08/13/2026
A Word from our Pastor, Rev. Josh Bowman.
“Back to School, Back to the Best Book”
Dear Church Family,
As summer gives way to another school year, our church family will watch students sharpen pencils, pack backpacks, meet teachers, open textbooks, and settle once again into the rhythm of learning. Some will be stepping into classrooms for the very first time, while others will be returning to familiar halls, familiar desks, and familiar assignments. Parents will adjust schedules, teachers will prepare lessons, and students will be reminded that growth does not happen by accident. Learning requires attention, discipline, humility, and time.
That same truth is not only for the classroom; it is also for the Christian life. If our children need to be students in order to grow in knowledge, then surely the people of God must be students of the Word if we are to grow in grace, truth, wisdom, and obedience. The beginning of a new school year gives us a wonderful opportunity to ask an important question: Are we becoming a church full of Bible students?
Paul instructed Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB)”. That verse reminds us that Bible study is not merely a hobby for a few especially interested Christians. It is the calling of every believer who desires to please God and handle His Word faithfully.
In Acts 17:11, the believers at Berea were commended because they “…received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11b, NASB)” They listened eagerly, but they did not stop at listening. They opened the Scriptures. They examined what they heard. They wanted truth that was rooted in God’s Word, not merely in human opinion.
That is the kind of church we should long to be: a Berean church, a Word-shaped church, a people who love preaching and teaching, but who also open our own Bibles and search the Scriptures for ourselves. We do not study the Bible so we can win arguments or appear knowledgeable. We study because the Bible reveals God to us, points us to Christ, teaches us truth, corrects our error, trains us in righteousness, and equips us for every good work.
A student does not learn everything in one day. Growth comes line upon line, lesson upon lesson, and day by day. The same is true in Bible study. We may not understand every passage immediately. We may need to read slowly, ask questions, compare Scripture with Scripture, pray for understanding, and return again and again to the text. But over time, God uses His Word to shape our thinking, strengthen our faith, convict our hearts, comfort our souls, and guide our steps.
As our students return to their studies at school, let us as a church return with renewed devotion to the study of Scripture. Let us bring our Bibles to church with expectation. Let us read during the week with consistency. Let us ask good questions of the text: What does this passage say? What does it mean? How does it point me to God? How should it change the way I believe, think, speak, love, serve, and obey?
Psalm 119:105 NASB says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” We live in a world full of confusion, distraction, and noise, but God has not left His people in the dark. He has given us His Word. The question is whether we will open it, study it, treasure it, and walk in its light.
So this school year, while we pray for our students, teachers, and families, let us also pray for our church. May God make us humble students of His Word. May we come to Scripture with ready minds, teachable hearts, and obedient lives. May we not be content to know about the Bible, but may we come to know the God who has spoken through it.
Backpacks will wear out. School years will pass. Textbooks will be replaced. But the Word of God abideth forever! Let us be a church full of Bible students, gladly sitting under the authority of Scripture, rightly dividing the word of truth, and joyfully following the Savior to whom every page points.
Your fellow Bible student,
Pastor-teacher, Rev. Josh Bowman
