A Woman’s Contribution to the Local Congregation
by Carey Scott from several sources More often than not, women are the lifeblood of the congregation. Attention is often given to the limitations placed on women in the assemblies of the church because of what is written in I Corinthians 14:34-37 and because of what is written in I Timothy 2:11-12. Such limitations notwithstanding,…
Read MoreWhat kind of critic are you?
by Doy Moyer People are critics of others. Right or wrong, good or bad, people will criticize. We all do it. But there are good and bad ways to go about this. Not all critics are the same. Not all share the same credibility or show the same levels of concern. Think about it on…
Read MoreThe Sinner’s Prayer – Not Found
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Sinners-Prayer-Not-Found.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreIt’s Going to Be OK
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Its-Going-to-Be-OK.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreIs it wrong to sing and play with unbelievers?
Question: My friend studied music in a university, graduated, and joined the state music band, which means he will always play in state events. However, He was disfellowshiped by the church on the grounds of playing instruments and singing with unbelievers. Is this right or wrong? In addition to this, I have another friend and…
Read MoreWhen is it permissible to change congregations locally?
Question: Dear Brother, I’ll get right to the point with my question, and then some brief context. When is it permissible scripturally for a member and or their family to switch local congregations? The context We live in a town with several [perceived] biblically sound congregations, of which my family and I are a part…
Read MoreHow can you add to the Word?
Question: There is a teaching that says “adding or subtracting” from God’s word is a sin. My question is how can you add to the word? My congregation teaches that if you add musical instruments to worship, you are adding to the word because the word states “to sing and make music in your hearts”. The word…
Read MoreWhen is restitution required?
Question: I’m aware that I am very scrupulous. I’ve become very very numb to God because on one end I’m entirely too obsessive and want to be perfect. Then on the other end, I become numb to avoid trying to gain perfection. I’ve quit jobs due to my religious anxiety and feeling the need to…
Read MoreWhat is your experience with marketing your church?
Question: Hi, I am forming a team to explore how to market our church. We are only 5 years old and have about 60 members. We have a thin website and a members-only Facebook page. Please share your lessons learned on marketing your church. Thank you. Answer: We don’t have a church. We belong to…
Read MoreYou Wouldn’t Believe It
by Doy Moyer “Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you” (Acts 13:41). Paul quoted this from Habakkuk 1:5. In Habakkuk’s context, the sins of the people had reached a point…
Read MoreDoes it mean I’ll never marry because I have strong feelings for a married man?
Question: I have been struggling greatly recently with my feelings for a very close friend of mine. The problem is that he is married. He and I were very close to each other about five years ago. We both liked each other, but never actually dated due to long distance. We lost touch for a…
Read MoreLet God Be True
by Terry Wane Benton Romans 3:4 gives us this principle: “Let God be true but every man a liar.” What does this mean? It means that God is always far more dependable than man. God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:12). Man often lies, misunderstands, gets things mixed up, is easily deceived, etc. Therefore, when it comes…
Read MoreThose “Strange People”
by Robert F. Turner Years ago I shared a seat on the train with a “missionary” returning from work in Alaska. He told me he met some “strange people” up there who thought they could work out their own salvation. I said, “With fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12.” “No, No!” he said. “I mean they…
Read MoreKill and Eat
by Terry Wane Benton Peter’s Vision Acts 10:9-12 In Acts 10 Peter was told by God in a vision to kill and eat the animals, and there was a wide assortment, some of which God had forbidden to the Jews under the Old covenant. God explained that those unclean animals (off-limits to the Jews before)…
Read MoreIn Everything Give Thanks
by Terry Wane Benton Paul says, “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). This is what God wants. He doesn’t want us to spend our time complaining and griping. Such a negative disposition! His will is that we spend our time “giving thanks” but doing so “in everything.”…
Read MoreDeparting from the Pattern
by Matthew W. Bassford The biblical plan for the New Testament church is simple. There are a few things we are supposed to do in our assemblies, a few more that we are supposed to do with our money, and that’s it. The scope of the Biblical pattern is extremely narrow. It is unsurprising, then,…
Read MoreThe Reality of Unreason
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the most fascinating exchanges in the New Testament appears toward the end of Paul’s defense before the Jerusalem mob, in Acts 22:17-21. The incident that Paul relates took place shortly after his conversion, after he had fled from Damascus and returned to Jerusalem, still preaching the gospel. While he…
Read MoreMeet the Preacher
by Danny Dodd You may know us, but then again you may not. Preachers have a way of hiding behind the pulpit. We can easily be stereotyped. Through experience, we often learn to become very guarded and protective of our hearts and homes. Paradoxically though we often feel obligated to give even more of ourselves…
Read MoreThe Messiah and Prophecy
by Jefferson David Tant God has not left himself without witnesses. In every age and in many ways, God has revealed his existence to man. Paul declares this in the words that followed the healing of the lame man in Acts 14:16-17: “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their…
Read MoreShould past sexual sins be discussed before marriage?
Question: Hello, I’m a 30-year-old female Christian. My boyfriend is a few years older and a Christian as well. We have been together for several months. He is a wonderful man. However, he has a sexual past that he refuses to discuss. He says that it has no benefit and will cause jealousy and insecurity…
Read MoreMary’s House
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Marys-House.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 12:12-17 I. In Acts 12 we learn that the persecution of the church intensified in Judea. A. Herod had the apostle James killed – Acts 12:1-2 B. It was a popular act, and so he planned to repeat it by having Peter killed – Acts 12:3-4 C. But Peter did not…
Read MoreHow can a girl and boy be pure again after committing fornication?
