Mercy to Enemies

by Zeke Flores “Ah, sword of Yahweh, how long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; be at rest and stay still. How can it be quiet? Yahweh has given it a command; against Ashkelon and against the seacoast — there He has assigned it” (Jeremiah 47:6-7 LSB). While God’s judgment is certain…

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God’s Mercy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Gods-Mercy.mp3 Download Audio by Austin Hausner

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Good Neighbors

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Good-Neighbors.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:16-21   I.         Putting off the old man             A.        When we become a Christian, we are supposed to become a new person – II Corinthians 5:17             B.        We are supposed to have the mind of Christ – Philippians 2:5             C.        That isn’t so hard when everything goes well             D.        But 19th century English…

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Do these fall under grace or mercy?

Question: First of all, know that your website has been so very helpful in my journey to mature in Christ. I am struggling with recognizing sins that will keep me out of heaven.  Below are a few examples: At a counter there is a sign out to take 1 face mask, I take 2 or…

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Consider the Lord’s Loving Kindness

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Consider-the-Lords-Loving-Kindness.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 107   I.         Whatever our life, we need to acknowledge God loving kindness toward us – Psalms 107:1-3             A.        Many talk of Psalms 107 as a song of God redeeming the nation of Israel from Babylonian captivity.                         1.         But this isn’t about a nation. It is about groups or categories of…

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Obligations of Grace

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Obligations-of-Grace.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 18:21-35   I.         Every person is important!             A.        “Well, of course!” You might be thinking. “I’m glad someone sees my worth.”             B.        But Jesus told a parable – Matthew 18:12-14                         1.         When one person gets himself into trouble, it is God’s will that he be rescued, if possible.                         2.         And that will mean…

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What I Would Say To My Children

by Jefferson David Tant Raising children is, I believe, one of the greatest responsibilities God has given us. By God’s design, a man and a woman have created something which will never cease to exist — a spirit that has been made in the image of God. Can you imagine the awesome feeling of responsibility…

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Kindness

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Kindness.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:9-21   I.         When a person walks as the Spirit directs, it produces a fruit that has many attributes – Galatians 5:13-25             A.        We will focus on one of those attributes today: kindness.             B.        chrestotes is a form of the word for usefulness. It means kindness, goodness, or honesty             C.        God is…

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Jonah – Wrath of Man / Mercy of God

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Jonah-Wrath-of-Man-Mercy-of-God.mp3 by Ross Ward We all know the story, but have we really gotten the point? Story The book is about Jonah Not gentile city Outline of book Ch 1 – Jonah runs from God Ch 2 – Jonah’s salvation Ch 3 – Nineveh’s salvation Ch 4 – God’s mercy on Jonah Jonah’s faults Wrath…

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What Justice Requires

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/What-Justice-Requires.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Micah 6:6-8   I.         The concept of justice is rarely applied evenly.             A.        Justice is the quality of being right or proper. It carries the idea of fair and equal treatment. There is no favoritism with justice. People get what they deserve.             B.        People want justice when they have been wronged. But…

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When Ahab Humbled Himself

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton It might seem odd, but I love it when a student in a Bible class asks a deep question — you know, a question that shows the student was thinking far beyond the immediate lesson. This morning, a student was working on a lesson about greed and he planned to use…

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Confusing Mercy with Justice

by Matthew W. Bassford The other Sunday, I was approached by one of the younger sisters at church. She had a couple of questions. They involved hypotheticals that many of us have encountered before. What about the tribesman in the Amazon jungle who never gets to hear about the gospel? What about the man who…

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Doctrinal Matters

by Doy Moyer When we think of “doctrinal” issues, we tend to think of matters like marriage and divorce, the work of the church, baptism, etc. We work hard to try to get these right, and there are often sharp disagreements over the nature of these “doctrinal” matters. “Doctrine” means teaching, and anything we teach…

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God Who Makes the Broken Beautiful

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/God-Who-Makes-the-Broken-Beautiful.mp3 by Wayne Fancher I. The Earth from Without Form and Void to Beautiful Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made,…

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How Could a Loving God Send Me to Hell?

by Tanner Campbell The very thought of Hell is terrifying. Such a thought is an intense provoker for many to repent of their sins and revere the word of the Lord. However, others think little of Hell. For example, you may have heard someone say something like “how could a loving, kind, and merciful God…

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God’s Compassion

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Gods-Compassion.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 58   I.         God has the absolute right to judge             A.        Some get angry that He would dare to judge             B.        But it is the righteous God who gets angry – Psalms 7:10-11             C.        How can mankind who have shown repeated incidences of injustice sit in judgment on God? – Job 34:16-17…

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A Song of Faith

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SongOfFaith.mp3 Text: Psalm 23   I.         The most famous psalm is a song about faith.             A.        It weaves in a few brief words the clear message of a special relationship between man and God             B.        It speaks of trust and security in good times and bad. II.        Faith in Times of Quiet – Psalm 23:1-3             A.        The Lord is my…

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How much obedience does the Lord demand of me?

Question: Hey Jeffrey, I have a problem understanding the nature of obedience to God’s laws. I read and hear that obedience is required for salvation, but no man (besides Jesus) has obeyed perfectly, so please help me understand the nature of the obedience required to please God and enter His eternal abode. Is part of…

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You Don’t Deserve Mercy

by Doy Moyer Have you seen these scenes where someone is taking vengeance on another, and at the point at which the one is about to drop the hammer, the other cries out for some form of mercy? Then, the avenger says something like, “You don’t deserve mercy!” Boom. You don’t deserve mercy. Let that…

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Making Known His Glory

by Andrew Hamilton A section of Romans caught my attention during a recent Bible study. As a quick reminder of the context, Paul spends quite a bit of Romans explaining the righteousness of God. Partway through an analysis of Israelite history, he inserts a sort of question-and-answer section to make a few points clear. “What…

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I Desire Mercy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IDesireMercy.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 9:9-13   I.         In honor of Jesus, the new apostle, Matthew, who was also known as Levi, held a dinner. He invited the people he knew. They weren’t the best in Jewish society: other tax collectors and people involved in various sins.             A.        Mark 2:16-17             B.        The Pharisees saw these people…

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My God of Mercy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MyGodOfMercy.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 2:1-10   I.         Several years ago I taught High School math and science in a private school             A.        As happens occasionally, one student copied from another and turned in the assignment.                         1.         The school’s policy was to give zero grades to both the cheater and the one cheated from.                                     a.         It was…

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Why wasn’t Judah punished for seeing a prostitute?

Question: Hi, There is something that has been nagging me for a long time. I am a young Christian man, and I have this question about the story of Judah and Tamar. As you know, Tamar tricked Judah into fathering a child with her by disguising herself as a prostitute. In the narrative, at least…

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What Saves a Person?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Since, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9), it would be sensible to understand that in order to get people saved, God would tell them…

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Judgment and Mercy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/JudgmentAndMercy.mp3 by PJ Anderson

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God’s Marvelous Mercy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/2008Spring2GodsMarvelousMercy.mp3 by Whit Sasser Lessons in Christianity

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Grace and Mercy

Author Unknown Grace is giving to another what they don’t deserve. Mercy is not giving another what they deserve.

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