Posts Tagged ‘love’
How Great a Love!
by David Gibson One of life’s greatest blessings is knowing someone loves us, despite our faults and failures. I never doubted that my parents loved me, or that my wife loved me. And doesn’t their love have a way of bringing out the best in us? We don’t want to disappoint them–especially if they have…
Read MoreConditional Statements
by Hugh DeLong In John 15, Jesus speaks with the Apostles, and in what he says, we see many ‘if’ statements and conditional sentences. Note the list: “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and…
Read MoreWhen God Washed Men’s Feet
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/When-God-Washed-Mens-Feet.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: John 13:1-17 I. Jesus’ mission was drawing to a conclusion A. It was the night that Jesus would be betrayed B. Judas had already made a deal with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus C. Jesus had gathered with his disciples to eat one last Passover meal and to give…
Read MoreDoes God’s Love Mean We Are Automatically Saved?
by Terry Wane Benton The fallacy of the argument about God’s love is that if it means we will be eternally saved because God loves us, then no one would be lost (II Peter 3:9). However, many will be lost (Matthew 7:13-14). Loving us and accepting us are two different things. His love wants us,…
Read MoreLove Your Neighbor (Moyer)
by Doy Moyer Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are first, to love God with all the heart, soul, strength, and might, and second, to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). These commandments are the basis for everything else God commands. It’s not hard to see in the structure of the Ten Commandments…
Read MoreIs it wrong to marry the person you love?
Question: Hi, I came to your website and followed it for a couple of days. I’m glad that you are helping people with your answers. I want to know if Christians can have a love marriage? Is it against God’s word or is it against God’s will? If two people, who believe in Christ, are…
Read MoreLove Bears All Things
by Greg Weston The word Paul used in this text, which is translated “bears” in the New King James translation, means “to cover” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p. 586). Thayer gives the varied usage of this word as “1. to protect or keep by covering, to preserve… 2. to cover with silence; to keep secret; to…
Read MoreIn Truth
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2003/09/In-Truth.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II John I. Truth is Jesus Christ – John 14:6 A. The book of II John expands on this idea B. The book is written by the Apostle, and Elder, John C. To whom it is addressed has been debated 1. Some see “elect lady” as a symbol of the church,…
Read MoreTruth and Love
by Doy Moyer Truth and love are not at odds. Both are needed simultaneously. Truth without love can be unkind, cold, and heartless. Love without truth will be arbitrary, compromising reality, and without standards. However, together, united, truth and love will be purposeful, compassionate, and committed to what is best for all. Jesus is the…
Read MoreI Should Have Loved More
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/I-Should-Have-Loved-More.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreJudgment and Love
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Judgment-and-Love.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreLove One Another
by Luke Bower The other day, I overheard someone talking about how they enjoy buying things online. They even observed that as soon as the drone delivery system is perfected, they won’t have to interact with the UPS person. It seems that more and more stores are moving in this direction. Have you noticed that…
Read MoreServing the Lord
by Steven Harper If we are genuinely interested in what pleases the Lord, we should consider everything we do and say, and whether it is, in fact, pleasing to Him, according to what He has revealed in the Scriptures. One of the most obvious aspects of our lives as disciples is our worship assembly and…
Read MoreWhat does “without natural affection” mean?
Question: “Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Romans 1:31 KJV). What is natural affection? Answer: “Without natural affection” (astrogous) means “Being without the natural love between parents and their children.” Seneca, a Roman philosopher, used the word in “justifying” for killing unwanted children. It is a person without the natural affection for…
Read MoreLove, Service, and Obedience
by Doy Moyer We serve what we love, and we obey what we serve. What does that mean? It is possible to be coerced into obedience, but this is not love. However, when we love something or someone, we serve, and in serving, we obey. I believe the word “obey” and its cognates say more…
Read MoreThe Two Poles of the Second Commandment
by David Gibson It was Jesus Himself who identified loving God and loving neighbor as the first and second commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). It’s worth noting that the second commandment, like a magnet, has both a positive and a negative pole. The Negative Pole: “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder,…
Read MoreLove Your Neighbor (Benton)
by Terry Wane Benton The command to “love your neighbor as yourself” is a wonderful rule to live by, but even it can be misused. For example, politicians who have little to no regard for the rule of God will reach into the Bible when they think it makes a handy point they can use…
Read MoreVital Starting Points for Unity
by Doy Moyer All believers should, at the least, accept that Jesus wants His followers to be united together. He prayed “for those who will believe in me through their (the apostles’) word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be…
Read MoreOne Another
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/One-Another.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 12:9-13 I. We are an individualistic society, but we recognize the need to work together to achieve goals. A. We form companies to manufacture goods B. We have governments to coordinate society C. There are aspects of Christianity that I am responsible for as an individual, but it is…
Read MoreHe Died for My Sins
by Allen Dvorak via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 What would you be willing to do for your enemy? To the Romans, Paul wrote that God demonstrated His love for us “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We (men in general) were enemies of God because…
Read MoreLove Is Love?
