Seeing Only What You Want to See
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SeeingOnlyWhatYouWantToSee.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 50 I. I would like to share a portion of a letter I received: “I am in love with this girl who loved me too. We loved each other so crazily but at one point I realized that she had been lying to me for no reason to…
Read MoreI love the Lord, but I must be grieving Him so much
Question: Here is my story: I married a man, but after a year his sister put me out of the house because of my drinking and partying with friends. I had nowhere to go, so I met people who took me to another town. I wasn’t saved at that time, so I started staying with…
Read MoreAm I worthy of forgiveness after all these wrongs?
Question: I have been a member of the church of Christ since I was in my teens. I got baptized before I knew what goes on in this world. I grew up and have done a number of wrongs that I don’t know if I will be forgiven because they were done knowingly. I committed…
Read MoreI have committed so many sexual sins, especially lust. How do I get forgiveness?
Question: Hello, I am a Christian by birth. I believe in Jesus and God; however, my faith is questionable at times, especially when things go wrong or when there is a delay in getting answers, etc. I fear God, but the irony is that I have committed adultery and I have also aborted a child…
Read MoreNo Fleshly Incentives
by Bill Hall The use of fleshly incentives to draw people to worship services is becoming more and more common. One church offers free cokes, doughnuts, and balloons to its bus riders. Another offers a prize to the child who brings the most visitors. Still, another uses some sports figure or entertainer to attract a…
Read MoreIf she was sent by God, isn’t she supposed to be a good person?
Question: I am in love with this girl who loved me too. We loved each other so crazily but at one point I realized that she had been lying to me for no reason to spend time with her friends and other mates. She liked spending time with boys, and she hid that from me.…
Read MoreDoes God prefer men to be vegetarians?
Question: Whether it’s right or not, Jesus was a vegan. I would better not to laugh or underestimate it if I were you. I was laughing at the same thing for years before I realized and was shown that vegetarianism is repeating advice from the Bible. I was a super meat lover. I ate almost…
Read MoreHow do I stop my masturbating to gay pornography?
Question: Good morning sir. I’m 21 years old. I’m a leader in my church. I’ve always loved God and desire to know him and walk with him as Enoch did. But I have lusted. I started masturbating some years ago and have promised God not to anymore, but I can’t find the strength to stop…
Read MoreWhat a great article on prayer!
Question: Just read Does God Answer Every Prayer? What a great article! Answer: I’m glad the information benefited you.
Read MoreWe just found out that my wife’s first marriage was never dissolved. What do we do?
Question: I have just recently married a beautiful godly woman who totally fills my heart with love every day that we share together in holy matrimony. But recently we have found out that she is still married to another. Several years ago my wife was to be wed to another man but found out some…
Read MoreBeliefs Not Found in the Bible
Author Unknown via The Jackson Drive Reporter, Oct. 4, 2009 Men say: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” The Bible says: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire…
Read MoreBaptism: The Re-Enactment of the Gospel
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Read MoreDo adults need to honor their parents by obeying them?
Question: I read your take on the commandment Honor thy father and thy mother and noticed that you used the word “child” and “children” quite a few times. So is your interpretation to obey isolated to children who have not reached independent legal adulthood or does it imply that even the adults have to obey? Let me…
Read MoreIn giving, what exactly is a profit?
Question: I know tithing is not applicable under the New Covenant, but I was wondering what your view is on what exactly is gain or profit if one only receives wages. Is it only the amount by which they receive a raise on their paycheck each year? If so one could argue that it is…
Read MoreIs jealousy always wrong?
Question: Doesn’t the Bible say not to be jealous? But then in more than one place, it says God is a jealous God. Answer: Jealousy means “Vigilant guarding of a possession.” It is the desire to hold on to what is yours for your own personal use. Sometimes we wrongfully believe that what someone else…
Read MoreDoes God always hear our prayers?
Question: In John 11:42 it says God always hears you, but in the verse, you showed me in “Should we pray for Satan’s salvation?” it says that God said that if people were to pray for the extreme idolaters then He would not hear their cries out to him? Answer: “Then they took away the…
Read MoreIs any one church or religion the proper way to believe?
Question: This is not a question, but great big praise and thank you for such wonderful resources and images! This is exactly what I’ve been trying desperately to locate image-wise for weeks! Thank you so much for sharing your collection of images, sermons, answers, studies, articles, notes, resources, and church information, and for making it all…
Read MoreCan I remarry because my wife left the church and left me?
Question: When I met my wife we were both going to similar churches. About a year after we met, both of us stop going to church. We got married soon after we stop going to church. When then had a child. My wife decided on ending the marriage claiming that she never loved me and…
Read MoreYour list of scripture on sports helped me encourage my son
Question: I will keep this short due to the wonderfully small keypad that I’m using on my phone. I just came across your website while searching for scripture. I needed a few words of encouragement for my teenage son. He is a wonderful young man of God who may be struggling with a tough decision.…
Read MoreDo we withdraw from sinners if they are only here a few months each year?
Question: Enjoy your site very much and has helped me more than you will ever know. What do you suggest if you have a couple up in years and have been married 4-5 times each, but they are summer visitors who are members of another congregation but are here four months out the year? Who…
Read MoreElijah
Elijah – Part 1Elijah – Part 2Elijah – Part 3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 17:1-13 I. The Bible is filled with memorable characters. Among the prophets, Elijah stands out. A. We don’t know much about his background. He just suddenly appears on the scene forecasting doom to Ahab – I Kings 17:1 B. His name…
Read MoreYour article on “A Sin Leading to Death” was very insightful
Question: I was reading I John this morning and did not understand “sin that does not lead to death”. Your article, A Sin Leading to Death, was very insightful. I feel that I have not been living by faith and need to repent. Please pray for me. I do believe that Jesus is the son of…
Read MoreHow can I improve in giving presentations?
