Sand and Pearls
by Netagene Kirkpatrick, August 18, 2009 If God can take a grain of sand And change it to a pearl – Some tiny lifeless silicone He made when He made the world, Then why don’t you understand the thought That you, a living soul Might change from whatever sad state you’re in, If you’ll let Him…
Read MoreHow was worship conducted in Israel when the temple was destroyed?
Question: I have a question regarding the Tabernacle and the first Temple in the Old Testament: Was the Tabernacle the dwelling place of God and was the Temple the place of worship for the people? If so, when the first Temple was destroyed and tabernacle removed, how did the people worship God if there was…
Read MoreI found my husband locked in his bedroom with our daughter and only partially clothed. What do I do?
Question: I really don’t know where to go with this question, but having been a regular reader of your web site, I hope you can help. My husband and I have a 10-year-old daughter. We do not share a bedroom per his insistence. A few days ago I came home from work early and heard…
Read MoreWhat kinds of speaking out in assemblies would a woman not be permitted to do?
Question: I appreciate you posting the Questions and Answers to Facebook. I think it is an excellent resource for evangelism and a great way to draw attention to it. I was reviewing the answer “My congregation is becoming more unscriptural. Should I find another one?” you posted on Facebook to this fellow’s question about a woman…
Read MoreReligion and War
by Doy Moyer “If religion is so great, why are religions responsible for so much war?” First, this type of statement assumes that all religions are essentially the same. They aren’t. Some religions actively teach peace. Biblical Christianity (not the perverted forms) is one of them. Second, this assumes that everyone claiming a religion is…
Read MoreHow can a young man seek holiness?
Question: How can a young man seek holiness? Answer: In order to answer your question, we need to explore that is meant by “holy.” The word “holy” translates a Hebrew word referring to something or someone dedicated to the service of a god. “Holy” includes dedication when it is applied to people and things, but…
Read MoreCan you tell me what the vow was that caused Paul to cut his hair?
Question: Can you tell me what the vow was that caused Paul to cut his hair? Answer: “So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a…
Read MoreHow much should be confessed to be forgiven?
Question: This was an answer given to a question regarding adultery, and if the husband should be told about it. I am assuming he didn’t know about it. “Everyone sins, but the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that a Christian does not want to stay in sin. The Christian will go to the…
Read MoreCan one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism?
Question: Can one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism? Answer: The clear answer to this is “yes.” Baptism is a command found in the New Testament, yet people had received the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In addition: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard…
Read MoreHow do you answer someone who doesn’t believe the Bible?
Question: Greetings Brother. I pray the Lord continues to bless you and the works you have undertaken. A month or two ago I posed a biblical question on a forum that quickly turned into a small argument over the Bible’s validity with another individual. I have known him to be an extreme liberal and unbeliever.…
Read MoreMy congregation is becoming more unscriptural. Should I find another one?
Question: My home congregation is slowly beginning to make some unscriptural moves. I have been told by another gospel preacher that my home congregation has a bad reputation. Our evangelist holds an erroneous view on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He believes that Christ’s covenant is for Christians only and that since an alien sinner didn’t…
Read MoreCan a married couple talk dirty during sex?
Question: Hi, I have read through a lot of your Answered Questions and wanted to throw one out at you. Do you think it’s improper for a married Christian couple to “talk dirty” during sex, using words and language they would ordinarily not use in daily conversation? (If no one else is around and the…
Read MoreHow do I honor abusive, ungodly parents?
Question: Our parents are abusive, ungodly people. I have forgiven them and continue to ask God to help me. My sister says I have to honor them by doing what they want because they are old. She chooses to subject herself to their verbal abuse. I struggle to do as God would want. I do…
Read MoreMy friend is planning to commit fraud. What should I do?
Question: I have an ethical problem. I recently became aware of a friend planning on committing what is basically insurance fraud with his car due to his financial situation and his car having so many issues. I know when and how he plans on having his vehicle “stolen” and stripped as well as what insurance…
Read MoreDoesn’t I Corinthians 11 prove that Jesus couldn’t have had long hair?
Question: Regarding “Didn’t Jesus have Long Hair?” Don’t you think that I Corinthians 11:11ff shows that Jesus had to have short hair? I read your post regarding this subject and think this text would answer that question. “In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as…
Read MoreYou sound like congregations I’ve been associated with all my life
Question: I stumbled upon the web site of the La Vista church and I just wanted to say that your article on the home page takes me back many years ago when the church was trying to be a true church of Christ — not competing with denominations, etc. The church in La Vista sounds…
Read More“No Such Custom”: An Exposition of I Corinthians 11:2-16
by Bruce Terry Second Edition Christian Messenger Publishers Montezuma Creek, Utah 84534-0220 Published 1983 Foreword Bruce Terry’s exegesis of I Corinthians 11:2-16 is the most thorough and the most objective study of the covering that has come to my attention. Every Christian, man and woman, should read it carefully. I have great respect for Bruce Terry…
Read MoreWhat about those farmers who torture their animals?
Question: What about these awful farms that keep calves anemic and torture them just to offer veal on a menu when we already have meat choices. At one point is it torture? Do you feel God would accept the way we farm today? Is there a list of Christian farmers that can be circulated to…
Read MoreWas Stephen lynched in Acts?
Question: Was Stephen lynched in Acts? Answer: “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:57-58).
