Can We Just Be Christians
by Craig Thomas In a world filled with religious traditions and denominational churches, the concept of being simply Just a Christian is difficult to communicate. Yet a careful reader of the New Testament will realize Jesus did not die so His followers could be divided into sects and parties (John 17:20-23). Jesus died to reconcile…
Read MoreHow do I help my girlfriend see the importance of pure worship?
Question: I grew up in the church of Christ and my girlfriend grew up with a Baptist denominational background. When we started dating, she began coming to church with me. We talked about the differences and she claimed to have been saved at a younger age even though she was never baptized. We studied and…
Read MoreCan a sister write a lesson for one of the men to present?
Question: Good morning, I appreciate your website and all the helpful information it provides. I have gone to your site throughout the years. Again, thank you. My wife and I are attending the Lord’s church and we are fairly new to this congregation. It is a very loving church and strives diligently to stay according…
Read MoreYou should get your facts straight
Question: You mentioned (in Is “Christian” supposed to be “natsarim”?) that the New Testament wasn’t written in Hebrew. That’s partially true, as Epiphanius and others have documented there was a Hebrew Matthew. Then you mentioned that Christian was a valid term based on the assumption that the New Testament wasn’t written in Hebrew. Uhm, the…
Read MoreWhat do you think of the Legacy Standard Bible?
Question: Hi, I have a question. I frequently use your website as a reference for Bible lessons. I appreciate all the great lessons and resources on your website. I was curious about a new topic being discussed among churches of Christ. The new LSB version of the Bible has been introduced to us (at our…
Read MoreAre we bound by our culture’s traditions?
Question: In this region of my country, there is a traditional belief that the spirit of your ancestors will kill you and your children if your wife has an affair. If you present a cow to your in-laws during your father-in-law’s funeral and you did not do the same during your father’s burial, your ancestors…
Read MoreI fell back into pornography
Question: Greetings! I am a young Christian man who has endured nearly 13 years of porn addiction. I understand it’s not proper for us Christians to feast on such trash. I had even alienated myself from my home church for nearly ten months and had to attend different churches. About two weeks ago, I decided…
Read MoreThe Hound of Heaven
by Rick Lanning Do you remember this quote? “No one is good but God.” Most readers will immediately think of Jesus’ reply to the rich young ruler who had run to the Lord, fell on his knees, and asked, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Christ jolted…
Read MoreHow much time should be spent during the Lord’s Supper?
Question: Since COVID, the congregation I am attending began using the individual prepacked communion sets handed out in sandwich bags before we walk into worship. The men leading communion begin with comments, scripture, and prayer before we partake of the bread. After 30 to 15 seconds of silence, the leader offers another prayer, and we…
Read MoreWhich baptism was in effect between Jesus’ death and Pentecost?
Question: Good evening, After reading Exodus 19-24, it appears the Patriarchal Age ended in Exodus 19 but was not ratified by blood until Exodus 24:7-8, which relates to Hebrews 9:22. With this in mind, if I’m correct in my earlier assessment, which baptism (John’s or Jesus’) would have been authorized after Jesus’ death but before…
Read MoreCan a narcissist make it to heaven?
Question: Can a narcissist make it to heaven after they die? I read that they lack the empathy and love that God expects from us. It’s also proven to be a mental illness for which there is no cure, therefore no true repentance can take place. But God says all sins are forgiven except for…
Read MoreCan a Good Man Be Saved Outside the Church?
by N. B. Hardeman Excerpts from “The Church- Its Unity,” Hardeman’s Tabernacle Sermons, Volume 2 I regret that there is such a teaching abroad as this – for instance, that a man does not have to become a member of the church in order to be saved; that there are just as good people outside…
Read MoreFinding Real Happiness
by Richard Thetford Everyone wants a life filled with joy and happiness, but very few find it. One major reason man fails to find the happiness he seeks is that he is trying to obtain it through the wrong means. Millionaires who have houses, yachts, and condominiums often complain in counseling sessions that they’re so…
Read MoreDo I need to confess to the person I lusted after?
Question: Do I have to confess my lustful thoughts to the person I lusted after? I’m dealing with the sin of lust (and the commonly related sinful behavior linked to it). I know I need to repent of this, ask God for forgiveness, and cut it out of my life. But there are times I…
Read MoreWhich congregation should I have my membership at?
Question: Hello Jeffrey, Thank you for your excellent work on the La Vista Church of Christ website. Over the years, I have learned very much from your sermons and the question-and-answer section posed there. I am writing because an elder asked me to choose to be a member of the congregation that meets where is…
Read MoreWhat if a virgin bride did not bleed on her wedding night?
Question: Good evening Jeff, I recently got into a discussion with someone regarding Deuteronomy 22:13-21, specifically verses 15-17. He seems to think that the evidence being talked about here was blood, something I do not disagree with. I told him that I have heard that not every woman bleeds when she has sex for the…
Read MoreIt Doesn’t Say “Not To”
by Greg Gwin Imagine this: you walk into a fast-food restaurant and order a hamburger, fries, and a coke – the all-American meal! But then, you notice that it seems to take an unusually long time to get your food. Finally, the gal at the counter brings up your order – piles of food on…
Read MoreOn Being Spiritually Minded
by Jefferson David Tant “The need of Gods’ people has ever been, for spiritual power. The emphasis and tendency too often is, and has been, toward power that comes with prestige, numbers, money t h e power of weight. The Bible emphasis is on power of a spiritual nature, operation through the inward man.” (Homer…
Read MoreCan you define laziness?
