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Who Would You Blame?
by Dudley Ross Spears Read this little bit of fiction (or is it?) When he was a baby, they were so proud to take him to worship. Everyone “oohed and aahed” and played “kitcky-koo.” They never missed a service at church. As a little boy, they taught him to behave during worship. They helped him regularly…
Read MoreWho Put Christ in Christmas?
by Larry Ray Hafley During December we are reminded to, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Who, though, put Him there in the first place? Did God? We know “the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (I John 4:14). Jesus said that He neither acted nor spoke of his own will, but…
Read MoreWho Are We?
by Jefferson David Tant From to time, in talking with people about churches of Christ, people ask “Who are you?” “What are your beliefs?” We are “one” in Christ. One of our nation’s mottos is “E Pluribus Unum”—”Out of many, one.” In one way, that well describes us. As to what we believe, the simple…
Read MoreWhere Is the Kiss?
by Greg Gwin Someone has written to ask: “Where is the kiss?” Our correspondent lists five passages that refer to the greeting of a “holy kiss” (Romans 16:16; I Corinthians 16:20; II Corinthians 13:12; I Thessalonians 5:26; I Peter 5:14). He goes on to say, “I remember once being told that in the place of…
Read MoreWhen We Are Provoked
by Sam Stinson “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39). The following was posted online some time ago: “An atheist group has unveiled a sign in the Washington state capital next to…
Read More“When the Lord Opens the Door You Have to Seize the Opportunity…”
by Bob Lovelace For some reason. perhaps because it is beneficial to be reminded how apostasy works, or better yet because apostasy does indeed “work” and presents itself in order to perpetuate its working of error, I keep meeting those who say they really do not see anything wrong with instrumental music in worship. Conversation…
Read MoreWhen Do the Tears Stop?
by Jefferson David Tant via Guardian of Truth, December 18, 1997 The day began a little earlier than usual. I woke soon after five, and since sleep had fled, I got up and accomplished a few things in preparation for my trip to Birmingham. There were many things to gather — checkbook, will, deed, title, burial…
Read MoreWhat’s in Your Bucket?
by Wendi L. Capehart When I was a young mother of two children in diapers an older lady at church shared the bucket parable with me. The basic idea is that as you go through life, you are carrying a full bucket. And sometimes in your day-to-day life, you get bumped or jostled and this…
Read MoreWhat Shall We Do Then?
by Kent Heaton John the Baptist was a fire and brimstone preacher. His appearance alone would strike fear into most hearts. “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). His sermons were direct and not very commending…
Read MoreWhat Price Gambling?
by Wayne S. Walker Several years ago, when I lived in Ohio, there was instituted a state lottery which was supposed to be the salvation of the educational system. Many, and perhaps most, other states now have them too. Although it has been plagued with problems, pari-mutuel betting is allowed at racetracks throughout the nation.…
Read MoreHave to Sin
by Bryan Sharp God Has Never Given Man a Law He Could Not Obey. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be…
Read MoreWhat It Leads To
by Robert F. Turner via Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 44, Nov. 4, 2007 I hate to admit this, but a man once told me he did not like my sermons and wanted me to change the subject and content of my preaching. I asked him to identify my errors, and he said I was preaching…
Read MoreWhat Do You Mean By Chasten?
by Gary Colley Jesus dictated these words to the apostle John for the church in Laodicea: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” (Revelation 3:19). After this Bible reference appeared on a sign in the front of a church building, a phone call was received from a somewhat irate woman inquiring as to…
Read MoreThe Meaning of Life (Bailey)
by Daniel Bailey originally published in Gospel Power, Volume 13, Number 15, April 9, 2006 What is the meaning of life? That’s a tough question. Millions of people all through the centuries have spent their lives pondering and searching to produce an answer to this fundamental question of human existence. Many philosophies, religions, schools, cults, and…
Read MoreThe Value of Hope
by Dee Bowman via Plain Talk, November 1977 The Scriptures have considerable to say on the subject of hope. And yet I am convinced that many of us are not enjoying and appreciating our hope as we should, simply out of a failure to really understand what it is and how it affects us. Hope…
Read MoreThe Valley of the Shadow of Death
by Earl Kimbrough Via Guardian of Truth XXXII: 17, pp. 534-535, September 1, 1988 The beautiful twenty-third Psalm is a song of faith. It abounds with an assurance of God’s guidance and protection. There is mention of the danger of enemies, both past and present, but it is muted by David’s trust in the perpetual presence…
Read MoreUnwanted Children
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton It seems strange, but I’ve started writing this article numerous times. Each time I’ve tossed it because I found myself unable to express exactly what was going through my mind. Many years ago I realized that our country contains a lot of unwanted children. The circumstances which lead to the situation…
Read MoreUnplanned Consequences
by Ethan R. Longhenry The girl heard the news and began to sob. She could feel all of her dreams and expectations for life changed on account of the unplanned consequences of her fornication. When the drunk finally regained consciousness and the news of his actions and upcoming trial were brought to him, he was…
Read MoreTrials of Life (Article)
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, believers have been told that God knows our hearts (I Samuel 16:7, Luke 16:15). He not only knows what we at thinking at this moment, but he also understands our inclinations and desires. God knows each of us better than we understand…
Read MoreTo My Generation
by Joshua Visga I know a lot of people our age who are conceiving babies or have conceived in just the past few years. You bore a healthy boy whom I have enjoyed being around. He is a bright young lad. Boys grow into men and men are appointed by God to be the leaders…
Read MoreTo Be a Parent
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I ran across an article recently that makes a point that every parent should consider. Too many parents are abdicating their responsibility to raise their children, especially when they reach their teenage years. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and…
Read MoreThree Quotes on Forgiving a Brother
From Questions Answered, Lipscomb and Sewell, Kurfees, pg. 260 Question: If a brother in the church offends us, is it right for us to forgive him whether he comes and asks us to or not, or must we hold it against him until he comes and asks our pardon? Would it not be more Christlike…
Read MoreThree Examples
by Sam Stinson “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17, ESV). Experience is not authority. Because Jesus is our authority, his word is authority. However, how do we, those of us who deliver God’s message of salvation in Jesus,…
Read MoreThey Gladly Received His Word
by Larry Ray Hafley Truth Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 2, Jan. 19, 2006. Larry Lester Roloff said that when they “gladly received the Word” (Acts 2) that meant they were saved because no sinner would do such! I am wondering why we did not think of that. Reply: If the fact that, before they were…
Read MoreIn Case You Thought There Were Facts Behind “The Da Vinci Code”
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The April 8, 2006 issue of the Omaha World-Herald contained an interesting follow-up on the lawsuit by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, against Dan Brown, the author of the very popular The Da Vinci Code. The article contained some very telling conclusions by the judge in the case. London…
Read MoreWho is Closer to God?
