Posts Tagged ‘death’
Reincarnation
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2005/07/Reincarnation.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 14:1-15 I. Death is an event that puzzles many people. A. We know it is a step that we all must take – Ecclesiastes 8:8 B. It is an appointment that we must keep – Hebrews 9:27 C. Not that people don’t try. The finality of death is too final. II. Reincarnation…
Read MoreGrace Is Sufficient
by Doy Moyer Paul describes certain visions and revelations that were beyond his understanding (II Corinthians 12). He then spoke of what he calls a “thorn in the flesh,” given to him to keep him from becoming conceited. He implored the Lord three times that this thorn would be removed from him. Whatever it was,…
Read MoreWhich Apostle Had It the Easiest?
by Perry Hall Which apostle had it the easiest? James. That answer may be surprising. Even more surprising is why and how. In Acts 12, James is martyred first among the apostles. Some may question God’s fairness, and may even complain, “Why did God allow James to die but allowed Peter to live?” Considering the…
Read MoreDid Jesus take some of the dead with him to heaven?
Question: Good morning, sir, In Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” Do you have a lesson on this? Does it mean that Jesus took some of the dead to heaven with him? Answer: “And you were dead in your trespasses and…
Read MoreA Death, a Burial, a Resurrection
by Doy Moyer Josiah was one of the greater kings of Judah who initiated reform and called the people back to God. Sadly, his reforms did not last and the people soon reverted to evil after his death. While Josiah himself would not live to see Judah taken into captivity, his children, who did not…
Read MoreWhat if Judas had given Jesus permission to kill him?
Question: There is a question I have about Judas in the gospels who betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. I was curious that if Judas instead of committing suicide, decided to give Jesus permission to kill him, do you think that Jesus would have done that? Jesus could decide that since he is God and has…
Read MoreAre we bound by our culture’s traditions?
Question: In this region of my country, there is a traditional belief that the spirit of your ancestors will kill you and your children if your wife has an affair. If you present a cow to your in-laws during your father-in-law’s funeral and you did not do the same during your father’s burial, your ancestors…
Read MoreIs it wrong to observe All Souls Day?
Question: Good day, brother Jeff. I want to know what are your thoughts about the observation of All Saints Day or All Souls Day that is done by many brethren here in the Philippines. One elderly lady asked me about this, and I promised to give her an answer by the time we meet. She…
Read MoreJoshua’s Encouragement
by Doy Moyer As the children of Israel were preparing to go into the Promised Land, Moses delivered a series of speeches to help them understand how important their love and obedience to God would be (see Deuteronomy 6:1-9). Moses would not enter the Land himself, but Joshua had been chosen as the successor who…
Read MoreA Review of Homer Hailey’s book, “God’s Judgments and Punishments”
by Jim R. Everett Such is the title of the last book of brother Hailey’s illustrious career. Brother Hailey was writing excellent, resourceful material well past his 70th birthday. However, if I live to be 70, I will probably quit writing. That is not to denigrate others who write so ably when they are much…
Read MoreWatering Down Hell
by Jim R. Everett An Answer to “Conditional Immortality” The modern, liberal theologian has joined the cultic religionist in seeking to “water down” hell and make eternal punishment nothing more than a momentary oxidation of the body. He inconsistently affirms the eternal nature of God and the future state of the righteous by denying the…
Read MoreThe Memory of the Righteous
by Matthew W. Bassford Proverbs 10:7 reads, “The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.” It neatly sums up what is left of my earthly aspirations. My life is so reduced that the usual distractions don’t matter much to me anymore, but my reputation has become even more…
Read MoreJames, Peter, and I
by Matthew W. Bassford Acts 12 offers one of the great conundrums of the New Testament. In the first few verses of the chapter, the wicked king Herod Agrippa arrests and executes the apostle James, the brother of John. Shortly thereafter, he arrests Peter with the same intention. However, God sends his angel to rescue…
Read MoreThe Wages of Sin Is Death
by Doy Moyer “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). Why should death have been the penalty for sin? In short, because we have disregarded the Giver of all life and breath and all things. If in our own pride we try to usurp God and take His throne and His glory for…
Read MoreWould it be wrong to be buried in a denominational graveyard?
Question: Greetings brother. I hope all is well with you. I’ve been added to the church and have been an active member for over a decade. I’ve enjoyed my time growing up as a Christian, and I’ve been thinking about my mortality lately. I’m thinking about having my funeral service with the brethren and having…
Read MoreIf babies are not sinners, then why do some babies die?
Question: Hello, The Bible says for the wages of sin is death. If you claim that babies are not born sinners why do babies die? Thanks Answer: “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting…
Read MorePraying for the Dead
by Wayne Jackson via The Christian Courier Whenever someone we love dies — in old age or tragically before their prime — our hearts cannot help but anguish with those who are suffering soul-tearing losses. Some children have lost one or both parents. Husbands and wives have been robbed of loving mates. Others will never…
Read MoreWhy do we see the spirits of the dead?
Question: My wife lost her mom. However, she claimed her mom visited us almost every day before she was finally buried. Sometimes she would say: “She’s standing at the door”, but I couldn’t see anything. Why do we see the spirit of the dead? Answer: Keep in mind that truth is established by the testimony…
Read MoreWhat should I tell my son who has a fear of death?