Read MoreA Prosperous Journey
by Walton Weaver via Truth Magazine Vol. XLIV: 10 p19 May 18, 2000 Paul had a great desire to go to Rome. He knew however that if such an opportunity presented itself, God would have to open up the way. His prayer that God might do this for him is given to us in Romans 1:10: “Making…
Read MoreThe Promise and the Law
by Homer Hailey via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 1952. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul began his defense of the truth he preached by showing that the gospel is one gospel and that any deviation from it is a perversion of the gospel and not another gospel. This convicts every sectarian today…
Read MoreIs there a great difference between the NASB and the KJV? Can the NASB be trusted?
Question: Your web site is very informative. I attend a church that only recognizes KJV and no other. I read between NASB and KJV. Is there a great difference between the two? Can the NASB translation be trusted? Thank you for help in this matter. Answer: Both the King James Version and the New American…
Read MoreProblems with Assigning Motive
by Sam Stinson “For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (I Thessalonians, 2:3-4). Why does Paul elaborate…
Read MorePreacher Pitfalls: An Article for Young Preachers
by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr. The Reflector – August 2009 via Ed’s Sermons and Things Paul references Isaiah in declaring that the feet of those that preach the gospel are beautiful (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7). I know of no higher calling for a young man to pursue than that of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. While…
Read MoreDoes sinning or being tempted to sin mean you aren’t really saved?
Question: I was reading a page on your web site that said if you give in to sexual desires, even just once, Satan can more easily bring you in and cause you to go further and further into sin until he has you trapped. This is only true for those who are lost. A child of God…
Read MoreShould it be acceptable for a preacher to reprimand an individual in front of the church?
Question: Should it be acceptable for a preacher to reprimand an individual in front of the church? Answer: “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew…
Read MoreHow do you handle attending a funeral where the practices are unscriptural?
Question: This past weekend I attended my grandmother’s funeral, but I have a question. My family is very unscriptural in most of their ways, but while I was there they had a woman preach or eulogize the funeral I am wondering if I am in sin by attending it and staying for the services? I was…
Read MoreModel or Mission?
by Jefferson David Tant The assembly of people that began on the Pentecost following Christ’s resurrection serves as a model for us, even in the 21st Century. We follow the patterns that were set up by the early church in that we respect the way they understood the authority that governed them. We observe how…
Read MoreWhy can animals be used for food, but not men?
Question: If “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs” according to your post on PETA’s statement that Jesus did not eat meat – what prevents people from eating each other? I am a vegetarian who eats fish. I am not a follower of…
Read MoreWhy did Jesus say that unless he went away, the Comforter could not come?
Question: Why did Jesus say that unless he went away, the Comforter could not come? Answer: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you”…
Read MoreThe article on being a preacher’s wife was just what I needed
Question: Recently I read your article on “The Blessings of Being a Preacher’s Wife” and I just want to tell you that I have been so blessed by it. In two months I am getting married to a preacher myself, so I was going through the internet such articles. All that you mentioned in the…
Read MoreYou are right, God’s people need the word, not social things
Question: Greetings in Christ’s name! Yes, you are correct, God’s people need to be feed by His everlasting word and not with social and worldly things. We love learning more from you. Answer: Thank you for your kind words.
Read MoreWhat do you mean by “new age melodies?”
Question: I read your Review of Sacred Songs of the Church. I noticed this sentence: “The “praise song” crowd will probably not like this book because it is not filled with one-stanza numbers having a set of seven, often touchy-feely, words sung eleven times to a new age melody.” I was wondering if you would mind…
Read MoreIs it a sin to let another man touch me during the night?
Question: I let another man touch me in the night time. I do not know what to do. Answer: The question is too vague for me to answer well. By “touch,” I’m assuming he touched your genitals in some way, but I don’t know if you mean purposely or accidentally. By “let,” I don’t know…
Read MoreWhat is sin? Is it spiritual or physical?
Question: What is sin? Is it related to the spiritual or the physical? Answer: The simplest definition of sin is, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4). Sin is when you break one of God’s laws. All sins start from inside, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,…
Read MoreIs it dangerous to use the NIV Bible?
Question: Is it dangerous to use the NIV Bible? Answer: Dangerous would be too strong of a word. It has many misleading translations, which if you are not aware of them could lead you to the wrong conclusion. See “The New International Version” for more details.
Read MoreHe Cannot Sin
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/HeCannotSin.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 3:1-10 I. It is amazing the lengths people reach to avoid responsibility for sin A. Often the same groups who teach that people cannot help but sin because they are born sinful also teach that once saved they cannot sin. B. It is a difficult deception to hold on…
Read MoreMy boss appears to be a Christian, but she is awful. What should I do?
Question: I work for a government agency. My contract expires next year. I have been under the supervision of a woman who has been in her position for over 25 years. She jokes that she will die in her office chair; she has no plans to retire. Her office is covered in Christian arts, a…
Read MoreA Pattern of Departure from God
by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 51, Dec. 18, 2009. Jeremiah the “weeping prophet,” was sent to warn God’s people to return to the Lord. His pleas to them, his tears for their rebellion, fill the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. He writes that Israel had forgotten the Lord (Jeremiah 2:32), they…
Read MoreDoes the Bible say anything about retiring?
Question: Does the Bible say anything about people retiring after a certain age? Are there any examples of this in Scripture? We live in a world where society seems to make retirement the goal, and I was wondering if there are any scriptures or people that back this up? Answer: We know that people had dreams of working…
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