The Holy Spirit’s Intercessory Prayer
by Tanner Campbell In this article, we will put Romans 8:26 under a full investigation. The text explains that “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This difficult…
Read MoreHigher Learning
by Bryan Matthew Dockens A common question visitors seem to think appropriate of preachers, at least in this writer’s experience, is “Where did you go to school?” But folks just never seem to know how to react when I tell them about my year at Moorpark College, the community college near my hometown. They expect…
Read MoreI feel the need to thank you for your efforts on the website
Question: I have examined your website for a few days and feel the need to thank you all for your efforts on all of it. I am a member of a church of Christ We also have a web presence. It appears we have a similar congregation (200) attendance. I plan to at least reference…
Read MoreWas Jael morally right in killing Sisera?
Question: I was wondering about Jael. Was what she did right? It’s shocking to our modern sensibilities (or at least to mine) to read the story as presented in Judges 4. And yet Deborah and Barak (who seem to be relatively moral people?) praise her for everything she did in Judges 5.24-27. Just curious how…
Read MoreMy pastor says I’m disobeying church law by wearing color outfits to services. What do I do?
Question: Dear Minister of God, Thank you for the clarification of wearing white dresses to church and not wearing jewelry. Our pastor says that I’m disobeying the church law by wearing color attire to church. I feel it is a conspiracy (Isaiah 8:12) he’s placing on me. I don’t wear jewels because my parents didn’t let…
Read MoreWhen Jesus said he didn’t know the day or hour of his return, was he speaking in hyperbole?
Question: In Mark 13:32, it says that “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” During our Bible study, somebody said that Jesus really does not know the day of His return. Is this true? Can we take this…
Read MoreWhat does integrity mean?
Question: What does integrity mean? Answer: Integrity means to be complete, upright, innocent of willful wrongdoing, a person with a clear conscience. For example, Job was a man of integrity. “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God…
Read MoreCan a preacher be supported by multiple congregations that he is working with?
Question: Is it scriptural for a preacher to accept support from two churches at the same time? e.g. from the church where he is located and the other from the church which he helped established (currently preaching in both churches). Answer: “I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. And when…
Read MoreWhy was David wrong in numbering Israel?
Question: In II Samuel 24:1-2, it was written that David commanded Joab to take a census of Israel. After the census was taken, in II Samuel 24:10, David knew that he had sinned and God sends a pestilence upon Israel as a consequence. Why did God consider David commanding a census of Israel sin? And…
Read MoreIt is complex, but is my third marriage adulterous?
Question: I have a question for you. It involves a complex matter, but I trust your biblical response after having read your web page. I am married currently and was also married twice before this marriage. I have since repented and grieved over all of my wickedness when I saw biblically what I had been.…
Read MoreIf intelligent life were discovered elsewhere, how would views of God change?
Question: Hi! I am an astrophysics student. IF life of intelligence was ever discovered elsewhere in the Universe, what do you think their opinion on God would be, and how would it affect your opinion on God and the Bible? Thanks! Answer: If life exists elsewhere in this universe, then it would have been created by…
Read MoreWhy did Jesus allow divorce when the Law had a death penalty for adultery?
Question: I’m trying to figure out how to reconcile a couple of Jesus’ statements in the Sermon on the Mount. First Jesus said, “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them,…
Read MoreI enjoyed the story of the early church in Europe
Question: Thank you for putting Bro. Grimm’s story on the Internet! It took a long time for me to read it, but it was worth it. My husband’s ancestors came from Alsatia. He had no roots in the churches of Christ but this story has brought real meaning to me. Just to know that ancestors at…
Read MoreShould I let my son be in a play that contains a short waltz?
Question: Hello, I am a mom with a particular problem: my son wants to be a part of a play and in it, he would be waltzing for a few seconds. He is a 17-year-old with an aim to preach. He has been raised in the Scriptures all of his life, and we are so…
Read MoreIs God preparing me to be a preachers’ wife?
Question: I have been in the body of Christ for nearly a decade. Struggling through it all, I have learned to deny my own will and go with God’s plans for my life and that has made me successful. I had heard the call that anything I do with my career, I do it for…
Read MoreDoes a person leaving the Christian Church need to be baptized again?
Question: What is your thinking (based on Scripture) on a situation where someone has been baptized in the Christian Church but says they were baptized for the remission of sins and they want to place membership in the church of Christ? Do they need to be baptized again? The argument is that we are placing…
Read MoreI keep messing up with lust and laziness. What can I do?
Question: I am 18. I got saved a few months ago. Although I love God, I am constantly messing up. I have a stumbling block for lusting homosexual thoughts and laziness to name a few problems. I know what I am doing is wrong, and I keep confessing, but I still mess up. I am…
Read MoreWhat syllable should be stressed in the name Jeshua?
Question: I have a pronunciation question for you. I did read “Understanding the Tetragrammaton: How is it Pronounced” on La Vista’s web site, but it does not answer this question. Whether Aramaic, Hebrew or Greek, the name “Jeshua,” is the accent on the first or second syllable? In the film “The Passion of the Christ” the accent was on the…
Read MoreHow do we know if we have God’s approval?
Question: We should seek the approval of God and not man. I absolutely agree with this. My question, however, is how do we know if we have God’s approval? Since I became a Christian, I have developed a fear of dying. I fear I’m going to Hades and then hell because I feel I’m not…
Read MoreWhy do you feel the need to promote killing animals when God did not mandate this?
Question: Why do you feel the need to promote killing animals when God did not mandate this? I am a Christian and I don’t feel the need to kill an animal when I have other alternatives. Why do you think choosing compassion over death is wrong? Answer: “And the fear of you and the dread…
Read MoreIs veganism bad?
