New: Dallas-Fort Worth now offers Foundation, a sixteen-study series for new disciples, with an introduction. It replaces the earlier Dallas-Fort Worth studies. Updated: The Johannesburg series is now called Making Disciples. Updated: A new app icon, a red book with a gold "1st". Improved: The "Studies" heading on each series page is larger and bolder, so it is easy to see where the list begins. Improved: The About screen no longer repeats what the FAQ already explains, and its copyright now begins in 2012.

A fresh look for First Principles. New: App icon. A clean red book with a gold "1st," easy to spot on your Home Screen. New: Support for iPhone Duo. Improved: Sharper covers for the Chicago, Denver, Hampton Roads, Johannesburg, Orange County, Philadelphia and South Florida series, in the library and on each series page. Improved: A clearer Colossians 2:11-14 diagram in the Johannesburg series. The same trusted content as before: eleven church study series, with every verse in every study checked word for word. Tap a reference and the verse opens right there in the study.

New: Dallas-Fort Worth Follow-Up Studies 14 (Best Friends of All Time) and 15 (Baptism With the Holy Spirit). New: Orange County now includes all three versions of its Restoration studies, as the church offers them. Improved: Every study series was compared again with its church's source, word for word, and every verse box was rechecked against the 1984 NIV. This brings hundreds of small corrections to wording, typos and verse references, and restores text, charts and diagrams that were missing. Improved: More Scripture references can be tapped to open the verse. Improved: Taps respond right away, and studies open already in your chosen text size and font. Improved: Tables fit the screen better. Long words wrap within their cells, and wide tables scroll on their own.

New: First Principles (1993) now matches the original printed booklet. All 14 studies and both appendices were checked word for word, and seven new chapters have been added: - Overview of the Book of Acts - Follow-up Lesson 1: After Baptism, Now What? - Follow-up Lesson 2: Christ Is Your Life - Follow-up Lesson 3: Best Friends of All Time - Follow-up Lesson 4: The Mission - Appendix A: The Crucifixion of Jesus - Appendix B: You Might Be Fighting God New: Missing verse numbers, explained. The app follows the 1984 NIV, which leaves 16 New Testament verses out of its main text, so the verse numbers skip: Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, 11:26, 15:28; Luke 17:36, 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 8:37, 15:34, 24:7, 28:29; and Romans 16:24. A new FAQ entry, "Why are some verse numbers missing, like Acts 8:37?", explains why and links to a reference list. New: FAQ answers can be selected and copied, and links in the FAQ now show in red. Updated: First Principles (1993) has its original cover, and more verse references can be tapped to open the verse. Updated: Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver are now listed in the FAQ's study series answer. Fixed: "and" replaces "&" throughout the studies, plus small wording and punctuation fixes in Johannesburg, Orange County and First Principles (1993).

Smashed bugs

New: Dallas-Fort Worth Bible Studies. Seven studies from the Dallas-Fort Worth Church of Christ are now in the library: Seeking God, Word of God, Discipleship, Light and Darkness, Cross, Led by the Spirit, and Church. New: 17 follow-up studies for new disciples, including Prayer, Faith, Works, and Grace, Evangelism, Being a Servant, and The Mission.

Rebuilt: Every study series has been rebuilt to the First Principles Standard. Each page's teaching text is checked word-for-word against its source, and every verse box is checked word-for-word against the 1984 NIV. New: Text size and font settings now apply everywhere, including verse boxes, headings, and tables. Wide tables and diagrams wrap instead of scrolling sideways at large sizes. New: When a verse box opens below the visible screen, the page scrolls to show it. Updated: Knowing God is now called Denver in the library. The study title is unchanged. Updated: Johannesburg, South Florida, and Philadelphia were rebuilt from their original source documents. First Principles 1993 now uses the 1984 NIV throughout. Fixed: Verse boxes in Boston that needed two taps, or never opened, now work. Missing source text restored in Boston, Denver, and Orange County. Spacing and punctuation fixes in the Scripture text.

- New FAQ in the menu: answers to common questions about the app, the study series, and why it uses the 1984 NIV. - The app's name now displays as "First Principles." - More accurate scripture: the built-in 1984 NIV text was rebuilt and re-checked, including verse divisions, LORD/Lord wording, and punctuation. - San Diego studies: more verses are now tappable, including the Before Next Time readings. - Scripture corrections in the Boston, Hampton Roads, Johannesburg, Knowing God, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Diego and South Florida series, so every verse shows its exact 1984 NIV wording under the correct verse number.

New in this update: • Introducing the new San Diego Bible study series — 9 studies including Seeking God, The Word of God, Following Jesus, Discipleship, Light & Darkness, The Cross, Sound Doctrine, The Church, and a medical perspective on the crucifixion. • Every scripture reference in the app has been re-verified against the 1984 NIV translation for accuracy, including a full line-by-line check of all 66 books. We also found an error that had been sitting in one of our studies since 1993 — right in front of our noses this whole time! It's now fixed. • General improvements and bug fixes. Thank you for studying God's Word with First Principles.

When we first launched the San Diego study series in First Principles, we thought we had it right. We were wrong — and more wrong than we'd like to admit. Our users caught inconsistencies, missing diagrams, and scripture references that didn't match the source material. We were surprised (and honestly embarrassed) at how many errors had slipped through. But instead of making excuses, we decided to do the work. Over the past week, we've rebuilt every single lesson in the San Diego series from the ground up. We've verified every scripture citation against the original 1984 NIV translation. We've checked every diagram against the source PDF. We've fixed section titles, corrected verse ranges, and restored images that should have been there all along. We've also completely rewritten our quality-assurance process so this doesn't happen again. This isn't just a patch or a quick fix. This is a complete audit and rebuild — the version of San Diego that First Principles should have shipped with in the first place. We're grateful to every user who took the time to report issues, and we're surprised by how much better this series is now that we've done the work right. If you've used First Principles before, this update shows what we're committed to: offline Bible study tools that are accurate, complete, and worthy of your trust and your time. Thank you for holding us accountable.

