Posts Tagged ‘family’
How do I deal with in-laws who are not nice?
Question: Hello and good morning, I recently came upon your website and saw a question and answer section and wonder why more churches of Christ do not have this. I struggle with pride and sometimes do not wish to ask questions at church or there just does not seem to be an opportunity. As I…
Read MoreHow do you handle an annoying younger brother?
Question: Hi, I read one of your answers to a similar question, and I was hoping you could help me with mine: I’m 17 and I have a younger brother, age 14. The past few days he has been using really bad words –words that would make anyone angry. He has been avoiding me, constantly…
Read MoreHow do I teach my worldly family when I visit them?
Question: Hello, I am visiting my worldly family right now and plan to be here for the next few days. I would like to at least spread some seed while I am here. I feel as though I could explain the basics of Christianity well enough if someone were already seeking to be a Christian…
Read MoreMy boyfriend is handicapped and his life is controlled by his grandmother. I don’t know if I should continue dating him or not
Question: I have been dating this man from church for about half a year now. Our original getting together was through his uncle inviting me over to meet him. I have to mention that he is the victim of a drunk driver over a decade ago. Because of this, he is physically and mentally handicapped. …
Read MoreDo I have to have my abusive step-father in my life and in my daughter’s life?
Question: Hello, I hope you can give me some good advice. I am a father of a young girl. My mom divorced my stepdad when I was a young teenager. He gave all of us a pretty hard life, my mom, my brothers, and sisters who are his kids. I am the only one who…
Read MoreHow do I take care of my mother, husband, and children when I’m not well either?
Question: Hi, I am a 41-year-old with severe anxiety, panic, and depression with disrupted sleep patterns due to this condition. Several years ago my mother sustained an injury while at one of my siblings’ homes due to a fight that occurred as the result of drugs and relationship issues. My mother has lost a lot…
Read MoreDo I talk to my former daughter-in-law about her sins, even if it may mean I’ll lose access to my grandchildren?
Question: My former daughter-in-law divorced my son after affairs with other men. Both my son and she are members of the church. The man she is currently involved with lives in another state, as does my son. She recently told me she has him stay in her home when he visits her. This past weekend,…
Read MoreHow many times do you have to have a baby?
Question: How many times do you have to have a baby? Answer: There has never been a requirement for having children beyond God’s general command to mankind to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 9:7).
Read MoreHow do you honor a bipolar mother and an autistic brother?
Question: I’m trying to follow the whole honor thy mother and father thing. My father is not around and my mom is hard to deal with. She and I argue sometimes, but she is also skitzo and bipolar. She seems like she’s a normal person, but she told me I have no idea what she…
Read MoreShould a parent visit a child who is now unfaithful?
Question: A parent has a child who is unfaithful and living in another state. Is it wrong based on Ephesians 5:11 to visit that child and spend weeks or months in the same house? Answer: If the child is a fallen Christian, then “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named…
Read MoreHow do we deal with our son who committed adultery?
Question: I am a Christian. I try to follow the Bible best to my ability. I am a member of a conservative church of Christ. My question is about my son. He grew up in church and was baptized before he joined the service. He is no longer faithful. He married and has a child.…
Read MoreMy 30-year-old son moved back home and won’t leave
Question: I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years. We took our kids to church until they grew up and got married. One got divorced. Because of that he started going to church and got saved. He moved in with me and my wife. Now I’m having problems with him. He’s trying to change me…
Read MoreMy family doesn’t like my girlfriend and her family doesn’t like me. Should I marry her or the woman my father wants me to marry?
Question: I love a girl. My dad does not like her because she is Russian and I am Indian. We both are Christians. Her father does not like me because I am an Indian. Should I marry her or marry the girl that my dad wants me to marry? At the same time, she is…
Read MoreWhy won’t my drug-using cousin leave?
Question: Hello, I’ve been praying for a cousin of mine who lives with my family to leave this house or change. His mother has left with his sister to another state but he stayed behind. He uses drugs and steals from us. He causes my family and me anxiety and stress. I can’t sleep thinking…
Read MoreMy ex-husband wants our daughter at his wedding but she has other plans. How do I help?
Question: My husband left me for another woman about two years ago. We have a teenage daughter who is amazing. Unfortunately, her dad lives in another state, and she travels there for the holidays and summer break. My husband married the other woman six months after the divorce (for which he filed) and now they…
Read MoreShould I let my mom and her boyfriend stay at my house while they are visiting?
Question: Hello, My mom and her boyfriend are coming to see me for a few days for the first time, and, although my mom says she believes, prays every night for forgiveness, and goes to church she will not take what I say seriously about she is living in sin by sleeping and living with…
Read MorePreparing for God’s Home and Ours
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring8PreparingForGodsHomeAndOurs.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreGod’s Home and Ours
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring2GodsHomeAndOurs.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreGod’s Creation and the First Home
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring1GodsCreationAndTheFirstHome.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreThe Home: Preparation for Marriage, Preparation for Heaven
by Robert Speer April 1-6, 2012 God’s Creation and the First Home God’s Home and Ours Husband and Wife (Recording Failed) Parents Mothers Fathers (Recording Failed) Seeking a Spouse Preparing for God’s Home and Ours
Read MoreDoes the husband have to be the provider of the family?
Question: Does the man have to be the provider or breadwinner of the family in all circumstances? Is it acceptable biblically for a family to be comprised of a house husband and a career-orientated wife? What advice would you give to someone who is about to be, or is in this situation? If it is…
Read MoreDo parents have a responsibility to let adult children, living in sin, live in their home?