by Bob Pulliam Now don’t get me wrong! This is not a contest mentality being advocated here. But the question does enter my mind. I surfed over a channel the other day where people had the lights dimmed low, all were holding candles and swaying while singing Alleluia. I’m not trying to poke fun at anyone…
Read MoreObjections to Biblical Limitations on Woman’s Role
by Bobby Graham From beginning to end under every dispensation, the Bible is clear about the role of woman in relation to men. Hers is a secondary role of submission to her husband in the family and to men in the local church (Ephesians 5:22-24; I Corinthians 14:34-35; I Timothy 2:8-15). Whatever the culture, Lord always dictated…
Read MoreLet Women Keep Silent in the Churches
by W. Frank Walton “The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says” (I Corinthians 14:34). What is the silence Paul enjoins upon women? Is it absolute in every situation or is it qualified in a certain situation? This…
Read MoreThat You May Teach Your Children
by Dene Ward Someone recently asked me what I thought a kindergarten-aged child should know about the Bible. All I can tell you is from my own experience. I believe they should know about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit—and that all of those beings love him no matter what. They should know every major…
Read MoreThe Ten Virgins
by Shawn Daniels Jesus gives this parable of the kingdom of heaven: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil…
Read MoreTeach Your Child the Fear of the Lord
by Forrest D. Moyer, 1989 When Paul had listed all the sins of the Gentiles and of the Jews and was summing up his argument as to why all need the gospel, he told us why there is so much sin in the world in these succinct words: “There is no fear of God before…
Read MoreTaught Wrong and Baptized Right?
Adapted from an article by Wayne Jones via The Jackson Drive News & Notes, No. 14, April 10, 2005. Under the banners of acceptance and “unity,” many in the Lord’s church have developed an open-door policy with members of the denominational world. Many, by their own admission, have chosen not to “question” a person’s claim to…
Read MoreSuddenly Sour Grapes
By J.S. Smith ”The government said Monday that a few drinks a day may not protect against strokes and heart attacks after all.” Oops! For years, scientists, doctors, and our government have been recommending that we all hop off the wagon and moderately belly up to the bar to enhance our health. Christians searching for…
Read MoreA Study in the Inquisition
by Clinton D. Hamilton via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 4, Feb. 1952 via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 5. Mar. 1952. A lemon growing on the limb of an oak tree is not in harmony with the biological law that everything brings forth after its kind. Upon seeing this or something similar, one knows…
Read MoreStrangers and Pilgrims in this World
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Whether Mathletes is his actual name, or he was using a generic name of “disciple” in penning this letter, we don’t know, but this letter, by a Christian living in the early years of the second century (somewhere between 100 and 130 A.D.), contains a wealth of information about what Christianity…
Read MoreStarting Over from Scratch
by Terry Wane Benton Jeremiah had become very disillusioned at his job of delivering God’s message. He had become the most unpopular preacher in town. At this point, he is disillusioned with God. “You induced me” to preach this very unpopular message, he said to God. Then he decided that he would quit preaching. What…
Read MoreThe Spiritual Simplicity of Our Singing
by Paul Earnhart In the 1940s Elmer T. Clark observed that is “a peculiar type of mind which is convinced that God is interested in whether his worshipers sing with or without instrumental music” (Small Sects in America, p. 16). Clark’s words carry a twentieth-century bias. The truth is that the mind that he thought…
Read MoreSome Unsaved Believers
by Erin Percell The creed book of one popular denomination says, “that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.” But is it true? Does the Bible say that if one believes on Jesus, it makes no difference what else he believes or does? Are you surprised…
Read MoreSome Thoughts About Offering Criticism
by William Barclay “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first” (Revelation 2:19). There is something very interesting about this verse. The letter to the church at Thyatira is to be a letter of warning and of criticism,…
Read MoreFlaws in the “Iraq – Interesting” E-Mail
by Nathan Barton Once again, an e-mail “chain letter” is being circulated which is a hoax filled with misleading information that should not be spread by anyone. It is full of false teaching about the Bible and history, and generally very much wrong. It won’t try to rip you off, or make you send all…
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