Is it wrong to keep a secret?
Question: Is it a sin to keep secrets? I have some secrets I want to keep hidden at the moment. Only at the right time will I reveal it. However, this is a compounding issue. Since keeping secrets may often lead to lies, and (as I’ve read on your website) lying is not an option. If…
Read MoreIs it sinful to make marks and notes in your Bible?
Question: Hello brother, We’ve never met, but I’ve always appreciated the Q&A section on the LaVista church website and thought I’d bounce this off you since it’s a somewhat unique question. What do you say to someone who takes a very literal view of Revelation 22:18-19, and thinks it’s sinful to mark in their Bible?…
Read MoreChrist First! Last! and Always!
by Jefferson David Tant “I beseech you … brethren … to present your bodies a living sacrifice … And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). We all know the words. Do we really know what they mean? “All to Jesus I surrender,…
Read MoreThe Power of a Woman
by Dixie Bowman Sentry Magazine, September 1999 As I grew from a child into womanhood, I often heard the phrase, “Never underestimate the power of a woman.” I wasn’t able to discover the source of this statement, but it would be interesting to know whether it came from the mind of a man or woman.…
Read MoreI have enjoyed using your website over the years for research, study, and thoughts on a particular subject
Question: Dear Brethren, I have enjoyed using your website over the years for research, study, and thoughts on a particular subject. Keep up the solid biblical wisdom provided. I recently came across a passage which I really liked the translation. It took me a while to find it (the quoted verse was on Instagram) but…
Read MoreHow to Ruin Your Influence
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/How-to-Ruin-Your-Influence.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 14:34-35 I. Your reputation, your ability to influence others is valuable A. Ecclesiastes 7:1 – Better than expensive perfume B. Proverbs 22:1 – Better than great wealth C. Christians are expected to influence the world – Matthew 5:13-16 D. But if we ruin our ability to influence others, what good are we?…
Read MoreExactly Who is Influencing Who?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Exactly-Who-Is-Influencing-Who.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Chronicles 13:4-12 I. Most Americans tend to have an independent streak. A. We would like to think that we think for ourselves. B. As Christians, we aim to influence those around to do good. C. But influence is not a one-way street. II. Our thoughts are shaped by many things A. Parents 1. Seth…
Read MoreThe Nature of the Apostles’ Inspiration
by Clarence Johnson Sentry Magazine, September 1999 When Jesus sent the apostles out on what is sometimes called the limited commission to preach to the lost sheep of Israel. He told them, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware…
Read MoreYoung People
by Hugh Fulford Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash As is the case with old people, the Bible has much to say about young people. In some respects, both “young” and “old” are relative terms. Even after I was in my 60s, I would sometimes be told, “You are still a young man.” To me,…
Read MoreHow can I be humble without putting myself down?
Question: Dear Sir, How can I be humble without putting myself down? What does God mean by esteeming others? Answer: “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble…
Read MoreDid Jesus fear?
Question: The Bible teaches that we should not fear. “For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (I John 4:18). We know that Jesus was the only man to live a life without sin. Did Jesus fear as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? “Father, if you…
Read MoreGod Is at Work in You!
by Matthew W. Bassford A few months ago, my co-worker, Clay, examined Philippians 2:12-13 in a sermon, dwelling especially on v. 13. I’ve known for years that brethren have a bad habit of focusing on “Work out your own salvation,” to the exclusion of “It is God who is working in you.” However, Clay’s study…
Read MoreResponse to Gays’ Reaction to Ads that Call Them Sinners
by Marsha Norris Sentry Magazine, September 1999 In a country that was founded on God and whose strength and morality were based on the Bible, we have lost our bearings. Today’s culture, the feel-good, instant gratification-seeking society, is intent on bending and twisting the very foundation that once made us a great nation into a…
Read MoreGod Wants Me to be Happy (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer This is one of the catchphrases we hear of what is sometimes called moralistic therapeutic deism. The idea is that 1) God wants us to be nice to others and 2) He wants us to be happy. For the most part, God is seen as deistic, not really getting involved in our…
Read MoreA Passage to Ponder: Acts 15:1-29
by Ken Weliever The Preacher’s Word Have you heard the old joke about the fellow who studied the Bible by letting it fall open and putting his finger on a verse for instruction and inspiration? The first verse he turned to was Matthew 27:5. It said, “Judas went out and hanged himself.” “Wait a minute!”…
Read MoreI’m afraid to convert
Question: Good evening, I hope you are doing well and staying healthy with your family. I found your website on the Internet while I was looking for advice from Q&A’s, and I read numerous articles of yours. I am in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for over two years. We intend to marry each other…
Read MoreThe Good Side to the Down Side of Life
by Tau Alpha Kappa (i.e. anonymous) Sentry Magazine, September 1999 I Peter 1. 6- 7 says something extraordinary in that it points out there is a good side to the downside of life. ”Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial…
Read MoreAs Though He Needed Anything (Article)
by Doy Moyer “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24-25). “As though…
Read MoreBelieving the Unbelievable Story of Jesus
by Don Bunting God intends for people to come to Him by faith. Undoubtedly God could reveal Himself to humanity in a powerful, material, undeniable way. Still, God says: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of…
Read MoreFalse Memories Can Be Reversed
Source: Brianna Abbott, “False Memories Can Be Planted and Then Reversed, Researchers Find,” Wall Street Journal, 22 March 2021. “The work confirms previous research on the malleability of memories while pointing to potential techniques for recognizing and rooting them out.” “Some research suggests that true memories tend to be stronger for people than false ones, Nancy…
Read MoreDrifting Away (Bassford)
by Matthew W. Bassford Hebrews 2:1 contains one of the most sobering warnings in the entire Bible: “For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.” A couple of verses later, the writer uses a rhetorical question to make the point that…
Read MoreMarking Dogs
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, September 1999 “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). You now have read every passage in the New Testament which exhorts us to “mark” those who cause division. There is one other…
Read MoreHow did Peter know that it was Moses and Elijah having never seen either of them before?
