The Action of Baptism
by Steve Wolfgang via Truth Magazine XIX: 27, pp. 421-422, May 15, 1975 The subject of the “action” of baptism quite evidently concerns itself with the nature of the act. It raises the question, “Exactly what is ‘baptism’?” This is a question that should be of obvious importance to every professed believer of the Bible. To those…
Read MorePassing the Torch
by Ethan R. Longhenry Almost two thousand years ago the Gospel of Jesus Christ began to be proclaimed: God became Incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth, went about doing good, was crucified and buried, but God raised Him from the dead; He ascended to the Father, received all authority and everlasting dominion, and will return one…
Read MoreDifferent Doctrines
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DifferentDoctrines.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 1:3-11 I. All of us have friends and family who have vastly different beliefs from our own. It is hard to think of them possibly not reaching heaven. A. This desire is exploited by false teachers who have no desire to be bound by God’s laws – II…
Read MorePressing On
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall8PressingOn.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreDid God create the matter we see?
Question: Hebrews 11:3 says “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Is this verse an argument that God did not create the matter we see but rather formed it into what it is now?…
Read MoreA Matter of Perspective
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall7AMatterOfPerspective.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreThe Necessity of Bearing Fruit
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall6TheNecessityOfBearingFruit.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreAm I really married since the marriage traditions in my community are contrary to God’s laws?
Question: Dear Brother, Thank you for the important site you have created in order to answer those questions that affect Christians’ lives. I live in a community where people are influenced by traditional superstition and idolatry. I found out that our tradition of marriage is as far as heaven from earth compared to the laws…
Read MoreThe Need for Prayer
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall5TheNeedForPrayer.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreWhat a beautiful, simple explanation of who the churches of Christ are!
Question: I am a member of the church of Christ in Tennessee. I happened to run across your page when I Googled “Was Paul a member of the Sanhedrin?” I went to your home page, and, wow, what a beautiful, simple explanation of who we are! Just thought I would send a word of praise and…
Read MoreShould I go to the wedding of a brother who is committing adultery?
Question: Hello friend! I need help answering a question: One of the college students at my church asked me this and I’m stumped, so I figured a brother in Christ could help me. Here’s what she asked: “My brother is getting married through the court, but he has already been married through the church and…
Read MoreThe Importance of Bible Study
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall4TheImportanceOfBibleStudy.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreSpiritual Growth
by Brace Rutledge The Meaning of Life Growing Up in Christ Every Member Working Together The Importance of Bible Study The Need for Prayer The Necessity of Bearing Fruit A Matter of Perspective Pressing On
Read MoreThe Meaning of Life
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall1TheMeaningOfLife.mp3 by Brace Rutledge Spiritual Growth
Read MoreFigures of Speech
Figures of Speech – Part 1Figures of Speech – Part 2 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 13:10-17 I. A common confusion in reading the Bible is understanding text when figures of speech are used A. A bit odd because all languages of men contain figures of speech, so you think that people would be used to…
Read MoreEvery Member Working Together
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall3EveryMemberWorkingTogether.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreGrowing Up in Christ
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015Fall2GrowingUpInChrist.mp3 by Brace Rutledge 2015 Fall Meeting
Read MoreWill having sex outside of marriage keep me out of heaven?
Question: Hello Minister, My question is regarding sex before marriage. I want to be clear that I know it is against God’s Word to partake in such activities. I am 21 and have been a virgin all my life, avoiding temptations wherever I go. Last week my mates and I drank too much. By the…
Read MoreThe History Behind “Freedom’s Ring”
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage” (II Peter 2:19). My first encounter with the doctrine promoted by Freedom’s Ring was when the congregation where my wife and I met got pulled into apostasy…
Read MoreThe Sponsoring Church Arrangement (Longhenry)
by Ethan R. Longhenry God wills for all people to be saved in Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:4; II Peter 3:9); Christians must go out and proclaim the Word of the Gospel to their fellow human beings (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:14-17). The local church, as the Body of Christ manifests in a given area, has…
Read MoreHow did Saul break the commandment of the Lord in I Samuel 13:11-14?
Question: How did Saul break the commandment of the Lord in I Samuel 13:11-14? He was offering to God. Answer: Saul did make an offering to God, but he did not do it in the manner which God wanted offerings done. It did not matter that Saul felt he was compelled to make an offering…
Read MoreRemember Lot’s Wife (Hamilton)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RememberLotsWife.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 17:22-37 I. In speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus reminds his disciples of God’s past judgments on the wicked. A. In particular, he warns them not to look back when the time approaches – Luke 17:31 B. To emphasis his point he asks them to remember Lot’s wife -…
Read MoreI plan to go to his church if we get married. Isn’t this enough?
