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The Elder and His Children
by Brett Hogland God Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, “gave some to be…pastors…for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Thus the Holy Spirit, in His revelation of the mind or will of God through the apostles (I Corinthians 2:10-13; John 16:13-15), sets forth…
Read MorePaying Uninspired Gospel Preachers
by Terry W. Benton In discussing the right and expectation preachers ought to have for adequate financial support, I appealed to Paul’s statements in I Corinthians 9:4-14 for the proof of that rightful expectation. A man of the house-church persuasion responded, and I think the exchange hits on some very needed points of scriptural understanding…
Read MoreAnswering a Muslim Critic
by Larry Rouse Part 1 This week I received an e-mail from a Muslim, Mr. Husain, that was severely critical of those who believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. He reasoned that because the Bible was so discredited that our only alternative was to believe in the “only 100% purely existing…
Read MoreSocial Drinking (Spears)
by Dudley Ross Spears We live in a world where social drinking is accepted by over two-thirds of our entire population. That segment also accepts just about any other kind of drinking. But social drinking has been elevated a few steps above ordinary honkey-tonk or bar room drinking. No matter what name it is known…
Read MoreAre You a Bible Christian?
by Richie Thetford People grossly misuse the name “Christian.” The name belongs to an individual, not nations of people, such as “Christian nation.” What makes a person a “Bible Christian?” Before we answer that question, let’s first look at who is not a Christian. Not all “good people” are Christians. Morality is the obligation of…
Read MoreHusband of One Wife
by Carl A. Allen Sometime in 1974 or 1975, while living in Colorado, I was invited to attend a gathering of brethren who believe in the “no Bible Class” arrangement. We met at a prominent restaurant for a noon meal. When I arrived, I noticed the table was filled with two seats empty, one in…
Read MoreThe Bible Puts Baptism Between the Sinner and His Salvation!
by Dillard Thurman in Gospel Minutes, December 26, 1958, Reprinted in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 16, April 18, 2008. I am not responsible for the place baptism occupies in God’s plan of salvation. Nor was I consulted in the matter. Had the Lord taken the matter up with me, I suppose I would have…
Read MoreNovel Understanding
by Doy Moyer I don’t try to be novel in my understanding of Scripture. I am not aware of any particular view I hold on specific passages that is “way out there” compared to how others generally and historically see the same passages. That is not to say that there are no differences or disagreements.…
Read MoreFree Will and the Power of God
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Photo by Rock’n Roll Monkey on Unsplash A gentleman called me recently to discuss the idea of men having free will. He believed that if a person can choose his own destiny, then he is working against God’s will. Therefore he believes that a concept of free will is at odds…
Read MoreFellowship: A Word Study
by Becky Rene It is essential at this point that we understand how our spiritual fellowship is expressed. So we will take the time to examine the noun “fellowship” (koinonia) in all the contexts in which it appears. Some of the verses are difficult to understand because the translators have translated the noun koinonia as if it…
Read MoreParallel Worship (Children’s Church)
by Bob Berard Some elderships with announced good intentions have introduced the practice of excusing children and a few members from their congregation’s Sunday evening worship services for a special program called “children’s church.” While the remainder of the church engages in a worship assembly wherein are conducted the same worship activities as in the…
Read MoreI Got Sick of the World
by Gerry Sandusky “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18-19). My religious background could be summed up by saying there was almost none. My Baptist grandmother took me to the Methodist…
Read MoreDaily Bible Reading Schedules
“Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (I Timothy 4:13). Photo by chris liu on Unsplash The best way to become familiar with the contents of the Bible is to read it on a regular basis. Below are various reading schedules to help you organize your reading plan Daily Bible Reading…
Read MoreOvercoming Bitterness
by Lawrence Kelley “So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it…
Read MorePraying a Sinner’s Prayer
by Jarrod Jacobs via “Common Questions — Bible Answers” (Southside church of Christ, Owensboro, Kentucky) A while back, I received a sample packet of tracts from “The Tract League” (a.k.a. “Faith, Prayer, & Tract League”) out of Grand Rapids, MI. According to their form letter addressed to the “Pastor,” they have over 300 tracts in…
Read MoreThe Sinner’s Prayer
by Bob Myhan The so-called sinner’s prayer is the prayer of an alien sinner for the forgiveness of sins. An alien sinner is one who has never been saved and is not yet a citizen in the kingdom of God. The sinner’s prayer has had many incarnations over the years but it usually goes something…
Read MoreThe Age of Miracles
by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 47, Nov. 21, 2008. Question: Most of the older members of the church tell me that the age of miracles has ended. But I can’t find anyone who can give me the passage of Scripture that teaches that. Can you provide me with the Scriptures? Answer:…
Read MoreAll Things in Common
by Bryan Matthew Dockens It has been argued that socialism is a divinely approved economic system exemplified in scripture. Proponents point to two passages as evidence of their claim: “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had…
Read MoreLittle Lies
by Rusty Miller “Buy truth, and do not sell it” (Proverbs 23:23). Of all the things God desires most, none has suffered more in recent times than honesty. The lie is no longer something to be scorned; in fact, “everybody lies” is the most common excuse heard when someone is actually caught in a lie.…
Read MoreCross Congregational Fellowship
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Christians do travel. This is an obvious statement, but it needs to be pointed out because it raises issues we don’t often consider. A Christian drops in on a congregation while in town for business. It is common for brethren to invite him over for a meal so they can get…
Read MoreYeah, Yeah, I’ve Heard It Before!
