respectable career. It is important to see, however, that all of these important areas of life are ultimately connected to righteousness. Other related qualities that Solomon emphasized include honesty, integrity, faithfulness, honor, personal responsibility, fairness, justice, purity, kindness, and generosity. These qualities apply to all relationships in life, but especially one's relationship with God.

To the Israelites God instructed parents to teach their children His law. The Law of Moses provided instruction regarding God, one’s fellow man, non-Israelites, authority/government, benevolence, taxation and even care of the land and care for work animals.

In the New Testament parents, specifically fathers, are instructed to…

Bring them [children] up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

—Ephesians 6:4 (NLT)

We must teach our children all the things that Jesus and His disciples taught.

As Christians, we take to heart the instruction that God gave to the Israelites regarding the teaching of their children.

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

—Deuteronomy 6:7 (NLT)

Shakespeare wrote “All the world’s a stage.” (What would you expect from a guy writing plays?) But I think God was trying to tell His people, and yes, us today, “All the world’s a classroom.” So...teach!

Teach what Jesus taught and how it all relates to life. Teach by example; but don’t forget the words. And teach TODAY, wherever you are, because, blink…they’re grown.

Mark Stinnett

November 7, 2021

'Caught Off Guard' Concerning Doctrine

Doctrine…(*Ugh* “Goodbye, not interested.”)

For years, I was turned off by the word doctrine until a friend simplified things: “Doctrine is just teaching,” he said. I don’t know how I had missed that, but he was right. In the Bible, the word doctrine refers to teaching or instruction.

When the early Christians followed the apostles’ doctrine, they were “devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” (Acts 2:42) It really is that simple. (Most English translations use the word teaching nowadays.)

So, how important is doctrine?

A number of years ago, a college friend visited my wife and I overheard her telling about a new women’s Bible study in which the participants had all agreed to avoid controversial Bible topics. While that was a lofty goal, it was flawed. Not trying to be difficult, I interjected, “So, I guess you won’t be discussing salvation.”

The biblical doctrine of salvation is critically important, yet quite controversial.

Biblical doctrine is interesting to some, though there are writers who seem to be gifted in making it as dry as the desert sand. Yet, the instruction found in the pages of the Bible tells us about God and about ourselves. Biblical doctrine helps us answer fundamental questions that mankind has asked throughout the ages:

• Who am I and what is my place in the universe?
• How does the ordered universe make sense?
• Where is there justice?

It is important to understand that every person thinks something about God and the Bible, about truth and eternity, about salvation and morality. A person’s attitudes and behaviors are defined by his understanding of doctrine even if he does not call it doctrine. Consider...

In his book, What Is the Bible?, Rob Bell explains biblical inspiration as something little different from an idea that suddenly pops into one’s head, not unlike Doc Brown’s invention of the flux capacitor in the popular Back to the Future movie series. Yet, if that describes your basic doctrine of biblical inspiration, then the Bible will be reduced to a mere compilation of the writings of men who had an internal urge to write after a bump on the head.

In his Word Pictures in the New Testament, 20th Century Greek scholar A. T. Robertson revealed his doctrine of baptism saying that a person will interpret Acts 2:38 “according as he believes that baptism is essential to the remission of sins or not.” (Vol. III, p. 35-36) In other words, biblical doctrine on baptism is so indistinct in this case that people will simply believe what they already believe. If you embrace Robertson’s explanation, then you will feel perfectly fine to believe whatever you want about Christian baptism.

The point of these examples is that human explanations of biblical doctrine are insufficient and may lead to incorrect conclusions. Those conclusions will surely affect one’s attitudes and ultimately his/her choices and behaviors.

In contrast to the examples above, Paul wrote:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching (doctrine)...so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 

—2 Timothy 3:16

We must keep focus on God’s word so that we are not caught off guard concerning doctrine. Only then will God’s intended goal be met in us.

The goal of our instruction [doctrine] is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 

—1 Timothy 1:5

Mark Stinnett

August 29, 2021

Why Did I Become a Preacher?

After having preached full-time for only a few years a good friend exclaimed excitedly at the end of a worship service, “Now, that is what I call preaching.” A visiting preacher spoke that day. My friend was not intentionally unkind, and I did not take it personally, but it did sting.

I know that I’m not a great orator, but I don’t hang my head low feeling sorry for myself. I have a job to do: Present the word of God.

When I stand to teach or preach I am often hit with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I wonder, “How can I possibly communicate a relevant message to all of these people?” In the audience I see kids who are old enough to listen. There are adults of differing generations; people with different backgrounds, interests, circumstances, needs. “Is my sermon relevant?”

Paul said, “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” Yet, how can that be done this Sunday? To this audience with all their differences???
-----------------------
I don’t joke around when I preach. In my experience, the things that ‘you’ find funny may puzzle or offend others. (Some folks love a dose of sarcasm; others disapprove strongly, others miss the humor entirely.)

