What is Unique About the Church of Christ?

Some members of the church of Christ say it is unique among the 33,000 churches in the world.  Since unique means “the only one of its kind,” could this really be true? Making the claim proves nothing, so let’s test the hypothesis by looking at things some think are unique about the church of Christ. Is the…

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What Saul Saw When He Couldn’t See

Note: The Bible records the conversion of Saul to Christianity three times (Acts 9, Acts 22, Acts 26). Please take time to read these with this article. Saul of Tarsus later became better known as Paul the apostle (Acts 13:9). The names are used interchangeably here. The apostle Paul’s eyes have been the subject of much speculation. Many…

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5 Views of Mark 16:16

Jesus pointed a nail-pierced hand at a world for which He had just died and commanded, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16).  Those thirty words are among the most…

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Forgiven to Forgive

When a counselor asked a lady, “Have you heaped coals of fire on your enemy?” (thinking she would remember Romans 12:20, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head”), she replied, “No, but I’ve tried scalding…

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I Don’t Want You to Join My Church

Preachers say frequently, “Come, join my church.” In the Bible Belt, drivers occasionally see billboards and bumper stickers that read, “Attend the church of your choice Sunday.” It might surprise you that in the thirty-three years I have preached, I have never asked anyone to join my church nor preached “join the church of your…

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Modern Day Superstition

Parke Kunkle of the Minnesota Planetarium Society rocked the world of astrology on January 13, 2011, when he revealed that the traditional “star signs” used to determine horoscopes are wrong for most people. It seems that the astrological signs codified by Ptolemy in the second century have changed since then, shifting most people to another…

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Can We Trust the Bible?

During the 1900 years since the Bible was completed, the original books (autographs) have all been lost and will likely never be found. Thankfully, before they were lost, they were copied. Through the centuries, copies of copies of copies were made. Most of these, too, were eventually lost, but many have been discovered in modern…

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7 Signs

The book of John focuses on seven of Jesus’ miracles, and a careful study of each provides us with principles of encouragement. Disappointments? Remember when Jesus addressed an embarrassing moment by turning water into wine? (John 2:1–11). He is still the one to turn to when life turns on us. “At my first defense no…

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The Remedy for Judging

1) Love. Love is always slow to expose, always eager to believe the best, always hopeful, always patient (1 Corinthians 13:7; cf. 1 Peter 4:8). The faults of others will appear thick if our love for them is thin. 2) Consider how despicable it is. Matthew 7:3 suggests the censorious judge anxiously looks for a fault upon which to…

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