What did the prodigal son’s father do?
Question: I am curious about the parable of the “prodigal son”, probably one of the best-known of all parables. Nothing is said about what the father does or does not do after his son leaves and goes to a far country. He seems very comfortable with giving his son his inheritance. As many instances as…
Read MoreKindness Is a Virtue
by Jefferson David Tant It is well known that several passages in God’s Word mention the virtue of kindness. One that is quite well known is Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” There are also passages…
Read MoreThe God Seen in Nothing
by Matthew W. Bassford I love that God thinks so differently than we do. Because His ways are not our ways, He consistently reveals Himself to us using means that we never would have chosen. We prefer straight lines and straightforward propositions, but God works in subtlety and paradox. These things are His signature, His…
Read MoreSullen and Vexed
by Matthew W. Bassford The Israelite king Ahab is one of the most complex characters in the Bible. He isn’t a straightforward villain like Sisera or Caiaphas. There is good in him. When Elijah confronts him over the judicial murder of Naboth in I Kings 21, he repents and humbles himself. However, Ahab is doomed…
Read MoreHow should we deal with end-times prophecies?
Questions: I have seen an abundance of things on the internet recently of people who claim the end times are “near” and we are currently seeing biblical prophecy unfold. I have seen these videos swarming since the pandemic on every internet platform. They are using world events such as the drying of the Euphrates River,…
Read MoreHow can God judge sin upon later generations?
Question: Good day, There are a few occasions in Scripture where God pronounces judgment on later generations (for example, I Kings 21:29). How do we explain this if sin is not judged upon another? Thanks. Answer: When Israel was sent off into captivity, the captives told themselves that they were there because of their ancestor’s…
Read MoreThank you for the good work that you do for the kingdom
Question: Brothers, I just wanted to thank you for the good work that you do for the Kingdom. I often find great material on your site for my own study and reference your material in our classes. Answer: It is good to know that the efforts here are benefiting others.
Read MoreThere Is No Partiality with God
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/There-Is-No-Partiality-With-God.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 2:1-11 I. People tend to be biased. A. We have our viewpoints. We have our favorites. We understand that being unbiased is a better position, but biased views always creep into our decisions. 1. Listen to a radio commentator. It doesn’t take long to figure out wether he is conservative…
Read MoreBurdens
by Johnathan Perz Struggles, infirmities, and adversities are a part of life. We all face them. Paul describes a struggle he brought before God on three occasions, seeking that God remove it from him. Instead of removing the burden, God let Paul bear it, admonishing him with the words, “My grace is sufficient for you,…
Read MoreI use your site often (2)
Question: Hello, I use your site often. I just wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you. Answer: You’re welcome.
Read MoreJamaica Patois Wisdom – Path
by Jefferson David Tant The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique, and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought-provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of teaching there, I have come…
Read MoreCalvinism in Psalm 51?
by Matthew W. Bassford During my time as a preacher, I studied with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. Of them all, the people who knew their Bibles best were unquestionably the conservative Calvinists. They approached the Scriptures with a different perspective than ours, but the most devoted of them spend as much…
Read MoreI Have a Closed Mind
by Fanning Yater Tant, Vanguard Magazine, January 25, 1979 This editorial is being written on my birthday (December 30). I have now attained my three score and ten, and have reached a point in life where I am neither ashamed nor afraid to say some things which would have been ranked heresy at a younger…
Read MoreI learned why the Pharisees and Scribes hated Jesus from your site
Question: I tried to check why the Pharisees and scribes hated Jesus and treated him as their enemy. The truth is in your articles (Jesus and the Pharisees). God will help to share more of the words of life so that everyone will reach the level of understanding of the love of God as well…
Read MoreWhen Were Musical Instruments First Used in Christian Worship?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton When Christianity arrived in the world, it drew followers from all nations. “And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk…
Read MoreThis Is One of Them
by Terry Wane Benton “As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he…
Read MoreYour Speech Shows It
by Terry Wane Benton “As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he…
Read MoreThings that Make or Destory Peace
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Things-that-Make-or-Destroy-Peace.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreHonor Your Father
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Honor-Your-Father.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThe Silence of the Scriptures (Tant)
by Jefferson David Tant For hundreds of years, Bible believers have had discussions over the question of “the silence of the Scriptures.” Does silence indicate that whatever is not specifically condemned is permissible? Thus, does silence give consent? Or does silence mean there is no authority for a certain practice, and it is therefore unscriptural?…
Read MoreWisdom in Learning God’s Commands
by Doy Moyer The ethics of Christians fall under the category of virtue. Virtue ethics is grounded in the attributes and character of God, for all virtue flows from Him. While there is an obligation of following rules (God’s commandments), there is a significant and vital component of learning wisdom. Why? Because, for the most…
Read MoreYour website is absolutely amazing!
