ADAIR CHURCH OF CHRIST

06/02/2026

DO THEY REALLY READ THE TEXT?

There are many individuals who would have you to believe that they are some of the best Bible students out there. They boldly proclaim "the gospel," "the Word of God, "the truth."

When this author hears these individuals explain some of their positions, he wonders whether these so-called Bible students really read the Biblical text.

Let's look at an illustration.

"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law" (Heb. 7:12).

1. The writer is talking about the priesthood being changed from the Aaronic priesthood to the priesthood of Melchizedek.
2. Jesus is our High Priest today. "Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus" (Heb. 3:1).
3. Jesus cannot be a priest who serves by the authority of the Old Testament because He is not from the lineage of Levi. Jesus sprang from the tribe of Judah. "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood" (Heb. 7:14).
4. Thus, Jesus Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. "For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" (Heb. 7:17).
5. Jesus' serving as the High Priest today plainly indicates that there has been a change in the law. We are no longer under the Old Testament. Today, the operative law is the Law of Christ, the New Testament, the New Covenant.

Dear readers, Judaism which was established and governed by the Old Testament has served its purpose. Judaism today is not the "religion of God." Jesus came just as the law foretold. His death on Calvary brought the end of the law. It was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14). Now, the New Law, the New Testament is the operative law and Christianity is the religion of God today. Judaism and Christianity do not function simultaneously.

"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:24-29).

Dear readers, it pays to truly read the text.
Please do not let someone do the reading for you. - V. Eskew

06/02/2026

TOP REASONS PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH

1. Invitation from a friend or relative

2. Advertisement

3. Organized visitation

4. Preacher/elder contact “Invite.” LUKE 14:13

TOP REASONS PEOPLE SAY THEY DO NOT GO TO CHURCH

1. The church is not relevant to what is going on in their lives.

2. They have never been invited.

3. They think the church is only after their money.

4. They believe the church is insincere.

“Come and see.” JOHN 1:46

06/02/2026

“Error preached, error heard, and error believed cannot result in the truth obeyed. No man can accidentally obey God. The truth preached, the truth believed, and the truth obeyed makes a Christian. Nothing else does. How important, therefore, is the word of God, and how careful men should be in their handling of it.”
- [Foy E. Wallace].

05/31/2026

WHEN THE SAINTS GATHER, DOES GOD WANT ME THERE?

We should not have to spend the time asking and answering this question, if you are a child of God. The simple, powerful answer is: YES!" Yes, God wants you to come into His majestic presence to praise, honor, adore, and thank Him.

He wants us there because He alone is God.
He wants us there because He loves us deeply.
He wants us there because He has redeemed us.
He wants us there because He can teach us there.
He wants us there because He blesses us there.
He wants us there because He knows what is says to the world.
He wants us there because He there we remember Calvary.

When the saints assemble, many are far too focused on what they want. If what they want is not there, they will not attend. They fail to remember that their God wants them there.

Isn't that important?

When Jesus healed the ten lepers, one returned to give glory to God. The question that Jesus posed on that occasion was this: "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17). Do you hear the disappointment in Jesus' voice?

Are you the one?
Or, are you one of the nine?

Jesus longs for and appreciates and deserves our praise and thanksgiving. "And one of them, when he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan?" (Luke 17:16-17).

Don't disappoint the Lord. When the saints gather for worship today, be there. God wants you there! - V. Eskew

05/29/2026

No one will ever go to Heaven on accident.

Matthew 24:13
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Hebrews 11:6
“...for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Matthew 7:21
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father...”

Hebrews 5:9
“And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

If you have never been added to the church that Jesus established in the New Testament, have questions about the Bible, or need assistance finding a local congregation where you live please message or email us.

05/27/2026

Paying Preachers--What Saith the Scriptures?

Question: As far as I can tell, there was no paid ministerial staff in the early church. How does the paid minister fit into Jesus' plan for church leadership?

Answer: The modern concept of a minister being paid to do most of a congregation's work certainly is foreign to the Scriptures. Many folks seem to feel that you can pay someone to visit the sick for you, pray your prayers, and do your good deeds. None of this fits the Bible pattern.

However, I believe you are mistaken if you assume there is not both authority and example in Scripture for paying those involved in the legitimate work of ministry. Let me show you.

In Luke 10:7, Jesus set forth the principle that guides this practice. He said, " And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages." Jesus made this statement in the context of sending out 70 of His disciples to preach to the Jews.

Similarly, as recorded in Matthew 10:9-10, when Jesus sent the 12 disciples out to preach in Israel, He said, "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food."

The principle also was made clear by the Apostle Paul as he discussed the work of elders (bishops, overseers) in the church. He wrote, in 1 Timothy 5:17-18, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,' and 'the laborer is worthy of his wages."

In making a defense for paying elders who taught the word of God, Paul quoted first the Old Testament and then Jesus himself. Under the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:4), the Jews were not to keep the ox that powered the grinding of grain from eating a portion of what he was working to prepare. If that principle was deemed by God to apply to simple animals, would it not apply to those who work in the propagation of the Gospel? That is Paul's point. Then he quotes the statements of Jesus already noted above.

Like most preachers at some time during their careers, the Apostle Paul had to defend being supported financially in his work. His defense is found in 1 Corinthians 9. I commend the reading of the whole chapter. In it, he makes the following points:

Preachers have the right to eat and drink, to have families (and of course that costs money, I might add). Soldiers, don't go to war at their own expense. Farmers aren't prevented from partaking of their own crops and flocks.

If God commands us to have proper concern for the needs of the animals that work for us, shouldn't we do the same for people who work for us?

