Ghosts of Aaron
by Steven Harper Once again, a religious leader from the world’s largest ‘Christian’ denomination has conceded to the pagan religions of the world in an effort to appear all-inclusive, non-confrontational, and “loving.” According to the Associated Press, a Roman Catholic ‘Bishop’ from the southern diocese of Breda [the Netherlands] “has proposed people of all faiths…
Read MoreGarage Sale
by Carrey Scott Every so often, I take the time to go to some garage sales. I am hoping to find something that someone else does not want, and buy it cheaper than I thought I wanted to pay for it originally. Many items you can get for pennies on the dollar. What was it…
Read MoreFreedom Through God’s Law
by Charles N. Spence, Jr. God had always wanted His people to be free. However, most people today have a radically different idea of freedom than God’s. Many in the world today look at freedom as the uninhibited right to do what they want to do. We can see this in almost every facet of…
Read MoreThe Foolishness of Hasty Judgments
by Steven Harper The wise writer said, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13). But how foolish men are in making hasty judgments, often without hearing the evidence — or at least all of the evidence. Daily — on local and nationwide radio talk shows, around the water cooler at…
Read MoreThe Flip-Flop Generation
by Steve Klein Flip flops are perhaps the most casual footwear known to men. According to an online article entitled “The History of Flip Flops,” flip-flop-type footwear has been around for thousands of years, but has only become accepted in American culture since the 1950s (http://www.pecheblu.com/history.php). The article states the following: “Flip flops became defining…
Read MoreFlee Fornication
by Bob West Everyone can see that as the standards of morality decline in society, this has an impact on those who are children of God. That the practice of fornication has increased among young people in recent years, is a fact that few would deny. There are no “magical formulas” for parents and young…
Read MoreThe First “Ancient Mariner”
by Dillard Thurman in Gospel Minutes, May 8, 1964 The original story of “The Ancient Mariner” was written several centuries before “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” was added to our literature. The story of Noah and the Ark is loved and appreciated by multitudes who have never gone to sea, or taken an ocean…
Read MoreThe Falling Away Comes First
by Carl A. Allen A problem confronting Timothy when Paul wrote the second epistle to him was that of some people, (Christians) believing the “resurrection is past already” (II Timothy 2:17-18). “But shun profane babblings: for they will proceed further in ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a gangrene: of whom is Hymenaeus…
Read MoreExpect More Out of Your Kids
by Matthew Allen Earlier this week, I participated in a discussion concerning alcohol and advertising. The debate was over whether alcohol companies target youth in their advertising. There is very strong evidence to suggest that the alcohol companies do in fact target adolescent audiences even though such persons are under the legal age to consume alcohol.…
Read MoreEvolution Is Just a Fairy Tale
by Terry W. Benton Modern crime labs have a hard time reconstructing a murder that happened just last week, but doing so depends on a variety of pieces of evidence. A body and a weapon are not enough to tell who, why, where, and how this crime developed. So, they pursue fingerprints and hair that…
Read MoreEncouragement
by Steven Harper Previously, we considered the problem of discouragement, which [by definition] is depriving one of courage; this week, let us consider its opposite: encouragement. Encouragement, by definition, is to inspire with courage. It means to stimulate by assistance, approval, etc. It is, again, the opposite of discouragement and we can hopefully see which state is preferable to the…
Read MoreHow the Universe Began – No One Knows
by Dudley Ross Spears I am no sort or kind of a scientist, but my son is. One of his university textbooks for a physics class was “Conceptual Physics.” It was written by Paul G. Hewitt, a professor at City College of San Francisco. I lift a few sentences from the book to begin this…
Read MoreElihu’s Discipline and Correction of Job
by Pat Gates via Our Hope Online Job 34 Elihu’s Charge Against Job Speaks without knowledge Words without wisdom Answers like a wicked man Is rebellious and multiplies his words against God “Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom. Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost, Because his answers are like those of…
Read MoreEducation: Who is to be blamed?
