The West Side church of Christ

Many people are in a constant dance with the Scriptures. These dancers twist here, turn there and generally maneuver all around in an attempt to see in the Bible what they themselves want rather than looking for what God wants (cf. 2 Peter 3:16). This has been done with the teachings on God’s grace. People [...]

No one likes to be wrong. We tend to bristle and jump to the defense when we are accused of being wrong. The fact is, however, sometimes we are wrong. Today, many are adamantly defending a position claiming all God requires us to understand is the basics of His Word. Beyond this all we need [...]

Students in a psychology class at San Diego State College were asked to name their most valuable asset. Two of the students wrote down intelligence, and both misspelled it. We often deceive ourselves into thinking we are something we are not. In fact, we often take pride in our perceived characteristic. Many have taken pride [...]

When you think of horror flicks, “Christian” isn’t the first word that pops into your mind. Nevertheless, some Christians act like they’re playing the starring role in Hollywood’s latest spook-ridden thriller. Ghosts, zombies and vampires can be spotted in many church buildings on Sunday mornings. Let’s examine these specters and see how we can ensure [...]

If you were to determine what your chances of going to heaven what would they be? 50%? 80%? 100%? According to a Gallup Poll, 62% of people with no religion whatsoever believe they are going to heaven, 75-88% of the members various denominations believe they will go to heaven. What about you?
The Apostle John wrote [...]

Often it seems people want to have a relationship with God, but do not want to follow His will. Instead of following the Bible, they want to live their lives their own way and trust in God’s love and mercy for entrance into heaven. This comes from a skewed view of God.
Our God is [...]

Proverbs 22:1 tells us “A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.” In the early church, there was a Levite named Joseph who had such a good reputation that the Apostles called him Barnabas which means son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). Barnabas was a [...]

After 70 years of captivity God graciously allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. In Ezra 3:10 the work began with great joy. Soon afterwards, however, the Israelites let adversaries stop the work and the Temple of God remained barren and desolate. The message God sent through Haggai was: “Consider your [...]

All four gospels record the story of Jesus being crucified instead of Barabbas (Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:18-25, John 18:39-40). Can you imagine what it would be like to be in Barabbas’ shoes? As he waited in his cell in the company of other insurrectionists and murders, what went through his mind? Guilt? Shame? [...]

How would you feel is you were trying to help someone and they threw your help back in your face and even made fun of you? Sadly, many people react this was to God’s instructions. Instead of listening, they scoff. To scoff is to show contempt and derision for a person or idea. Often this [...]