This is gay pride month to some people. But one should not celebrate sin. The word of God is very clear about this (Romans 1:24ff; I Corinthians 6:8-10). The message of God is that He loves you and wants you, but He gives you reasons to repent (change), and repentance leads to salvation (II Corinthians…
Read MoreIt Took a Lot of Love
by Terry Wane Benton Stephen was misrepresented and falsely charged by his Jewish brethren (Acts 6:11-15). When the court allowed him to speak, he gave a concise summary of Israel’s history (Acts 7). They had a bad history. The brothers of Joseph hated him and sold him to Egypt, but Joseph was God’s planned savior.…
Read MoreAll We Need Is Love
by Terry Wane Benton Each person wants and needs it. It is a primary need. People want to feel at least worth acknowledging and at least worth treating with dignity and respect. Who enjoys being shunned, passed by, ignored, or treated as worthless? All we need is love, goodwill, and our world is better. Now,…
Read MoreLooking in All the Wrong Places
by Tommy Peeler During my growing-up years in Tennessee, there was the country song “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” The writer tells his story as one who desperately looked for romance, only to come up heartbroken. The song ends with the thought that the writer found love, and his search has ended.…
Read MoreSincere Obedience
by Doy Moyer Obedience is not merely an outward act that conforms to a command. It is a bending of the heart, a surrender of the will, to the mind of God. If I regularly ran red lights because I didn’t want to stop, then I am a lawbreaker at heart. If I stopped at…
Read MoreDo Unto Others
by Doy Moyer “As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them” (Luke 6:31). This does not mean: Do unto others as they have done to you. This is not revenge permission. It is acting contrary to revenge, as you would never wish for someone to take revenge on you. Do…
Read MoreThe Greatest Commandment
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/The-Greatest-Commandment.mp3 Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 22:34-40 I. From among the Pharisees, a lawyer came to Jesus to put him to the test. A. He asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” B. A difficult question, given the large number of commands found in the Old Testament. 1. How do you decide which is greater than…
Read MorePrecious Things
by Leon Mauldin via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 The Word of the Lord I Samuel 3:1 gives the setting for God’s initial calling of young Samuel to the prophetic office: “And the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was precious in those days; there was…
Read MoreSeven Reasons to Love Others
by Perry Hall God commands it. “Because God said so” must be good enough to obey. But we want more, don’t we? Maybe we should need more reasons! It imitates God. That is the highest motivation. God loved us while we were His enemies (Romans 5:8-10). It helps others (Romans 12:20-21). Just because we do…
Read MorePerversion of the Love of God
by Terry Wane Benton Many want to continue a sinful practice so much that they think they can use the love of God to justify it. God does so love the world that He gave His Son to die for sinners. He loved me while I was yet a sinner (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). But…
Read MoreBy This We Know Love
by Michael Sullivan via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 1, January 2015 “I love you.” We live in a world that drains these words of their power. Even for many who claim to follow Christ, “love” has come to represent strong emotion and warm feelings toward those who are likeable, those with something to offer. Christians…
Read MoreWithout Christ, All Are Lost
by Floyd Chappalear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, 1987 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). That love was shown by Jesus Christ when he willingly died for all mankind, even those who participated in his crucifixion. While we were yet…
Read MoreRomanticizing Love
by Terry Wane Benton Different things come to mind when we think of “love.” We often think of love as a feeling of infatuation, where we are walking with our heads in the clouds with a romantic feeling toward someone. But, while that may be pleasant, it is not the kind of love God commands…
Read MoreBut the Greatest of These Is Love
by Aaron Erhardt via Biblical Insight, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 Napoleon once declared, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have founded empires, but upon what do these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love: and to this very day millions would die for Him.” Indeed, the “empire”…
Read MoreLove versus Grace
by Terry Wane Benton God does indeed love us all. He “so loved the world” that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). But, did you notice that even though He loves all, many will “perish”? Many will go to hell, even though God loves us all. You see, telling people that God loves them…
Read MoreTwo Necessary Things in Christian Parenting
by Jen Venuso Whether or not you make New Year’s resolutions (I’ve been both), you’re likely reflecting on the past and looking forward to the next year. Right now, I’m heavily in the throes of parenting, so much of my reflection settles there. As a bio/foster/adoptive mom to seven kids (plus a few short-term kids),…
Read MoreJesus – Loving, But Not Always Nice
by Chadwick Brewer Jesus was always loving, but He was not always nice. He threw the money changers out of the temple, rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees, and pronounced woes on entire cities. Jesus, while being the embodiment of God’s love, did not practice an attitude of “I love you just the way you are.” He…
Read MoreYou didn’t show compassion
Question: Hello, The post titled “I grew up in a family that didn’t love or want me. How do I learn to love?” is not compassionate. Many verses are thrown out there, but I don’t see the truth being spoken in love. You are lambasting a broken man. At best, I find this article not…
Read MoreLove for the Brethren
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Love-for-the-Brethren.mp3 by Raymond Warfel
Read MoreLove or Hate
by Terry Wane Benton If the Law said to “hate your enemies” (via Matthew 5:43), and Jesus was obligated to uphold the Law, then Jesus was obligated to hate His enemies, and He would have sinned if He did not hate his enemies. No! That will not work! Jesus does not contrast His own new…
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