What should we do about someone who refuses to attend services?

Question: Greetings Brother Hamilton. I trust your family has been in good health. I have this concern. I have a member who is new to the faith. She was baptized roughly 3 years ago. She started well and then became less punctual. Now, she has stopped worshiping altogether. Efforts have been made by individual members,…

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Thank you for “Is online services acceptable?”

Question: I thank your church for making “Is online worship acceptable?” available. I participate in debates, and this year, we are debating whether online worship is acceptable. Your fine church’s article helped me a lot, so once again, thank you. Answer: I’m glad it was of service to you.

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Should I attend my husband’s church as a goodwill gesture?

Question: Hello! I have a question related to my current situation. My new husband and I have differing religious foundations. He is a Baptist, and I attend a church of Christ. We are in the military, and in our current area, he has been willing to come to church with me each week. As I…

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An Epidemic in the Church

by Zeke Flores I see an epidemic in the church today, although the underlying attitude is as old as mankind. The attitude of “I won’t be bothered” manifests itself in many ways. One obvious way is in worship attendance. The number of “stay-at-home” Christians is growing. For a while, at the tail end of the…

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Why Should I Attend Every Service?

by Becky Rene Introduction What has Jesus done for me (I John 4:9-10)? Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross (I Peter 2:24) while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:1-7; Revelation 1:5). Jesus rescued us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4), and God delivered us from the power…

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Attending Bible Classes

by Barney Keith There is one fact that is undeniable about the life of every Christian – he is saying something to those around him by every action of his life. Without any vocal sounds, he speaks volumes by his conduct. In this way, many a godly wife has won her husband to the Lord…

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Call Home

by Perry Hall Most wives work hard, including fixing dinner for their families. If the family members want to be considerate, which scenario is acceptable: The husband is working late and doesn’t call to let his wife know. The son ate out with his friends after ball practice, so when supper is ready and he…

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Does Going to Church Still Matter?

by Clay Stauffer Adapted Pew Research has been tracking trends in America for many decades. Some of the most recent data is very eye-opening, if not alarming. In 2024, roughly 30% of Americans say they attend church regularly, loosely defined as once a month. Less than 50% of Americans now claim membership to any given…

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What If I Can’t Attend Due to Failing Health?

Question: I have been a faithful member of the Lord’s Church for many years. I have been very concerned about something lately and wonder if you could assist me. In Hebrews 10:25, the Bible says that we are not to forsake the assembly of the saints. I despise not going to church, but I have…

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Why Do Christians Assemble?

by Wayne S. Walker Question: “Why do members of the church of Christ assemble together, and why do they assemble at various times?” Answer: Members of the church of Christ assemble together because this is what is taught in the New Testament. And it is precisely what we find Christians doing in the first century.…

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Attendance

by Perry Hall “Attendance” is a biblical topic (Hebrews 10:25), but how we approach attendance is not always biblical! I have visited congregations where Sunday morning attendance was almost matched on Sunday nights. Usually, these are smaller groups. However, I have also seen larger groups that were very impressive. On the opposite side, I have seen…

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Do I go to Bible study and worship?

Question: Good morning, sir, I am writing from Nigeria in Western Africa. One day, in the village where I visited a brother, the King sent his town crier (messenger) to announce that the weekend would be used to perform some ritual rites from Saturday morning to Sunday night. They warned that no human must be…

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What if we can’t always find a congregation to worship with?

Question: Hello My son plays travel baseball, and we travel almost every weekend. However, we do find a congregation in the town we are in. If it conflicts, we do Zoom. Is this an issue? I get a lot of flack from the congregation I attend. Answer: Personally, I’m of the mind that the worship of God…

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Slinging Mud on the Bride of Christ

by Mike Richardson An Unthinkable Image Imagine attending a wedding. The bride is arrayed in a beautiful white wedding gown, ready to go down the aisle to be presented to the groom. As she walks down the aisle, people on both sides of her begin to throw mud at her. She ducks down, but the…

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What’s So Important About the Church?

by Jefferson David Tant The comment is often made, “I don’t have to go to church in order to go to heaven,” or, similarly, “I can be a Christian without going to church.” The question is, “Is that really true, or is that a misunderstanding of what “church” is all about?” What Is the Church?…

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I Don’t Go to Church

by Dan Chaney “I’m a Christian, I just don’t go to church.” Maybe you’ve been burned by religious people. Maybe you have social setting anxiety. Maybe you just prefer other recreational activities on Sunday. Individual motivations really aren’t the focus of this post. “I’m a Christian but I don’t go to church” sounds reasonable, possibly…

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Why I Go to Church

by Fanning Yater Tant (1908-1998) There are so many reasons why people don’t go to church, but the following are some reasons why I do go. Habit “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read”…

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How to Find a Church

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/How-to-Find-a-Church.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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What if you are traveling somewhere where there is no church?

