Finding a Home

by Joanne Beckley Thinking back on Sunday, worshiping at Tshiredzheni (South Africa), I couldn’t help but reflect on the trend I see in our increasingly desired larger congregations in America, with their well-dressed worshippers in their beautiful buildings — and making comparisons . . . Here I was sitting in a building, being built little…

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How should I help the homeless?

Question: Dear Sir, I live in a city where there are a lot of homeless people. I need to know what I as a Christian need to do to help them. I give money at my local grocery store that goes to a food bank for those in need, I also leave a care package…

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Though Poor, They Are Rich

by Jefferson David Tant “South of the Border” is a delightful song that I remember from my boyhood, telling us of our neighbors “down Mexico way.” The tune came to mind as I was reading the reports of brethren Robert Turner and V. N. Collins in Plain Talk some time ago. They told of a trip…

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Feeding the Poor

by Edwin Crozier Where in the Bible did Jesus feed the poor? My only goal is to provoke some intense thinking and searching. I’ll just say at the outset that I know my point here is going to make me an outlier. I know I’m cutting against the grain and swimming upstream and any other…

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The Bible and the Poverty Problem

by Matthew W. Bassford In 2003, social scientists Isabell Sawhill and Ron Haskins noticed three striking differences between poor people in America and the nonpoor. First, poor people generally hadn’t completed high school; the nonpoor had. Second, nonpoor people kept a steady job; poor people didn’t. Third, nonpoor people got married before having children; poor people…

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The Poor in Spirit

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PoorInSpirit-1.mp3 by Jeffrey Hamilton Text: Isaiah 61:1-3   I.         The good news is a message to the afflicted – Isaiah 61:1             A.        This is the passage Jesus chose to read in his hometown – Luke 4:16-21             B.        When John began to doubt Jesus, Jesus again referred to this passage – Luke 7:22-23             C.        Jesus declared that the kingdom, the…

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Is life not meant to be enjoyed?

Question: I still have some things troubling my mind. I always wanted to try my best and enjoy life as much as I can, obviously with God. But lately, in church and from reading the Bible, some things really confuse me. For example like how Jesus told us that if we wanted to be perfect…

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The Poor Among Us

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         Poverty is an existing problem. It has always been this way and it will continue until the world ends.             A.        Jesus said “You will always have the poor among you.” – John 12:8             B.        Poverty comes from a variety of sources: Circumstances, incapacity, and sometimes even by choice.                         1.         These things will continue to…

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