Speaker
C.L. Smith
Speaker
Author
Teacher
Carolyn Smith, speaker, author, and teacher has captivated audiences around the world with the timeless thrill of biblical tales. Her inspirational teaching will impart a deeper understanding of the Bible story as it inspires deeper devotion to the passionate God who loves his children more than he loves himself.
She lives in Sonora, CA with her husband of more than fifty years, Dr. Eden Smith. She is proud of her four adult children and five grandchildren. As C. L. Smith, she is the author of the Stones of Gilgal series of Biblical novels.
Carolyn is credentialed to teach English and History, but can’t claim formal degrees in biblical studies, Hebrew language, or Ancient Middle East Archaeology. Her authority comes from a lifetime of personal Bible study, more than twenty years of research for her books, and much experience relating to people in other cultures and very different life situations.
She is a life-time Bible nerd and proud of it. Her greatest delight beyond spending time with family and friends is biblical research––delving deep into Christian and Jewish commentaries, Hebrew word studies, and archaeological studies––mining sparkling gems from the bedrock of scripture and holding them up so the light of God’s love shines in a fresh array of color and beauty.
She loves people and finds her understanding of Bible truth broadened by relationships with countless students and others through years of classroom teaching, children’s and youth ministry, mission experiences in Thailand, prison ministry, and as a peer counselor for the community domestic violence and sexual abuse crisis line. Her teaching often includes bits of her own story told with gut-level honesty and insight, liberally sprinkled with life-changing scripture promises, leading audiences to worship the One who gives “beauty for ashes.”
Prepared Topics
Fear Not! The Bible answer from the book of Joshua for life situations that are just plain scary.
For God hath NOT given us the spirit of fear but of POWER and of LOVE and A SOUND MIND – 2 Timothy 1:7
The most frequently given command in the Bible is FEAR NOT! Not because it is more important than loving God or loving people around us, but because it is so hard to remember.
Our marriages may hit a rough patch and we wonder if the relationship can survive. We may see our maturing children choosing self-destructive paths. Cancer or other illnesses may strike us or those we love—to say nothing of the world-wide pandemic. Floods, fires, or other natural disasters may hit our homes. Tragic accidents or economic difficulties may impact our families. So, what can we do when life gets scary?
When Joshua faced a daunting task and some extremely terrifying enemies, God gave him a formula for remaining strong and courageous. His eternal principles apply to anything we have to face today.
(This presentation has been given as a single talk and as a four-part seminar.)
The Power of a Love Story - There has never been a more life-changing story in all history than the story of Jesus, but our stories are a part of his-tory too. Find your story and learn to tell it with power.
Every life is an important part of the saga of God’s love for his lost planet. Each story is different, and each story must be told. Your story reveals God’s powerfully healing love in your unique voice, it adds richness and depth to the understanding of God’s story.
Carolyn includes a brief Bible study on the importance of story in the final judgment when “the books are opened”—not ledgers recording good and evil deeds, but story books! She believes that after God creates all things new, the weight of all those stories, from Bible times to the present, will be told and retold, ensuring that “trouble will not come a second time.” (Nahum 1:9, NIV)
The word “story” is normally a noun, but it has an archaic use as a verb as well. In the sixteenth century, it carried the meaning: to proclaim, to story forth. Carolyn’s aim is to encourage, excite, and empower her listeners to reclaim that ancient usage and story forth! Let Earth resound with a swelling chorus of world-changing praise, declaring the power of Love.
Roots of Race and Redemption - are the tongue-tripping names listed in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10) relevant to life in our modern world?
How many times in your quest to read through the Bible in a year, have you raced from the story of Noah to the story of Abraham passing through five-hundred years of earth history with the wind blowing through your hair and the biblical landscape blurred. Carolyn Smith employs her story-telling skills to slow the pace and unearth hidden treasures of Biblical truth in the arcane story snippets and lists of tongue-tripping names in Genesis 10.
Are All Guests Equal at the Table of Nations?
– Is Genesis 10 factual? Is it racist? How should it inform our Christian Worldview?
What can we learn from the Table of Nations in Genesis 10? Learn how DNA studies, language footprints, forensic anthropology and more verify its accuracy. Does it account for nations in lands unknown to the biblical authors such as Australia, the Far East, Oceana, and the Americas?
“Let’s Make a Name for Ourselves”
—The Hebrew Word “shem” means both name and fame. Learn how Old Testament Name-seekers and fame-seekers battled for Planet Earth. God’s victory in that battle. Our part in finishing the war.
What does Genesis 10:25 mean when it tells us that in the days of Peleg the earth was divided? What did God accomplish by confusing the languages at Babel and shattering the one family of Noah’s descendants into nations?
The Curse on Canaan
—More than a lesson in respect for parents. It revealed the roots of Babel. Is there a biblical reverse of the curse?
What do Psalms, the prophets, and the Gospels reveal about God’s plan for bringing the nations together again.
Lessons in Left-Overs
—Why would Jesus multiply more loaves and fishes than needed? Startling new connections to familiar Old Testament stories carefully scripted by Jesus, the Master Teacher, as he trained his followers to be missionaries to the nations.
Sink your roots deep into Biblical truth and ... GROW
A four-part study taking a fresh look at passages from the Old Testament designed to help us women become more deeply rooted in love, growing as Christ-followers, and flourishing in every way.
Grace (Yes! in the Old Testament). Receiving it and living it.
Remembering Implications in Hebrew, importance to faith
Obsession for our Heavenly Husband (Isaiah 54)
Worldview From Babel to the healing of the nations in Eden restored. Moving beyond what Christ can do for me to what he wants to do through me as a living image of his love.
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19
Custom Topics
Are you holding a special event and would like a message customized to your audience? I am happy to work with you to develop a talk just for you. Please contact me to get started.
Contact
“I was impressed with the author’s ability to make me forget I already knew this story. The well-researched historical facts were woven into the telling in a manner that made the story come alive.”