A querist asks, “There are sincere religious folks who believe in the doctrine of soul-sleeping. They use Ecclesiastes 9:5 as a proof text for their doctrine. They believe that the dead are oblivious to their surroundings and know absolutely nothing. Is the doctrine of soul-sleeping true? If not, please provide us scriptures to refute it.”
The Roman Emperor, Caesar, was once sailing with his armed men on a campaign against Greece. They encountered a severe storm and fears were great. Caesar attempted to calm the fears of the sailors by reminding them with these words: “Remember you carry Caesar and his fortunes.”
Death often steals from us the ones we love, but as followers of Christ — the separation is only temporary. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that just as death could not hold Him (Acts 2:22-24), so too the tomb cannot cling to the children, parents, relatives, and friends
About eight years after I was born, my father met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, he was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our
In raising our children, we may be inclined to give them everything and ask nothing from them in return. On the surface, this may seem to be an expression of genuine love, but in so doing, we are actually teaching our children to expect everything and to give nothing.
Do we remember when telephones were for making simple phone calls? Today, cell-phone applications, or “apps” as they are called, allow us the capability of reading daily news reports, sports scores,
A querist asks, “If a person has been disfellowshipped by a congregation, should that congregation notify other area congregations of their action so they are aware of the
Jesus speaks of how great John the Baptist is and makes the statement that even as great as he is, the lesser (least) in God’s Kingdom is greater than he. My question (and one that was asked of me) is, “Are there degrees of acceptance into the Kingdom? How can anyone in the Kingdom be […]
From the Braggs church of Christ in Braggs, Oklahoma, comes the following article written by Brother Ron Boatwright. His article provides us with twenty-six sources for reaching people with the
There was time when I thought the word “compassion” had to do with self-giving and the outpouring of one’s spirit. However, when I looked the word up in the dictionary, I discovered that compassion is not so much an outpouring, as it is a “strong desire to alleviate the suffering” of an individual or individuals.
We influence the lives of more people than we realize we do. Just stop and think for a moment all of the people we’ve known in our lifetime. Think of all of the clerks who’ve
The children of Israel would have first heard of the Lord’s account of the beginnings of the universe and mankind out in the wilderness, perhaps during the two years after meeting with God at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20) during which time the tabernacle was built and interest was high in the things of God. One […]
Last week we noted that denominationalism doesn’t recognize the inherent division within its organization because it fails to acknowledge any other doctrine of the Christian faith as truly important and grounds for unity except belief in Jesus as the Christ. On this account, denominationalism fails to realize that there could be any distinguishing marks that […]
A querist asks, Paul says in Romans 8:14 that we are “led by the Spirit of God.” My question is, “How are we led by God’s Spirit?”
A key phrase in today’s business world is the phrase “value added.” It simply means the value that an employee adds to the overall value and success of any business operation.
In preparation to teach our high school class about the beliefs of the various denominational bodies, I have noticed one common and consistent practice among them. While most denominations varies widely in their unique doctrines, when it comes to the plan of salvation they mostly agree on the doctrine of faith only. Typically associated with […]
Is singing during the Lord’s Supper scriptural. There are no scriptures that suggest that singing during the Lord’s Supper is something that the early church did. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 Paul gives the pattern that we are to follow when observing the Lord’s Supper. One of the things that he says we are to observe […]
From today’s Montana Street bulletin, comes the following article by Vance Havner, emphasizing biblical faith:
During King Rehoboam’s reign (1 Kings 14:21), Rehoboam flatly rejected a request from representatives of the 10 tribes of Israel to lower the heavy tax burden imposed by his