Canceled!
by Jefferson David Tant During our recent Christmas holidays, several churches around the country canceled their Sunday services. Some of the statements made by church spokesmen probably revealed more than they realized, as they not only reflected an attitude towards the mistaken idea concerning the birth of Christ but an attitude towards the religion of…
Read MoreKnowledge (Overby)
by Ben Overby Sentry Magazine, March 2000 The Hebrew writer desired to feed his readers “solid food.” but was prevented by their inability to consume such “food,” (see Hebrews 5:12-6:3). An interesting question arises after reading this passage. What value is there in our pursuit of “solid food,” or those truths which go beyond the…
Read MoreLove It or Leave It
by Ed Harrell Vanguard Vol 3, No 21, November 11, 1977 It is difficult to keep one’s thinking truly un-denominational. Proud, carnal attitudes constantly make their way into spiritual affairs. The sources of jealousy and strife today are the same carnal attitudes that plagued the Corinthian church (I Corinthians 3:1-5). I think few people have…
Read MoreSins Against the Church
by Joe Shane Sentry Magazine, March 2000 Are there sins against the church? If so, what are those sins? Simply put, the answer to the first question is yes. The answer to the second is more complicated. Let us begin with a quote from a preacher who will remain nameless. (Since he will have no…
Read MoreSubmission (Bassford)
by Matthew W. Bassford Of all the spiritual topics in the Bible, there are few that are more difficult to discuss in our society than the subject of submission in marriage. Americans never have been particularly submissive people, to begin with, and in the decades since the Sexual Revolution, most traces of an older patriarchal…
Read MoreFanny Crosby
by Bob Buchanon If I told you that today would have been the 201st birthday for Frances Jane Crosby van Alstyne (born March 24, 1820), many would ask, “Who is she?” If I told you that I was referring to Fanny Crosby, many would then reflect on their favorite hymn from this amazing writer and…
Read MoreWhat Is a Gossip?
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, March 2000 Too many people think that “gossip” is the communication of information. Not so. The household of Chloe told the apostle Paul about some unflattering things that pertained to the saints at Corinth (I Corinthians 1:11). Paul was given a unique opportunity to lambast them for gossip but did…
Read MoreInto What Were You Baptized?
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, March 2000 Which came first? Admission into the church universal or the local church? To some, baptism is an ordinance of the church (that is, the local church). From that perspective, one is baptized into the local church. The truth of the matter is, however, that one is baptized into…
Read MoreHow can I find a list of topics?
Question: I have used your site many times in the past and absolutely love it but apparently, there has been a change or I am using it incorrectly. In the past, I thought, I have always gone to articles and an alphabetical list of subjects would appear. Please advise! Answer: The old design was getting…
Read MoreWho Has Changed?
by Wayne Goforth Sentry Magazine, September 2000 Someone has indeed changed! It has sometimes been argued that “The anti’s have come up a new doctrine.” Thomas B. Warren, in his book on “Lectures on Church Cooperation and Orphan Homes,” argues “If you can find anyone who taught this before 1955, you will be doing me…
Read MoreGenealogy Women
by Whit Sasser The genealogy of Jesus Christ, recorded in chapter 1 of Matthew, is interesting and educational in more ways than one. But, one item of interest has to be the women who are mentioned. Generally, it is a list of the male ancestors of Jesus beginning with Abraham, but a few women are…
Read MoreDon’t Throw Your Heart to Dogs
by Raymond Gonzalez Sentry Magazine, March 2001 “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Not in my wildest dreams as a babe in Christ, did I think to apply this proverb to brethren. The wording…
Read MoreThe Secret of Contentment
by Kenneth W. Ledbetter Sentry Magazine, March 2001 I want to take a moment to pass along a realization that has helped me in times of great distress and personal trials … found in the words of the apostle Paul. Paul said something in Philippians 4 that has always amazed me. In verse 11 he…
Read MoreWhy can a broken vow to God be forgiven but remarriage remains adultery?
Question: If God can forgive someone who breaks a vow to Him, although we know that vows should never be made, then why is remarriage possibly considered adultery when they’re breaking a vow of marriage? What is the difference between a vow to God and a vow made for marriage? Answer: All sins that are…
Read MoreWhat do you do with people who accepted the truth but continue to attend their denominational churches?
Question: What is your advice to the teachers of a group of people who have been taught the word in a group Bible study, have accepted it, gotten baptized, but do not want to attend the Lord’s church? They have wholeheartedly for months have been happy to keep studying the Scriptures and are making positive…
Read MoreThere Will Be Difficult Times
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/There-Will-Be-Difficult-Times.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreEmotional Worship of God
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Emotional-Worship-of-God.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThere Must Needs be Heresies
by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. Vanguard, Volume 1, #1 January 1975, pp. 21-22 After a few weeks of study at St. John’s University and Abbey, I am impressed by the perceptive Roman Catholic analysis of the weaknesses of Protestantism. They insist that Protestants are pressed between two unacceptable extremes. One extreme grows out of the…
Read MoreGoing Home
by Fanning Yater Tant Gospel Guardian, October 13, 1955 The summer’s work has ended. After a long and lonely absence, I am going back to Texas. Only a few hours ago I was speaking to a house filled with people in Sunnyvale, California. Now it is shortly after midnight, and I am nearly three miles…
Read MoreWhere is the land of Ophir?
Question: How true is the theory of the Philippines being the land called Ophir as stated in the Bible? Answer: “Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons…
Read MoreShould I see a prostitute?
Question: I am 37. I live in a shared house where we can’t have a partner. I live on a low pension fund and my social worker has suggested seeing a sex worker so I can experience it at least once. Being a Christian, I have mixed feelings as I know I won’t have a…
Read MoreShould I tell my girlfriend that I cheated on her?