Question: Do parents of adult children still living at home, who were raised with the Truth, been baptized into Christ but have now turned their backs on the Lord and the church by choosing a sinful lifestyle, have the responsibility to put these adult children out of their homes? Or withdraw from them? Answer: Since they…
Read MoreOur family is having arguments over money. What do we do?
Question: We are a couple, married and staying with family. Ever since I can remember my brother was the favored one being born after several girls in a country where males are preferred. I grew up knowing I shouldn’t have been born as that would split the inheritance. Today we live as the despised ones…
Read MoreDoes a husband need to love his wife more than anyone on earth?
Question: Does a husband need to love his wife more than anyone on earth? Even his children? Answer: The question implies there is a set quantity of love that a person can give. It also assumes that love for, say children, is at odds with loving your wife. The greatest commandment is loving God, the…
Read MoreAm I being inhospitable not to want my father-in-law around so much?
Question: In this question, I’m honestly not sure if I am being inhospitable, or if I have genuine concerns. Thus why I seek to ask this to you. My wife and I have been married for still a relatively short time, and have a child. My father-in-law lives a couple of hours away, but still…
Read MoreDo I go to my brother’s birthday party? He fell away from Christ years ago
Question: My fiancee and I were having a discussion that got kind of heated. I let it go too far, and I realized I had issues in certain areas of my life with my oldest brother, who has turned away from God for the past 15 or so years. It was more that I was…
Read MoreShould I go to my aunt’s civil union?
Question: I write to you today with a question. I am relatively sure that emotion makes it more difficult than the question itself truly is. An aunt of mine is a lesbian. The state that I am in recently legalized civil unions. Being that it is not truly a wedding but instead (acknowledged by the…
Read MoreHow do you handle a violent father?
Question: I am really disturbed. My dad who has been very violent since my mum joined him in a foreign country. He was broke and moved to this new country for business. Several years down the line, my mum came and joined him, but he has become proud and arrogant. Worse still there are rumors…
Read MoreFaithful Fathers
by David Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 56, No. 29, July 20, 2007 Our world seems to take delight in bashing men. It is not fashionable to be a man, a husband, or a father. As such, it is getting harder and harder to be a man, a husband, or a father. Fortunately, those of…
Read MoreWhere do you draw the line with sinful relatives?
Question: My husband has a relative that is a practicing Wiccan doing witchcraft and ‘spells’ and always wears her ‘Wiccan necklace’ that she’s proud of. She was raised to know about Jesus and God. But in her early teens, she got caught up in witchcraft. My husband’s question is: is it wrong for all his…
Read MoreDo I let my son and his live-in girlfriend come for Thanksgiving?
Question: My son is in his late twenties, a college graduate, and in the military. He is very responsible and has had a Christian upbringing. He has just returned from deployment, and his wife has left him. He is now “serious” about someone else and living with her. Now says that he believes this is all…
Read MoreShould a man search out the father who abandoned him as a child to remove a curse of a broken family from him?
Question: We were having a conversation about a man from a broken family, who is born again. Should he go to look for his dad who abandoned him when he was a child? We were divided into two camps. One group was of the opinion that this man should go look for his dad so…
Read MoreHow do you deal with an easily angered father?
Question: How should a Christian deal with a person who is easily angered? Well, let me rephrase that — how can a Christian deal with a very easily angered father, who is always speaking negatively about people, things, and me? Answer: I’m not certain how old you are, so let me cover a few points.…
Read MoreShould an absent father be invited to graduation?
Question: My neighbor has a son who is confused about whether to invite his father to his 8th-grade graduation. The parents are divorced and his dad has only called twice in the last two years. His father has only visited a handful of times over the past twelve years. The father feels that the son…
Read MoreWhy don’t my parents treat me as an adult?
Question: I am planning to drive to a large city for a big lectureship at a congregation there. I have never driven in a large city. I am in my early twenties and still live in my parents’ house because I don’t have the money to rent an apartment. I am a recent college graduate.…
Read MoreWhat do I do about my family? Some are so deep into sin, I don’t know how to handle it
Question: I am writing today in regards to something I am finding extremely difficult to think about, or even to accept, especially in living a Christian life. In the recent past, one of my goals was to try to re-connect with my family. I come from a very difficult and hard life. For my own…
Read MoreHow can I help my rebellious 15-year-old brother?
Question: Hi, I’m a 20-year-old girl with a 15-year-old younger brother who is going down the wrong path. He drinks, smokes, curses, hangs out with his friends most of the time and doesn’t take his schoolwork seriously. He’s repeating 9th grade because he failed two classes last year, but he’s still slacking off and getting…
Read MoreHow do I fix my brother?
Question: I know this sounds like a stupid question, but how do I fix my brother? He keeps getting worse. I thought he was starting to act a little bit better, but I guess I was wrong. I know I messed up in acting the way I did when I was little and ended up…
Read MoreMy daughter said she would marry when she moved back in with us, but she and her boyfriend are still unmarried. What do we do?
Question: My daughter and her fiancé moved in with us over two months ago because he lost his job. Part of their plan was to move a great distance to where his dad lives. I told my daughter that they had to get married immediately upon their arrival and she agreed. I told her that…
Read MoreHow do I get my parents to see that they are enabling my sister to be a drug user?
Question: This question is about addiction and enabling and how it relates to the Bible. My sister got pregnant in high school and gave birth to my niece when she was 17 years old. My parents raised the child and formally adopted her. So, legally my niece became my sister. My parents spoiled her growing…
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