Question: How did Peter know that it was Moses and Elijah having never seen either of them before? Thank you. Answer: “Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different,…
Read MoreThis Is My Body
by John Hendrix via Seeking Things Above “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26). What of the body of Jesus? What do we think as we take the bread? There is no monument…
Read MoreLessons from the Mamertine Prison
by Jefferson David Tant Do you ever feel discouraged, defeated, alone, forsaken, or any other word used to describe one who is “down in the dumps?” I’m sure we have all been affected by one or more of these words in our lifetime. If you are fortunate to have escaped all these negative feelings, just…
Read MoreSo You Want to be a Preacher?
by Jefferson David Tant There is no more noble aspiration than to be a servant of the Most High God in seeking the lost and encouraging the saved. After more than 65 years of engaging in this labor of love, please allow me to share some perspectives from my viewpoint. With my father and grandfather…
Read MoreAre tattoos defacing the temple of God?
Question: Recently I heard a denominational preacher talk in favor of tattoos stating that those who opposed them used Old Testament scripture from Leviticus which has to do with the priests keeping themselves pure and unspotted (Leviticus 17:21-23). He went on to say that tattoos should define who you are and should be “spiritual” in…
Read MoreWhat Do You See in a Casket?
by Jarrod M. Jacobs After the loss of our sister Goldie last week, as I looked at her body in the casket (James 2:26), the question that I used in the title came to my mind. All people must face the reality of death. There is not a day that goes by that someone on…
Read MoreDisobedience and Unbelief
by Matthew W. Bassford The epistle to the Hebrews might be the most tightly reasoned book in the whole Bible. Sentence by sentence, clause by clause, the Hebrews writer constructs intricate arguments that establish the superiority of Christ over Moses and the folly of Christians returning to Judaism. The more closely we read Hebrews, the…
Read MoreMothers (Warfel)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Mothers.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreWhere God Put Water
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Where-God-Put-Water.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreWhat Faith Is
by Doy Moyer Faith is the demonstration of our conviction that we trust the reality of what we cannot see. That is not the same as saying there is no evidence. Trusting the reality of what we cannot see means only that our faith is not dependent on first-hand material observation. I accept historical testimony…
Read MoreCan having imaginary friends prevent you from entering Heaven?
Question: Hello, I have an odd question for you. Can having imaginary friends prevent you from entering Heaven? Answer: I must say, your question was not one I would have expected. Just over 1/3 of children invent imaginary friends. Those who do invent imaginary friends tend to be the oldest sibling in a family, an…
Read MoreI am grateful for the support of your site
Question: I have used lessons from the site the past few years to help in the creation of my own. I am writing to you after looking over the lesson on Judaizing teachers. It is helpful because you give the background that keeps things in their context, which is important. I am extremely grateful for…
Read MoreWhy am I so unlucky in love?
Question: Hello, I’m a young lady, aged 21. This issue has been bothering me for a while now and I just feel I need someone who can counsel me. Several years ago, I started my first year at college. After a few weeks, I met a very cute guy and I immediately developed a crush…
Read MoreDeath and Eternity
by Royce Frederick What happens when a person dies? On day six of creation, “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Death occurs when the “soul” or the “spirit” of a person leaves his…
Read MoreDo you have a workbook on the Holy Spirit?
Question: First, let me thank you and those that have contributed to your webpage. I search it at least weekly. Great job. Since you have such an exhaustive set of resources on your website, I thought you might have an insight into a good classroom workbook or set of material for adult Christians on the…
Read MoreAre there rules for how the Lord’s Supper is to be conducted?
Question: Blessed day! I am a member of a church of Christ. One of my brethren suggested that we need to kneel when praying during the Lord’s Supper as a sign of respect and humility toward the body and blood of Christ. Is it right to kneel when praying during the Lord Supper? Second, do…
Read MoreReview of Songs for Worship and Praise
by Wayne S. Walker The newest general hymnbook published for use among churches of Christ is Songs for Worship and Praise, edited by Robert J. Taylor Jr., and published in 2010 by Taylor Publications of Montgomery, TX. Brother Taylor has been active in church music for many years. I believe that he set the type for…
Read MoreDid God clothe Adam and Eve in Goat Skins?
Question: Good afternoon I just read a paragraph in a wedding planner that I do not agree with. It said: ‘The fundamental nature of God is love. We are very quick to impress upon one another that what God has joined together nobody may separate. However, when Adam and Eve sinned God Himself slaughtered a…
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