Is not taking God’s name in vain just about swearing?

Question: I also would like to ask if you think this commandment refers only to oaths or if it may refer to saying the name of God without purpose, like “God willing…” without God in mind. Thanks in advance! God bless your work. Answer: This particular commandment is focused on men treating God with honor…

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Reverencing the Name of God

by David Gibson I once overheard an older woman ask a middle-aged man as he entered the post office, “Are they closed?” “Lord, no!” he said. “They ain’t closed.” In a Dallas hospital waiting room, several women were passing the time in conversation. One of them mentioned that a certain man they knew was 38.…

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You’d Better Earn My Respect!

by Adam Litmer People often declare that a person must earn their respect. We like to establish criteria to be reached before respect is extended. The criteria may shift or remain static, yet the end result is the same: the ball is in their court, and they need to play it correctly to receive respect…

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Love and Respect

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Love-and-Respect.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 5:25-33   I.         There are some topics that are joined such that you cannot have one without the other.             A.        Faith and obedience are two sides the same subject.                         1.         You can’t really have faith without obedience – James 2:14-18                         2.         And you can’t really have obedience without faith – Romans 4:2-5…

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Reverence

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Reverence.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 89:1-16   I.         Hebrews 12:28-29 – Offer service to God with reverence and godly fear             A.        Reverence means                         1.         “A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration.”                         2.         The word literally means “with downcast eyes” or bashfulness.             B.        Psalms 2:11 – Serve God with fear, rejoice with trembling             C.        Psalms 89:5-15…

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Remember Lot’s Wife

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Remember-Lots-Wife.mp3 by Ralph Walker Was Lot’s wife’s death an unfair result of a simple reflexive action? Preaching the Bloody Bible

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Nadab, Abihu, and Strange Fire

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Nadab-Abihu-and-Strange-Fire.mp3 by Ralph Walker Did God execute these two men over a simple exchange of fire? Fire is fire, isn’t it? Preaching the Bloody Bible

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Uzzah and the Ark

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Uzzah-and-the-Ark.mp3 by Ralph Walker Was Uzzah really executed for an involuntary reflexive action? Preaching the Bloody Bible

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Pose Pretty

by Jefferson David Tant What do you usually do when someone points a camera at you? If you are like most, you immediately “straighten up” a bit, don’t you? Hair fixed, clothes in good order, and a nice smile on your face. Did you ever wonder why we are like that — why we go…

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Whom Do We Fear?

by Doy Moyer Peter wrote to Christians who faced persecution. Along with persecution and threats come the fears and anxieties of what may happen. We face intimidation and are worried about the outcome. Peter knew what that felt like. He denied Christ three times when faced with intimidating circumstances. When he wrote this epistle then,…

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Uncommon Courtesy

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Uncommon-Courtesy.mp3 Text: Romans 15:1-6   I.         Sometimes I have to wonder what happened to common courtesy. The phrase needs to be changed because it seem common courtesy has become uncommon.             A.        Courtesy is “the showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior toward others”                         1.         It comes from a French word meaning “courtly ideals; chivalry, chivalrous conduct; elegance…

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Giving Respect

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Giving-Respect.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Malachi 1:6-14   I.         The word translated as “respect” in our Bibles comes from an interesting Greek word, entrepo.             A.        The word has two, seemingly conflicting, definitions.                         1.         It can mean showing respect or honor – Hebrews 12:9                         2.         It can mean having shame – Titus 2:6-8             B.        Even our English word “respect” as…

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How do you get someone to respect you?

Question: Brother Hamilton, How do you get someone to respect you? How does it work, or how is it supposed to work? For example, this girl I was dating called me while she was under the influence of alcohol. We were hashing out a disagreement about something. I immediately corrected her on it, and she…

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Has God ever accepted a defective sacrifice?

Question: Has God ever accepted a spotted, unclean, defiled, blemished, blind, lame, or sick sacrifice? Answer: “Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you” (Leviticus 22:20). “But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to…

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Is it wrong to bow to elders or at the graves of those who had died?

Question: Hello, I have a few questions, I hope you don’t mind. In East Asian countries, it is customary to bow to elders and those older than you. Is this not allowed? Also, it is customary to bow to ancestors who’ve passed away at their graves. Is this not allowed as well? Thanks! Answer: In…

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The Ten Commandments on How to Get Along with Each Other

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TenCommandmentsOnHowToGetAlong1.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         Introduction             A.        No man is an island                         1.         We cannot exist alone. We are in constant need of contact with other people.                         2.         In order to get along in this world, we must get along with others.             B.        As Christians, our main purpose should be to bring more souls to Christ                         1.         How can we…

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Respect

by Carey Scott “In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 17:7). A quality that is lacking in our society is respect. I think everyone would acknowledge such, but few think about it. Many wish it would return to our society,…

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Where in the Old Testament does it say to honor others more than yourself?

Question: Where is it said in the Old Testament about honoring (or a similar word) the other more than oneself? Also, what are similar words to “honoring?” Answer: In the New Testament you can find, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let…

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What are honor and respect?

Question: What are honor and respect? Answer: Honor is used in two different senses. We can speak of a person’s honor and we can talk about giving honor to another person. A person’s honor is his integrity. It is the idea of doing what is right in all situations. “Repay no one evil for evil.…

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Reverend Is His Name

by Kent Heaton The book of Psalms is a powerful testimony to the majesty, praise, glory, and awesome power of Jehovah God. Isaiah wrote the words of the Lord, “To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike . Remember the former things long past, for…

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Worship

I.         At times I am amazed at the vagueness that has entered our beliefs             A.        I’m sure the wishy-washy-ness of the denominational world has much to do it.                         1.         To define something crisply means you are dividing people into two groups — those who are right and those who are wrong.                         2.         And “Heaven forbid, if we actually charge…

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Notes on the Ten Commandments

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Repeated in the New Testament: Matthew 4:10; Acts 17:16; Romans 1:25; I Corinthians 8:4-6; Philippians 3:19; Colossians 2:18; Revelation 19:10; 22:9 “You shall not make for…

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