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The Secret of Contentment
by Kenneth W. Ledbetter Sentry Magazine, March 2001 I want to take a moment to pass along a realization that has helped me in times of great distress and personal trials … found in the words of the apostle Paul. Paul said something in Philippians 4 that has always amazed me. In verse 11 he…
Read MoreThere Must Needs be Heresies
by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. Vanguard, Volume 1, #1 January 1975, pp. 21-22 After a few weeks of study at St. John’s University and Abbey, I am impressed by the perceptive Roman Catholic analysis of the weaknesses of Protestantism. They insist that Protestants are pressed between two unacceptable extremes. One extreme grows out of the…
Read MoreGoing Home
by Fanning Yater Tant Gospel Guardian, October 13, 1955 The summer’s work has ended. After a long and lonely absence, I am going back to Texas. Only a few hours ago I was speaking to a house filled with people in Sunnyvale, California. Now it is shortly after midnight, and I am nearly three miles…
Read MoreLimits of the Old Testament
by Terry Wane Benton The Old Testament was the inspired, God-given rule of law for the nation of Israel. It was not given to all people. “The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us” (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). Nehemiah spoke to God about the history of Israel: “You came down also on…
Read MoreCan The Bible Prove Itself?
by Terry Wane Benton Atheists laugh when a Christian uses the Bible to “prove” it is the word of God by appeal to the fact that the Bible claims to be the word of God. Of course, it is not just the fact that the Bible claims to be the word of God, but the…
Read MoreHow Do We KNOW the Bible Is True?
by Jefferson David Tant Introduction For thousands of years, a book has influenced the world. Eastern and Western civilizations have had their laws, customs, and culture molded by the teachings of this ancient document. Kingdoms have risen and fallen in keeping with prophetical statements contained within its pages. In the 550 years since Johannes Gutenberg…
Read MoreWitchcraft Is Still With Us
by Jefferson David Tant Witchcraft has been around for a long, long time. Way back in Leviticus 19:31, Israel is warned about such: “’Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” The KJV refers to them as “familiar spirits” and…
Read MoreYou’re Not the Woman!
by Calvin Schlabach I was chided on social media by an old friend for my opposition to abortion. “You are not the woman!” she declared. I thought I would share the response with you. I cited no Scripture because she demonstrated no concern for the Bible. Of course, I am not. And you are not…
Read MoreLove and Repentance
by Terry Wane Benton It is common these days to hear people use scriptures that say that God “loves” everyone and commands us to love everyone. But they use this to mean that God “accepts” everyone regardless of their sin and attitude toward sin. They often call this “unconditional love.” Often we are told that…
Read MoreAll or None!
by Jefferson David Tant We have all faced certain times when we had to make some tough decisions, with no option of going “halfway” in what we chose. It was either “all” or “none.” There was no “middle ground.” Now, allow me to make a spiritual application, in that with respect to believing in God…
Read MoreWhy Don’t We Just Kill Him?
by Edward W. Pagan Sentry Magazine, March 2001 The title of this article comes from one of the first movies that Tom Hanks made called The Man with One Red Shoe. It describes the infighting that goes on between two rivals within the CIA and their efforts to ruin each other’s careers. The line, in…
Read MoreWaiting
by Ed Harrell Christianity Magazine, Volume 3, No. 4, April 1986 In recent years, the most bone-chilling, foreboding thought tightly caged in the back of my mind has had to do not with nuclear war or heart attacks, but old age. I do not fear the bright and sunny days of those advanced in years…
Read MoreYour Belief about Origins and Your Children’s Behavior
by Alan Smith PBS film critic and columnist Michael Medved shared this anecdote out of his Jewish heritage: “A few years ago, Rabbi Jacob Karmenetky made a trip to Israel accompanied by his teenage grandson. Ironically, these two deeply religious people were seated In the airplane next to a prominent Israeli socialist leader and outspoken…
Read MoreWhat My Parents Taught Me
by Jefferson David Tant Vanguard Magazine, November 1982 All parents teach their children — consciously, subconsciously, positively, negatively, by example, by word. Children are even taught to be what their parents fail to teach. In our generation, many parents have abdicated their teaching roles to TV, schools, their children’s peers, and other influences. I am…
Read MoreWorking with the Smaller Groups
by Mike Davis Since 1975, God has blessed me to work “full time” with His children and to seek and save the lost. During these several years, God has permitted me to speak the gospel to large crowds (the most was over 200 at one time), and to speak the gospel in several states other…
Read MoreWould We Recognize Trends Which Point to an Apostasy?