Then he said, "If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more. ...Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel."

In part of that last statement, Paul referred back to the Jewish system as a pattern. There, the priests of the tribe of Levi lived from two basic sources. First, the other 11 tribes paid tithes, and those tithes helped to support the Levites (Numbers 18:21). Secondly, as people offered grain and animal sacrifices, a portion was consumed in sacrifice to God, a portion was eaten by the family bringing the sacrifice, and a portion was kept by the priest to feed himself and his family (Leviticus 6:14-16,25-26; 7:1-10,29-35).

That pretty well covers the scriptural authority for paying ministers.

But we also have an example in the New Testament. Paul told the church in Corinth, "I robbed other churches, taking wages of them to minister to you" (2 Corinthians 11:8). All this said, I realize the subject causes much debate. Some preachers abuse the situation and rob churches in ways Paul never had in mind. Many others live in conditions substandard to those of the people who support them.

I know of no Scriptural basis for requiring the preacher to take a "vow of poverty." But, of course, there is nothing wrong with doing so if a man decides that will best accommodate his ministry.

Personally, I preached the gospel "part-time" for 17 years while earning my living as a newspaper reporter and editor. But I can tell you from experience that the amount of work and good a man can accomplish that way is much more limited than when he can give his full energies to the work, freed from the need to earn a living outside the gospel.

At the same time, I look back fondly on the days when I could preach without having some people intimate that I was a charity case, a freeloader, and incapable of making a "real living." I didn't take your question to imply such, but thought I'd express that on behalf of all my preaching brethren. - Selected

05/27/2026

NO ONE HAS AN EXCUSE

There are many people in the world who proclaim, "There is no God." We call these individuals atheists. There are others, known as agnostics, who say they are not certain whether God exists or not.

Paul tells us that these individuals have no excuse for failing to believe in the existence of God in Romans 1:19-20.

"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

The things that are made, that is, the heavens, the earth, the animal kingdom, and man should prove three things.

1. God exists.
2. God is powerful.
3. God is deity.

Note the words: "...so that they are without excuse."

The problem is not that there is not enough existence.

The problems are:

1. A lack of honesty.
2. A desire to be in control.
3. A longing to fulfill the desires of the flesh.
4. A stubborn and rebellious heart.
5. Learned ignorance
6. And, a host of other things.

According to Romans 1:18, God's wrath will be poured out on all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. When this happens, God will be justified in His actions. Why? Because he has not left Himself without witness of His existence.

Dear readers, there is NO EXCUSE for anyone's refusal to believe in God! - V. Eskew

05/26/2026

RESPECT FOR GOD'S WORD

Is the Bible really from God? In essence, we are asking, has God delivered us His words from His mind that He wants us to learn and apply to our lives? If the answer to that is: "Yes," then the Bible is the most important book on the earth. Above all else, we should have a deep, abiding respect for the message it contains.

NOTE: Respect for God's Word means more than...

1. Simply admitting the Bible is the Word of God.
2. Reading the Word of God for personal pleasure.
3. Reading God's Word as a replacement for other spiritual duties.
4. Looking at God's Word through denominational lens.
5. Attending a worship service once a week to hear the Word.

Respect for God's Word involves reading, analyzing, comparing, meditating, and applying God's Word, all of it, to our lives.

We do not rationalize it away.
We do not justify our failures to heed what it says.
We do not overlook the parts that are uncomfortable.
We do not reject the parts the conflict with our opinions.
We do not try to tell God how we will conduct our lives.

Instead, we say: "This is exactly what the Bible says. Therefore, I will believe it and practice it with all my might."

"...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15).
"...Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth..." (1 Sam. 3:9).
"...but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
"...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31).
"...he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49).
"For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20).
"Blessed are they that do his commandments..." (Rev. 22:14).

The book called the Bible that we hold in our hands is from God.
It's message is for all men.
It's message is extremely urgent.
It's message is eternal in nature.
It's message will meet us at the judgment.

My friends, respect God's Word. Tremble at the truth it teaches us.
"Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded" (Prov. 13:13.) - V. Eskew

05/25/2026

LET US REMEMBER AND BE THANKFUL

We are not on the front lines.
We do not understand the alternatives.
We underestimate the evil of the adversary.
We do not believe what we have may never have been.
We do not believe that what we have could be taken away.

Therefore, we fail to appreciate the sacrifices that have been made to provide us the prosperity, peace, and pleasures we enjoy in the United States of America.

Dear readers, we need to remember the sacrifices, especially the sacrifices of life, that have been given for us as citizens of our great nation. We also need to give thanks for those sacrifices as well.

You do not have to spend a great amount of time, but we do need to spend a few minutes and recall and give thanks. Read a brief story of one of our brave fighters who manifested courage before the enemy and gave his life that others, like us, might be able to enjoy our freedoms, family, wealth, and peace on this Memorial Day.

Below are six who perished on our behalf recently.

Six Soldiers Killed in Kuwait Drone Strike (Mar. 2026)
The Pentagon confirmed the deaths of six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, IA, killed in an Iranian drone attack on Shuaiba port in Kuwait:

Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, Indianola, IA

CWO3 Robert Marzan, 54, Sacramento, CA

Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Winter Haven, FL

Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, Bellevue, NE

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, White Bear Lake, MN

Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, West Des Moines, IA

They were supporting Operation Epic Fury when the strike occurred. The attack also wounded 18 other service members abcnews.com. - V. Eskew

Your trusted source for breaking news, analysis, exclusive interviews, headlines, and videos at ABCNews.com