Question: Hi minister, About veganism, is it bad? I had broken my heel in two places by just barely jogging. Doctors said diet is not to blame, but I am not so sure. I’m still not better, Doc says my vitamin D is so low I will need a prescription! And now my white platelet…
Read MoreWhat do you do if a girl offers to lead a prayer?
Question: Some new friends I’ve begun spending time with recently are all religious people. Two or three times now, one of the girls has offered to pray before we eat. I have absolutely no idea how to handle that properly. I know I’m responsible for doing or saying something, but I don’t know when or…
Read MoreHow do you argue against abortion with a non-Christian? And how do you know when it is time to end a debate?
Question: I’ve found myself in a pretty heated abortion debate. I’ve had no problems finding inconsistencies in most of the arguments, but I’m seeing no progress made, and it’s taking quite a bit of time to answer the arguments, especially with things I’ve already said a number of times. I’m not seeing an end on…
Read MoreThank you for placing your emphasis on the soul of man
Question: Greetings La Vista Church of Christ! I’m a fellow minister in the church of Christ. I was doing some Bible study and was looking up what a broom tree looks like and find a link to your page on the google website. Because I’m curious, I looked at your home page and read your…
Read MoreHow can John not know what we will be like in I John 3:2?
Question: Please explain I John 3:2. I have tried to understand, but can’t. Why doesn’t John know what we shall be? Answer: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved,…
Read MoreShould announcements come before or after worship?
Question: Can announcement be done before the Lord’s Supper, preaching, praying, singing, or done at the end of service? (Matthew 6:33). God’s business first, then the church’s business last? Please I need help! Thank you. Answer: When God does not make a rule, it is not proper to make one for Him. The order of…
Read MoreDo I have to keep a foolish promise that I made?
Question: I want to talk about something that has troubled me for a couple of years. My hobby was to make websites, and I had a couple online. One night, I felt compelled by something to utter a promise to Jesus. A promise to remove my web sites. Feeling compelled by this (thought or whatever…
Read MoreShould I continue seeing this divorced woman?
Question: I have a question that is tough for me to come to conclusion on. I hope you can reply after careful consideration, but in somewhat of a timely fashion. I am dating a woman who has divorced her husband. Initially, she did not tell me why and over time she revealed that her ex-husband…
Read MoreI’ve continued to commit fornication after I was baptized. How do I convince my boyfriend that it is wrong?
Question: I have committed fornication with my boyfriend before and after baptism. Now I feel so much guilt and I don’t know how to ask God for forgiveness. I have been asking God to guide me and help me with my situation. I’ve been asking Him to change me. I’m trying to seek the Holy…
Read MoreHow can we make things right and be committed Christians?
Question: I am a middle-aged woman in a relationship with a middle-aged man for about a year. We have talked of marriage, but I am not sure if this man is the one that God wants me to marry. I am a born again Christian. I’ve been praying to God to give me a sign…
Read MoreHow can I be a Christian in a Hindu family?
Question: I am a strong believer in the Lord, but I am a Hindu. My teacher has told me that if one person believes in Him, the household would soon become believers as well. True enough, my parents have a Bible at home and they have bought for me a crucifix pendant of gold. However,…
Read MoreExperience with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Question: Thank you for all your work with this site and for answering hard questions that sometimes members of the Church are unprepared and unequipped to answer. I graduated from High School in 2010 and have experienced first hand the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I was never personally a member, but once I did happen to be…
Read MoreNeglect
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Neglect.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Judges 4:4-16 I. The story of Deborah and Barak is one that many remember A. In part it is because it involved a woman who was both a prophetess and a judge 1. She didn’t fight the battle, that was left to Barak, but she did travel with the army 2. Because…
Read MoreAm I still in adultery?
Question: I need some advice about my situation. There is a lot that has happened, but I’m going to try to summarize to keep it short. Several years ago I had sex with a girl who was barely married a few months before to a guy (I’ll call him “J”). We kept on in it,…
Read MoreDid David have two sons named Solomon?
Question: I’m now reading II Samuel and I am confused about David’s children. In II Samuel 5:14, the passage reads that one of the names of the eleven children born in Jerusalem was Solomon. In II Samuel 12:24, the passage reads that Bathsheba gave birth to another Solomon. My question is which of these two…
Read MoreLove is Different
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Paul’s description of love in I Corinthians 13:4-8 is both well-known and unheeded. Despite knowing what love is and is not, people still expect more of love. They want the fluttery feeling of butterflies in the stomach and the emotional high. To many, love isn’t real without the emotions. But are…
Read MoreWhat do you say to people who left the church when you run into them?
Question: Over the last couple of years, members (particularly young adults) have fallen away from the church. It concerns me, as I have heard that they are going their own way and some now have relationships (boyfriend or girlfriends). I am not sure how to deal with the situation as these people have been an…
Read MoreWhy was there an idol in David’s house?
Question: In I Samuel 19:13, why was there an idol in David and Michal’s house? I know Saul erected a monument for himself in Carmel (I Samuel 15:12). Did Saul and his children worship other gods? Answer: The Hebrew word teraphim is often translated as a “household idol,” but some translators, such as Koehler-Baumgartner, think that it…
Read MoreGiving Up on the Little Church
by Robert E. Speer via Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2011, Volume 42, Number 2 Many years ago — Ouch! Has it really been that long? — my family and I responded to a plea from another family to join them in a work they were trying to establish on the southern shores of Lake Superior.…
Read MoreThank you for posting your sermons
Question: Thank you for posting your sermons, such as When Good Men Do Nothing, in this way. Thank you for teaching clearly and simply. This issue is not just about what is happening in our country politically, it’s how we turn away from the needs of our families, our kids lost in the Internet and worldly…
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