by Abraham Smith ‘I am to blame if I don’t do what I can’ Many times lately we have heard, “Our children are not getting a good education.” Parents have been blamed, as well as children, teachers, administrators, and our government. Just exactly who is to blame? I am to blame if I don’t do…
Read MoreUse of the Lord’s Money
Text: II Corinthians 9:1-15 I. I received an interesting question from a brother in the Philippines, he wrote: “Here in our country brethren depend on planting tobacco for income. One brother has asked me if it is good for the church to use the Lord’s money to grow tobacco in order for the church to…
Read MoreDid the world governments do wrong attacking Afganistan?
Question: Following Jesus’ word and the fifth commandment, shouldn’t our duty be against any war? “You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the…
Read MoreDo Miracles Occur Every Day?
by Leon Mauldin via Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 40, Oct. 12, 2008. What does the Bible teach regarding miracles? Is it true, as some claim, that miracles are happening every day? In reality, even during Bible times, miracles did not occur “every day.” Miraculous activities for the most part were confined to certain periods of…
Read MoreHow did the correct books get added to the Bible?
Question: Hi, I was wondering if you could help me with this question I have. I know that in II Timothy 3:16 it says that all scripture is “God breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. This is a wonderful thing, but I have a question about the Bible…
Read MoreDon’t you realize that there would be no children if people didn’t fornicate?
Question: I believe your site is awful because when a young girl asks an honest worried opinion about sex or fornication or whatever you continue to say how disappointed you are in them. We all realize that having sex is a sin, but do you realize that there would be no children if people didn’t…
Read MoreI keep lapsing back into pornography and masturbation. Is there any hope for me?
Question: I have a question for you. I was born again several years ago. At that time, I didn’t have too many struggles and had a heart of joy and was very happy. Before I was saved I struggled with looking at pornography and masturbating. I didn’t do it for a long time while I…
Read MoreMarriage’s Glue
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Glue is amazing stuff. You can take something that is broken or doesn’t hold tightly together and spread some of this liquid in the cracks. Sometime later the glue dries and what was broken is now held together, often more strongly than it was held before. So if glue is so…
Read MoreCan a person remarry if their spouse commits adultery after the divorce?
Question: I want to ask you about two people who have divorced. I understand they are supposed to remain unmarried, and if one of them does get married later, he is living in adultery. Is the other person free to marry, since in God’s eyes they are still connected to their first spouse, have broken…
Read MoreDoes “Hard” Preaching Pay?
by Fanning Yater Tant For several years there has been a discussion within the brotherhood as to the relative merits of “hard” preaching in comparison with “persuasive” preaching. By this latter is meant the type of preaching that never refers to a denominational church by name, uses the Dale Carnegie “method of approach” psychology, seeks…
Read MoreIt’s Time To Grow Up
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ItsTimeToGrowUp.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:22-2:3 I. It seems every parent at some point tells their child, “Why don’t you just grow up?” A. In one sense, that is what they are doing; but what the parents want is for the child to stop acting so much like a child and more like…
Read MoreHow to Grow
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/HowToGrow.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 5:6-14 I. Each of us started life as a cell so small it would take a microscope to see you. A. But we don’t stay that size, we grow – and rapidly – into a small infant born into this world, we become toddlers, children, adolescents, and eventually adults.…
Read MoreDirect Operation of the Holy Spirit
by Bryan Sharp In Acts 16, Luke relates what happened when he, Paul, and Silas arrived at Philippi on Paul’s second preaching trip. Beginning in verse 13 he writes: “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down…
Read MoreThere are people talking, playing, and walking around during worship. Am I being too critical to say this is wrong?
Question: When I go into the Lord’s house my main focus is worship. I get disturbed when I see people talking, playing and walking around during service. I feel that they are not there to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth when they are doing other things not pertaining to the Lord’s service,…
Read MoreWhat do you think about a church funding a school or senior housing?