Question: Hi Jeff, Please can you explain laziness? When can we say someone is lazy when the person is not working and he desires not to work or is it someone who is working one job and is contented with that with no desire to do another? Thanks, sir. Answer: To be lazy is to…
Read MoreTo Become Wise
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/To-Become-Wise.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThanks for the article “Lies Pornography Tells Men”
Question: Thank you for taking the time to write the article titled “Lies Pornography Tells Men.” I have been open quite often (maybe even too much, thinking transparency will help me) about an ongoing struggle with pornography since my late teens (I’m now in my late fifties). Any of the ramifications that God puts forth…
Read MoreHow to Find a Church
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/How-to-Find-a-Church.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreThe Impenitent
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-Impenitent.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 26:1-15 I. Jeremiah was told to warn the people of the doom that was approaching them A. God thought there might be chance that the people would change – Jeremiah 26:2-3 B. Did they respond? Yes, but not in the right way – Jeremiah 26:8-9 C. Jeremiah again reminded them that…
Read MoreResponding to Other’s Comments
by Doy Moyer Among the works of the flesh are strife, outbursts of anger, dissensions, and divisions (Galatians 5:20). There seems to be a great deal of this in the world, and that should not surprise us. But there also seems to be much of this among those claiming to follow Christ. I’d like to…
Read MoreHow do I help my niece who is coming out as agnostic and gay?
Question: Today, my niece confided in me about coming out as an agnostic and a gay to her parents. As most coming-out stories are, she was met with disapproval from her parents as they were members of a conservative denominational church. She is distressed by this, causing her to be emotionally and mentally distressed; hence,…
Read MoreFinding a Home
by Joanne Beckley Thinking back on Sunday, worshiping at Tshiredzheni (South Africa), I couldn’t help but reflect on the trend I see in our increasingly desired larger congregations in America, with their well-dressed worshippers in their beautiful buildings — and making comparisons . . . Here I was sitting in a building, being built little…
Read MoreI’m using your illustrations in an adult Bible study
Question: I want to thank you and bless you for posting these Bible illustrations on the internet. I am teaching a class for adults who know next to nothing about the Bible and did not grow up with these wonderful stories of our fathers in the faith. I am using three each of Joseph, Moses,…
Read MoreLifting Up Holy Hands
by Terry Wane Benton Does I Timothy 2:8 enjoin upon men a physical prayer posture? I am not so convinced. While I agree that there are verses in the Old Testament that show this posture was sometimes used, there was no ruling that it was expected, and certainly, no set pattern that this was always…
Read MoreLetters of Commendation
by Terry Wane Benton The question is not about coming to Christ and being added to His one universal body. The Lord adds to that church (Acts 2:47). But, the Lord does not add us to a particular local congregation. We have to “join” those local disciples (Acts 9:26). There must be intent and desire…
Read MoreDo Not Be Lazy
by Joe R. Price “The lazy man says, ‘There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!’ As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his…
Read MoreHow can we be of one blood if we have different blood types?
Question: I have a question sir. According to Acts 17:26, He has made us from one blood. But nowadays why are there changes in our blood groups and genotypes? Answer: Each individual has two sets of genes. Depending on the combination of those genes, we have different features, such as the color tone of our…
Read MoreHow do you find so many people to post such in-depth articles daily?
Question: While surfing the net, I discovered your postings. I read them with great interest. Are you affiliated with any particular church denomination? How can you find so many qualified people to post on-target and in-depth articles daily? I doubt they have a full-time job anywhere else. Answer: The church is not part of a…
Read MoreIs having OCD or anxiety a sin?
Question: Hi, I know you write quite a bit about OCD. I have had a diagnosis of it for well over half my life and sometimes it gets pretty bad. My questions are: As it’s anxiety or worry, is it a sin? Even writing this is a result of worry so is it a wilful…
Read MoreManasseh’s Repentance
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Manassehs-Repentance.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 21:1-9 I. There is a simple fact, which so many people have a hard time accepting – Ezekiel 18:20-24 A. Do people really change? B. Can they really be forgiven? C. Oh, you don’t understand, I’ve done such terrible things that God would never forgive me of them. II. Manasseh was…
Read MoreRepentance (Hamilton)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Repentance.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 7:8-11 I. In any pursuit, people develop jargon A. The jargon speeds up communication with people in the same group but can be confusing to outsiders because they don’t know the definition of words B. Christianity is no different. We sometimes forget what it is like for someone who…
Read MoreOn the Open Sea
by Jefferson David Tant It is midnight as I begin writing — midnight on the open sea. Most of the ship’s passengers are asleep as we move quietly through the water. I just stepped outside in the brisk night air and scanned the star-studded heavens. What a clear view of God’s creation — the myriad…
Read MoreThe Deadly Church Mask
by Matthew W. Bassford This is about masking in church, but not the kind you think. I have zero desire to return to the debates from two years ago about covering our faces with bits of paper and cloth! Instead, I am concerned with the invisible masks that we put on to conceal our true…
Read MoreHow do we take every thought captive?
Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, It’s me again. I hope you have been doing well, and thank you by the way for your previous response. There’s a question that’s been on my mind for a while now that I’d like to ask. Does the idea of “taking every thought captive to God”, or “thinking upon things…
Read MoreCan We All See the Bible Alike?
by Jefferson David Tant Religious division exists on every hand. In every city and village, buildings are erected as monuments to religion. Some say this is good, but the bottom line is that this represents confusion and division. There are multiplied thousands of sects or denominations within what is called “Christianity.” This division is confusing…
Read MoreAre we not to support organizations that do good?
Question: Dear Sir: I have been reading your website for a long time and gaining much knowledge from it. I am puzzled though about how we as Christians are to meet the expectations of Matthew 25:31-46. If we are not to support organizations, such as the Salvation Army, is there a recommended method to contribute…
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