When God Reveals the Future

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/When-God-Reveals-the-Future.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 20:17-36   I.         Consider for the moment God’s words to Abram – Genesis 15:5-6             A.        At the time God made this promise, Abram had no children. So why tell him what the future would be like?             B.        Later, God also tells Abram about some of the struggles his children will endure…

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Manasseh’s Repentance

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Manassehs-Repentance.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 21:1-9   I.         There is a simple fact, which so many people have a hard time accepting – Ezekiel 18:20-24             A.        Do people really change?             B.        Can they really be forgiven?             C.        Oh, you don’t understand, I’ve done such terrible things that God would never forgive me of them. II.        Manasseh was…

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Given to Change

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Given-to-Change.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 24:21-22   I.         For many people, trying out something new is exciting. You don’t know exactly what the result will be, which is part of the fun             A.        So we try out new restaurants or travel to places we’ve never been before             B.        Some changes are fun, but not always. For…

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Traditionalists and Progressives

by Gardner Hall There are two opposite but equally harmful attitudes among churches I know: The Overly Compliant Spirit It’s the spirit that accepts without question whatever leaders or church traditions have historically taught. It declares, “my family has been in this church for years, and whatever they say is what I am going to…

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A Lifelong Process

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/A-Lifelong-Process.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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Yesterday

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yesterday.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 90   I.         Yesterday only exists in fading memories, worn out photographs, and history books             A.        It is a collection of, often times, imperfect records kept in imperfect medium II.        Yet, it is also one of the finest learning centers available, if we are willing to go there to learn             A.        Paul…

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Departing 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,…

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Renewed

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Renewed.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 3:1-11   I.         At times we stop and sigh. Wouldn’t it be nice to return to the days of childhood, when we didn’t have a care in the world? When we were ignorant of all the problems in the world and unacquainted with sin? – Matthew 18:3             A.        In our…

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Seeking the Things Above

Seeking the Things Above (Part 1)Seeking the Things Above (Part 2) by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 3:1-4   I.         So often we focus on winning souls for Christ that we lose sight that conversion is not the goal but the first step in a life long process of change – Colossians 2:6-7             A.        To stay with…

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From Saul to David, From David to Jesus

by Edwin Crozier Paul makes a subtle but profoundly powerful argument in his sermon at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). The people, Paul explains, asked for a king (Acts 13:21). So God gave them Saul the son of Kish. As far as the worldly-minded would be concerned, Saul was a pretty good king. The Benjamites…

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What’s Down that Road?

by Warren E. Berkley The most vital consideration for every human being and certainly every Christian is the allegiance of the heart and obedience of the life to God. While we must avoid the arrogance of self-righteousness and the bondage of human creeds and traditionalism, we must determine with all our hearts to never relax…

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If God were interested in me, then maybe I would be motivated to change

Question: I just read an article about an unrepentant person – a person who just doesn’t feel like repenting but believed he is a Christian. You implied that He was going to Hell. Well, I’m a little stuck at the moment. When I was 12 I realized that the crucifixion was a great sacrifice – a…

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Jamaica Patois Wisdom – Changes

by Jefferson David Tant The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique, and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought-provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of teaching there, I have come…

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People Change

by Donnie V. Rader via Guardian of Truth XL: No. 19, p. 6-7, October 3, 1996 When General Motors came out with the new aerodynamic style Chevy Caprice (1990) I said that I would never have one of those “ugly” things. When cellular phones started getting popular, I thought it was dumb to carry your phone with…

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Slip-Sliding Away

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton   When changes occur, it is common for those who bring in new ideas to reinterpret past events to prove that their ideas are really what people thought and wanted all along. Even when the changes are recent and people still remember what life was like before the changes, they just…

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Beginning a New Year

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         The people of Israel stood at the edge of the promised land. The hopes of this people were about to be fulfilled.             A.        Giving detailed instructions on where they should go and not go, Joshua added this comment, “For you have not passed this way before.”             B.        It is easy to lose your…

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