Question: It really amazed me to cross your path this afternoon. I’m a 24-year-old youth who has been seeking the correct answer about how can boyfriend and girlfriend be clean and pure again before God after they have committed fornication. I am in a similar situation for a long time now, just as how this…
Read MoreHospitality (Hamilton)
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Hospitality.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: III John 3-8 I. Sometimes you are so familiar with a term that you never stop to examine whether your use of the term is actually correct A. Years ago, I was studying about hospitality. There are several passages in the New Testament that tells us to be hospitable 1. Romans…
Read MoreAm I lost because I passed up an opportunity to teach?
Question: Since being baptized, I have been interested and active in soul winning. I taught Bible classes for children, worked with VBS, worked with a bus ministry, showed the Jule Miller Film Strips, and sent out Bible correspondence course lessons. I attend worship and Bible study three times a week. When my husband was in…
Read MoreHow do you repent of childhood sins?
Question: My brother and I do not get along. When we were kids we experimented with sexual sins. It was years ago. My mother mentioned that maybe, because of the things that I confessed had happened between my brother and me, we opened some demonic portal and need to repent. How does one repent from…
Read MoreIn the Bible or Not?
/20 166 Created on December 10, 2021 By Jeffrey Hamilton In the Bible or Not? There are many phrases in our language that we just know are in the Bible, but when we look they aren’t there. Which of the following twenty phrases are from the Bible? Each time you take this quiz a different set…
Read MoreBible Literacy Quiz
/20 0 votes, 0 avg 144 Created on December 08, 2021 Bible Literacy How well do you know your Bible? Here are 20 true/false questions. 1 / 20 1. Money is the root of all evil. True False It is the love of money that is at the root of all sorts of evil (I…
Read MoreThe Work of the False Teacher
by Matthew W. Bassford In an epistle that contains a number of negative descriptions, Romans 16:17-18 is the last. Here, though, Paul is not concerned with degenerate Gentiles or hard-hearted Jews. Instead, he focuses on troublemakers within the Christian community. They have the following four characteristics: They Create Division Disciples of Christ are supposed to…
Read MoreA Good Sermon
by Terry Wane Benton A sermon is good if it is scripturally full and accurate because all scripture is good (II Timothy 3:16-17). The delivery may be lacking in some way because of human weakness both on the delivery end and on the receiving end. That always needs constant attention on giving the best effort,…
Read MoreName the Hymn
/20 56 You have 180 seconds (3 minutes) to complete 20 questions. Ah! Times up! Created on December 06, 2021 Name the Hymn The clue will be the first phrase of the first verse of the hymn. Guess the title of the hymn from a multiple-choice list. You won’t necessarily get the same set of…
Read MoreIs it wrong to do volunteer work that may interfere with attending services?
Question: Jeffrey, I want to ask a question concerning non-government operations (NGOs) and volunteer groups. I have this desire to be part of such organizations and groups to help humans and contribute to society and humanity in general. But my challenge is that it can be time-consuming, which is affecting my presence in church (mostly…
Read MoreChallenges to positions on the death penalty and abortion
Question: [The following was sent in multi-color, multi-font format, which I find is usually done to distract readers. I removed all of it.] Good evening sir. Death Penalty After reading your article on ‘Early Christians and Abortion’ you seem to support the death penalty because you said, “When a criminal is put to death, it…
Read MoreMore Noble Minded
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/More-Noble-Minded.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 17:1-12 I. Paul came to Thessalonica, a city on the coast in Macedonia, to preach the gospel A. He started out in the synagogues as was his custom. 1. After three weeks of effort he convinced a few of the Jews, but large number of Greeks who had worshiped with…
Read MoreGive Us Our Daily Bread
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Give-Us-Our-Daily-Bread.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 6:9-13 I. When God created man, he was placed in a garden that provided his needs – Genesis 2:8-9 A. But man sinned and was driven from the Garden – Genesis 3:17-19 B. The basics of sustenance was no longer provided. It had to be worked for – II Thessalonians…
Read MoreHow do I find a godly man?
Question: I Corinthians 7:9 says it’s better to marry than to burn, but what if I can’t find anyone willing to build a godly marriage and abstain from premarital sex? I’m a 26-year-old woman and I have been faithful in respecting my body and God’s commandments. I’m still a virgin and haven’t fallen prey to…
Read MoreHormones
by Joe Fitch “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (II Timothy 2:22) Paul reminds and warns young Timothy of the danger in youthful lusts. Not all youthful lusts are sexual, but surely sexual lusts are included — maybe top…
Read MoreMore Purposes Found for So-Called Junk DNA
Source: “Caltech Finds Amazing Role for Noncoding DNA,” Evolutionary News, 3 December 2021. “Scientists at Caltech may have sounded the final death knell for the “junk DNA” myth.” For years evolutionists have pointed to sections of the DNA and RNA strands that are not directly involved in the encoding of proteins as leftovers produced as…
Read MorePutting on the Lord Jesus Christ
by Matthew W. Bassford As you work your way through Romans, hopefully, the extraordinary quality of the epistle becomes obvious. The Book of Romans has changed the course of human history, and with good reason. The substance of Paul’s argument is astonishing in its scope, and the skill with which he argues is no less…
Read MoreWhat do I do about my abusive husband?
Question: Sir, good morning. I am in my mid-twenties. I married a guy from the same church I attend. He, also, is in his mid-twenties. He is a very short-tempered man. I have completed my master’s and he is completed high school. He trained to teach the Bible. He is a song leader and a…
Read MoreThe History of the La Vista Church of Christ
The La Vista Church of Christ was established in September of 1971. There were two families living in the area and they met for a time in the home of Ken and Rita Hirshey and their children. The other family was Wally and Nellie Bates and their children. Ken worked in a government position and Wally…
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