I feel like I’m close to leaving the faith
Question: For the past few months, I have been drifting away from God. Yesterday I actually was very close to leaving the faith. Yesterday, I was researching Matthew 24:34. I felt that this was finally a good reason to reject the Bible and live my life as an agnostic rather than as a Christian. Then…
Read MoreIf we have sex one more time before our baptisms, will God forgive us?
Question: Hi, I recently converted to Christianity and so did my girlfriend. We both have been in a very sexual relationship before we found God. We have been trying hard not to do anything sexual, but we messed up once, felt horrible, and asked for forgiveness. We’re getting baptized soon, and we’re both excited. We…
Read MoreMy husband has become an addict. My father-in-law, who is an elder, says I have to make him stop. How can I?
Question: I have a big problem that I do not know how to sort out. My husband and I were engaged for three years and now have been married for two years. I was a new convert to the church when I married him. He had several qualities that I deeply respected and admired. He…
Read MoreShould I have said something to the gang robbing my store?
Question: Good morning, Can you please help clarify the meaning of what Solomon meant by what he wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:16? Is there such thing as being “too righteous”? I ask this because I am the manager of a small retail store. Recently, while I was on my shift, three men who were tattooed with…
Read MoreThe Basics of Communication: Tell, Show, Imply
by Doy Moyer We need to get past the constant criticism of CENI (Command, Example, Necessary Inference). The problem with CENI is not that it is a failed hermeneutic. The problem is that we have clouded the terminology so much that we have forgotten what basic communication is all about. CENI is fancy talk for…
Read MoreI wouldn’t mind being married, but I’m not sexually attracted to women
Question: I am a man in his thirties who is gay. I thought I was gay since I was 11 or 12. It started out as not being a “typical” boy. My interests were much more “girly things” from Barbies to the arts. In seventh grade, I remember conversations in Sunday school (were divided into…
Read MoreObeying God
by Dennis Stackhouse On one occasion King Saul had been given a direct command from God to utterly destroy Amalek, including men and women, children and infants, as well as all the livestock (I Samuel 15:3). However, Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of Amalek, along with the best of the sheep, the…
Read MoreSins Against the Holy Spirit
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SinsAgainstTheHolySpirit.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 16:7-14 I. The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the teachings of God to mankind A. It is not a work that is directly observed. Like the wind you see the effect of the Spirit’s work in people’s lives – John 3:8 B. Jesus told his disciples that…
Read MoreWhy do I fail every time I try to serve God?
Question: Dear sir, I am writing from a very small city. I was first called by God on His mission, but I refused it due to my family’s financial situation. Now I am again starting His service, but I am not able to serve it fully. Satan always puts me in places where I always…
Read MoreI’ve talked to the leadership at church about their support of drug rehab and social drinking, but no one listens
Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, In the church that I am attending, I’m dealing with some liberalism that scares me. I love these brothers and sisters very much but I am awful worried. This is not my home church I had to move about an hour north of my home area for work. The first issue…
Read MoreCan you accidentally make a vow?
Question: About the question that asks about sinful promises: If we made a foolish or rash vow, are we to keep it? Also, can you “accidentally” make a vow? Like, if you keep thinking “don’t think about x… Don’t think about x” and then think it, is it binding? Answer: In general, a person is expected…
Read MoreWhat are watchmen?
Question: Hello Mr. Jeffrey, I have a question: In Psalms 130:1-8, “My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.” Who are these watchmen? What are they doing? Answer: Watchmen were a part of a city’s guard. They would patrol the city walls…
Read MoreLeaving the Pit
by Wilson Adams It was the most compelling argument I’ve ever heard against social drinking… A young man in his 30s stood in front of the Leaving the Pit Conference in Indianapolis on Saturday and told his story. His alcohol use began in high school and intensified in college. He hid it well. He was…
Read MoreFishing or Sleeping?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/FishingOrSleeping.mp3 by Alan Feaster
Read MoreFret Not
by Dennis Stackhouse In Psalm 37:1-6, the writer had some good advice for all of us when he said: “Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land…
Read MoreSolace in Solitude
by Andrew Hamilton Sometimes, you have one of those days. You had a stressful day at work, or you received some bad news. You have a lot on your mind. Where do you turn? “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he…
Read MoreSound Doctrine Produces Sound Churches Demanding Sound Doctrine
by Edward O. Bragwell via Gospel Guide, Vol. 27, No. 12, Dec. 1995. “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering…
Read MoreWhat should we do since we learned the elders are misspending the Lord’s money?
Question: Hi! I have read and searched through your question and answer section to make sure this question hasn’t been asked before, so I hope it has not. My husband is a preacher for the church for many years. Recently, he has learned certain information in regard to how our elders are spending the Lord’s…
Read MoreWhat Forgiveness Means
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WhatForgivenessMeans.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 103 I. When we forgive, we need to do as God has forgiven us – Ephesians 4:32 A. Our forgiveness depends on our forgiving others – Matthew 6:14-15 B. But forgiveness is not empty words. It means something II. Forgiveness returns joy to the forgiven – Psalms 103:1-5 A. When someone injures…
Read MoreThe Sin and Guilt Offerings
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SinAndGuiltOfferings.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 13:10-16 I. The Law of Moses featured numerous sacrifices and making sense of them can be difficult A. There were five categories: Sin, trespass, burnt, meat, and peace offerings 1. But they were also grouped in another way: Firstfruits, wave, heave, vow, voluntary, and drink offerings 2. They were also divided…
Read MoreThe Impact of Our Choices
by Dennis Stackhouse Just prior to his physical death, Joshua tried to encourage the people of Israel with these familiar words: “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods…
Read MoreDo you think God hears every prayer I pray?
