I don’t know what to believe anymore

Question: I do not know what to believe anymore. I have been a Christian all my life. My prayers have never been answered. The Westboro Church calls themselves true Christians and you say that you are a true follower, but your beliefs go against theirs, so who’s right? My mind cannot handle this stress of…

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We Can Know the Truth

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/WeCanKnowTheTruth.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton   I.         Objectivity is not a strong point in our society             A.        Objective means the existence of something outside of oneself.             B.        Our society prefers things to be subjective – belonging to one’s own mind – especially when dealing with matters of right and wrong.                         1.         “It doesn’t really matter what I believe, as…

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How can I know that what I am believing is the truth?

Question: Just last night I heard someone say that Lucifer was a human king and not Satan. I had thought that they were one and the same and now I am quite confused and discouraged because so many people view the Bible differently. How can I know that what I am believing is the truth?…

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How can I figure out the truth when so many people disagree?

Question: This is part of the problem I’ve been having: If something is part of the Old Law then why don’t Jews today try to make homosexuality a death penalty in places like Florida, Israel, or anywhere there’s a large Jewish population? It is this inconsistency between people and what’s said in the Bible that…

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What does it mean that grace and truth came by Jesus?

Question: Hello Jeff, I came across these beautiful words from John 1:16-17  “And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Can you explain, what does it really means that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ? These beautiful…

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Before You Click “Forward”

by Bryan Matthew Dockens Before forwarding that next e-mail, consider the following: Is It Morally Correct? Inasmuch as “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance” (Proverbs 15:13), it is nice to send and receive jokes and humorous stories, but care must be exercised in doing so. The Scriptures describe “coarse jesting” as behavior that should…

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Seeking the Truth

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/SeekingTheTruth.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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The Other Side of Truth

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/OtherSideOfTruth.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Thessalonians 1:3-10   I.         People tend to focus one aspect, one characteristic when they deal with another person             A.        We have a tendency to categorize people, to pick out a dominate trait             B.        When people talk about God or Jesus, they will focus on the love of God.                         1.         God is love,…

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Notes on the Message Preached

The Faith General References Acts 6:7 Acts 13:8 Acts 14:22 Acts 16:5 I Corinthians 16:13 Galatians 3:23 Ephesians 4:13 Colossians 1:23 Colossians 2:7 I Timothy 1:2 I Timothy 3:13 I Timothy 4:1 I Timothy 5:8 I Timothy 6:10,12 Titus 1:2, Titus 1:13 Titus 3:15 I Peter 5:9 Jude 3 Word of Faith Romans 10:8 One…

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Seeing Only What You Want to See

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SeeingOnlyWhatYouWantToSee.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 50   I.         I would like to share a portion of a letter I received: “I am in love with this girl who loved me too. We loved each other so crazily but at one point I realized that she had been lying to me for no reason to…

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Self-Inflicted Wounds

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SelfInflictedWounds.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 7:1-5   I.         I’ve mentioned to several people an interesting book by Gregory Koukl called Tactics.             A.        It discuss how Christians can discuss the gospel with others, especially those who might be hostile to the ideas of Christianity.                         1.         It is about not only presenting points, but getting the other person…

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Why I Don’t Forward Religious Stories

based upon a letter written by Darrell Hamilton A note was forwarded to me that went like this: After living a “decent” life my time on earth came to an end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a courthouse. The doors…

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Different Views of Truth

by Shane Williams via The Lilbourn light, Vol. 9, No. 11, March 2009. Isn’t it interesting that two people can see the same thing and come away with two different conclusions? The same thing can be said concerning what we hear or what we read. When the twelve spies were sent to explore the Promised…

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The Armor of God

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ArmorOfGod.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 6:10-18 Rome was the mighty governing power in the days the New Testament was written. Its strength was in its military, which constantly was on guard Josephus, a Jewish historian, observed that Roman soldiers always carried their weapons with them, even in times of peace. “Every soldier is…

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How can so many studious people end up teaching different doctrines?

Question: If you have the time and the resources, I think it would be profitable to your visitors if you’ll add a workbook on the Christian doctrine. I surely need one. One that discusses the Christian system. A bit of indoctrination as to what you believe to be the truth of God’s word starting from…

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I’m scared that God has made me believe a lie. How can I know His way?

Question: A sister in Christ shared this note with me and decided to try and address this young man’s concerns. You showed us that Scripture in II Thessalonians 2:11, “And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie.” That’s made me scared of God ever since. How, if…

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How is Truth Determined?

by Oscar C. Miles What probably bothers me most about Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons is that they do not allow any possibility that they might be in error. It seems to me that they have been programmed to resist the possibility of fallibility in their organization. They believe that they are God’s organization and thus…

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Gospel, Word, Truth, Seed, Doctrine

by Carl A. Allen The denominational world has tried to seek unity by teaching we are to believe the Gospel and not enforce “doctrine.” According to them we should not divide over baptism, the Lord’s Supper, instruments of music, tithing, marriage, and divorce, etc. because all of this falls into “doctrine,” and we have no…

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The Truth Shall Make You Free

by Carey Scott “So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free” (Malachi 3:15). The sad situation in Malachi presents an attitude that many people today hang on to.  The people were tired of being restrained in their behavior by the dictates…

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Can personal sins blind a person to the truth?

Question: In a discussion on Calvinism, I stated, “I would advise any reading this thread not to hinge their belief of Calvinism on this verse or discussion alone. ( Ephesians 4:14 ) This is a very deep topic. I would also counsel against taking this sort of scriptural meat on when you know you have…

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Is Science the Source of Truth?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         Mankind has long fooled themselves into thinking they can accurately determine the truth             A.        We call this search for Truth “Science”                         1.         “Knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method.” – Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary                         2.         Science is a way of thinking, an error-correcting process…

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What Makes the Difference?

by Bill Crews [edited] If a man has money and is not willing to have it examined, people think it is counterfeit. If a man is afraid to take a lie detector test, people think he is guilty of a crime. If a man conducts a business and is unwilling to let anyone investigate it,…

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Must a member of the church follow the truth?

Question: Is it true that if a member of the church of Christ is shown a truth from the Scriptures, they are bound to follow that truth? Answer: Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Hence, any true follower of Christ (a Christian) will strive to as obediently to the truth…

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A People of Principle

by Tim Nichols Christians, above all others, are to be a people governed by principles. The world may not yield to an obvious code of conduct, but God’s children recognize that the distinct teachings of God’s Word give us higher and better rules than our own to guide us through life. Just as Luke wrote…

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Is Science the Source of Truth?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Mankind has long deluded itself into thinking it can accurately determine truth. In the past charlatans and deluded men thought they could divine truth by observing animal organs or through drug-induced trances. Eventually, the search for truth has given way to the use of human reasoning. It has been modified and…

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In Truth

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton 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, but if so,…

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