Boston Reformatted & Hampton Roads Now Available We're excited to bring you two major updates in version 4.0.10: BOSTON IN 1ST PRINCIPLES FORMAT Boston's Bible studies have been reformatted to match our new 1st Principles design standard. This redesign makes the lessons easier to navigate, with improved scripture tap-to-expand functionality, clearer visual organization, and a more cohesive reading experience across all your studies. The content remains unchanged—all the depth and insight from Boston's original lessons is preserved with a fresh, streamlined presentation. HAMPTON ROADS: 10 NEW LESSONS We're thrilled to add Hampton Roads Bible studies to the app. This complete 10-lesson series from ICOC Hampton Roads covers foundational Christian topics perfect for new believers and seasoned disciples alike. Each lesson includes full scripture references, discussion-ready content, and all the tools you need to deepen your faith understanding. WHY THESE CHANGES MATTER As First Principles grows, we're committed to maintaining a consistent, high-quality experience across all our Bible study series. The 1st Principles format gives every church's studies—whether from Boston, Hampton Roads, Johannesburg, Chicago, Orange County, or others—a unified look and feel while preserving each community's unique voice and teaching. OFFLINE, ALWAYS READY Whether you're using Boston's redesigned lessons or exploring Hampton Roads' newest content, remember that First Principles works completely offline. Download your studies once and access them anytime, anywhere—no internet required. Tap any scripture reference to expand and read the full verse, take notes, and share insights with your community. SHARE YOUR FAITH Use First Principles to deepen your personal study and strengthen group discussions. Carry your entire library in your pocket and share scriptures and lessons with friends, family, and your church community whenever the moment is right. Thank you for using First Principles. We're grateful for the churches and communities that make these studies available to the global church.

Added Johannesburg — Making Disciples: 18 studies including The Cross, Evidences, the Holy Spirit series, and studies on marriage and family. Added Hampton Roads — Bible Study Series: 10 studies. Chicago — Foundations of Discipleship: scripture corrections across all 11 files.

We take special care with this series, since it's the original 1979/1993 First Principles material. Nothing in the teaching itself has been changed. This update only fixes a few scripture references that didn't match our standard 1984 NIV translation, corrects some formatting, and gives the series a visual refresh to match the newer studies in the app.

The Orange County Church of Christ series is now complete — 30 studies in all. WHAT'S NEW 16 Follow-Up Studies for new Christians. Prayer, Bible study, relationships, service, giving, academics, confession, persecution, and more — the everyday walk after baptism. 5 Restoration Studies for anyone returning to God after time away. Remaining in Christ, repentance, recovering a first love that grew cold, the church, and the relationships that hold a life together. Together with the seven core lessons and the introduction, Foundations of Faith now carries someone from the first conversation, through the new walk, all the way to coming home. Every scripture reference is tappable. Tap it and the complete passage opens right there — no jumping to another app, no searching, no losing your place. All of it in the 1984 NIV, checked verse by verse against the source. STILL THE SAME PROMISE No ads. No account. No internet required. Every study you've downloaded works on an airplane, in a basement, or standing in a parking lot after church. Thanks for using First Principles. If something looks wrong or a link doesn't open, tap Email Feedback in the menu — it comes straight to me.

We are catching up on our outdated studies. So, this update introduces a brand-new Bible study series for the Chicago Church of Christ: Foundations of Discipleship. The series includes 8 in-depth lessons walking through the Word of God, discipleship, church community, sin, the cross, repentance, baptism, and counting the cost — plus three additional resources on preparing for baptism, what's new in this series, and guidance on pacing your studies. As always, every scripture reference is tap-to-expand for easy in-app reading.

What's New Added the full "Making Disciples — The First Principles of the Boston Church" Teacher's Edition study, replacing the older Boston series with expanded lessons, appendices, and follow-up studies for new believers. Also cleaned up unused files behind the scenes (like that old sweater you haven't worn for years) and refreshed the app icon.

This update makes it easier to find and organize your study series: - Search — Find any study series by title, or search across all study content to locate a specific topic or scripture reference - Reorder Studies — Drag your study series into any order you like, with your favorites at the top. Your custom order is saved automatically, even after closing the app - Minor bug fixes and polish... Lots of wax on, wax off polishing.

Refined the app's visual design for a more unified look across every screen. General improvements for a smoother, more reliable experience. That's a nice way of saying xcode wasn't playing nice so we rewrote it to a point it did what we wanted. While doing that we counted the number of Angel's fit on the head of a pin. That number was how many times we rewrote that bit of code.

Full-text search across all studies with highlighting Redesigned app icon (full-bleed, modern look) Reorganized series names with clearer source attribution Gold accent bar on every screen for visual consistency Performance optimizations Pulled out the squirrel making weird noises

Version 4.0 is a complete rewrite of First Principles, built from the ground up for the latest iPhone and iOS. Completely redesigned interface — cleaner, faster, and more polished Adjustable text size and serif/sans-serif font toggle in the reader Reading progress tracking — studies marked as read with a checkmark Redesigned About page with helpful tips and feedback option Faster launch time and improved performance throughout We hope this update makes sharing your faith even easier. As always, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

- Fixed bug where studies would not display on latest iOS version.

- Totally new UI, simpler and quicker to access your favorite study.

Fixed the problem that caused downloadable studies to not show up in the store.

All the studies are now free!

Update for iOS 7