The Christian’s Attributes

by Jefferson David Tant “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities…

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It Takes Effort

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/It-Takes-Effort.mp3 Text: II Thessalonians 3:6-11   I.         How many of us truly enjoy working?             A.        I, like many of us, dream of times when we can take a moment off and do nothing in particular             B.        Yet, I don’t like to be idle for long. It grates on my nerves. II.        In the beginning             A.        Man has always had work…

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A Life Defined by Love

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/A-Life-Defined-by-Love.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 16:13-14   I.         The story of Ruth is a popular love story from the Bible             A.        It isn’t how most people see as a typical love story.                         1.         She doesn’t go out searching for love but she eventually finds it anyway             B.        Rather, we see the story of a woman whose…

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Put Forth the Effort

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Put-Forth-the-Effort.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 13:23-30   I.         If I asked you to name a famous inventor, the name of Thomas Edison would quickly arise.             A.        Mr. Edison had a strong influence in our society.                         1.         He invented the light bulbs which light our auditorium.                         2.         He invented the method of distributing electricity to homes                         3.         For you…

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Boredom

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Boredom.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         The child has a room full of action figures, video games, cable TV, VCR, a huge collection of video tapes, every piece of sports equipment known to man, his own telephone, a fully loaded computer with Internet access — but he doesn’t have anything to do. He’s bored.             A.        Boredom is…

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The Mire of Mediocrity

by Jefferson David Tant The dictionary defines “mediocrity” as “1. Commonplace ability or condition. 2. A commonplace person.” We often use the word to describe that which is average — neither good nor bad, but “in the middle,” a person who is “mired,” is “fixed, stalled, or sunk in the mud.” By putting the words…

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Put Forth the Effort

by Bart Campbell Sentry Magazine, June 2000 Thomas Edison has been considered by some to be the “King of Inventors.” He once made this statement. “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Edison was responsible for the inventions of the incandescent lightbulb, the gramophone, and moving pictures. But Thomas Edison claimed that his achievements were…

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Parables on the Second Coming of Christ

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Parables-on-the-Second-Coming-of-Christ.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11   I.         The early disciples longed for the return of Christ             A.        I Corinthians 16:19-24 – The term “maranatha” is a transliteration of the Greek, which was in turn transliterated from two Aramaic words. It literally means, “Our Lord come!”             B.        II Peter 3:10-12 – Looking for and hastening…

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Intentions Won’t Get It!

by Dee Bowman Some of the proverbial expressions not found in the Bible are nonetheless true. The truth will always plumb with all other truth; it cannot contradict itself. Take the expression “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” That’s not found in the Scriptures, but it’s nonetheless true. Nobody really wants to…

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Potential Is Not Enough

by Doy Moyer “It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done” (Samuel Johnson, 1770). Potential has to do with something that can happen but has not yet happened. It has to do with possibilities: unrealized and undeveloped. While it is good…

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An Urgent Need to Study

Text: II Timothy 2:8-19   I.         It is fascinating to read well crafted prose or poetry. With just a few words, the author can communicate not only a message, but even a mood.             A.        Individual words are not flat. Even synonyms carry subtle differences in meaning.             B.        And the idea is not restricted to the English language. Languages…

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Boredom

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The child has a room full of action figures, video games, cable TV, DVD player, a huge collection of movies, every piece of sports equipment known to man, his own telephone, a fully loaded computer with high-speed Internet access … but he doesn’t have a thing to do. He’s bored. Boredom…

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