Question: I am a trainer. I will be giving a presentation soon, but I am not confident. I am tense and get scared thinking about it. How can I improve? Answer: Fears exist because of unknown things. You aren’t certain about your abilities or the audience’s reception, so you imagine all the possible ways it…
Read MoreAre All Peacemakers Blessed?
by Gary W. Summers All Bible students have the obligation to study the Scriptures to ascertain their true meaning. Many problems in the Lord’s church, not to mention the religious world in general, could have been avoided with more of an honest investigation into God’s Holy Word. Too often has a verse been lifted out…
Read MoreApostolic Supremacy
by Clinton D. Hamilton via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 1952. The real issue with reference to religious division is which church is the true one. In an almost unanimous voice, religious people affirm that for a church to be the true one it must teach the identical doctrines revealed by the apostles. The…
Read MoreSexuality is more than physical action
Question: Fact Sexuality means much more than physical arousal and orgasm. Attached to a person’s sexuality is the capacity to feel affection, to delight in someone else, to get emotionally close to another person, and to be passionately committed to him or her. Sexuality is central to that marvelous human experience, being in love—to be…
Read MoreDid Tamar renounce Judah publically or privately?
Question: I have a question about Genesis 38:24-27. When Tamar informed Judah that she was the harlot he went into at Timnah, did Tamar tell Judah privately, or was Judah publicly humiliated? In verses 24-25, it appears that Tamar was going to be burned in public for her harlotry. But reading on in verse 25,…
Read MoreWhen the Israelites said the giants made them feel like grasshoppers, was this an exaggeration?
Question: In Numbers 13:33, how could there have been giants that made them feel like the size of grasshoppers? Or is this just a figure of speech or are they just exaggerating? Answer: “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight,…
Read MoreThank you for posting the Bible story pictures
Question: I wanted to thank you again for posting the Bible story pictures. Your stuff often pops up as I am building my PowerPoints for my sermons. Thank you for your contributions to the Kingdom. Answer: You’re welcome.
Read MoreProclaimed in All Creation
by Jefferson David Tant via Biblical Insights, March 2011, page 9. Some thirty years after Christ’s death, Paul wrote to the Colossians. A year later, an earthquake destroyed Colossae along with Laodicea and Hierapolis. Among the interesting things in Paul’s letter is the statement in Colossians 1:23, wherein he urges them to “continue in the faith…
Read MoreWhy was Abram rewarded for lying to Pharaoh?
Question: I just read Genesis 12:1-20 and I’m a little perplexed by it. Abram bent the truth concerning Sarai by getting her to say she was his sister rather than his wife when they came into Egypt. I know she was his half-sister by his father, but it was still a lie. So why was…
Read MoreWhy are all the guys I date bums?
Question: Good day minister, A man of God met me and introduced me to his brother saying God said he will be my husband. I met the guy. We talked, but I found out there was no compatibility between us. I don’t love him, perhaps “like” I will say. But along the way, we sinned…
Read MoreAm I still a virgin after giving oral sex?
Question: I had oral sex twice, but both times it wasn’t sexual at all. My intention wasn’t to please him. I panicked and did it. And being that I was sexually abused a lot of things cause me to panic, but I should have never put myself in that situation knowing I was weak. Am…
Read MoreSometimes my fiance and I get too involved with each other and it is disturbing me
Question: I am in a situation that needs your help. There is this sister in my church. I have proposed to her and we plan to get married after her graduation from the university. We both love each other. We have never had intercourse, but sometimes we get involved in real body contact. I feel…
Read MoreWhy don’t I feel forgiven?
Question: I accepted Christ when I was in my twenties. Like most, I have had times when I was close to God, and times when I was not. I have struggled with a sex and porn addiction since I was a teenager. I am doing well with it for the last few months and have…
Read MoreShould I be baptized again because I didn’t fully understand what baptism was about?
Question: I was re-baptized by a minister in the church of Christ because a brother said that if I was not baptized for the remission of sin then my previous baptism was not valid. Now I have many doubts because I feel that I accepted this baptism as a sacrament of sorts, like a ritual that…
Read MoreHow can Paul die with Christ if Christ is living?
Question: I am confused about “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). Isn’t God the living God?…
Read MoreYour lessons on drinking were wonderful!
Question: I listened to your lessons on drinking from the Old and New Testament and they were wonderful. I have read the book, Bible Wines and the Laws of Fermentation, have bought many of them, and given them out. Your lesson included some things that I did not know. Answer: I’m glad you found the information useful.
Read MoreShould I quit preaching to find a wife?
Question: I have been a minister now for almost 30 years. My wife left me after nearly 30 years of marriage. However, I need a helpmate. I want to date but all women are scared of dating a preacher. I understand that too. I don’t want to cause a “Black Eye” on the church so…
Read MoreIf you become best friends, isn’t there a danger of the girl not wanting to marry you because she only sees you as a friend or a brother?
Question: I hope that you still use this email address for I have just read something on your website that appears to be contrary to what I have learned from experience. In your article on lust, you state: “Love is built on a relationship between a man and a woman that develops over time. There…
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