Question: I was just wanting to get more information on schools in the Lord’s church. Our minister is in the process of obtaining funds from the church to open up a school in order to teach the children to read. He also mentioned opening a home for the seniors with church funds. I just wanted…
Read MoreCan I go to a show and sing along with the hymns that are being sung with instrumental music?
Question: Can I go to a bluegrass show and sing along with hymns that are being sung with instrumental music? Can I play and sing hymns at home with instruments? Answer: When something is offered up to God, then it ought to be done in the manner in which God asked for it to be…
Read MoreIf two people commit fornication, should they be forced to marry?
Question: I was wondering if we today should apply this law in the Old Testament. “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to…
Read MoreIs pornography a just cause for divorce that allows remarriage?
Question: Hello, I have recently begun a wonderful relationship with a lady friend. Over the last four months or so we have developed a wonderful friendship which has recently blossomed into a budding romance. However, she has, within the last six months or so, filed for divorce from her husband due to abuse and a…
Read MoreCreation: Necessary Biblical Inferences
by C.G. “Colly” Caldwell via Truth Magazine, Vol. 52, No. 5, May 2008. The points we bring to your attention in this article are clearly taught in Scripture. They are, however, also necessarily inferred or implied by the very fact of Divine Creation. When one by faith accepts that Almighty God created all things other than…
Read MoreYou don’t really teach children about the stoning of Achan, do you?
Question: I stumbled across your web site and saw the drawing of the stoning of Achan. In the upper right, it said something about pictures going with children’s Bible stories. You don’t really mean to teach children about stoning, do you? The Stoning of Achan Joshua 7:24-26 Answer: You misunderstood. The pictures are from an old…
Read MoreNebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel is a good way to reach Muslims
Question: Sir, the Muslims believe that Allah is the God of Abraham and the prophets. Although they err greatly by attempting to come to God without coming through Christ (John 14:6), nonetheless, Islam recognizes the God of the Old Testament. I have found Nebuchadnezzar’s dream Book of Daniel to be of great assistance in exposing…
Read MoreCan you pray for my friend who is on drugs?
Question: I’m searching for all the churches of Christ on Google because I’m searching for prayer. My friend is really struggling. He grew up in an atheistic home, and it’s abusive. His parents just yell at him all day long, and they nag a lot. They just tell him everything he is doing wrong and…
Read MoreDoesn’t Genesis 4:14 prove that there were other people than just the descendants of Adam and Eve?
Question: I just read your sermon on three days and three nights and I am glad to finally find a preacher or even a person for that matter, who agrees with me on the day of the crucifixion. I can stop arguing about it now that I know I am not alone in the boat. My contention…
Read MoreI don’t think you considered all the passages regarding the use of alcohol in the Old Testament
Question: Hello. After reading your information about wine and the comment about biblical definitions and applications being subjected to a person’s individual bias it seems somewhat misleading that you offered no comments at all about Deut. 14:26 and placed it under the heading that there were only two places where wine was shown in Scripture to…
Read MoreIf you take off a condom and put a new one on what are the chances that she will get pregnant?
Question: If you take off a condom and put a new one on what are the chances that she will get pregnant? Thanks. Answer: I must assume that since you are concerned about pregnancy that you are engaging in sex with a woman to whom you are not married. Regardless of the odds of pregnancy…
Read MoreWhat did Jesus mean by “green wood” and “dry wood?”
Question: I don’t believe I understand Luke 23:27-31 at all. It seems this conversation took place while Jesus was actually on His way to the cross. Would you please explain this further? What is the meaning of the ‘green wood’ and ‘dry wood’? Answer: “A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who…
Read MoreWhy was Jesus offered vinegar on the cross?
Question: Why did the soldiers offer Jesus ‘vinegar’? Was vinegar used as a medicine then? It has many uses today, maybe it did then too? Answer: Vinegar, or soured wine, is cheap wine that has gone bad. It appears from the other accounts that it was mixed with gall and myrrh (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23).…
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