When restoring what I took, do I need to mention my name?

Question: Hi! First, thank you so much for the questions and answers you provide. I find the information super helpful. I’ve had a chance to review questions similar to mine, but I would like to ask a few specifics. The overall theme of my question concerns repentance and restitution. For some background, I am a…

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Staying a Christian

by Don Wright Becoming a Christian is one of the easiest things you can do. It has often been said, and I think it is true, that the only thing easier than becoming a Christian is not becoming a Christian. God has made His plan of salvation simple enough for all to comprehend and obey.…

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What Sort of People (DeLong)

by Hugh DeLong In II Peter 3:10-12, Peter affirms that our destiny lies in new heavens and a new earth. The things of this present heavens and earth will pass away, be burned up, dissolved, melted. This new home will be the home for those who are holy and godly. Their lives are lived in…

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That Wise Bird

by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). Our possession of two ears and only one mouth is not an accident. Since we learn more by listening than talking, listening is more valuable from a practical standpoint, but…

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When Your Brother Is Overtaken in a Sin

by Heath Rogers The Parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a man who is ambushed, stripped, beaten, and left for dead (Luke 10:30-37). The first people to find him are his own countrymen, but they pass him by. It is the foreigner, a Samaritan, who stops and helps. We are ready to judge the…

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Is worship acceptable if the one leading it is a hidden sinner?

Question: Dear sir, I hope this email finds you well. In reference to Romans 6:1-2 and I Timothy 2:8: If someone is leading any of the acts of worship and, unknown to the church, the person is in sin but continues to lead the service, does it hinder the church in any way? Do your…

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Control Your Tongue

by Luiz Felipe Lima De Albuquerque “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some young men came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go away, you baldhead!” they said. “Go away, you baldhead!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them…

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The Question of God Repenting or Changing His Mind

by Terry Wane Benton A skeptic thought he found a flaw in the Bible and the God of the Bible. He believes the following is a contradiction in the Bible: Does God change his mind? “For I am the Lord; I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither…

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Check Your Soundness

by Terry Wane Benton To be sound is to be solid and healthy as opposed to weakened and sickly. There are six areas mentioned in the book of Titus that we need to examine in ourselves. Are you: Sound in the doctrine you believe and practice? (Titus 1:9; 2:1):  Is your belief solidly built on…

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Three Seasons of Discipleship

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Three-Seasons-of-Discipleship.mp3 by Jeremy Dehut Download Audio Acts of Disciples

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Disciples Learn from the Past

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Disciples-Learn-from-the-Past.mp3 by Jeremy DeHut Download Audio Acts of Disciples

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The Future Resurrection

by Terry Wane Benton Clement of Rome, early in the second century, it is believed, wrote a letter to the Corinthians and spoke of the future resurrection. There was no thought that AD 70 was the resurrection. That idea is of recent origin, and it is wholly false. Clement wrote: “Let us consider, beloved, how…

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The Bold Life of Disciples

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/The-Bold-Life-of-Disciples.mp3 by Jeremy DeHut Download Audio Acts of Disciples

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Disciples Are Devoted

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Disciples-Are-Devoted.mp3 by Jeremy DeHut Download Audio Acts of Disciples

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I’m losing my enthusiasm

Question: First of all, I want to say thank you for your hard work and dedication to your church and the website. I recently discovered your website, and I enjoy reading the questions and your answers. I’ve been a Christian for a long time. I’ve been a member of various churches of Christ in different…

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Disciples Seek to Follow Jesus

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Disciples-Seek-to-Follow-Jesus.mp3 by Jeremy DeHut Download Audio Acts of Disciples

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Why do some churches of Christ not believe in the Holy Spirit?

Question: Howdy! I am reaching out to inquire why some of the churches of Christ do not believe in the Holy Spirit. They think it’s just the Bible and that He is not actually with Christians! Seems like a false teaching. It’s like they are too afraid to be anything like the church of God…

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Morning, Midday, and Evening

by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour” (Acts 10:9). The practice of praying at set times is an old and honorable custom. And despite our modern disdain for anything that isn’t spontaneous, the habit of praying at the beginning, the middle, and the end of…

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Forewarned Is Forearmed

by David Gibson He had so much to tell them and so little time. It was Jesus’ last night with His disciples before the cross. Knowing what lay ahead, He wanted most to prepare them for the hardships they would soon be facing. The value of warnings He warned them that their enemies would oppose…

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Does It Cost Too Much?

by David Gibson The parable is only one verse long, but what a lesson is packed in those few words! “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew…

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Questions about the body, soul, spirit, and death

Dear Jeffrey, I listened to your Bible lesson on the body, spirit, and soul, and it was very helpful. I have some questions and thought I would like to run them by you (my Bible quotes are from KJV): The Body, Soul, and Death Genesis 2:7 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and…

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What are spiritual blessings?