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, March 2001 Salmagundi I have been attending churches of Christ for more than fifty years. I have been preaching the gospel for more than forty of them. I do not think it presumptuous to suggest that I know what I am talking about. The things that point to apostasy are not…
Read MoreGod Is Light and in Him Is No Darkness at All
by Mark Chatfield Sentry Magazine, March 2001 Einstein said, “It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” With all his knowledge, he knew a simple truth that nothing can be seen when light is totally absent. Moreover, man could not exist at all except that God said, “Let there be…
Read MoreGenuine Faith
by Jefferson David Tant The topic of “faith” is often discussed and often misunderstood. Skeptics accuse Christians of having “blind faith,” or taking a “leap of faith,” meaning that there is no basis for what we believe. Thus our faith in God’s existence is no different than what I have encountered in South Africa, i.e.…
Read MoreClosing the Door on the Non-Human Neanderthal Myth
by Joshua Gurtler Modified slightly from the original publication in Biblical Insights Magazine, April 2015. It was once assumed that Neanderthal man was a missing link in human evolution. Now that evolutionists themselves have thoroughly debunked that idea, public schools continue to teach our most vulnerable young minds that Neanderthal man was an unintelligent, non-human, caveman,…
Read MoreThe Legacy of Campbell’s Error
by Steve Dewhirst Sentry Magazine, December 2000 Alexander Campbell Alexander Campbell (1788-1866) was a remarkable man, but he was just a man, subject to error even as the rest. for all of his great learning, teaching, and writing over many years, he was profoundly wrong in his understanding of one vital aspect of the New…
Read MoreWhy I Left the Methodist Church (Howard)
by Raymond A. Howard Like many, or I might say most, I played church for a number of years. I only went because my friends did or it was the right thing to do. After I married, my wife is probably the reason I went, to begin with (I realized the man is the head…
Read More“Go Ye” Means “Go Me”
by Jefferson David Tant This is written with some reluctance. I feel as Paul must have felt as he tried to make a point to help his readers. “Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little” (II…
Read MoreEating Our Own Flesh
by Rodger Trimm “Now, as to the attack the zealots made upon the people, and which I esteem the beginning of the city’s destruction, it hath been already explained after an accurate manner; as also whence it arose, and to how great a mischief it was increased; but for the present sedition, one should not mistake if he called it a sedition begotten by another sedition,…
Read More“I Don’t Want My Kids to be Different”
by Greg Gwin The Beacon, January 22, 2013 Although most Christians wouldn’t say it in so many words, many parents seem to be very concerned about things that might make their kids look ‘different.’ They are concerned about raising their children in strict, disciplined ways that might make them stand out in contrast to others.…
Read MoreThe Wisdom of Winning Souls
by Charles N. Spence, Jr. Sentry Magazine, December 2000 and March 2001 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). How does winning souls demonstrate wisdom? When Christians involve themselves in this task, they understand that they are doing that which the Lord has…
Read MoreThe Tie that Binds
by Dixie Bowman Sentry Magazine, December 2000 Earthly relationships often inspire and encourage us as we live our lives as Christians. While this is not another article about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, I would fail in my effort to write concerning relationships if I did not first mention the most intimate association of mankind, and…
Read MoreHoly, Holy, Holy
by Ken Green “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’ ” (Isaiah 6:3)! The very first rule, the commandment that earns the #1 spot, states who God is: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of…
Read MorePurge Me with Hyssop
by Johnny O. Trail Most scholars believe David wrote the fifty-first Psalm after his transgression with Bathsheba. If this is the case, it is one of the most penitent Psalms in the Old Testament. From the passages recorded in Psalm fifty-one, it appears the writer was heartsick over his sins. Psalm 51:11-12 says, “Do not…
Read MoreThe Law of Contradiction
by Ken Green Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, delivered a speech on Nov. 17, 2020, which was digested in “Imprimis,” a publication of the school. It is titled, “Orwell’s 1984 and Today.” He says, “I taught a course this fall semester on totalitarian novels. We read four of them: George Orwell’s 1984, Arthur…
Read MoreHow I Met And Fell In Love With Marilyn
by David Truong Sentry Magazine, December 2000 During the last few months of my brother’s life, what I feared most was how much l would miss him for the rest of my life. So in the last few seconds of his life on earth, I knelt down next to his bed and whispered these final…
Read MoreWhy the Old Testament Diet?