What about a good story? All too often, whether humorous or enlightening or emotionally charged, stories overshadow the biblical truth they are meant to illustrate. So, what good is a story remembered when truth is not?

There is a place and a time to share the riches of the original languages of the Bible, the Greek and Hebrew. Yet, if I am simply blinding you with my brilliance, “I” block out God’s glory!

I was taught that a preacher should start a sermon with a joke or humorous story. I don’t believe that. (Check out Paul’s sermon in Athens.)

I was taught that every sermon should have three points and, at the end, a poem. I don’t believe that either. (Sermon on the Mount???)

I’ve been told that the preaching style of the orators of the 1800’s was real preaching. Then again, others say the fire-and-brimstone preaching of the 1940’s and 50’s was real preaching. Then again, the preaching style of ‘the preacher that you loved when you were growing up’ was real preaching. Real preaching???

Again, we are so different from one another that rarely does a single lesson pierce the heart of every person. Yet, I know that…

The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
—Hebrews 4:12

The power is in the word of God...not me.

God wanted His prophet Ezekiel to sound an alarm:

Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. 
—Ezekiel 3:17

A preacher’s job is to relay God’s message. He has no control over the way people respond.

When the preacher Philip approached the man from Ethiopia asking if he understood the Scriptures, the man said, “How can I unless someone guides me?” —Acts 8:31

That is also my role, to guide through teaching.

I answered my title question years ago. So, based on the God-given task of a preacher, what is your role when God’s word is spoken?

Are you listening?

Mark Stinnett

Never Date a Girl Named...

Brush your teeth before bedtime.
Check the oil when you fill up your car.
Don’t take any wooden nickels.

Drink eight cups of water daily.
Don’t dive into dark water.
Always carry a little cash.

Lend a hand to a stranger in need.
Don’t talk to strangers.
Never date a girl named ___________.


Under closer inspection, some 'rules' are contradictory, some are silly, and some are dated. (I'll bet 150 years ago dads gave their kids some 'horse sense' instead of 'car talk.') And believe it or not, my dad actually instructed me to never date a girl with a first name of... (sorry, I can't tell you the name). He was quite serious...and I followed his instruction!

Every home has rules. Rules are for safety, or for health, or for good organization and order, and some...some are just the personal preferences of parents.

A story is told about a young wife who prepared a roast for her family just like her mother had taught her. She cut off one end then arranged the two pieces in her roaster. Her husband asked her why she always cut off one end of the roast before placing it in the roaster. Her reply, “That’s how my mother taught me.”

At the next family gathering she asked her mother about the roast. Her mother explained that she had been taught the exact same process by her mother. Asked by the trio about her process, the grandmother explained, “My roasting pot was too short; I had to cut off one end to make it fit.”

From time to time there are instructions that no longer fit....
So it is with man's instruction.

The wisdom and instruction (and rules) found in the Book of Proverbs must not be confused with the wisdom of men. The sayings in the Book of Proverbs are not merely common sense, or time-honored traditions, or well thought out maxims. These sayings can be trusted. They are good sayings. They are sound instruction. They are beneficial rules for life.

The Book of Proverbs is a record of God’s inspiration and revelation for man, and it is given for our benefit...so we do not have to learn by experience!

   For I give you sound teaching; 
   Do not abandon my instruction.
   --Proverbs 4:2

'How' as Important as 'What'

Quick! -- Who was your favorite teacher?

Whoever you thought of, there was a reason. For some folks the reason may have something to do with their teacher's unique ability to make the learning process enjoyable. For many, their favorite teacher not only did a good job teaching the subject matter,  she/he really cared about students. So, it was just as much about the 'way' in which things were taught.

     The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, 
     But the mouth of fools spouts folly.
     --Proverbs 15:2

The Hebrew term for ‘acceptable’ carries the idea of ‘good’ or ‘pleasant.’ So, a wise person will say things that are beneficial (i.e. good content). In addition, the ‘way’ things are said will be ‘pleasant’ to the listener.

As always, the fool stands opposite the wise. The words of the fool are described as ‘folly.’ In this proverb the 'fool' is literally someone who is 'weak-minded.'

The ‘fool’ offers little in the way of content. In addition, he lacks the skill (wisdom) to communicate in a ‘pleasant’ way so that the things said are easily accepted.


The ‘way’ we communicate is of vital importance. Just because we have good content , does not mean that we have communicated it well. We must give careful thought to the ‘way’ in which we communicate. So, assuming that the content of our message is good, our goal should be to communicate in a 'way' that makes our words pleasant and easy to hear.

Do you think this advice would help...

• In our marriages?
• With our children?
• Among fellow Christians?
• In the workplace?

(Just where would this advice NOT be applicable?)

Pleasant communication will not change the content of your message, but poorly chosen words, manners, or attitudes can completely destroy your message. Speak with wisdom; don't play the fool.

Think before you speak. Be thoughtful as you speak.
Be wise.