His People
by Hugh DeLong “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about…
Read MoreLove Your Neighbor as Yourself
by Zeke Flores “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh” (Leviticus 19:18). Leviticus 19 is one of the richest chapters in the book. It covers honesty, generosity, justice, compassion, and integrity. And right in the middle is this command that Jesus later highlighted: love your neighbor as yourself. This isn’t sentimental love,…
Read MoreConfession Is Made Unto Salvation
by Hugh DeLong Paul writes: “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). Yes, one must…
Read MoreGod’s Right to Choose
by Hugh DeLong Turning the page from the end of Romans 8 and beginning our reading of Romans 9, we don’t forget all that we have already learned! Chapter 9 is about God’s sovereignty to choose. But the debate among people is: Who did God choose? What purpose did He choose them for? So, Robert Turner reminds…
Read MoreIsrael According to the Flesh
by Terry Wane Benton Romans 9 shows that there are two “Israels” under consideration before God, and that God has a right to reject anyone who does not meet His predetermined terms of acceptance. “They are not all Israel who are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). You can be of fleshly descent in physical Israel and…
Read MoreIntimidation
by Terry Wane Benton If you know you are speaking the truth in love, and you know God approves your message because you learned the principles you speak from God’s word, then don’t fear that people won’t approve or like you. Human approval is not the goal. God’s approval and helping broadcast His light in…
Read MoreThe God of Order
by David Gibson A place for everything, and everything in its place Occasionally, I visit a farm supply store in our town. Like other such businesses, there are rows of shelves neatly displaying merchandise by category: work and casual clothing, tires, tools, implements, and garden supplies. That is how it should be! Imagine going into…
Read MoreBoundaries
by Zeke Flores “You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor … in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you” (Leviticus 18:3). Leviticus 18 is full of boundaries. God was shaping Israel into a people who lived differently from the surrounding nations. Egypt represented their…
Read MoreThe Last Olivet Signal
by David W. New via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 The scripture records that Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, a sabbath day’s journey from Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-12): “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And…
Read MoreA Verdict That Demands Evidence
by Don Truex by Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 Josh McDowell did students of the Bible a great service several years ago when he published his excellent work, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. As the title suggests, his thesis is that the evidence to support our faith in God, His Son, and the…
Read MoreOf Airplanes, Bicycles, and Christians
by Tim Stringer via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 Ever stop to ponder why an airplane stays in the air? Or why a bicycle rider defies gravity, balancing on only two wheels? The airplane flies, and the bicycle rider balances because they move. If an airplane’s speed drops below a certain point, the…
Read MoreExtra-Congregational Leadership
by Steve Dewhirst via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 “The elders who are among you I exhort…shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers” (I Peter 5:1-2). This is God’s formula for leadership in local churches. Godly men, meeting the Lord’s criteria in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1,…
Read MoreI’m moving on
Question: Mr. Hamilton, I am finally ready to move on with my life. I have made the commitment to keep fighting the good fight until I am with the Lord and to be fully present for my family as I raise my children. I have spent so many years drowning in guilt and fear that…
Read MoreI agree
Question: Hello, brother Hamilton, I have read at least a thousand of your posts, and I agree with each one. Please keep up the great work. Your brother in Christ. Answer: While I’m not after popularity, I’m glad you are finding the website useful.
Read MoreThe Merciful
by Terry Wane Benton “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV). Obtaining mercy from God is a great blessing, but God intends to give it only to those who believe it is worth giving to others. If we do not become merciful in our character, then God is not interested in…
Read MoreWill God condemn us for marrying in a Hindu temple?
Question: Hello sir Will God forgive me if I was married in a Hindu temple? I have already been married in a Hindu temple due to certain circumstances. My wife suddenly left her house against her parents’ wishes. According to the law here, we would have had to wait 30 days for a court marriage,…
Read MoreWhat Should We Preach?
by Mike Schmidt via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 Much has been said and written lately about preaching and teaching. Some see a “new apostasy” underway, with this departure being fueled by a change in what is being preached. Some have taken lists of topics from meeting announcements and complained that there was…
Read MoreAre Biblical Names Literary Devices?
Question: Some biblical figures seem to have names with very negative meanings (e.g., ‘Destruction,’ ‘Dog,’ or similar terms), and they do fit the narrative. How should we understand these—were these their actual historical personal names, or are they symbolic/literary names or later interpretive labels used by the biblical text? Answer: During biblical times, it was…
Read MoreThe Problem with Saying ‘Gone Too Soon’
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/The-Problem-with-Saying-Gone-Too-Soon.mp3 by Orlando Gonzalez Download Audio Introduction: Back on April 19th, Lindee, Ryan, and I went down to Kansas City to attend the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas City Motor Speedway. The day was hot, the stands were packed, and the vibe was unmatched; there was nothing like seeing 37 cars, each…
Read MoreAtonement
by Zeke Flores “For it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before Yahweh” (Leviticus 16:30). Leviticus 16 describes the Day of Atonement, the most important day in Israel’s calendar. Once a year, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies…
Read MoreParental Sex Education
by Matthew Bassford via Truth Magazine, 9 September 2016 A few weeks ago, my family and I were on the way home from Wednesday night Bible study when the topic of conversation turned to pregnancy. Marky was being his usual loopy two-hours-past-bedtime self and asked, “When will Mr. Josh get a baby in his belly?”…
Read MoreA Commitment of Faith
by Doy Moyer I fear that, at times, faith today is seen as a weak contingency. We’re fine as long as we are convinced, kind of, but we are open to changing allegiances if the timing works. Faith may be seen as just what’s best for now, but we are really hoping for something more…
Read MoreHow do we deal with my wife’s verbally abusive family?