Question: Dear brothers I’m a member of the Church of Christ, and I just want to thank you for the great work you did put into your website! I’m currently reading through all your topics and I learn so much. It’s absolutely amazing. So again, thank you, and may God bless you! Answer: Thank you…
Read MoreWhen It’s Time To Leave
by Joe Works Leave Peaceably That may not happen but it needs to be your goal. No good will come from “letting people have it” as you’re walking out the door (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14). Leave Hopeful If people have treated you poorly maybe they will change. Pray sincerely for them. God changed you from…
Read MoreExamining Christianity
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Examining-Christianity.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 13:1-8 I. Most religions in the world surround themselves in mysteries A. Followers are asked to accept things without full knowledge B. Only a select few are granted special insight C. But God’s teachings are not like these religions 1. God challenges us to reason about the evidence available – Isaiah…
Read MoreWhy Doesn’t God Prove Himself?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Why-Doesnt-God-Prove-Himself.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 43:8-13 I. “If God is real, why doesn’t He just give concrete evidence?” A. It is a question that preachers frequently run into. B. If I don’t personally see the evidence, then I don’t think adequate proof exists – John 20:25 II. God has given evidence A. The Creation speaks of God’s…
Read MoreThanks for posting the lessons!
Question: I have read several of your church’s lessons and just wanted to say thank you for posting them and making them available! Keep up the good work! We need to encourage each other more as Christians to let others know they are making a difference in people’s lives! God Bless! Answer: I appreciate your…
Read MoreFor This Is God’s Will
by Ethan R. Longhenry “For this is God’s will: that you become holy” (I Thessalonians 4:3) Many people agonize over this question: what is God’s will for my life? They imagine God has a specific intention for them to live in a specific place, be with a specific person, have a specific career or job,…
Read MoreWould God override someone’s free will to marry me?
Question: Hi, I have a question about me personally and the desire to marry. I’m a 33-year-old, virgin, born-again Christian. I had, years ago when I was in college, a moment with God. I asked God if this one girl I could date and I knew God spoke to me and said, “You have free…
Read MoreOur Mixed-Up, Topsy-Turvy Society
by Dennis Abernathy Our society can be described as running toward chaos. I am 77 years old, and today’s society is not the culture I grew up in. We are seeing more and more what the apostle Paul describes as “perilous times” (II Timothy 3:1-5). Today’s society is described in Isaiah 5. People were greedy,…
Read MoreIs it wrong for women to wear some items of men’s clothing?
Question: Sometimes when I’m at home I’ll wear some of my husband’s clothes because they’re very comfortable for lounging (basketball shorts, t-shirts, things like that). I’ll also wear his basketball shorts outside in the yard when I’m playing with the kids, once again because they’re very comfortable and also much more modest and longer than…
Read MoreOn Being Faithful
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/On-Being-Faithful.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 4:1-5 I. If you were a boss, what kind of person would you want working for you? A. You probably would want someone who performed his duties well, skilled in the particular task that you needed done. B. But one thing that I think most bosses would highly desire…
Read MoreI Will Not Forsake You
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/I-Will-Not-Forsake-You.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Deuteronomy 31:1-6 I. Moses was approaching the end of his life. The time of his departure was at hand. A. Understandably, the children of Israel would be nervous. He has been their leader for 40 years. Moses faced down Pharaoh and led them out of slavery. He is the one…
Read MoreWhat the Bible Says About Hell
by Gary W. Summers From the 2012 Bellview Lectureship, Pensacola, Florida, What the Bible Says About, Ed. Michael Hatcher “If there is a God who will damn his children forever, I would rather go to hell than to go to heaven and keep the society of such an infamous tyrant. I make my choice now.…
Read MoreWhy It Is Necessary to Teach Children Godly Values
Author Unknown Children, without teaching and training, do not know about true values, especially godly ones. They depend on their parents to teach them what is valuable or not, right and wrong, truth and error, good and bad. Left alone, kids have a slim chance of becoming knowledgeable about such things. They need to be…
Read MoreThe Whole Duty of Man
by Matthew W. Bassford The opening chapters of Ecclesiastes are surely among the gloomiest in the entire Bible. In them, Solomon examines life under the sun and concludes that all of the usual human pursuits are futile and vain. Wealth doesn’t bring lasting satisfaction. The pursuit of pleasure proves to be pointless. The accumulation of…
Read MoreWhen I Am Old and Gray Headed
by Kent Heaton The infirmity of old age is the burden of a fleshly temple ravaged by time through disease and increasing weakness of mind and body. Solomon spoke of the descent into the difficult days when the affliction and sadness burdened life; the arms and hands tremble; the legs bow down; teeth are few…
Read MoreYour Past Choices Don’t Determine Your Present and Future Choices
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Your-Past-Choices-Dont-Determine-Your-Present-and-Future-Choices.mp3 by Austin Hausner
Read MoreIs it wrong to have an Easter egg hunt after services?
Question: Hello, I was reading one of the articles on your website about Easter. I am a member of the church and studying what has been taking place in a previous congregation I’ve attended. There was an Easter egg hunt directly after the service. Is that wrong or not since the activity occurred after the…
Read MoreWhat is “Fellowship”?
by David Smitherman The early disciples “continued steadfastly in ..fellowship” (Acts 2:42). And, this “constant attention” to fellowship is a practice of our first-century brethren that we would do well to imitate. But what is involved in “fellowship,” especially fellowship with a local church? Fellowship is not “placing membership” or having one’s name “on the…
Read MoreCompassionate and Merciful
by Matthew W. Bassford There are many different opinions about the point of the Book of Job. Some say that it proves that man will serve God for nothing. Others posit that it is about the incomprehensible nature of suffering. Personally, I am partial to the explanation provided in James 5:11. According to the inspired…
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