Question: I and my girlfriend have been in a distant relationship for over two years. We’ve decided to marry after her graduation. I never had any intention of cheating on her before. But recently I had to be with a girl for academic purposes. I spent hours in her home doing our projects. We became…
Read MoreLimits of the Old Testament
by Terry Wane Benton The Old Testament was the inspired, God-given rule of law for the nation of Israel. It was not given to all people. “The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us” (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). Nehemiah spoke to God about the history of Israel: “You came down also on…
Read MoreCan The Bible Prove Itself?
by Terry Wane Benton Atheists laugh when a Christian uses the Bible to “prove” it is the word of God by appeal to the fact that the Bible claims to be the word of God. Of course, it is not just the fact that the Bible claims to be the word of God, but the…
Read MoreHow Do We KNOW the Bible Is True?
by Jefferson David Tant Introduction For thousands of years, a book has influenced the world. Eastern and Western civilizations have had their laws, customs, and culture molded by the teachings of this ancient document. Kingdoms have risen and fallen in keeping with prophetical statements contained within its pages. In the 550 years since Johannes Gutenberg…
Read MoreWitchcraft Is Still With Us
by Jefferson David Tant Witchcraft has been around for a long, long time. Way back in Leviticus 19:31, Israel is warned about such: “’Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” The KJV refers to them as “familiar spirits” and…
Read MoreYou’re Not the Woman!
by Calvin Schlabach I was chided on social media by an old friend for my opposition to abortion. “You are not the woman!” she declared. I thought I would share the response with you. I cited no Scripture because she demonstrated no concern for the Bible. Of course, I am not. And you are not…
Read MoreLove and Repentance
by Terry Wane Benton It is common these days to hear people use scriptures that say that God “loves” everyone and commands us to love everyone. But they use this to mean that God “accepts” everyone regardless of their sin and attitude toward sin. They often call this “unconditional love.” Often we are told that…
Read MoreI’m worn out being a wife to my husband
Question: Good afternoon, I have been married for over ten years and have been abundantly blessed with children. These past years have been a nightmare. I cannot be married to him anymore. I just cannot do this anymore. He is a very angry man. He mismanages the finances, has made so many terrible decisions, and we are…
Read MoreAll or None!
by Jefferson David Tant We have all faced certain times when we had to make some tough decisions, with no option of going “halfway” in what we chose. It was either “all” or “none.” There was no “middle ground.” Now, allow me to make a spiritual application, in that with respect to believing in God…
Read MoreWhy Don’t We Just Kill Him?
by Edward W. Pagan Sentry Magazine, March 2001 The title of this article comes from one of the first movies that Tom Hanks made called The Man with One Red Shoe. It describes the infighting that goes on between two rivals within the CIA and their efforts to ruin each other’s careers. The line, in…
Read MoreWaiting
by Ed Harrell Christianity Magazine, Volume 3, No. 4, April 1986 In recent years, the most bone-chilling, foreboding thought tightly caged in the back of my mind has had to do not with nuclear war or heart attacks, but old age. I do not fear the bright and sunny days of those advanced in years…
Read MoreI don’t believe Apollyon is Satan
Question: In regards to Is Satan female? you said one of his names was Apollyon and cited Revelation 9:11. But read Revelation 9:1-11 and 20:1-2. Apollyon binds Satan. Answer: “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon” (Revelation…
Read MoreYour Belief about Origins and Your Children’s Behavior
by Alan Smith PBS film critic and columnist Michael Medved shared this anecdote out of his Jewish heritage: “A few years ago, Rabbi Jacob Karmenetky made a trip to Israel accompanied by his teenage grandson. Ironically, these two deeply religious people were seated In the airplane next to a prominent Israeli socialist leader and outspoken…
Read MoreWhat My Parents Taught Me
by Jefferson David Tant Vanguard Magazine, November 1982 All parents teach their children — consciously, subconsciously, positively, negatively, by example, by word. Children are even taught to be what their parents fail to teach. In our generation, many parents have abdicated their teaching roles to TV, schools, their children’s peers, and other influences. I am…
Read MoreThree Aspects of Learning
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Three-Aspects-of-Learning-1.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 24:3-6 I. There are three aspects to learning, whether we talk about school work or Bible study A. Proverbs 2:6 – The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding B. Proverbs 24:3-4 – Compared to a house 1. Knowledge is the comprehension of facts. It fills our minds with pleasant and useful…
Read MoreKnowledge
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Knowledge.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 1:3-12 I. There was a period in world history known as the Dark Ages. A. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, society decayed for centuries B. Compared to the earlier periods, very little was written. C. Very little advancement in knowledge and ideas were made. 1. Education of the populace, as…
Read MoreHow can my sins be forgiven without receiving salvation?
Question: Good day, Acts 2:38 says after obeying the gospel our sins will be forgiven and we will receive salvation (gift of Holy Spirit). Please expound on how my sins can be forgiven without receiving salvation. Thanks. Answer: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus…
Read MoreWorking with the Smaller Groups
by Mike Davis Since 1975, God has blessed me to work “full time” with His children and to seek and save the lost. During these several years, God has permitted me to speak the gospel to large crowds (the most was over 200 at one time), and to speak the gospel in several states other…
Read MoreI don’t feel connected to God or other people
Question: Hello, I apologise in advance for what may be a lengthy email, but I would love to hear your thoughts on my situation. I am concerned about whether I am loving God properly. I believe in God and the Bible, I am Christian and I try to obey the commandments, (no fornication, no alcohol…
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