Question: Do you think God hears every prayer I pray? Is He busy sometimes answering someone else? Why does the Bible say in some verses “God heard their shout?” Is that just the way it was written? I could find the verses, but I’m sure you remember. Answer: “Now this is the confidence that we…
Read MoreShould I give up my phone for Lent?
Question: Hi, I’m Catholic, and we have a thing called Lent, which is the forty days before Easter, where we give something up. I’m wondering if I should give up my phone because it’s the reason I look at porn and that. But I was thinking that I should give something else up, then give…
Read MoreInfant Baptism (Hamilton)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/InfantBaptism.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 7:7-25 I. Historians will admit that infant baptism did not appear in the church until the second or third century A. Roman Catholics 1. “There is no express mention of the baptism of infants in the New Testament” [Question Box, page 23]. 2. “It is difficult to give strict proof…
Read MoreWill God help us if we continue our adultery?
Question: I have been in a hard marriage for 14 years. I moved back to my home state and started college again. Within a month I was reunited by chance with a man I knew many years ago. He is also married. We have been sleeping together for six months now, and talk every day.…
Read MoreHow do we handle the mother of my fiancée’s former boyfriend?
Question: Hello, My fiancée and I are getting married soon. Recently, her grandfather has been going through trouble with cancer. It has brought up a few encouraging text messages. Here’s where my problem begins. One of the encouraging texts comes repetitively from the same person. That person is the mother of her ex-boyfriend. Although there…
Read MoreHow could the Gentiles be guilty of sin when they did not have the Law?
Question: I was trying to figure out the comparison (or contrast) between Romans 2:12-16 and Romans 7:7-11 “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who…
Read MoreThe Lost Sheep
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/LostSheep.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 15:1-7 I. When people can’t fault a person, they will sometimes seek to find fault in the way someone does things. A. This is how the Pharisees and Scribes sought to degrade Jesus’ reputation. B. It wasn’t something they would do. In fact, they implied it there was something wrong…
Read MoreWhat Do You Hope to Catch?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WhatDoYouHopeToCatch.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Mark 6:31-44 I. What you hope to catch determines the type of bait you use A. A worm may land you a fish, but it probably won’t lure a mouse into a trap B. Even in fishing, there are different baits to be used for different fish C. I’ve known young women…
Read MoreWill God understand that I have trouble loving people?
Question: I am really messed up. I was subjected to severe sexual, emotional, and physical abuse as a child. I do not love myself, do not really like myself. As I age, I keep more and more to myself, only doing shopping as needed, and going to church. I was baptized about 36 years ago…
Read MoreMy girlfriend left me twice and is now pregnant by the other man. How do I get past her past?
Question: I met this lady, several years ago. I loved her so much. I told her and we became friends. Later she dropped me and went with another person she loved, though she didn’t tell me. I still loved her so much that we got back together and this same incident happened again. She did…
Read MoreWhen was Jehoiachin released?
Question: When was Jehoiachin released? “Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison” (II Kings 25:27). “Now it…
Read MoreCan I get forgiveness of my sins before I am baptized?
Question: I have accepted Jesus as my Savior but there is this little detail: I am not baptized. My family is not Catholic, so I wasn’t baptized, but I truly believe in God and have been praying a lot lately for His forgivenesses. Is it okay if I’m not baptized? Will I still be forgiven?…
Read MoreRecognizing Our Sin
by Dennis Stackhouse How important is it for a Christian individuals to recognize sin in their lives? It is of extreme importance because without that recognition a person will never take the necessary steps to remove the sin and get their life moving in a righteous direction once more. With that in mind, let’s notice…
Read MoreShould I wait until my boyfriend becomes a better Christian?
Question: My boyfriend and I have been dating for four years. He waited six months before we had sex. It was my decision, and I regret it to this day. I wish I knew back then what I know now. I’m afraid if I stop having sex with my boyfriend, he’ll leave me, and I’ve…
Read MoreThe Myth of the Flat Earth
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I ran across an article, from Newsweek of all places, that pointed out that humanity as a whole never really believed in the concept of a flat earth. [Douglas Main, “Even in the Middle Ages, People Didn’t Think the Earth Was Flat,” Newsweek, 16 January 2016]. “A round Earth appears at…
Read MoreAn Eye Exam
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/EyeExam.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 11:34-36 I. There is an old saying that bad things come in threes and to a lot of people this appears to be a true statement A. Life is filled with good and bad events B. But what happens is that when something bad happens, we start focusing on the…
Read MoreI didn’t keep all of my sacrifices. Will God still help me?
Question: Hello, A few months ago I started going through a hard time in my life, I had a problem that I, myself, couldn’t solve, so I put it in God’s hands. As I was really desperate and willing to do anything for it, I offered a few sacrifices (yes, more than one) and I…
Read MoreSince we are under grace, can’t we be sexually active and live pleasing to the Lord?
Question: I am a Pentecostal Christian and we live by grace, not under the law. Since Jesus died on the cross we have a new covenant. So my question is: I’m in a committed relationship with my girlfriend. Sex is obviously one of the keys to a relationship. I know the message of Paul about…
Read MoreMy boyfriend has difficulty with my past. Should we get counseling?
Question: I am 34 years old. I grew up in a Christian home and have always tried to follow the right path. I have failed God on many occasions and feel as if I have been forgiven for those wrongs. I was married right after high school and had a child a year later. After…
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