by Zeke Flores While at the dentist’s office some time ago for a routine cleaning, the hygienist asked if I had been flossing, just as she did each and every time I went. I mumbled something about “Not as much as I should” (It’s hard to speak intelligibly when someone has a sharp instrument in…
Read MoreThe “Worship Wars”
by Wayne S. Walker In an article headlined “Understanding the ‘worship wars’” from World Magazine’s website on October 16, 2009, Warren Cole Smith began, “A recent Religion News Service dispatch caught my attention. Under the headline ‘Missouri Synod Leaders Declare Worship Wars “Sinful”’ came an article announcing the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s eight-page ‘Theses on Worship.’…
Read MoreA Singing Church
by Brock Hartwigsen The church was prophesied in the Old Testament as a singing church. In II Samuel 22:50 and repeated in Psalms 18:49, David stated: “Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.” Years later the apostle Paul by inspiration applied this passage to…
Read MoreWhy I Don’t Forward Religious Stories
based upon a letter written by Darrell Hamilton A note was forwarded to me that went like this: After living a “decent” life my time on earth came to an end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a courthouse. The doors…
Read MoreWho Has Low Self-Esteem?
From Meditate on These Things, November 2009: Particularly enjoyed the article self-esteem, as blaming “low self-esteem” for all of the behavioral problems of children seems to have been a special problem for many in my profession, but especially therapists who come out of the very liberal schools of “social work.” I had opportunity some years ago to…
Read MoreWhere Do You Turn?
by Shane Williams via The Lilbourn Light, Vol. 10, No. 4, August 2009. Where you turn when you’re in trouble reveals your character. What does it tell us about young kids whose trouble turns them toward gangs, guns, or drugs? What do we learn about adults whose problems direct them toward alcohol, adultery, or the…
Read MoreWhere Do Elders Come From?
by Paul Earnhart The scarcity of functioning elders (bishops, pastors) in local churches has led some Christians to conclude that they are a rare breed with rare qualities. Otherwise, they reason, why would they be so difficult to come by? Contrary to this rather discouraging view, elders do not have to be imported from outer…
Read MoreWhen Our Loved Ones Lose Their Moral Compass
by Matt Adams Have you ever tried to use a compass or navigated using a map? With technology advancing as it has, most of us now wouldn’t choose artifacts such as a compass or a map as our primary tool for navigation. However, a compass is a very simple tool and requires that you know…
Read MoreWhat Would Jesus Do About the Death Penalty?
by Joe Neil Clayton Recently C-span carried a speech by Alan Keyes to an audience in Virginia. Mr. Keyes, a respected columnist, orator, and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, captivated his hearers with a lecture on the causes and cures for the moral collapse in our country. Part of the cause, he stated, was the…
Read MoreWhat Might Have Been
by Barney L. Keith How painful is the thought expressed by one of the great poets, John Greenleaf Whittier: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!'” Many a person has thrown away his life in drug addiction, (including alcohol). Numerous are those who have thrown…
Read MoreWhat Is the Proper Way to Refer to a Preacher?
Adapted from an article by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 34, Aug. 21, 2009. Question: My denominational friends refer to their preacher as “Pastor” or “Reverend.” What is the proper way to address the preacher, or how do you refer to him as you speak of him to others? Answer: For me,…
Read MoreWhat If Christ Were Not?
by Batsell Barrett Baxter via The Sower, Vol. 54, No. 6, Nov/Dec 2009. Henry Rogers, a brilliant lawyer of a few years ago, wrote a book entitled The Eclipse of Faith, in which he imagined that some powerful hand had wiped the influence of Christ out of our civilization, as a hand wipes the chalk…
Read MoreJohn Wesley’s View of Baptism
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton John Wesley is most noted as the Methodists and several denominations, including the Church of the Nazarene, derive their beliefs from his writings. While no mere man’s writings establish the truth, it is interesting that his view of baptism was quite different from the denominations we find today. “By baptism, we…
Read MoreWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus
by Ralph Walker, Jr. Joseph Scriven was born Sept. 10, 1819, at Seapatrick, near Dublin Ireland, into the wealthy family of Capt. John Scriven. Joseph’s hopes to follow his father in the military were dashed due to poor health. In 1835 he entered Trinity College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1842. During that…
Read MoreLife Beyond the Grave
by Clem Thurman in via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 23, June 5, 2009. The salient doctrine of Christianity is the teaching of Jesus Christ about life after death. Most religions have some kind of “hope” about life after death, but only Christianity offers real evidence of that hope and also carefully defines it. Christ…
Read MoreA Voice Heard in Ramah
by Doy Moyer There are no words to describe the horrors of the slaughter of school children and teachers. None. We struggle to find some sense in it, some meaning, some greater purpose, but we come up empty-handed. No philosophizing will help. We cannot even imagine that someone would walk into a school — a…
Read MoreUnread Letters
by Matt Hennecke via Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2009 A childhood accident resulted in poet Elizabeth Barrett becoming an invalid and a recluse. Despite her isolation, her early poetry drew the attention of Robert Browning who began courting her. He eventually asked for her hand in marriage and Elizabeth and Robert were married in 1846.…
Read MoreUnitarian / Universalists
by Bob Lovelace First, understand that Universalism as a religion is a belief that all people will be reconciled to God. The New Testament does not teach, nor does the Old Testament, that eventually all people will be reconciled to God. Paul said when Jesus is revealed with His mighty angels it will be “In…
Read MoreTwo Young Men Baptized
by Mike Willis I recently conducted a meeting in which two young men were baptized on Thursday night prior to the services beginning. It was the highlight of a good meeting. On Friday night when the meeting came to a close, as the father of the two young men came out I said, “This will…
Read MoreThoughts on Parenting
Adapted from a study by Ralph Walker via The Exhorter, Bulletin for the Henderson Blvd. church of Christ in Tampa, FL June 2009. Parenting has never been easy. But ask yourself this question. Do you really think your parents had as tough a time rearing you as you have with your own children? Maybe my parents…
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