Question: Hello sir, I am a born Hindu; later I learned about Jesus, and now I’m following him. Now I’m nearly 30 years old. I’m working in the government sector. Here I got to know one of my colleagues, and we got married. She also believes in Jesus Christ, but her family does not. We…
Read MoreTear Your Heart
by Clay Gentry It is a sound you never want to hear (especially when bending over), the sharp rip of fabric. It’s the sound of damage and potential embarrassment. In the ancient world, that sound wasn’t an accident; it was intentional. When life fell apart, an Israelite didn’t cry silently in a corner. They grabbed…
Read MoreNo Man Can Come Unless …
by Terry Wane Benton Jesus said, “No man can come to Me unless the Father draws him…” (John 6:44-45). This does not say or imply that “no man can believe in God” unless God does something to their depraved soul first. No! We can all believe in God, and none have any excuse if they…
Read MoreSeparated from Uncleanness
by Zeke Flores “Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them” (Leviticus 15:31). Leviticus 15 deals with bodily discharges, which is uncomfortable reading for most of us. But the point is clear: God was…
Read MoreNympha
by Edwin Crozier Once Paul starts listing names, we tend to read on autopilot, no longer paying attention. We might even quit reading altogether. After all, he’s done with the gospel-y stuff, right? There’s nothing to learn from a list of names. However, these people are examples for us. Often good. Sometimes bad. If we…
Read MoreShould a person be rebaptized?
Question: Dear minister, If a Child is baptized without initial conviction, should this person be rebaptized if he is now convinced? God bless you. Answer: If a person has no conviction, then you are saying they had no faith. Baptism without faith is merely an immersion in water. It does nothing for the person. Understanding…
Read MoreTake Care How We Behave
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Take-Care-How-We-Behave.mp3 Download Audio by Garry Floyd Scripture Reading: I Peter 2:12–25 Central Theme As believers in Christ, we are called to humble ourselves, examine ourselves, and behave ourselves so that our conduct glorifies God and does not become a stumbling block to others. Introduction The world watches how Christians live. Our conduct either draws…
Read MoreRemembering the Cost of Freedom
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Remembering-the-Cost-of-Freedom.mp3 Download Audio by Garry Floyd Scripture Reading: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — The Gospel of John 15:13 Introduction Read the Story of Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy More than 1.2 million U.S. military members have lost their lives in the line of duty since…
Read MoreOur Relationship with One Another
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Our-Relationship-with-One-Another.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreWhat Would I Want Someone to Say at My Funeral?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/What-Would-I-Want-Someone-to-Say-at-My-Funeral.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreLearning to Trust God
by Hugh DeLong Faith has different focuses. It can mean the belief in a fact. It can mean the trust of such facts. Concerning people, it involves trust in character. Of course, it is easier to learn facts and thus believe they are true than to learn to trust someone’s character. The foundation of our…
Read MoreBe Holy
by Zeke Flores “For I am Yahweh your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). Leviticus 11 is full of clean and unclean animals, and it can feel distant. But the heart behind it is simple. God was teaching His people to live differently, not randomly, but purposefully. Every…
Read MoreThe Importance of Assembling
by Steve Hamilton First Century Christians lived in a time when their government declared war on Christianity. The assaults on people of faith were not done in secret (Hebrews 10:32-34). Lands, homes, and property were taken by the governing powers. Preachers were regularly interrogated by civil authorities for speaking the truth about Christ (Acts 5:17-18).…
Read MoreThe Beginning of Life
by Terry Wane Benton Fact: Not one experiment in the entire history of science has ever demonstrated life arising from nonliving matter. Not one. For all the confident headlines and bold claims, the lab tells a very different story. When researchers carefully set up controlled conditions, remove contaminants, control every variable, and stack the deck…
Read MoreThe Jewish Advantage
by Hugh DeLong Text: Romans 3 Was there an advantage to being a Jew versus being a Gentile? The question here concerns the Old Testament period, and the answer is yes. The Gentile world did not have the revelation of God in a written, codified form. That meant that the Gentile world, as we read in…
Read MoreJesus Didn’t Promise Us an Abundant Life
by Clay Gentry It’s not uncommon to hear Christians proclaim that Jesus promised believers an “abundant life.” We see it in books, hear it in podcasts, find it boldly printed on wall art, and even see churches use the phrase as a name. However, if we take a cursory look at the text of John…
Read MoreResponding to Trauma
by Gardner Hall Three responses to trauma: Repress It “I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse” (Psalms 39:2). The world is full of tragedy and suffering. Many are traumatized by the rejection of selfish spouses, parents, children, or brethren in their congregations. To refuse to…
Read MoreRunning from Church Problems
by Richard Blackford When a church has problems, the first inclination is to run from it and find a perfect congregation that doesn’t have problems. I know that feeling. I’ve had it too. Of course, honesty compels us to admit that this is the easy way out. “After all, my nerves just can’t take it.”…
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