In 1980 a movie called “Altered States” came out in which a University Professor of Abnormal Psychology sought to explore whether “our other states of consciousness are as real as our waking states.” In this movie, the professor conducted bizarre experiments with drugs and isolation chambers in order to explore his hypothesis. The fictional movie […]

It was not too many years ago after graduating from college that I took a job working at the student health center at the University of Texas at Austin. Not too long after my employment there, I learned that there was a program in place that actually encouraged the students of the University to have […]

The Lord’s church often passes through different stages of spiritual development. For example, the church at Thyatira was improving, though plagued with false teaching (Revelation 2:19-20). The church at Sardis was past its prime – it was already dead, spiritually speaking (Revelation 3:1-3). Paul does brings out some good points regarding the church at Corinth […]

In a recent telephone conversation, a young man asked me about the 144,000 in heaven that will be saved. He had a few conversations with a friend who identified himself with the Jehovah’s Witness religion. His friend believed that there would be only 144,000 in heaven and the rest of the righteous people would inherit […]

We’re all familiar with the VBS tune, “This little light of mine.” We sing this song so as to let our children know that they need to be good examples and positive influences in the world around them. This song also reminds us to practice what we preach and let our light shine too. In […]

One of the most prevalent causes of misunderstanding the Bible is that the student fails to approach the Bible with the “right attitude.” In this way, God’s method of teaching him the truth is thwarted from the very beginning. This is the very problem Jesus faced as He began His ministry among men. After His […]

In the stress filled moments of our lives, having no visible means for encouraging strength, our desperate hands often clutch for that intangible called, “hope.” Hope tells us to press on when everything else tells us to give up. Where would we be, what would we do, without hope? There are literally billions of people […]

We cannot know the point in the wilderness wanderings where Israel was exposed to their first introduction to the serpent mentioned in this passage. There is no doubt that they had already become familiar with his tactics and message. They had heard his hiss. They had heard him when the ten spies had rejected God’s […]

Last week we noted the charge of “cult” that denominationalism levels at those who claim to be New Testament Christians today. One of the additional reasons this charge is leveled against us is that to the denominational world, it is unthinkable that the church of Christ (the church that belongs to Christ) would be one […]

Please open your Bibles to Matthew 3:1-6 Having testified concerning Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy in his birth, Matthew now moves on to Jesus years of ministry. Matthew begins at this point in the history of Jesus life because the critical years of Jesus life were from the time of his baptism to the time of […]

Catholicism has always had a large media spotlight, but recently Catholicism has garnered more media attention that usual. This is because of the scandalous events that have surrounded the Catholic Church as of late. The media has focused the spotlight on the abusive sexual practices of the priests in this institution and rightly so. Any […]

One of the most surprising things (at least to the media pundits) to come out of this past Tuesday’s election was that whopping twenty-five percent of the voters said that morals was the number one issue that drove them to the polls. Prior to the election, there were not many saying that this would be […]

Many years ago, someone gave me this illustration of the grace of God and I haven’t forgotten it since. Suppose you went down to the local car dealership and walked into the front door and someone walked up to you, but instead of saying, “Can I help you,” they said, “Today is your day! Today […]

According to a February 26, 2003 Harris Poll, 31 percent of people do not believe in Hell. Many folks (even those who consider themselves religious) seldom consider what it will be like to be lost in Hell. Hell is a subject that the devil would like for us to forget about, but Jesus taught more […]

This past Wednesday night in the high school class, one of our astute and observant high school students asked me why some are calling us a cult. After the death of Matthew Winkler, there were several in the media who were seeking to “analyze” the situation. One Nancy Grace on CNN invited a Baptist “pastor” […]

Last week I started an e-mail conversation with a man who was a member of the Methodist church. The conversation started because he had seen an article that I published on our web site, “Is the Church of Christ a Cult?” His contention was that any group that claims that they are the only one’s […]

With all of the recent news regarding the Catholic Church many have heard stated as fact by news media and others that Peter was the first pope. This is, of course, official Catholic doctrine. But what does the Bible say about Peter’s popehood? Is there one scripture that plainly declares that Peter was the first […]

“And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Cor. 9:25 ASV). Perhaps you have watched some of the Olympic Games this past week. If you have, then you have watched while athletes from all over the […]

In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9; Matthew 13:19-23), our Lord likened the word of God to seed that fell in four kinds of soil representing different kinds of human hearts, and the productivity of the word or the lack thereof (depending on the kind of soil in which it was sown). Jesus taught […]

A querist asks, “Does God forgive people who do not ask? I have never seen where that happened. Should I forgive anyone who doesn’t ask?” The Bible teaches that repentance has always been a prerequisite for forgiveness being granted by God (Psalm 51; Jonah 3:10; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 17:30; 2 Timothy […]