by Terry W. Benton Photo by Lily Banse on Unsplash God “imposed” food and drink laws on Israel, not on us (Hebrews 9:10) until the time of reformation. The time of reformation is the New Testament age under Christ. Under Christ, the earthly food laws of the Old Law are not binding (you can go…
Read MoreHow Pure Is Your Religion?
by Jefferson David Tant You know the verse: “Pure and undefiled religion … is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Now, consider Ezekiel 16:49, where God mentions Sodom’s sins. “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but…
Read MoreAttitude
by Jefferson David Tant The word “attitude” has different meanings. Two of the meanings are critical and are related to this writing. (1) “Disposition or state of mind,” and (2) “the orientation of a vehicle … relative to the horizon, the direction of motion, etc.” Bad attitudes, in either case, bring bad results. A fairly…
Read MoreWhen Preachers Err (Miss the Mark)
by Floyd Chappelear Sentry Magazine, December 2000 I love to preach. There is something about standing before an audience and expounding the word of God that energizes me. Again, I love to preach. Furthermore, I love to teach Bible classes. I regard myself as a director of a class whose chief responsibility is to get others…
Read MoreA Passage To Ponder: Ephesians 6:1-4
by Ken Weliever In a 2014 sermon, Steve Malone asked “What do the following have in common?” 90% of homeless and runaway children 63% of youth who commit suicide 80% of all rapists 85% of children with behavioral problems 71% of all high school dropouts 75% of all teens in chemical abuse centers 85% of…
Read MoreWhat Happens When We Are Canceled?
by Greg Chandler If you do not stay up to date on pop-culture slang, you may be unfamiliar with the terms “woke” and “cancel culture.” Though definitions vary, the primary meaning of “woke” involves maintaining social awareness and the primary idea behind “cancel culture” is to silence anyone whose opinions are not considered woke; thus, they are…
Read MoreFalse Teaching and Fellowship
by Frank Jamerson Sentry Magazine, December 2000 The issue of false teaching and fellowship is not a new one. The following is approximately two pages from an eleven-page article, published in January 1975, that I commend for your consideration. “All of us must accept the fact that we have fellowship (live and work and worship with)…
Read MoreThe Plea for a Daysman
by Jarrod M. Jacobs Job chapter nine records one of the speeches Job made when defending himself against Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. This speech in chapter nine is somewhat different from the others. Job does not spend much of his speech responding directly to Bildad and what he said in chapter eight. In chapter nine,…
Read MoreHostile Fulfillment of Prophecy
by Matthew W. Bassford In Acts 13:27, Paul makes a fascinating claim about the Jews of Jerusalem and their rulers. He notes that even though they did not identify Jesus as the Messiah or recognize Him in the prophecies of the Old Testament, they fulfilled those prophecies in their bad treatment of Him. This is…
Read MoreWalking in the Light
by Perry Hall What does walking in the light mean? On one side proponents claim walking in darkness happens when the Christian commits even one sin; “sin is darkness, after all.” The opposing side counters, walking in light describes a life-style, not each punctiliar action – “its a walk, not one step.” Contextually, “walking in light”…
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