Question: What should I tell my son who has a fear of death like me? He is only six but seems to be afraid of the concept of death. Answer: In order for you to help him, you will first have to conquer your own fears. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me…
Read MoreDoes God answer requests to die?
Question: I have a question for you. When someone prays for death does God ever answer that prayer? I have had so many health issues and depression that I want to die and go to heaven. I have asked God to take me peacefully in my sleep. I’m still here and I don’t know why.…
Read MoreWill I be aware of my body decomposing?
Question: I have a random question about death that I was hoping you could answer. When I die will I be aware of my body decomposing? I’m afraid of that and afraid of bugs and worms eating my body. Will I truly not be in the grave? And is cremation wrong? Answer: Your body is…
Read MoreIs I Corinthians 11:30 talking about physical or spiritual ailment and death?
Question: Jeffrey, “For this reason many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (I Corinthians 11:30). I have heard, I think more than one person, state that the Greek rendered “sleep” here means dead (physically dead). Is this correct? I guess I’m trying to figure out if they were physically weak and sick…
Read MoreTo Live Is Christ; to Die Is Gain
by Matthew W. Bassford Among its other effects, a terminal diagnosis will lead you to read the Scriptures with very different eyes. All sorts of passages that you thought you understood take on new depth and meaning. For me, the chief of these is Philippians 1:21-24. Years ago, I read this passage as Paul being…
Read MoreDeath
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Death.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 14:1-15 I. Death is first mentioned in Genesis 2:17 as a consequence for partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil A. In the punishment of Adam, death is mentioned – Genesis 3:19 B. Yet, Adam lived 930 years before dying – Genesis 5:5…
Read MoreIts Own Body
by Terry Wane Benton Some brethren have gotten caught up in the AD 70 doctrine that the resurrection and only judgment happened in AD 70. They argue that the resurrection of “the body” is just a spiritual resurrection of the collective body of Christ (the church). So, they do some tripping around in I Corinthians…
Read MoreHoly War
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Holy-War.mp3 Download Audio by Ralph Walker How could a just God order His people to slaughter whole nations, including women and children? Preaching the Bloody Bible
Read MoreHow do I deal with fears of suffering before I die?
Question: I’m afraid of the amount of suffering I might have to go through when I die one day. I wish God would let me die in my sleep so I don’t have to be sick with something like cancer. I have depression over my fears. How do I deal with this? Answer: “So do…
Read MoreWho controls when we die?
Question: Hello sir, I have another question. Who controls when we die? Recently, someone I knew died in a car accident at only 19 years old. It really made me question why and who controlled this. Answer: There are occasions when God decides the time of someone’s death. “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill.…
Read MoreHow did Peter know that it was Moses and Elijah having never seen either of them before?
Question: How did Peter know that it was Moses and Elijah having never seen either of them before? Thank you. Answer: “Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different,…
Read MoreWhat Do You See in a Casket?
by Jarrod M. Jacobs After the loss of our sister Goldie last week, as I looked at her body in the casket (James 2:26), the question that I used in the title came to my mind. All people must face the reality of death. There is not a day that goes by that someone on…
Read MoreDeath and Eternity
by Royce Frederick What happens when a person dies? On day six of creation, “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Death occurs when the “soul” or the “spirit” of a person leaves his…
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 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 MoreLonging for Home
by Jefferson David Tant Have you ever been gone from home on a long journey? Often there comes a time when you long for home. My wife, Flora, and I have been on many journeys through the years in taking the Good News about Jesus Christ to nations far and near. And there are moments…
Read MoreThe Weapon of Fear
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/The-Weapon-of-Fear.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 49 I. Have you ever wondered why cowardice is the first sin list in Revelation 21:8? A. Being afraid is such a common thing that it seems it would be a minor concern B. But a major weapon in Satan’s arsenal is fear II. Fear of the wrong thing can lead…
Read MoreThe Meaning of Life: Where Are You Going?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-Meaning-of-Life-Where-Are-You-Going.mp3 Text: Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 I. Having a goal in mind gives direction to the choices that you must make. A. The meaning of life is more than what you are doing with your life right now. It is also where you are letting life take you. B. One thing is certain, you are going to die -…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Life?
by Fanning Yater Tant (1908-1997), 1955 “The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow; For it is soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). “What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appears for…
Read MoreMy four-year-old hates God
Question: Good morning. I have a few questions I am needing guidance on. My mother passed away a year ago. Then close to her one year, my grandmother passed away. I have a 4-year-old son who is struggling hard. We are a church family but now he does not want to go to church ever…
Read MoreHow can I find peace when I have an appointment with death that I can’t avoid?
Question: I don’t even know what to teach my children. Do I tell them “no heaven isn’t for you … you’ll reign on earth after sleeping for a million years or so”? I’m starting to feel like Christianity is all about feelings. We have been taught what makes us feel good. Our minds can’t fully…
Read MoreThere are thousands of religions. What makes you think yours is the only one?
Question: No offense dude. But given that there are over 1000 religions from all over the world. The idea that your particular God of choice is the only real one. Is just plain ludicrous. And not one thing of what you have to say about the bible matters. It can all be disproved in seconds…
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