Posts by 70 West Church of Christ

Imagine this: you walk into a fast-food restaurant and order a hamburger, fries, and a coke – the all-American meal! But then, you notice that it seems to take an unusually long time to get your food. Finally, the gal at the counter brings up your order – piles of food on three separate trays! “What’s all of this?” you ask. “Well,” answers the waitress, “it’s one of every item on our menu. Your bill comes to $85.68.” You protest:…

I really had no clue that I was going to die today. I hadn’t scheduled it or set a reminder. It wasn’t something I had even been thinking about. Yet, here I am, dead. I knew eventually it would happen, but not like this. I had wanted to go peacefully in my sleep at some undetermined but appropriate age—at an age when I had all my affairs in order, nothing left undone or unsaid. I wanted to go out with…

I try to do as the Apostle Paul did, to preach the whole counsel of God.” I try to preach that every man ought to love every other man on this Earth; that if there is any answer to the racism we find in the world, it is in the religion of Jesus Christ; that the gospel has the great purpose of drawing all men into one body, that we may all be one in Christ, no matter whether you…

Just a few years ago no member of the church known to me would have contended that humming would be acceptable in Christian worship. Yet, some time ago I received a phone call from a preacher in another state; and during our conversation, he stated that he was disturbed that a well known song director had recently visited in his section of the country, and while there participated in a worship service, during which he sang a solo while the…

The Bible says that we should “Pray without ceasing” (1Th.5:17). Those prayers can be “effective” (Jm.5:16) – or, by implication, ineffective. One thing that is necessary to make our prayers effective, is to pray in faith (Jm.1:6). In fact, if we don’t pray in faith, we need not expect an answer from God (v.7)! But what does it mean to pray in faith? What kinds of things are involved in this admonition? Let’s examine some of them here. We must…

Some seem to have the idea that the Bible is only a book for preachers to find a text in. I have known some preachers whose sermons showed that is what they thought. They selected a text and never got back to it or else paid no attention to its context. Preachers have no monopoly on understanding the Bible. Preachers gain a knowledge of the Bible in the same way as anyone else, through study. It is a mistake to…

Where did God come from? Most everyone knows the Christian’s response to this question: “God is eternal. He did not ‘come from’ anywhere.” Although atheists may think that this answer is unscientific and merely an attempt to avoid the question, in truth, observation and reason declare otherwise. The question “Where did God come from?” (or “What caused God?”) assumes that God had a cause. However, by definition, an eternal spirit (“the everlasting God”) cannot logically have a cause. Asking about…

More knocking on doors and less knocking on each other. The great commission demands that we busy ourselves in taking the gospel to others (Mark 16:5). The Bible says, “speak not evil on of another” (James 4:11). It is so much better to be busy doing good rather than evil. More sound heads and fewer soreheads. Perhaps there has never been a time in the history of the church in which we have had a greater need for men sound…

How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure! That He should give His only Son, To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss! The Father turns His face away; As wounds which marred the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross: My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there…

God allows us to live our lives how we want to. He gives us free will. He does not control every move that we make. We are not predestined individually to be saved or lost. God made all things and made the rules. God provided what we need for salvation and what we need to live. He told us how we need to live but did not control us to live in that very way. God has given us free…

Jesus Christ came to earth from heaven and was made a little lower than the angels. He became flesh John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” He lived a life that was full of servitude to the Father and made the choice to…

We need to ask ourselves a few questions as we go through life. What kind of person do I want to be? How do I want to be seen? Do the kind of people that I hang out with have an effect on those things? Do I need to be careful of who I choose to consider my friend? The answer to all of these is yes, but we do not always see it that way. Maybe when considering the…