Question: Hello, I wanted to say thank you for the way the website is set up. This has been great to look at a topic from many points of view using the question and answers. My question is regarding attending services when you are away from the local church you’re a member of. I know…

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Is the Church Important?

by Jefferson David Tant Is God’s church important? Does it have any significant place in our lives, or is it just something concerning which we have a choice — to be a part of it, or do our own thing? It is pretty obvious that many in the “Christian” world today see no real value…

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Does “Setting Boundaries” apply to marriages?

Question: Good morning, I read “Setting Boundaries” and noticed how it’s applied to children. What if, and I say this will all do respect as I can as a wife, but what if I have a husband who acts like this? Do these principles still apply to a husband? This has to be the most…

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Faithfulness

Author Unknown A preacher was asked to define “faithful attendance at worship.” He replied that the best way to understand it was to apply the same standards of faithfulness that we do in other areas of our life. Consider the examples he gave: If your car started one out of three times, would you consider…

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The Importance of One Another

by Doy Moyer Christians share together a bond in Christ. We often stress the need for personal responsibility and individual accountability, yet we should also see that Christianity is built upon a “one another” model. God did not intend for us to walk alone in our journey of serving the Lord. This is demonstrated through…

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Belief in God Continues to Decline

Source: Anugrah Kumar, “Number of Americans who believe in God dips to new low: Gallup,” The Christian Post, 20 June 2022. The number of Americans who say they believe in God: 1940s-1960s – 98% 2011 – 92% 2013-2017 – 87% 2022 – 81% “Belief in God has fallen the most in recent years among young adults…

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Seek First the Kingdom

by Keith Sharp Billy was 6 years old. It was springtime, close to summer vacation. When school was out, he and his mom, a widow who was remarrying, were moving. He came home from school and told his mom he wouldn’t return to baseball. When she asked why, he replied, “The rest of our games…

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Am I wrong to let small group meetings bother me?

Question: Hi, The congregation where we are members is now having a “small group” meet separately on some Sunday nights while we still have a worship service at the building. It is designed for young families as some way to grow that group. This practice is being pushed by a few but tolerated by almost…

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What About the Next Sunday?

by Terry Wane Benton Some people meet with the church on “Easter Sunday” and hardly ever anytime else. That is out of tradition, not out of thinking seriously about doing the will of God. Tradition has been in the family to at least go to church one time a year, maybe two. But what about…

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How do you make people understand the importance of attending services?

Question: Good day, Many people are just doing good without going to church or recognizing God, how do you make people understand the importance or take Christianity seriously if they don’t see any need? Answer: The authority of the Bible rests upon the fact that its teachings come from God. “All Scripture is inspired by…

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Minimum Duty or Maximum Opportunity?

by Terry Wane Benton The question comes up from time to time about whether to meet with the saints only one time on Sunday, or whether to meet every time we can, like for week-long meetings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights? I look at the example of the early church meeting “daily in the temple…

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The Wiles of the Devil

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Wiles-of-the-Devil.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 6:10-18   I.         Satan is a real being             A.        Jesus warned Peter that Satan wanted him – Luke 22:31                         1.         Much like Satan wanted Job – Job 1:6-12             B.        Peter warned us that Satan wants to devour us – I Peter 5:8-9             C.        Thus, we have to know our enemy – II Corinthians…

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Where does the Bible teach that not belonging to a congregation is a sin?

Question: Hello, I came across your question/answer page online. My question is, where does the Word of God teach that not belonging to a congregation is an unforgivable sin and one will go to hell for not belonging to a congregation? I’ve heard Church of Christ preachers speak as though one will go to hell…

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Can’t Christians meet on other days of the week?

Question: In regards to “Can I attend an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship instead of a church while at college?” My first question is on “One departure from the Lord’s church that you mention is that they have services on Tuesdays, but the church meets on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1).”…

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Do virtual assemblies count?

Question: Hello, brother in Christ, I hope you are doing well. My question comes from Hebrew 10:25. Now I fully understand what assembling together means, but there seem to be those who say that assembling can be of anything and anywhere. So, does “virtual assembling” count as assembling as described in the Bible? For example: when the…

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Rededication

by Doy Moyer There are only a handful of times in biblical Israel’s history in which there were reforms to bring the people back to the Lord. Among the kings of the north (Israel), there were no true revivals. Among the kings of the south (Judah), there were a few, but most notable were the…

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Feeling Wanted and Needed

by Terry Wane Benton We were very young (24) when we first started preaching full time or “living of the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:7-14). God providentially put us in the right place (Berney Points in Birmingham, AL) for this early training ground. We needed to feel wanted and needed in this first attempt, and the…

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