Question: My daughter asked me a question that I couldn’t answer as straightforwardly as I would like. Could you help me answer this question? What is a spiritual blessing? Ephesians 1:3 discusses this concept, but the explanation I found was too complex for me to understand fully. I need it explained in simpler terms. Thanks.…

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The Paradoxes of God

by Floyd Chappalear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 A paradox is that which seems contradictory in fact or experience; hence, unbelievable. There are some profound paradoxes associated with God. For instance, God is sovereign, yet man has free will. Jesus was human, while remaining Deity. Man is saved only by faith,…

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Reactionary Religion

by Allen Malone via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 God’s people of old went astray as they desired to be like the nations around them (I Samuel 8:19-20). They left the way of God because they were more interested in following the customs of others than in following God’s prescribed path. Regrettably,…

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Faith to Walk on Water

by Clint Gann via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 Over 75 percent of the Earth’s surface is composed of water. One of the first things God did in the creation was to separate land and water (Genesis 1:9). After man was placed on earth, God often used water as a teaching tool.…

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The Necessity of Public Confession

by Floyd Chappalear “Question Concerning Forgiveness,” Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 Question: Will you please write something in Sentry regarding forgiveness? When is it scriptural for one to go before a congregation and ask for forgiveness, or let them know one has repented? This is not something done by another Christian, who,…

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Election

by Kenneth Frazier via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 John Calvin is well known for his views on election and predestination. Qualben’s “A History of the Christian Church” gives this evaluation of Calvin’s belief. “As a logical tonsequence, Calvin asserted that God had from eternity foreordained all things that should come…

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Volunteering for Service

by Edward A. Smith via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 As a young man, I often considered joining our nation’s all-volunteer military. Even though the pay was not great, the benefits and security certainly seemed to outweigh the chances of ever being involved in a major conflict. Reserve duty seemed even…

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Encouragement: Hebrews 10:19-25

by Steve Roe via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 When considering why people leave the church, it’s essential to look at the situation objectively. Before condemning those who have decided to depart, the first place we should look for answers is in the mirror. As we consider the reasons many people…

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A New Twist on Tongues

by James P. Needham via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 18, 31 March 1992 I never cease to be amazed at the clever ruses hatched up by false teachers in their ungodly efforts to tickle the ears of the public and make merchandise of human souls (II Timothy 4:3; II Peter 2:3). When I think…

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Our Purpose in Living

by Hugh DeLong “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God”…

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I Struggle with Sin. Am I a Bad Christian?

by Mark McCrary Every honest Christian knows this question: “I’m struggling with sin. Does that make me a bad Christian?” The Bible doesn’t brush this concern aside. In fact, it describes exactly that tension between God’s call to holiness and our ongoing battle with sin. On one hand, God says, “Be holy, for I am…

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Less Than Nothing

by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “As for the children of men, they are but vanity; The children of men are deceitful; Upon the weights they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.” (Psalms 62:9 Coverdale Bible, 1535) The Psalms contain poetry that is remarkably frank and vivid. Especially striking are its portrayals of godless living and…

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Men and Women Need to Learn to Like One Another Again

Source: Emmy Griffin, “Men and Women Need to Learn to Like One Another Again,” The Patriot Post, 13 October 2025. “We have often fretted about the devastatingly low U.S. birth rate and the fact that couples aren’t having many children. However, as podcaster Brett Cooper recently pointed out, the fundamental problem is really that men and…

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Is This Action Wise?

by Doy Moyer Answering the question, “Is an action right or wrong?” may tell us what to think, and there is a place for this. “Is the action wise?” However, it teaches us how to think, and this is something emphasized in Scripture. Scripture, then, is not about some checklist of do’s and don’ts. It…

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Can elders only be appointed by college-trained preachers?

Question: I have a question. In the absence of the formally-trained or college-trained preacher, but under the guidance of homegrown or locally trained preachers, can a church start a process of nominating potential elders, declaration of desire from nominated members, church participation in choosing those with qualities mentioned in I Timothy 3 and Titus, and…

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The Burden of the Prophet

by Cleve Stafford “The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind…

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