Question: Hi! My boyfriend and I have been dating for several months now. The problem we are having is that according to his beliefs, he doesn’t practice ritual ceremonies and doesn’t believe in ancestor worship. On my side, I believe in these things, but that is not an issue for me because I know if…
Read MoreYour website has a lot of information on preterism and homosexuality
Question: Hello, I stumbled across your website as I was trying to find information on refuting Preterism (AD 70 fulfillment). I have family members who recently found out about this, and are submerging themselves in Jonathon Welton’s teachings. Your web page has a lot of information, I hope to look through plenty of it in…
Read MoreHealing in His Wings
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/HealingInHisWings.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 8:4-22 I. I was reading a letter years ago from someone who tried to introduce false doctrine into the church and then left after they failed. A. The author discussed how pleased she was that these members had left. 1. She said their leaving was a sign of courage 2. That…
Read MoreWhy did God say the woman’s desire would be for her husband when men seem to have the stronger sexual desire for the woman?
Question: One thing I have never understood is that God told Eve, the woman, that her desire would be for her husband, Adam, the man. Yet, it is a man’s desire for a woman — physically, romantically, and sexually — that has always been much stronger than a woman’s is for a man. As evidenced by…
Read MoreI found out that the man I married was already married two years prior
Question: After my marriage to a boy, I came to know that he is already married to a girl two years before my marriage. In my country, marriage is a big deal in a girl’s life. I haven’t made any decisions regarding what I’ll do as I am already married to him. Please give me…
Read MoreI appreciate your article on judgment
Question: I was looking up “judgment” this morning. I very much appreciated your article on it, especially that you put in the Bible references. Thank you again, your brother in the gospel Answer: I’m glad to hear that you’ve found the website useful in your studies.
Read MoreDoesn’t the Bible teach that we must keep the law of Moses?
Question: I grew up in the church and Christianity, and all the while I was taught that we don’t have to keep the Law that was told to Moses or what the Jewish call the Torah. However, I came across multiple scriptures that made me question whether the law really was done away with. Here…
Read MoreI thought God was vengeful and intolerant
Question: Hello, I am 46 and have prayed to God most of my life. Things have happened to me that can be explained as God answering my prayers, or things working out on their own. My Mom informed me of God and Jesus as I grew up, but whenever I messed up in her eyes…
Read MoreHow can a Christian sin if we are to be holy like God?
Question: The Bible tells us that God commands us to be holy as He is holy. If we were allowed to sin and still make it into heaven, there would be no point in having heaven or hell. Why would “be holy as I am holy” even be in the Bible if it was not…
Read MoreFalse Teaching 101
by Steven Harper In the religious realm, there are some men who would have us believe they are speaking the truths of God’s Word but would be more properly identified as the “false teachers” they are. I know that is a ‘label’ that some individuals do not like to hear, but it is a Scriptural one…
Read MoreI broke up with my girlfriend because I dreamed she would be unfaithful to me after we marry
Question: There is a lady I loved. After some time, I told her about my feelings and she agree to marry me, after which I informed my pastor friend about her. He said I can marry her, but I should be careful about her friends as they may influence her to engage in extramarital affairs…
Read MoreIs the God of the Old Testament just as violent as the Muslim’s Allah?
Question: As a minister of the Gospel, I have a question that I was recently asked and I was curious if you had ever been asked the same: How can we preach a loving God and Christianity to Muslims if our God in the Old Testament was a violent God just as their Allah? I…
Read MoreIf I marry, I will lose the income from my husband’s death benefits. What do I do?
Question: I am a widow and I have a young son. My husband passed away several years ago. I connected with an old friend from high school who was going through a divorce at the time and we seemed to hit it off and were there for each other during each other times of need.…
Read MoreYour site is a blessing (2)
Question: I have just found your site, a blessing, to be sure. I was baptized into the church many years ago. Your site will be a great resource for me, particularly for a good study structure. Surely, God is using you to reach not only those who are lost, but those who need some direction…
Read MoreThe Congregational Cooperation Issue During the Restoration Movement
by George P. Estes via Gospel Guardian, May 3, 1956 Behind the thinking of the men who attempted to restore the New Testament church lie two basic premises or accepted facts: first, that the church as it existed in the apostolic age contained no admixture of human doctrine and was, therefore, a God-given and perfect…
Read MoreDo the righteous leave this world?
Question: I had a study with someone and this was his explanation of these Scriptures. In I Thessalonians 4:13-17, Verse 13: Paul doesn’t want us to be ignorant concerning where are the dead. That’s the subject. Verse 14: God will bring those that have died back with him. Verse 15: They who are alive and…
Read MoreDid Christ Die in Vain?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DidChristDieInVain.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I. Most, if not all, of us put hard work into various projects, be it a project at work, the raising of children, or implementing a favorite hobby. A. After hours of hard work, it is devastating to find it destroyed or never used. B. I remembered being asked to add…
Read MoreThe Book of Life
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/BookOfLife.mp3 Text: Exodus 32:15-35 I. There are songs we sing over and over. Perhaps too often because we don’t give enough thought to what we are saying to one another. A. There is a song in our books, number 418, that is titled “Lord, I Care Not for Riches” 1. It expresses what ought to be important in…
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